The most basic service a nation must provide to its citizens is healthcare. Conservatives want Scotland to have a world-class National Health Service. We will work towards a new standard, leaving people secure in the knowledge that they have local accident and emergency services and maternity provision within easy reach. Patients should have greater say in where and how their healthcare needs are met, with services available where and when they are needed. I will work to give that choice back to the community, supporting the retention of local hospital and GP services which are in high demand.

West Lothian College - 19 April 2007

I was delighted to be invited to attend a West Lothian College hustings event and mock election, which took place on 19 April. The issue of support to local businesses was high on the agenda, with many of the college's courses running in tandem with the skills needs of local enterprise. Through our pledges to abolish business rates for small firms and significantly reduce the burden for medium sized businesses, our commitment to creating a £20m Town Centre Regeneration Fund, and our initiatives to imrprove roads and public transport infrastructure, Scottish Conservatives stand up for local businesses and the communities they serve.

West Lothian Carers Husting - 18 April 2007

West Lothian Carers hosted a Question Time event on 18 Apr to launch their manifesto and discuss the key issues facing carers in the community. I was very pleased to be invited to participate in this event to raise the profile on the invaluable work of carers in West Lothian. I believe that we must do more to promote their work and to support it - not just with our words, but with meaningful action and longterm commitments. Their work is of tremendous value, not only to the people they care for, but also to the wider community at large. We must support them by establishing improved respite facilities, with greater accessability to more people, by providing enhanced training for carers, by improving the processes involved in assessing care needs to reduce waiting times, by raising awareness and making information more available to those who care for others, and by working with the Government at Westminster to restructure Carers Allowance to reduce the excessive restrictions which currently serve to devalue and demean the contribution of carers within out society.