EARLIER this month, we celebrated International Women’s Day, 104 years after women in Scotland first achieved the right to vote.

I am proud to represent a party which is committed to making Scotland a fairer society, where no one is denied rights or opportunities based on their gender.

It was fitting that on International Women’s Day this year, our Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy Fergus Ewing announced a £115,000 funding package to provide training support for women in agriculture. It is vital that we work to support our agricultural industry’s future and tackling the gender balance is just one way we can do this. We have made great strides in creating a more equal and fairer Scotland over recent decades and this funding is just one way the Scottish Government is remaining committed to that goal.

I am pleased to see the remainder of our primary school children rejoining their fellow students in the classroom this week, along with senior school pupils who will be attending on a part-time basis. Like all of us, working from home has come with many challenges for my younger constituents and I am sure they will be happy to be returning to the normality of the classroom. For senior school pupils, it is important that for the time being masks continue to be worn in schools and social distancing is maintained. While children are at relatively low risk of developing serious Covid-19 symptoms, it is important that these measures are followed to protect teachers and our loved ones.

Marie Curie is holding its 35th Great Daffodil Appeal this month and I am encouraging my constituents to wear their daffodil pin as part of my support for the charity’s biggest annual fundraiser. The pandemic has forced the charity to cancel all of its public collections and this will undoubtedly impact this year’s appeal. In Lothian in 2019-20, Marie Curie nurses made over 4,000 visits to care for terminally ill people in their own homes and I’m proud to be doing my part to support the charity in this year’s appeal.