Speaking in the Scottish Parliament last week, Emma Roddick MSP highlighted the work of third sector organisations in providing support to vulnerable people across the Highlands and Islands over the course of the pandemic. Noting in particular the efforts of the Highland Third Sector Interface (HTSI) in supporting charities across the region and signposting people [...]

SNP MSP Emma Roddick today slammed the UK Government budget, criticising it as “an act of class warfare on the side of the rich.” The budget, described by the head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies as “actually awful” for living standards, was panned by the Highlands and Islands MSP, citing its failures to tackle [...]

Emma Roddick, MSP for the Highlands and Islands has stated that organisations “could learn a lot” from Anchor - Shetland Islands Council’s pioneering family support service. Roddick met yesterday with the organisation which provides support to families facing difficult situations, helping them to navigate their struggles before reaching crisis point by providing advice, food packages [...]

Emma Roddick, MSP for the Highlands and Islands, has stated she is “delighted” to see the bill to double this winter’s Carer’s Allowance Supplement payment passed on Thursday the 7th of October after a session of intense debate.  Speaking following the vote, Roddick said: “I’m delighted to see that unpaid carers will be getting an [...]

The SNP MSP for the Highlands and Islands challenged the UK Government in a Scottish Parliament debate today, describing plans to end the £20 Universal Credit uplift as “as ridiculous as it is morally reprehensible.” The Universal Credit uplift was introduced six months ago in response to rising household bills and formed a vital lifeline [...]

In the September 2021 edition of my monthly HNM column, I discuss returning to Holyrood after a busy recess and how I fit in local visits while travelling to Edinburgh weekly - this month, in Nairn during the Book and Arts Festival. You can read the column in full on the Inverness Courier website, here.

Highlands and Islands MSP Emma Roddick has expressed concerns over the number of successful disability appeals following declined applications. Roddick said: “It worries me that three in five appeals for disability benefits were successful after initially being declined by the DWP, with Personal Independence Payment being the worst hit. “Many disabled people do not have [...]

Emma Roddick MSP is marking Challenge Poverty Week 2021, which is taking place between 4th – 10th October, by holding three surgeries around the Moray Firth area during the event. The first two will be held on Friday 8th, with Emma stationed in Nairn Community Centre from 09:30 – 11:30 and then Merkinch Community Centre [...]

In the Stage 1 debate on the Carer's Allowance Supplement (Scotland) Bill, which aims to double the winter payment of CAS this year, Emma Roddick highlighted the importance of giving money straight to carers to help them weather a perfect storm of Universal Credit cuts, the end of furlough, and rising fuel prices. Speaking in [...]

Highlands and Islands MSP Emma Roddick spoke in Parliament yesterday in support of the Scottish Government’s commitment to preventing homelessness. Roddick stated: “I am heartened by the Scottish Government’s commitment to preventing homelessness. Homelessness shouldn’t simply be a fact of life in twenty-first century Scotland. “Homelessness is a symptom of many things and is inextricably linked [...]