The naval bases at Faslane are so important for Helensburgh and the surrounding communities, and this investment worth £15 billion will help to safeguard local jobs.
As a veteran, I will always champion investment in our defences and that has arguably never been more important in this increasingly uncertain world.
Those who are based at Faslane must have the confidence that the naval bases will be fit for the modern age and the huge challenges we face.
The billions worth of investment over the next decade will strengthen the capability and readiness at Faslane and provide new training facilities and further research and development.
Our local community will feel the positive benefits of this investment, which will secure thousands of jobs and I look forward to seeing the investment gather pace in the coming months and years.
Just before the schools return after their summer break, I want to send my warmest congratulations to pupils from across all of Helensburgh’s schools on their magnificent exam results.
You should all be extremely proud of what you achieved and that the hard work paid off.
Credit must also go to our teachers and support staff for their dedication throughout the school year in helping pupils fulfil their potential.
And I know for parents too, getting those exam results via text or the letterbox will have been a nervous time too after all the support you gave your children in the run-up to the exam period.
I know some will have been disappointed, but the advice is very true. There is no wrong path to ultimately doing what you want to do.
I wish every young person all the best with their future whether that is continuing in school, going off to college or university or starting an apprenticeship and entering the world of work.
While I want to be positive about the exam results achieved locally, they were achieved against a tough backdrop of escalating violence throughout the school year.
This isn’t just a problem in this area; it is impacting schools across Scotland.
Of course this is a minority of pupils, but no pupil, teacher or anyone working in our schools deserves to be disrupted by those hellbent on causing trouble.
There are young people afraid of coming to school now.
SNP ministers in Edinburgh have ignored this issue for too long and created a culture where pupils know they won’t be properly punished.
It is time for headteachers to be given proper powers to allow them to permanently exclude disruptive pupils and keep the school environment free from violence.
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