A FEW weeks ago, for the third time, I was sworn in as the MSP for Almond Valley the constituency I will always consider home. It's a very special privilege to represent the community you grew up in.
This week I'll be speaking in Parliament for the first time as Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security and Equalities. On Thursday, MSPs will for the first time this session talk about our priorities for making Scotland a fairer, more equal place where opportunities are open to everyone.
I want to shape a better future where everyone has an equal chance to reach their full potential irrespective of their background.
And I know from personal experience how important that fair chance is.
These days families come in all shapes and sizes but when I was at primary school in the 1970s it was not the norm to have divorced parents - or at least it did not feel like it to me. Growing up I was the eldest of three children. My younger childhood years were spent living with my mum and my teenage years were spent with my dad. My dad was a single parent at the time, as my younger sister and brother lived with my mum.
My dad, who is now deceased, was a heavy machine driver working either in construction or opencast mining. He was unemployed in the early 1980s due to the economic downturn. I changed schools six times and moved home a dozen times due to changing family circumstances and employment opportunities. These experiences can be difficult for children and I know that too many families today don’t have a secure and stable home to call their own. So I know a safe, secure and stable home is critical.
The number one enquiry I deal with as a constituency MSP is housing, whether homelessness, overcrowding, or the cost of rent or to heat a home. People have a right to a decent affordable home and our children need to be front and centre.
I was absolutely delighted that the First Minister has this week confirmed this Government's commitment to building 50,000 affordable houses over the next five years, backed by a £3 billion investment from the Scottish Government – 70 per cent of which will be available for social rent. New housing has a number of economic benefits, supporting on average, around 14,000 full-time equivalent jobs per year and generating around £1.8 billion in economic activity.
Boosting the economy and supporting people back into work is a crucial part of tackling poverty. I have spoken often about my dad's experience of long term unemployment in the 1980s. He did eventually return to work but the impact of unemployment on individuals, families and communities is imprinted on me.
So, tackling unemployment and poverty will always be much more than a political commitment - for me, it's personal.
It's not just more jobs we need but better paid ones too, for men and women. My mum worked very hard to make ends meet and juggled the demands of family life, often on her own, in the days before childcare was a political priority. Thanks in large part to my mum’s influence, I was the first in my family to go to university, so I’ve always supported better representation of women at work and in politics. I was among the first to support the cross party 50:50 campaign.
If we tackle child poverty the benefits are far and wide. Free school meals and school clothing grants were a lifeline to me and my family. I am proud of the stance the Scottish Government has taken in introducing free school meals for all children in P1-P3 and my role in protecting school clothing grants for any family who needs them.
Children need to know we value them and their families. Inefficient and inhuman bureaucracies create barriers to people getting the right support at the right time. I will be the strongest voice, sticking up for all those who find themselves victimised, stigmatised or left high and dry by the UK Government's draconian welfare cuts.
But we have opportunities for change. New social security powers are being devolved to Scotland and it is important to me that fairness and dignity are at their heart. It should be a system that catches and supports people in their time of need.
I have good memories of my childhood and I love my parents dearly but I certainly have no nostalgia or rose tinted glasses for poverty or unemployment. We can never sanitise the scandal of one in six Scots living in poverty and while Scotland's poverty figures are better than the UK's, it’s frankly still not good enough.
There is a lot of work to do and the challenges are very real. But I am excited about the fairer future we can create.
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