Meeting of the Parliament 21 December 2023
Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, for the opportunity to speak in the debate. I, too, will start by paying tribute to Bob Doris for bringing the motion to the chamber today, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Marie Curie. It was great to hear from our colleague Gordon MacDonald, because one of my earliest memories of being an MSP was when Gordon MacDonald and I met at Ainslie Park swimming pool, in my constituency, to throw our support behind a swimathon to raise money for Marie Curie.
I say that to pay tribute to all those who have undertaken fundraising initiatives over the past 75 years to support the work of Marie Curie. I was invited by Marie Curie to support that fundraising initiative along with Gordon MacDonald. Gordon MacDonald talked about the hospice in his constituency. Marie Curie’s offices are in my constituency of Edinburgh Northern and Leith, at Links Place. The reason I wanted to mention that and speak today is to pay tribute not just to those who provide palliative care, which others have rightly emphasised, but to the organisational and policy teams at Marie Curie.
During my time as an MSP, those teams have made a significant contribution to a range of parliamentary considerations and activities, including this debate. I remember Marie Curie’s input during the passing of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018, which is a better piece of legislation because of Marie Curie’s input, along with that of many other stakeholders. Since the passing of the act, the implementation of social security in Scotland has benefited from much advice, ideas and emphasis on certain areas from Marie Curie. We recognise the huge contribution that Marie Curie has made over its years of existence to providing and enhancing palliative care and making the case for palliative care. Throughout that time, and particularly in recent years, the policy team has, in relation to the experience that I can advocate for, made an important difference to the process of policy making and law making.
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