IN THE past few weeks we have seen some extremely heavy snowfall in Clackmannanshire and across Ochil and South Perthshire.

I wanted take this opportunity to thank the emergency services, farmers and anyone else who helped neighbours, friends, colleagues and strangers during the storm.

Despite of the Beast from the East, Clackmannanshire Council officials still ran the Clacks North By-election to ensure local democracy was not disrupted, which was no mean feat in the weather! I want to congratulate Cllr Lewis on her election.

Last week, Clackmannanshire Council passed its long-awaited budget. It was disappointing to see the extra funding Conservative colleagues and I secured at Westminster (£479m next year alone) has not been passed on to our county. As a result, we are facing stinging cuts to our front line services.

My colleagues on the council have been trying to work with the SNP administration to reduce the impacts of the cuts, but we are still seeing reductions in bus, education and leisure services. It is for these reasons Conservatives on the council were unable to support the SNP budget.

It is time the SNP took responsibility for what they have done to Scotland and the Wee County. After over 10 years in Holyrood, Scotland still has the lowest life expectancy in the UK, educational performance is dropping and local councils are facing cuts.

The new tax increases mean that teachers, nurses and soldiers will pay more tax, while the lowest income receive, at best, 38p extra a week.

In addition, Scotland’s business confidence has been trending below that of the rest of the UK and forecast growth is under 1 per cent for the next three years – lower than the UK average and the lowest of all the nations in the G20, OECD and EU.

I don’t say any of the above to “do down” our constituency or Scotland as a whole, I state the facts because the best way to tackle a problem is to first realise you have one.

I will continue to work to get more money and jobs to the county and am happy to work with anyone, of any party who will work with me.

The forthcoming Stirling & Clackmannanshire City Deal is now starting to take shape, with the Chancellor of the Exchequer stating his commitment by naming Clackmannanshire in the House of Commons during the Spring Statement.

This was the first time that a Chancellor ever spoke about Clackmannanshire in a Spring Statement in the House of Commons, and although there is an argument that this is a pretty poor score, the fact that he is now is reflective of the work my Conservative colleagues and I are doing to raise the profile of our constituencies and put Scotland at the heart of Government.

I have lobbied hard for Clackmannanshire to be considered for investment and I remain hopeful that we will see significant funding coming to Clackmannanshire from the UK Government. Investments will be focused on generating economic activity, creating sustainable jobs and skills for our county.

In the last week in Parliament I voted for an additional £1.5bn for Universal Credit. This additional funding is supporting those most in need, changing policies after the debates in the autumn, allowing advances to paid on the next day, boosting housing allowance and providing more financial support to claimants.

Finally, I really enjoyed running the Alloa half-marathon course on Sunday. Organisers were right to pull the event so thousands would not be put at risk, but there was a break in the snow found around a dozen or so at the start line, so I decided to go ahead and complete the course, especially as we managed to raise over £1100 for Breathe Easy Clacks, who do such a fantastic job offering support to people living with lung conditions in the Wee County, and it was a pleasure to contribute to their work. I hope to be able to run again when the new date is set!

As always, if you have any issues/concerns please contact me at my office on 2 Comrie Street, Crieff or by email – luke.grahamoffice@parliament.uk