Maiden Speech LAST week I gave my first speech in Parliament and was overwhelmed by the response.

My Facebook page and email have been inundated with a lot of kind words and I was surprised by the reaction. So far the speech has been viewed more than ten and a half million times online and has been covered across the world. However, the key point of the speech was to highlight the devastating impact the Tory Government policies are having on many people, including those in Paisley and Renfrewshire South. I would hope that the Labour MPs take note of my comments and decide to stop abstaining and start opposing the Tory cuts.

Elderslie Planning Concern At my recent surgery in Elderslie members of the local community council highlighted their concern regarding Renfrewshire Council’s decision to allow the Abbey Road area of Elderslie to be zoned for housing developments. This was an issue that my SNP colleagues in the council objected to, but the Labour administration refused to listen when they put forward a number of green belt sites for future housing developments. The decision about this application will be made by the Renfrewshire councillors who are members of the planning board. I will continue to work with the community council and will keep in touch with anyone who has contacted me about this.

Changes to Running of Renfrewshire’s Leisure Services On July 1, 2015, the running of Renfrewshire Council’s town and village halls, museums and libraries, along with the staff who work there, transferred to the arms length company Renfrewshire Leisure. This means that although the council still own the buildings they no longer manage them. I was pleased to see that Councillor Andy Doig and my other colleagues in the council have argued for appropriate investment for our village halls. I am happy to see that there are plans to improve some of the facilities in Paisley & Renfrewshire South. However, I share the concerns of my council colleagues about facilities, including The McKillop Institute, Steeple Hall and Howwood Village Hall which are not included.

Contacting Me My regular drop-in surgeries will start in September this year. In the meantime my constituency staff will be able to arrange appointments or help you there and then. Due to the current volume of messages on Facebook I would ask you to contact me at mhairi.black.mp@parliament.uk, providing your name and address, if you have an issue that you would like me to look into. Alternatively, telephone the constituency staff on 0141 628 5456 (temporary number).