AT surgeries, visits and events around Moray I am often asked what support is available for different community organisations.

I WAS saddened this week to hear of the death of long-time Trade Unionist and workers rights campaigner Jimmy Reid.

THE scale of the budget cuts facing Scotland are beginning to become apparent to many public sector bodies and our communities.

THE issue of the week in Westminster has, once again, been the budget.

WITH summer recess rapidly approaching, I am looking forward to getting out and about meeting people in and around Moray.

THIS week's emergency budget by the UK coalition has painted a stark economic landscape for years to come.

I HAD the great pleasure last weekend in joining many local people and guests at the Buckie Drifter to mark Buckie RNLI's 150th anniversary.

ONE of the first big issues coming to the fore in Westminster is one that is being debated and legislated on in the Scottish Parliament.

ANOTHER week and more noteworthy developments south of the border as the new UK Conservative/Lib Dem coalition government announced its policy programme, preceded earlier in the week by the announcement of billions of pounds of cuts which will, in turn, hit the Scottish Government's budget.

JUST when we thought winter had left in favour of some warmer spring sunshine, we find a sting in the tail worthy of any scorpion.

I AM delighted at the news that the Forres Adopt-a-Street project will be rolled out across Moray later in the year.

THE science festival hosted by Moray College was a huge hit last week.

ALL political parties are now putting arrangements in place for a General Election.

I WAS delighted to meet with RAF personnel who were visiting the Scottish Parliament this week to mark the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

IT has long been a feature of Moray politics that, when faced with tough issues, politicians pull together and get the job done, and that was certainly the way with the recent council budget negotiations.

MORE people will be able to generate their own green energy under new Scottish Government proposals.

THE long-awaited Fochabers Bypass this week had the first shovel of earth dug by Scottish Government Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson.

SCOTLAND'S first ever Marine Bill reaches its final stage in the Scottish Parliament next week, when MSPs will have one final opportunity to table amendments.

LAST Friday I hosted a public meeting in Garmouth along with my colleague Richard Lochhead MSP.

LIKE people all across Moray and, indeed, well beyond, I have been shocked by the prolonged and extreme winter weather we are currently facing.

2009 WAS an eventful year for Moray, with the usual mix of good news in some areas but challenges in others.

CHRISTMAS is now upon us, with the shopping, card-writing, decorations and preparations pretty much complete.

CONCERN has been growing over Moray Council's proposals to slash the education budget, given the potential impact on local children and their teachers.

ONCE again we have seen the devastating effects of flooding in Moray.

THE Scottish Government has announced an exciting new initiative to work with Scotland's visitor attractions to help transform them into showcases for the best of Scottish food and drink.

THE seasonal flu vaccination campaign was launched this week by my colleague, Nicola Sturgeon.

WE are now right in the middle of conference season. This run is the last set of major political party conferences before the Westminster elections.

MORAY is again trying to clean up following devastating flooding, for the third time in recent years.

SEPTEMBER 1 saw the official start of major changes to Scotland's licensing laws.

THE eyes of the world have been on Scotland these past few days and I found myself back in Edinburgh earlier than expected after Parliament was recalled to allow MSPs to question Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill following his decision to release the man convicted of the Lockerbie atrocity.

WHILE I have been travelling around on this year's summer surgery tour, one theme that has emerged is road safety, with the issue being raised in relation to both Tomnavulin and Rafford.

I POPPED out to the local shops in Elgin with my son a couple of weeks ago, and by the time we had returned home he had played rugby, football and been inside a fire engine!

I WAS delighted to announce mid-week the success of the sea angling sector. This is an extremely important industry in Moray and across Scotland.

THE campaign to save Diageo whisky jobs in Kilmarnock and Glasgow continues to gather pace and with the strong connection to the industry in Moray I would urge people here to add their support to the campaign.

THIS week has seen the much reported election of a new Speaker to the House of Commons.

A BIG thank-you to the army of volunteers at Keith and Dufftown Railway who looked after me last Sunday and gave me a taste of volunteering.

