Moray MSP

👍 I look forward to seeing how this pilot scheme and wider work around the skills passport progresses.

💷 The Scottish Government's Just Transition fund is supporting this industry led scheme to the tune of £3.7m with work initially focussing on supporting workers identify routes into roles in the offshore wind sector.

👷🏻 I know this will be of interest to many oil and gas workers in Moray, many who will have had their own challenging experience of trying to move into clean energy sectors.

📣 The launch of a pilot scheme for skills passports for oil and gas workers looking to transition into the renewables sector is to be warmly welcomed.

So for my first proper post I need to ask: who do I support? - the excitement is building as my local team is playing my beloved afc.co.uk in the big cup game tomorrow! Help! Hoping for a great game! ⚽️🏆

In the meantime, it is important that local partners continue to work together to retain many of the affected businesses and jobs in the town centre.

The Minister has agreed to visit Elgin in the coming weeks to meet the business community to discuss what lessons can be learned from this saga. I also asked for advice on sources of support that could potentially be offered to help businesses remain in Elgin.

My thoughts are very much with the local staff and businesses who are affected by the closure of the centre and the unacceptably short notice period given by the owner.

ST GILES CENTRE TALKS WITH SCOTGOV MINISTER

Following the meeting held this week with stakeholders to discuss the imminent closure of the St Giles Centre, I secured an urgent meeting with the Scottish Government’s Employment and Investment Minister to update him on this most unfortunate situation.

❗️But the Scottish Parliament is still to approve the budget – it is therefore crucial that opposition parties back this budget and deliver this investment to Moray Council. They won’t be forgiven by the public if they fail to do so.

🏫 Moray Council can also use this extra funding to safeguard the future of our local libraries, rural schools and leisure facilities.

🏛️ Local Authorities provide some of the most important services for our communities – so this real-terms increase in funding from the Scottish Government to Local Authorities should go a long way to improving schools, social care, roads, bins, and other local services here in Moray.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 The SNP Government is prioritising investment in public services and is delivering additional funding of £15.4m for Moray Council.

This will be a big step forward in Moray Maternity Project and will be welcome news for many local women who will soon have the choice to deliver at Dr Gray's.

Dr Gray's Hospital set to resume Caesarean sections in 2025 An announcement on a date for when procedures will begin is expected early in the new year.

Some good news on the work to restore maternity services at Dr Gray's Hospital, with caesarean sections set to resume in the coming months.

It is expected that NHS Grampian will announce the start date early in the new year.

💧I welcome these statistics from the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency and look forward to continuing improvement in Scotland’s water quality here in Moray.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 In total, almost 97% of Scotland’s bathing waters will be of either an Excellent, Good or Sufficient standard - a significant improvement since the SNP implemented Bathing Waters regulations in 2015.

✅ The SEPA figures show that that the number of Excellent quality bathing waters in Scotland has skyrocketed from 17 of 84 designated bathing waters in 2015, to 50 out of 89 for 2025.

📈 These Moray beaches are among a record 87% of Scotland’s bathing waters that are of either an Excellent or Good standard this year - an increase of 22% since the SNP’s Bathing Water regulations were fully implemented in 2015.

🌊 Findhorn and Lossiemouth’s East Beach have received ‘Excellent’ quality status according to the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA).

🔋 Establish a green energy hub for offshore wind in Aberdeen
🎭 £34million increase for culture budget next year and reiterates commitment to £100million investment

🏡 £768 million for affordable housing to deliver at least 8,000 homes
🥀 Ending Labour's two-child cap, lifting 15,000 kids out of poverty
🏛️ Increase funding for Scotland’s councils by more than £1bn

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Today the SNP Scottish Government set out its budget for 2025/26 that delivers for people in Moray and across Scotland.

Here’s just some of the highlights:

🏥 Record NHS funding
🔥 Winter Heating Payment for every pensioner household
💷 Majority of Scots paying less tax than rest of the UK

We are a food and drink heartland and also home to major house building firms, engineering etc and increasingly high tech sectors too such as space, advanced manufacturing, gaming and tech too! 🥃🚀✈️🎮

Overdue catch up with Sarah Medcraf of Moray Chamber of Commerce at Moray Sports Centre.

We discussed the opportunities and challenges in the increasingly dynamic Moray economy that’s continuing to evolve with some exciting developments.

All of us must work towards a society where everyone is equally safe - where women and girls can live their lives free from the threat of violence and abuse.

Gender based violence is the result of the behaviour and attitudes of men. Those behaviours and attitudes must change and it is the responsibility of all men to make that change happen.

There is never an excuse for violence against women and girls.

Well done to the organisers of Moray's first ever #ReclaimTheNight march that took place in Elgin last night - the first day of the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence campaign.

🛣️ For trunk road updates check here:

🔗 www.traffic.gov.scot

🙏 Please check ahead and stay safe.

❗️WEATHER AND DISRUPTION UPDATES❗️

❄️ There’s a fair bit of disruption across Moray this morning due to heavy snowfall overnight.

🏫 School closure and local road updates can be found via Moray Council here:

🔗 secure.moray.gov.uk/mcalerts/por...