Douglas's constituency includes Crossgates, Hill of Beath and Moss-side.

Malawi was magic!

Malawians can now sing 'Flower of Scotland' thanks to Beath High pupils! They had a brilliant two weeks visiting two partner schools in the country, building up partnerships, donating sports equipment...and singing a few songs. I met with rector Douglas Young shortly before they jetted off to Africa and the anticipation in the school was palpable. So I was delighted to read the coverage given to the successful trip in last week's Times. Mr Young met with two MPs, one a government minister, to highlight pressing issues and ensure continued support to the ongoing, positive relationship between Beath and its partner schools. Well done to pupils and staff!

Lest we forget

War memorials stand as sombre reminders of the sacrifice of the fallen from our communities. They were the gathering points for recent Remembrance Day services across West Fife. Now they will benefit from a Scottish Government initiative which will see many of them renovated. Mossgreen, Hill of Beath, Lumphinnans and Lochgelly have already received a total of £8530. I was impressed by the amount of activity to raise funds and awareness for poppy Scotland - I even got to judge a poppy window display competition! To find out more visit: warmemorials.org/grants-scotland

A kick in the teeth

The two aircraft carriers that dominate the skyline down in Rosyth will soon be completed and sailing off down the Forth. An opportune time to ask about the yard's future at Westminster's Defence Question Time, which supplies a good number of Central Fifers with work. So I asked the Secretary of State what reward the workforce can expect for a great job building the carriers? I received no direct answer - as we know direct questions are seldom answered! However, little prepared my for the announcement later that day when it was unveiled that MoD Caledonia in Rosyth would be closed. This is part of a larger asset-stripping exercise of eight other MoD sites across Scotland, from Fort George in the Highlands to Glencorse Barracks in Midlothian. For workers at Rosyth though, not so much a reward, more a kick in the teeth.

Pensions update

I'm keeping Central Fife constituents updated with the debacle over unfair changes to the pensions of women born in the 1950s. A recent debate at Parliament saw the SNP call for the UK Government to right a wrong in the autumn statement by giving people the pension they are due. Women have been hit hard by the changes. No-one is arguing against the equalisation of the State Pension Age, however, these women have paid National Insurance contributions and are due their full pension. If the Chancellor fails to address the issue of unequal pensions in the Autumn Statement then it will only echo the UK Government’s lack of action.The recent debate really heaps the pressure on the UK Government to act.