The SNP have been very good at publishing very long, ineffective guidance but are less good at delivering change to the behaviour in the classroom. 1/2 www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6qN...

2. @willierennie.bsky.social will ask the Scottish Government for its response to a recommendation from a Commission on School Reform report that teachers should be able to suspend or exclude pupils who exhibit persistent behaviour issues. Watch live from 2.05pm: scottishparliament.tv

I was delighted to attend the Howe of Fife Community First Responders charity launch last week with Wendy Chamberlain for North East Fife and to learn about their fantastic work. 1/2

It was a cross party effort on Saturday at the Banchory Beast Race. I joined Labour MSP Michael Marra on this 10km obstacle course.

The university funding model in Scotland is broken and the sector is showing clear signs of stress. Lower levels of support from the Scottish Government forced institutions into over-reliance on income from international students that is now in decline.

The support for Alexander Dennis to continue bus manufacturing in Scotland is welcome but the need for a long-term plan to support the company remains.

I made clear to the community safety minister that almost every community in North East Fife is affected by antisocial behaviour and that she needs to make the case for more resources in the budget to tackle it.

The future of nursing courses is under threat from the financial problems facing the Scottish university sector as a whole. I asked the health secretary what is being done to protect these courses, but it was disappointing that he could only point to visa rules for... 1/2

I called on the Scottish Government again to work in partnership with farmers and landowners to manage the risks of flooding. There is great potential to share knowledge and best-practice with comprehensive plans for catchment areas, but that work just isn't happening yet.

I met with the Board of SRUC to talk about Elmwood. I was direct about the lack of trust in the local community and repeated my ask for a vision for Elmwood and a local leader to implement it. They seemed to agree, but it remains to be seen whether they deliver.

Staff and students at the University of Dundee have been left in limbo since the scale of the institution's financial crisis was revealed almost a year ago. Ministers have insisted that the situation is urgent, so I pressed the education secretary on when a sustainable recovery plan will be agreed.

The third sector organisations I speak to are underwhelmed by the Children (Care Experience) Bill and were hoping for a lot more, including family-group decision making, kinship carers measures, child plans, community alternatives to police custody. 1/2

The Scottish Parliament voted for the Outdoor Education Bill to progress to further scrutiny, but the Scottish Government is floating the possibility of ignoring that decision by refusing to lodge a financial resolution.

The transport secretary has had the final submission of the case for a new train station at Newburgh since last year and visited Newburgh at the invitation of me and other MSPs earlier this year to hear the case from local people. I pressed her again for an update on when she will make a decision.

I am sceptical that the Scottish Government's guidance on behaviour and consequences is enough to make a difference in classrooms across the country. Teachers need effective support to respond to violence and disruptive behaviour which impacts their safety and that of their pupils.

Scotland has the potential to develop a green hydrogen industry which supports decarbonisation while creating jobs. However this depends on the support of government, in particular to grow the domestic market for green hydrogen.

Following SEPA's decision to bring in restrictions on the use of water from the River Eden catchment after months of below-average rainfall, I asked the First Minister to bring in a river catchment plan.

The SNP government is overseeing worsening educational outcomes for care-experienced children and I am particularly concerned by the reports of children being placed on 15-minute timetables without further support.

Long waiting times for mental health treatment and for support with ADHD and autism are contributing to the rate of economic inactivity in Scotland. The government must tackle these problems to help people get the support they need and to help them make a contribution to the country's economy.

There will be scepticism at the Scottish Government's claimed progress at the GFG Alliance businesses as there have been so many false dawns before. I asked the finance minister whether the company has indicated when it will pay back the £7 million loan it received from the Scottish Government.

Despite the Scottish Government undertaking payment reform two years ago, practices in Fife have closed, The Cupar Dentist has only offered an emergency service for months and many people are still struggling to register with an NHS dentist. 1/2

The government's housing action plan doesn't match the scale of the housing emergency. Ministers can't ignore their record of slashing the affordable housing budget and discouraging investment with damaging provisions in the Housing Bill. 1/2

Wendy and I started the day with Pilates by the sea in Cellardyke, hung from a bar with the Rotary, threw wellies in Colinsburgh and played the fiddle (badly) in Auchtermuchty.

The final day of the joint summer tour was really busy covering issues such as social care, Gaza, immigration, housing, flooding, buses, health services, farming… Thanks everyone who took time to meet us over the last two weeks. We find it incredibly useful to hear. @wendychambld.bsky.social

Clyde Associated Engineers acquired the assets of Tayport-based Foodmek in 2023. It was good to see Foodmek doing well again. I have agreed to assist the company with their plans for growth. I was put to work polishing one of their products along with Chris Beat and Douglas McKerracher.

