In the pain of immediate loss, the last thing grieving relatives need is the worry of funeral costs for their loved one. Whilst burial fees in South Lanarkshire rose by only 3%, or the rate of inflation, in the past year, it is regrettable that there has been such a marked increase in the preceding years.

SNP MSP Clare Haughey has hailed Scotland’s ‘Schools for the Future’ school building programme for investing £14.1 million in South Lanarkshire, on the same day the SNP Scottish Government has opened a hat-trick of new high school buildings across the country.

New stats from business consultancy EY have named Scotland as the second most attractive part of the UK for foreign direct investment (FDI) – after it rose 7% in the last year – proving that SNP-led Scotland is “open for business”, MSP Clare Haughey has said.

Freedom of Information figures supplied by the Department for Work and Pensions have shown that Rutherglen and Hamilton West has lost out on £1.4 million because of Tory cuts to disability benefit.

More than three quarters of council tenants claiming Universal Credit (UC) in South Lanarkshire are in rent arrears. The shocking figure was revealed in a report on welfare reform which went before councillors on the technical and housing resources committee. It states as of March 31 this year 79 per cent of tenants who were in receipt of UC were in arrears.

SNP MSP Clare Haughey will join thousands of women and girls in Edinburgh as part of a mass participatory artwork to celebrate the centenary of women’s suffrage on Sunday 10th June. To mark the historic anniversary, participants will wear green, white or violet scarves, the colours of the suffrage movement, appearing as a flowing river of colour as they walk through the streets of the capital.

Clare Haughey MSP has signed up to the Carers Week pledge to take carer friendly action – highlighting the tireless work of the 6.5 million unpaid carers across the UK and offering them any support they need. There are an estimated 788,000 unpaid carers across Scotland – with 44,000 of them under the age of 18.

The Growth Commission Report sets out a realistic ambition for Scotland to drive inclusive, sustainable growth, emulating other small advanced economies which are much more successful than the broken economic model of the UK.

The NHS in Greater Glasgow and Clyde and across Lanarkshire is set to benefit from a share of a £50 million Scotland-wide investment to help deliver swift treatment and diagnostics. The extra funding is part of a package of measures to help reduce waiting times – which will also see two independent diagnostic leads appointed to improve co-ordination across the country on specialist tests.

Rutherglen and Cambuslang constituency MSP, Clare Haughey, has recently raised her concerns about changes to Hospice provision for Rutherglen and Cambuslang patients requiring palliative care.