IT IS hard to describe the atmosphere in Westminster, given the speed of events from resignations to a cabinet re-shuffle, Sunday's election results and the Prime Minister's stormy meeting with Labour backbenchers on Monday night.

I THOROUGHLY enjoyed listening to Moray's budding musicians at the Feis Mhoireibh which took place at Miltonduff last weekend.

THE last weeks have made the case clearly for new elections. We are enduring an unprecedented Westminster expenses scandal, the worst economic crisis in living memory and a rudderless UK government. The public has quite rightly had enough.

WELL done to Portknockie for a very successful and enjoyable Homecoming Burns Supper last weekend. It's not often I get the opportunity to deliver the Immortal Memory in the middle of May!

THIS WEEK marked the 10th anniversary of the first elections to the Scottish Parliament.

IN the aftermath of the Budget, my SNP colleagues and I have been repeating calls for the Government to scrap the expensive and unnecessary ID Cards scheme, which is projected to cost more than £5 billion, and the plans for a new 'Son of Trident' weapons system, with a projected lifetime cost approaching a staggering £100 billion.

THE British Medical Association published a report highlighting the worrying alcohol- related death statistics and showing that in 2007 there were 34 in Moray.

THE North Sea has this week been the scene of a desperate tragedy, and my thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who have been lost.

I WAS in Brussels this week representing the Scottish Government in European negotiations over plans to introduce electronic and individual sheep tagging.

WELL, this week the winner is apparently TNT, who have been awarded a multi-million pound contract by HM Revenue and Customs to handle the government agency's internal mail.

ONE of the issues of the day in Westminster is Lord Mandelson's plans to part-privatise Royal Mail.

I WAS delighted when Speyside farmer Jo Durno was awarded the prestigious John Miskelly Award for outstanding work on behalf of National Farmers Union Scotland members.

IT hardly seems like anytime at all since the last elections in Moray, but with the Euro ballots approaching in less than four months campaigning is really beginning to get going again after a bit of a winter break.

I RECENTLY visited new affordable housing developments being taken forward by the Moray Housing Partnership in Lossiemouth and Burghead.

LAST weekend heralded the arrival of the year of Homecoming in style, with Burns Suppers galore.

FOLLOWING THREE weeks of intense fighting in the Gaza Strip, Israeli and Hamas forces have reached a tentative ceasefire, allowing much-needed medical supplies, food and fuel to reach the million and a half population who have suffered terribly in the conflict.

FOR MANY of us it has been a ­fairly enjoyable New Year. However, the events unfolding in Gaza have brought ­misery and death to many hundreds of innocent civilians, bringing deeply distressing scenes on news reports.

THIS is the time when we can reflect on the past 12 months and look ahead to the coming year.

WRITING this the day before Christmas, we can look forward to full bellies, the occasional tender head and a whole lot of children playing with new toys.

A BIG THANK you to everyone who attended Monday’s lecture on space travel by Virgin Galactic president Will Whitehorn, who I invited to Moray to outline Virgin’s vision and plans for the future – plans that could have a major impact on Moray’s economy.

I WAS delighted to learn the great news that people in Moray got behind Moray Art Centre and Lossiemouth Heritage Association to vote for them to receive massive grants from the People's Millions Big Lottery Fund.

THE big news in parliament this week has been the Chancellor's pre-budget statement outlining the Westminster Government's taxation proposals.

IT seems that many people are unaware of the ability of those who need a regular supply of medication to pre-pay for prescriptions.

IN THE run-up to Remembrance Sunday, it is important for all those servicemen and women who may be reading this column, or who have been following defence debates in the House of Commons and elsewhere, that they understand that our support for them is not dependent on our support of Government policy or on the constitutional arrangements within the UK.

IT is good news, as revealed by 'The Northern Scot', that a number of brand names are considering moving into local retails parks in Elgin.

FOR me, last week was dominated by the SNP conference in Perth.

THE Scottish Government's Alcohol Awareness Week has reached its conclusion and as many of us think about going for a few drinks this weekend I would encourage people in Moray to take up the seven Alcohol Awareness challenges.

