A new campaign led by the energy sector Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) Taskforce and overseen by Ofgem has been launched to highlight the urgent need for RTS customers to book the installation of a new meter as soon as their energy supplier contacts them. The campaign explains what the RTS service is and how households [...]
Martin Whitfield MSP is encouraging primary schools across South Scotland and beyond to participate in VoiceBox 2025 – a national joke-telling competition for primary schools. Mr Whitfield attended the launch of this year's competition which took place at Cockenzie Primary School, home of last year’s winner, Gordon Moodie. On the first day of joke-telling, competitions [...]
This Cervical Cancer Prevention Week (20-26 January), The Eve Appeal is sharing advice and tips on you can ask for during cervical screening tests. The charity's YouGov survey found that one in two women were not aware they could ask the nurse or doctor to stop at any point during their screening. One in four [...]
Martin Whitfield MSP is calling on local grassroots organisations to consider applying for new grant funding opportunities from Asda’s charity, the Asda Foundation. The Asda Foundation has announced up to £500,000 of funding to help transform and improve community spaces across the UK. Grants awarded will be worth between £500 and £3,000 and are aimed at [...]
Martin Whitfield MSP has warned the Scottish Government is presiding over “a decade of decline” of childminding in Scotland as new figures show numbers halving. The number of childminders in Scotland has plummeted by 49 per cent between 2012 and 2023 – a drop of more than 3,000. This figure has fallen for seven consecutive [...]
Martin Whitfield MSP has warned that people in East Lothian and other parts of South Scotland are being “priced out” of the housing market as one in four Scots say they cannot afford to move. The most recent Scottish Household Survey has revealed a sharp rise in the proportion of Scots unable to move to [...]
Martin Whitfield MSP has called the failure to extend rates relief to retail businesses a “hammer blow” to high streets, as new figures reveal that the number of employees in the retail industry in Scotland has hit a 15-year low. Between 2023 and 2024 alone, more than 10,000 jobs were lost from the industry – [...]
My office closes this afternoon (Friday 20th December) for Christmas and the New Year and will re-open on Monday 6th January. I wish everyone in the South Scotland region a Merry Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year. If you require help with a local emergency or need to access a local service over [...]
2024 will be remembered as the year the public voted for a change of direction. That change has now begun, and we have already started to see the benefits of electing a new government for the UK. However, we are now only just over a year away from another election, for the Scottish Parliament, which [...]
Martin Whitfield MSP has visited the Dirleton Solar Walk project, a scale model of the Solar System developed in partnership with Dirleton Primary School, to find out more about the unique initiative and the benefits it offers to local pupils and the whole community and help mark its official opening. The South Scotland MSP was [...]
