Speeches

I believe the most important part of job as an MP is to make sure the government does things, which makes life better for the people I represent. I have not agreed with a number of government policies but overall I believe much has been done to improve the lives of local people.

14,980 pensioners are able to benefit from warmer homes through the £200 winter fuel allowance.

More encouragement also comes from recent figures, which show that 5,490 pensioners in our constituency are receiving Pension Credit. This means that no pensioner need live on less that £109 a week.

6,327 people aged over 75 are entitled to get a free TV licence in Linlithgow and East Falkirk and 27,152 people aged over 60 are entitled to free eye tests.

13,110 families in Linlithgow and East Falkirk area have benefited from a record increase in Child Benefit. That means 21,900 children in our area.

There is around 8,880 families in Linlithgow and East Falkirk benefiting from record increases in Child benefit and/or Child Tax Credit. Working Tax Credit provides childcare costs of up to £140 a week per child or £240 a week for two or more children and helped thousands of families across the constituency.

Unemployment is down by 31% in East Falkirk since 1997 - the lowest for 25 years. Employment in East Falkirk is 81.7% - this is above the national average of 79.1% In West Lothian employment is 80.7% reflecting the UK’s record of the highest employment in the G7.

I will press to do more and better.