LAST Friday I had great pleasure to attend the annual UHI Lecture and awards. Hosted each year by different colleges in the UHI network, it was the turn of Moray College for the first time.

THE merger between Lloyds TSB and HBOS has left a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the future of bank jobs in Moray and throughout Scotland.

THIS week's news has been a financial whirlwind. At first, developments looked distant with turbulence in New York, London, Frankfurt, and the other great markets.

SECOND year girls in Moray schools are eligible for a free vaccination to combat cervical cancer.

ONE of the big stories of the week has been the announcement that hospital parking charges are to be abolished from the end of the year.

LAST Friday I was delighted to speak at the Elgin-Landshut Twinning Association dinner to welcome visitors from Lower Bavaria.

SINCE MY last column, it has been difficult to avoid the subject of sport, between the Olympics and the start of the new football season, which will be causing delight and anguish, depending on which team you follow.

AS Moray schools prepare to return on Tuesday following a not too wet summer holiday, even allowing for recent weeks, I would like to encourage primary and secondary schools in Moray to consider a trip to the Scottish Parliament.

IN The Hague, the war crimes trial of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has begun, and while this can seem a long way from Moray, it is important to remember what happened in Bosnia in the early 1990s and the very serious charges that have been laid in the court, including torture and genocide.

THIS week Post Office Ltd has confirmed the closure of four post offices in Moray and the downgrading of the service at Rothiemay to an outreach service.

ONCE again, rural areas are suffering at the hands of "Government cutbacks" with the threatened closure of Forres Jobcentre and the Revenues and Customs Offices in Buckie and Elgin.

ONE of the most pressing issues facing Moray is the rising and crippling cost of fuel: not only fuel at the petrol pump but to heat homes in our rural areas – a dimension often forgotten about by the UK Government.

I DON'T know if you have also felt that we are not very good in this country at publicly appreciating success and acknowledging public service?

LAST Friday I had the pleasure of being keynote speaker at the Moray Carers Information Fair in Elgin.

PARLIAMENT this week has seen the debate about detention of terror suspects, with the Government proposing an extension of the detention without charge period to 42 days.

IN the last year I have had the pleasure of meeting many constituents in the Scottish Parliament, not necessarily to talk about specific issues but simply because they wanted to see what the Parliament is like, be shown around and maybe take in a debate in the chamber.

THE major news story affecting Moray in the last few weeks has been the Inquiry into the Nimrod crash in Afghanistan in which 14 men lost their lives.

THE Burmese cyclone disaster is one of the most distressing international events that I have ever seen.

FIRST of all, thanks to all those who have sent their congratulations following the birth of our new son, Fraser, last week.

FOR the lowest paid workers in Moray and across the country the furore over the 10p tax band continues, with ever growing resentment at the London Government's decision to scrap it.

I WAS delighted to be involved in the presentation of the recent Social Enterprise Awards in Moray in recognition of the fantastic work that they do.

RECENTLY, the SNP Scottish Government has outlined proposals to have to five-year terms for Local government elections in order to have council elections separated from the Scottish Parliament elections by two years.

NEXT week marks the start of the new tax year and the point at which a lot of the Scottish Government's work of the last 10 months comes to fruition.

LAST week saw the Chancellor instigating a smash and grab raid on the whisky industry, with taxes on whisky being ramped up to ridiculous levels.

I AM delighted that two vital projects designed to help vulnerable young people in Moray are to benefit to the tune of hundreds of thousands of pounds in major lottery grants.

ONE of the biggest issues in recent years has been debated at length in recent weeks, with a key vote that took place on Wednesday.

IT has been a busy couple of weeks in Moray on flooding issues. Last week we had the visit of the Scottish Parliament's Rural Affairs and Environment Committee to Elgin to hear evidence from flood alleviation professionals and householders and businesses who have been hit by flooding in recent years.

IN a further development this week on the long-running military equipment issue, a coroner in England has heavily criticised the MoD, saying they breached soldiers' trust by sending them to Afghanistan without basic equipment.

MORAY RESIDENTS can breathe a sigh of relief that their Council Tax bill is at least one bill that won't be going up this year.

