It would be remiss of me to not begin my column by recognising Labour’s victory in the General Election and congratulating all candidates who were elected.
I especially note the new MPs who I share a constituency with - Elaine Stewart, Alan Gemmell, and Lillian Jones. I commit to working collaboratively with them in areas of agreement for the benefit of the people of Ayrshire.
My thoughts go out to my SNP colleagues and their hard-working staff who were not successful on this occasion. It is now time for my party to reflect on the results and focus on delivering the people’s priorities.
Moving on, I want to highlight a cause that is very close to my heart, water safety.
Scotland, and my constituency, are blessed with some of the best waters in the world. From the magnificent Ayrshire Coast to Loch Doon.
One of my fondest pastimes is kayaking and cold water swimming. But a fun day on the water can turn to tragedy in the blink of an eye if you don’t take proper precautions.
The Scottish Government knows that one death on Scotland’s waters is too many. That is why it has been implementing its Water Safety Action Plan to reduce the number of fatalities.
This plan includes extra funding for Water Safety Scotland, improved signage, promotion of water safety messages in areas of high risk, and lesson plans for pupils.
We can see progress is being made as the number of water-related fatalities stood at 94 in 2023. While this is still far too high, it does show an overall decrease.
I recently met with Craig Donnelly who is chair of our local water safety group. They recently ran a drowning prevention awareness day in Ayr to remind the public about the dangers of open water.
If you do one thing today, it should be to familiarise yourself with the Water Safety Code and pass it on to a friend.
The code includes not using alcohol before or while on the water, going with others, and being ready to phone 999 in an emergency.
Please read the full code at watersafetyscotland.org.uk
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