Dave Thompson MSP

As Strathy readers will be aware I have been campaigning for more “rapid” charge points in the Highlands to make charging electric motor-vehicles as efficient and convenient for drivers as possible.

In doing so, I hope this will provide a positive contribution to climate change as well by helping to minimise our carbon footprint.

Therefore, I am delighted that I will be hosting a debate in the Parliament on March 10 on the merits of electric car travel and that some members of The Electric Vehicle Association Scotland (EVAS), which now has a membership of 350 in Scotland (up 100% in the past 12 months), are hoping to get along on the day.

I welcome the news that payments under the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (LFASS) will be made by the end of March.

The Scottish Government will provide cash support within weeks to almost 11,500 farming businesses in Scotland’s most remote and rural areas whilst basic payments are being processed.

This important and valuable announcement will ease the concerns of the crofting and hill farming community.

To avoid delays the Scottish Government is raising funds to ensure the vast majority of claimants will receive their cash as they normally do in March.

The Scottish Government’s resolve to fix the recent payment problems is reassuring to me and I hope illustrates to the agricultural community that the Cabinet Secretary, Richard Lochhead, places great value in those who farm our remotest rural areas.

I was happy to attend the Scottish Sports Alliance exhibition in the Scottish Parliament, as I have been a long-time advocate on the wider benefits of sport.

These benefits are wide ranging, including improved mental and physical health for the young and old, increased educational ability and attention span of school aged children, a more alert work force, an improved economy, and of course, there are social benefits too, such as community cohesion.

I recently showed my support for Kidney Cancer Scotland and Melanoma UK for their work in advancing the cause of cancer treatment and signed the pledge in the Scottish Parliament to support cancer patients.

This was important for me to take the pledge in support cancer patients, as I support new and exciting advances in the treatment of cancer which offer patients the prospect of improved long-term survival from cancer across a range of tumour types.

This article is written with a tinge of sadness, as it will be my last Strathy contribution before I stand down as an MSP. However, that sadness is tempered by the hope I have in my potential successor, Kate Forbes, who will be a fantastic MSP if she is elected in May.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone at the Strathy for providing consistent and accurate articles for us all to read and for accepting all my articles over the years. I wish the newspaper and everyone involved all the best very best in the future.