THIS WEEK has seen the spectacle of so-called 'Super Tuesday' in the United States presidential race.

I HAVE BEEN struck by the food revolution that is taking place the length and breadth of Scotland, especially in Moray, and I had the opportunity this week of meeting with the Highlands and Islands Food and Drink Forum on this passionate subject.

AN ISSUE of particular concern that has arisen this week has been the revelation that a senior government adviser holds the view that Scotland is "narrow, Presbyterian and racist".

I WAS delighted to hear Moray Council's announcement that they will be able to support the SNP's Council Tax freeze, as we promised back in the May elections.

IT'S CERTAINLY been a busy 2007, not least because of the formation of the first SNP Scottish Government and the challenges that has presented to everyone in the party.

THERE has been another major data loss announced this week by the Westminster Government, which is a matter of great concern.

MUCH HAS been made in recent days of the failure of the Westminster Government to implement in full the pay settlement negotiated with the police, while in Scotland the same pay settlement has been agreed by the Scottish Government and backdated to the beginning of September.

THE NEWS that Moray Council has reached a unanimous decision on finally taking forward plans for new schools is not before time.

TODAY MARKS Scotland's national day, and I am delighted that one of the SNP Government's early commitments was to increase the profile of St Andrew's Day and make it a celebration of Scotland's culture, people and products.

ON A RATHER worrying note, it has been reported this week that HM Revenue and Customs has lost disks containing the details of 25 million child benefit recipients, including names and addresses, dates of birth and bank accounts.

DURING the week, I was guest speaker at Moray Entrepreneurs. It was hugely encouraging to meet so many talented and ambitious business people who have had the courage to take a risk and start up their own businesses.

It's been a busy week in Westminster and with plenty of controversy, not least of which was the meeting between DEFRA Minister Hilary Benn and Scottish farmers who were in London to press their case for compensation.

LAST Sunday I travelled to the fishing village of Eyemouth in the Borders where I had been asked to unveil memorial sculptures to the Eymouth Fishing Disaster of 1881.

IT seems that following a bout of bad polls the Prime Minister has now received an innoculation for the dreaded "election fever" which he appeared to be suffering in recent weeks.

THE COVERAGE of this week’s Labour Conference has certainly been the major political story of the week, although I’m not sure how far that interest extends in Moray’s households!

THE Scottish Government has announced a review of the guidance governing hospital car parking charges.

THIS week has seen the return of the RAF Regiment service personnel who were stationed in Afghanistan, sadly missing their colleague SAC Christopher Bridge, who died in an explosion while on patrol in Kandahar.

I HAD the pleasure this week of being at the opening of the Glenlivet Smugglers Trails that promotes three of Moray's greatest assets, whisky, walking facilities and beautiful scenery.

ONE OF the most distasteful issues I have to deal with as Environment and Rural Affairs Secretary is wildlife crime.

CONSUMER scams are rarely out of the news these days. However, a recent article drew my eye to a particular problem.

I WELCOME THE coverage that "The Northern Scot" is giving to the crucial issue of road safety. It is an issue that I have taken up both in parliament and with agencies such as Grampian Police.

AFTER a very eventful few months, Parliament has now gone into summer recess, giving me some very welcome extra time in Moray, not least to spend time with my long-suffering family!

UNFORTUNATELY, BUT not unexpectedly, I find myself having to open my remarks with a comment on the aftermath of a terror attack on Scottish soil.

THIS WEEK a report published by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) revealed that Scotland is not the best wee country in the world, as previous First Minister Jack McConnell used to claim.

A REPORT out this week by the National Dental Inspection Programme has shown that just under half of five-year-olds in Grampian have signs of tooth decay.

THE ELECTION of Scotland's first minority government is not only historic but will hopefully herald a new political era.

THIS WEEK I took part in a national hustings event in Edinburgh, organised by a wide range of organisations representing rural interests.

IT'S CERTAINLY been a mixed bag of issues in the last couple of weeks, the big issue at Westminster being the Trident debate and, at the time of writing, the possibility of a major backbench rebellion against the Prime Minister's proposals.

