I was very sorry to hear of the passing of Adnan Miyasar last week. Adnan was an Iraqi-born Fifer who dedicated decades of his life to promoting good relations between the diverse communities who call Scotland home. He helped to set up Fife Arabic Society just over twenty years ago and was still actively involved until he fell ill last year, and he also gave his time to many other voluntary organisations. My deepest condolences to his family.
SGN have applied for planning permission for their proposed H100 Fife Hydrogen project at Fife Energy Park in Methil. Although I support the project in principle it’s important that the plans are rigorously assessed by Fife Council and that they take local views into account. The Council planning website has full details of the application including assessments of the likely impact on things like noise and traffic. Visit the website and type in H100 and it should take you there. You can also submit comments on the application through the same web page.
The deteriorating Covid situation, especially in London, has led to more changes in the way the UK Parliament operates. They have extended the kinds of business MPs can take part in by video call to minimise the number of MPs who need to travel to Westminster. They have also cancelled or postponed a lot of less urgent business, as even having a debate by video call means technicians and other staff need to be there. I was disappointed that my Bill to protect the NHS from being sold off as part of any trade deal was postponed yet again but I fully understand why this was necessary. We were all reminded what’s at stake when we heard that a very well respected member of the parliamentary security team had died last week after contracting Covid.
My constituency team are getting a lot of queries about whether particular businesses or shops are allowed to stay open. The Scottish Government website has all the latest advice and information. It’s quite well laid out but there’s a lot of information there and it can sometimes take a wee while to find what you’re looking for. I think the single most important advice from both the First Minister and the Chief Medical Officer is that we shouldn’t be looking for reasons why we’re allowed to travel or leave the house for something, we should be asking if we can get on with our jobs or with living our lives if we don’t do it.
I’ve already been contacted by several local businesses who have been severely hit by the end of the EU Transition Period. If you’re involved with a business that’s finding it more difficult to export your goods or to import your raw materials please contact my office.