THANKS to all the public sector workers who fought through the blizzards the other week to keep roads clear and vital services running through the worst weather I can remember in Clackmannanshire since ‘that’ winter of 2010.

At Holyrood the snow cleared away parliamentary business leaving a debate on a bill which could stop the Brexit power grab by Westminster and allow Holyrood to protect EU laws.

The Continuity Bill is needed because of the utter failure of the UK Government to engage with the Welsh and Scottish Governments over how to share responsibilities post-Brexit.

As the Bill is emergency legislation the opportunities for getting it right will be tight, just three weeks. I’ll be focussing on making sure that hard won European social and environmental protections are not lost.

It’s clear that the costs to our economy of Brexit will be enormous and there will be pressure to strike trade deals around the world which weaken these protections. That’s a real worry, the last thing we want is a race to the bottom in standards in an effort to strike a deal with Donald Trump. I’m not a fan of chlorinated chicken and don’t want US corporations running our public services.

Westminster’s Trade Bill could lead to dodgy deals being cooked up behind closed doors with next-to-no scrutiny, with corporate lobbyists being able to influence these deals from the shadows.

Increasing trade in goods and services should be a positive thing that creates opportunities to grow economies and tackle disadvantage globally, but too often trade deals weaken protections and allow corporations to take over public services that are then no longer delivered in the public interest.

I was successful in winning the support of the Scottish Parliament for the Principles for Trade Justice backed by organisations from the STUC to Friends of the Earth. It sets out how trade deals must be democratic, act in the public interest and do good. A strong starting point for how we test Westminster’s proposals.

One type of trade which is worrying is the live export of animals for slaughter abroad. There is strong evidence that unwanted male dairy calves are still being shipped in their thousands to the Republic of Ireland then onwards to Spain for slaughter – a horrific journey which could last as long as 135 hours.

For once the Westminster Government is doing the right thing and supporting moves to ban live exports. I agree, but am disappointed the Scottish Government is trying to block any move that could "disadvantage" Scottish farmers. I say put welfare first.

I’m pleased that many of the damaging cuts proposals at Clacks Council were reversed as part of the £1.5million extra funding secured by the Greens in the budget. Despite this Clacks Council will still face some budget cuts and we must work to ensure that those who are vulnerable still receive the help they need while working to give the council more powers to raise the revenue it needs locally.

You can drop into my Stirling office at 67a King Street (old Xmas shop) most Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, email me on mark.ruskell.msp@parliament.scot or phone on 01786 448203.