2024 is a year of many important anniversaries and celebrations.

For one, it marks the 25th anniversary of the Scottish Parliament and we will be celebrating that landmark with a special event at Holyrood on Saturday.

A key part of the event has seen MSPs nominate a local hero from their area to attend the celebration. I am delighted that Lee Rollo Stewart will be joining me as my choice.

Lee has undertaken a wide range of charitable work over the years and is someone who embodies the strong community values cherished by people in East Lothian.

Closer to home, two of our local secondary schools are marking major anniversaries this year. Preston Lodge is celebrating 100 years as a school community, while Ross High has reached its 70th anniversary. Both schools have done so much for their communities and for the thousands of young people who have attended over the years. I was pleased to table motions at the Scottish Parliament to help mark both these significant milestones and thank everyone involved in the schools.

The 40th anniversary of much-loved local charity Can Do, which provides a range of activities for children with disabilities, was another important one I was eager to celebrate at Holyrood with a parliamentary motion.

Finally, earlier this week, I led a members' debate in Parliament on the work of The Haven, which is based at The Fraser Centre in Tranent. Run by the Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity, the pilot mental wellbeing and resilience service has been operating for a year. Its early intervention model is clearly making a tangible difference to the young people and families accessing it.

The service is designed to complement CAMHS and to help prevent problems escalating to the point where professional intervention is needed. I believe it is a model that should be adopted and rolled out elsewhere to help children and young people across the country.