MSP for the Highlands and Islands region Emma Roddick today visited Highland BlindCraft in Inverness, a social enterprise providing employment and training opportunities for disabled people. Ms Roddick’s visit focused on the crucial role organisations like Highland BlindCraft play in tackling social isolation and poverty within the Highlands, filling gaps in provision while sustaining a [...]

Highlands & Islands MSP Emma Roddick has said that Scotland’s poverty-related attainment gap cannot be tackled by schools alone, claiming that UK Government welfare policy is hindering Scotland’s progress. Speaking in the Scottish Parliament, Ms Roddick pressed the Scottish Government on the measures being implemented to tackle the drivers of poverty. The Cabinet Secretary for [...]

Emma speaking in Parliament in the Programme for Government (Cost of Living) SNP MSP for the Highlands & Islands Emma Roddick has spoken out in the Scottish Parliament on the differences in the approach being shown by the UK and Scottish Governments in tackling the cost-of-living crisis.  Speaking in a debate on the issue, Roddick [...]

As the Tory Cost of Living Crisis is having devastating consequences across the Highlands and Islands, Emma Roddick MSP put out a cost-of-living survey to better understand how this is affecting constituents. Results from the survey highlighted significant worry and anxiety about rising costs amongst those in the region, with 93% of respondents saying they [...]

SNP MSP Roddick has stated the importance of introducing a minimum income guarantee in Scotland, which would ensure nobody would fall under a set income level. Asking the Scottish Government to provide an update on the work of the Minimum Income Guarantee Steering Group, Roddick stated: “My region has some of the highest poverty levels [...]

Emma Roddick has today highlighted the need to find balance in achieving net-zero whilst also not pushing island communities further into fuel poverty.  The Highlands and Islands MSP expressed her support for Scottish Government plans to achieve carbon-neutral status in the Isles whilst also sharing concerns on how this could be achieved fairly. Commenting she [...]

“It’s impossible to leave politics at the door on this" Social Justice and Social Security Committee member Emma Roddick MSP has condemned what she described as the UK Government’s hamstringing of the Scottish Government’s efforts to end child poverty in Scotland. The Highlands and Islands MSP pressed witnesses on the difficulties of a hybrid social [...]

Speaking in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday [31ST MARCH], Highlands and Islands MSP Emma Roddick backed the call by a cross-party group of MSPs on the UK Government’s Department of Work and Pensions to share anonymised data on benefits sanctions with a team of University of Glasgow-based researchers. Roddick, who herself has experience of living [...]

Emma Roddick MSP for the Highlands and Islands has welcomed the news from that social security payments issued by the Scottish Government will increase by 6% on April 1st. Subject to parliamentary approval, the Job Start Payment, Young Carer’s Grant, Funeral Support, Best Start Grant and Carer’s Allowance Supplement will increase by 6%. Families in [...]

Highlands and Islands MSP Emma Roddick has criticised the UK Government’s spend on Discretionary Housing Payments, highlighting that the total spend in England and Wales is only slightly more than what is spent in Scotland, where it is estimated over £71 million is being spent annually to mitigate the Tories’ Bedroom Tax. The SNP MSP [...]