September was another busy month with a lot happening at both local and national level. As always, I worked hard to represent your interests and the interests of everyone in the Borders.
After submitting a question to the UK Department for Transport, I have established that driving test waiting times in the Borders are nearly half a year.
Average waiting times at all five test centres in the Borders are over 22 weeks.
Would-be drivers are having to wait almost half a year to sit a test, forcing them to miss out on opportunities and scramble to find alternative modes of transport.
Young people in the Borders are being disadvantaged by such long waits. It's unfair and Labour must act to fix this immediately.
I am extremely disappointed that LNER, owned by the UK Labour Government, have chosen to substantially reduce services at Berwick-upon-Tweed station.
They had previously promised more trains but are now planning the opposite. Their proposals will in fact mean an LNER train will only travel to and from Berwick every two hours.
This reduction in service is unacceptable. I have called on the Labour minister who is responsible for the railway service to meet me to explain their decision.
I will also be meeting LNER and Network Rail soon in Berwick, where I will make the views of local residents abundantly clear.
The Bank of Scotland has announced they will close the branch in Hawick, which will be replaced by a banking hub.
Big banks have treated Borders customers shamefully for many years and this branch closure will once again leave local residents without the services they need, especially elderly people and small businesses.
The announcement of a new banking hub for Hawick is positive and will serve local people well, but it doesn't make up for the closure of the branch.
I am urgently seeking a meeting with the Bank of Scotland to ask them to reconsider.
Find out more about Bank of Scotland's shameful decision
If I can help you with anything, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