IN RECENT weeks it seems that there is one worrying announcement after another from the Ministry of Defence.

LAST week, after a study involving 2,500 scientists, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that global climate change is "very likely" to have a human cause.

THIS WEEK saw the moving remembrance service at RAF Kinloss, where over 2,000 gathered to pay their respects to the 14 brave airmen who gave their lives in Afghanistan.

RECENT SHOCKING figures obtained by the SNP under Freedom of Information from the Scottish Ambulance Service show that there is an increasing trend in assaults on ambulance staff.

IN 1707 A group of nobles put their signatures to the Treaty of Union.

MY CASEWORK is dominated by housing issues, given the chronic lack of housing in Moray and the number of local families struggling to acquire a permanent roof over their heads.

HOGMANAY AND New Year have traditionally been about making a fresh start, saying goodbye to the previous year, whether it was good or bad, and looking forward to the future.

MANY OF our rural sub-post offices in Moray will spend 2007 battling for survival following the UK Government's statement recently announcing a massive closure programme.

THE LAST couple of weeks have seen the release of the annual GERS report by the Scottish Executive, GERS meaning "Government Expenditure and Revenue Statistics".

NOW WE are in the middle of winter, it is likely the demand for beds in our local hospitals will increase.

THIS WEEK has seen the announcement by the Prime Minister of plans to replace Trident with a new generation of nuclear weapons that will continue to be based on the Clyde.

THIS week has seen FirstScotrail announce inflation busting price rises on rail fares in Moray and across Scotland.

THIS WEEK I had the opportunity to visit Norway with my SNP colleague and party leader Alex Salmond MP.

HARD-PRESSED customers will be aghast to learn that ScottishPower have announced a massive rise of 77% in their half year profits.

LAST week the SNP in Westminster, along with our Plaid Cymru colleagues, used our allocated time in Parliament to give MPs an opportunity for an overdue debate on the Government's actions in relation to Iraq.

THERE HAS been much publicity surrounding the decision to implement Anti-Social Behaviour Orders on unruly individuals causing havoc in Forres town centre.

THE SNP Annual Conference in Perth last week was a resounding success, with even the seasoned media hacks now accepting that the Party is the hot favourite to win next year's Scottish elections.

THE summer recess has come to an abrupt end and Parliament is back in session.

THIS week the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) produced a 10-year report on the state of the Scottish environment, and the diagnosis is not good.

A FRIEND finally persuaded me to fulfil a long-held ambition to go on a cycling holiday.

A FEW weeks ago I visited the street where my granny used to live. At the spot where her house once stood there are some retirement flats. Only the surviving neighbouring buildings give a sense of what her home looked like before it was flattened by bombs in 1943.

READERS MAY recall the news that a variety of formerly secret papers were released showing civil servants in the 1970s concluding that Scotland’s economy “would tend to be in chronic surplus to a quite embarrassing degree”.

IN THE LAST fortnight there has been almost daily news about flights from the US taking bombs to Israel and stopping for refuelling at Prestwick.

THIS WEEK saw the release of the National Dental Inspection Programme report of Primary 7 children for 2005 which was produced by the Scottish Dental Epidemiological Co-ordinating Committee as a result of collaborative work between all Scottish NHS Boards, Scottish Local Authorities and the Dental Health Services Research Unit in Dundee.

I AM SURE that everyone will have seen the news of the growing conflict between Israel and The Lebanon.

AT LONG last the UK energy review was unveiled this week and told us exactly what Blair had decided long ago – that we need new nuclear power stations.

SOMETIMES some very unexpected things come up, and this week it was more something that can 'go up'!

TOM McCabe, the Finance Minister in Scotland’s Labour-Lib Dem coalition government, shocked MSPs this week by announcing that he had conjured up an extra £800m pot of cash that – surprise, surprise – is available to be spent or pledged in the run-up to next year’s Scottish elections.

IF SOME media reports are to be believed, then faith groups are on the way out. Apparently there is little respect for the churches and the pews are emptying. However, my recent impressions as a member of parliament are that the opposite is the case.