Dave Thompson MSP

I recently took part in a debate in the Parliament on the A9 speed camera scheme and I am thankful that the recent evidence is pointing towards the scheme being successful.

It is gratifying to have been part of the campaign to bring average speed cameras to the A9 in order to reduce accidents and save lives.

I long remember, as far back as the 1960s, when I first passed my driving test, avoiding many head on collisions as folk travelled at ridiculous speeds, endangering the lives of themselves and those who were obeying the speed limit too.

Now we have sufficient evidence to show us that the scheme has been successful and I hope that the level of accidents will remain lower than was the case before the speed cameras were introduced.

It is fantastic news for the Highlands that the £150 million fleet of Caledonian sleeper trains, will be arriving in 2018, which will provide a huge boost to the Highland tourist experience.

The plans will bring luxury to our rail line like we have never seen before and with fantastic catering on offer, it will showcase the best of food and drink that Scotland has to offer.

I used a Rural Affairs Climate Change and Environment Committee (RACCE) meeting to propose to the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Food and the Environment, Richard Lochhead that dairy breaks for primary school kids should be introduced in Scotland and I have since written to the big supermarket retailers to ask for a financial contribution to the proposal.

This initiative, whilst fortifying a child’s body and mind, would help the dairy sector too, which is vital to Scotland’s farming and food industry.

It is encouraging that the Minister for Health and Wellbeing supports the provision of milk in schools as part of a children’s diet and I was encouraged to see that this has been included in the Dairy Action Plan, which was debated in Parliament on 31 March.

The Action Plan aims to improve the resilience of the Scottish dairy sector and provide the right platform to ensure the entire sector can thrive in the context of volatile market prices.

The plan could not come at a better time, as we celebrate Scotland’s year of food and drink and I wish it every success.

Of course, on whether the school offers a milk scheme, the decisions rest with Local Authorities to consider how best to use their financial package to meet the needs and circumstances of their local area.

For this reason some Local Authorities choose to offer a school milk scheme in their schools and others do not. Highland council currently do not take up the subsidy, therefore I will be contacting the council again as part of my milk campaign to encourage them to do so.

I used recent RACCE meetings in the Parliament to raise the issue of getting youngsters interested in gardening and horticulture at an early age and to appropriate funding for charitable organisations.

There are numerous examples in our communities of the fantastic work being completed by volunteers so children can experience gardening and horticulture when they otherwise might not. However, the trouble is that despite our best efforts, the charitable organisation struggles to get funding.

There is money available under SRDP, maybe not as much as some might like, but I would like to see some of that cash diverted down to Charitable Organisations and schools to encourage children to grow and it is something I will continue to campaign for.

I recently attended the launch of Drew Hendry’s campaign to become the Westminster MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey. The event held in Kincraig was a resounding success. Drew will make an excellent MP and I wish him all the best in the run up to elections.

Various recent polls show that the SNP are maintaining their momentum towards victory in the Highlands and Scotland. I am confident with the hard work of our increasing activists we will convince folk that the SNP is the best party to look after Scotland’s interests at Westminster and offer alternatives to the austerity max program tabled by the UK Parties.

However, as fantastic as the polls are, they are just polls.  As someone who has encountered many elections, tasting both victory and defeat, I know full well that the only poll that counts is the one on May 7.