LAST week’s St Andrew’s Day festivities were marked by another reason for the people of Scotland to celebrate, following Westminster’s official devolution of significant tax powers to the Scottish Parliament.

The powers, which give Holyrood greater control over income tax rates and thresholds, are worth about £12 billion and are being returned as part of the Scotland Act 2016.

Scottish Finance Secretary Derek Mackay has promised to set out proposals on how the Government will use these powers in his upcoming draft budget. I echo Mr Mackay’s statement that: “The new powers will allow us to design an approach to taxation which will suit Scotland’s needs, balancing the need to invest with the recognition many households are facing difficult economic challenges.”

The Government began to lay out its plans for how the new tax powers can be used earlier this year. Those proposals seek to protect lower income taxpayers and to create additional income for Scotland to invest in public services. In short, the devolution of these powers promises an incredible opportunity for the Scottish Government to better serve the people of this nation.

Last week, I was able to participate in Tesco’s annual winter food drive in Musselburgh. This winter is the ninth such collection since 2012, in which time Tesco customers have collected 38 million meals to feed people in need.

Sometimes it’s easy to imagine that no one in today’s Scotland goes hungry. However, the sad truth is that there are many who turn to charities on a daily basis. Together, we can help make the holiday season a bit brighter.

Finally, I was pleased to participate in last Thursday’s debate on the 16 Days of Action Campaign, which seeks to end violence against women and girls. Violence against women and girls, in any form, has no place in Scotland and it’s good to see the positive progress that we are making on this front.