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Donald MacKinnon MSP and I are calling for the £300 heating oil grant to be doubled to £600 and the scheme expanded to cover more island households. I have demanded that the Scottish Government look again at the scheme after it emerged that two-thirds of applicants from the islands have been refused support. According to Scottish Government figures only 138 applicants from the Western Isles who are in receipt of pension credit or income support have received £300 to help wi

I welcome the announcement by the Department for Transport that it is abandoning plans to remove financial remuneration for Coastguard Rescue Officers (CROs). This is a victory for the dedicated volunteers who keep our coastal communities safe. I have been a consistent and vocal opponent of the proposed changes, arguing that removing remuneration would have undermined recruitment and retention, devalued the commitment of volunteer CROs, and risked weakening the resilience o

I have called for a change in the Scottish Emergency Heating oil scheme after it emerged that only 10 per cent of the £10 million fund has been disbursed. I raised this issue in the House of Commons as it is necessary to change the rules of the scheme to make more people eligible for support. The £300 per-household payment was introduced by the UK Government in March after the US strikes against Iran led to a spike in heating oil prices for consumers. The Scottish Government