Day four of the joint summer tour with @wendychambld.bsky.social in the Cupar area covering the town as well Ceres, Dairsie and Springfield. Lots of interesting issues raised including NHS, Gaza, flooding, housing and roadworks on A91.

SEPA have announced that the river catchment covering most of North East Fife has reached significant scarcity and have brought in restrictions on the amount of water that can be taken from rivers. beta.sepa.scot/news/2025/fi... 1/7

Day three of the joint summer tour took us to St. Andrews in the baking sun by the sea. Lots of issues were raised including housing, NHS, welfare, mobile phone use in schools and immigration. We had serious discussions and lighter moments too. @wendychambld.bsky.social

On day two of the joint summer tour we visited Newport, Wormit, Tayport, Balmullo, Guardbridge and Leuchars. Issues raised with us included Gaza, visas, speeding, parking, social care, climate change and lots more. Thanks to everyone who turned out including Lee with some brownies.

On day one of our joint Summer Tour in the East Neuk we were asked to help with a wide variety of issues from Gaza to pavement parking to renewable energy to the NHS to a new children’s play park. @wendychambld.bsky.social

It was great to visit Green Cat Hydrogen at the Binn Ecopark yesterday with Cllr Claire McLaren, to hear about their work developing green hydrogen in Scotland. This represents an important opportunity for decarbonisation and Scotland's economy.

Wendy and I and were treated to a tour of the Kinkell Byre trees just outside St. Andrews. The Woodland Trust were keen to tell us about how to integrate trees onto working farms. @wendychambld.bsky.social @kinkell.bsky.social @wtscotsocial.bsky.social

Congratulations to all the pupils receiving their results today and to the teachers and staff who have supported them. They all deserve credit for their great efforts regardless of their level of achievement.

The Pittenweem Arts Festival is on all week!

The SNP Government is making glacial progress on removing dangerous cladding as new figures reveal that remediation work has only been completed on a mere 0.2% of potentially affected buildings.

I was glad to visit Scott & Fyfe at their site in Tayport this week to learn more about the business and was grateful to the staff for showing me around. The company dates back to 1864 and became employee-owned in 2012.

Look into my eyes 👀 🐶

Many people across Scotland are rightly angry that President Trump is visiting Scotland to play at his golf courses while he is indifferent to the desperate suffering in Gaza. The impact that the visit will have on police resources is also concerning given that this is primarily a private visit.

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee at Westminster has launched a call for evidence on the UK Government's planned £360 million Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund and SPS agreement with the EU. Submissions can be made until 5 September.

I was delighted to attend the key handover ceremony at New Gibson House care home in St Andrews earlier this week. Residents will soon move in from the original Gibson House to this new, expanded facility which is designed to enhance their care and wellbeing.

Alistair Carmichael MP, Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee in Westminster joined me and Wendy Chamberlain to meet local farmers in North East Fife and disucss the challenges they face. Thanks to Ian Brown to allow us to pick berries on his farm near Pittenweem.

Reports of care-experienced children being given tokenistic 15-minute-per-day timetables without the appropriate wrap-around support in order to avoid formal exclusions are deeply concerning. I asked education ministers for an update on what is being done to address to problem.

The Scottish Parliament passed the Education Bill this week which restores an independent inspectorate, abolishes and replaces the SQA and, thanks to concessions I won from the government, will lead to a review of accreditation and quality assurance of qualifications.

The education committee questioned the former principal of the University of Dundee, Prof Iain Gillespie, about the financial crisis into which he led the institution. I pressed him on whether he really understands the pain caused to staff and students.

Newspaper reporting revealed that SNP ministers privately attached conditions to a donation of surplus NHS equipment to Ukraine. These conditions stated that the equipment must only be used for civilian purposes, meaning they could not be used on the front lines or in a network... 1/2

The education committee questioned three former leaders at the University of Dundee about their role in its financial crisis, including the former finance director, former chief operating officer and former chair of court. 1/2

The government's announcement of further financial support for the University of Dundee was welcome, and is a vital step to putting the institution on a sustainable footing. I pressed the education secretary on whether the government would step in again in future if further job cuts are threatened.

I met with fishermen in Pittenweem yesterday to discuss the health of creel fishing in the Forth. There are concerns that some fisherman have too many creels which is damaging the health of the crab and lobster stocks.

Here is a look back at last week and the ways my team and I supported people in North East Fife.

What a day at the Royal Highland Show