Promotion to Cabinet

Last week I was honoured to have been invited by First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, to join the Scottish Cabinet as Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Constitution.

To be promoted to the Cabinet, after four and a half years as a Government junior Minister, is a great honour for me, and I will do my utmost to serve Scotland well.

I am proud of what was achieved in my previous role as Transport Minister, particularly the work taken to secure shipbuilding on the River Clyde when ferry contacts were awarded to Ferguson’s in Port Glasgow.

And, in my final act as Transport Minister, I signed the document announcing Cal Mac as the preferred tenderer to operate the Clyde and Hebrides ferry service.

Amenity Site Changes

As mentioned in my last column, my immediate priority as the re-elected MSP for Renfrewshire North & West is to take forward the issues raised with me by my constituents during the election campaign.

I have therefore written to the Chief Executive of Renfrewshire Council seeking an urgent meeting.

Local environmental issues, road conditions and the proposed changes to local amenity sites are just some of the most pressing issues which locals are deeply concerned and angry about.

All of which are of course the responsibility of Labour-led Renfrewshire Council, however I know just how strongly my constituents feel about these issues and it is my duty to stand up for them,

McGill’s Bus Depot

Following numerous complaints regarding McGill’s buses waiting on the carriageway of Old Greenock Road in Inchinnan for driver handovers, I have now secured agreement that they will propose to develop a lay-by in their own depot grounds to take the handover wait away from the main carriageway.