THE party conference recess ends this week, meaning Parliament will resume from Monday.

Back in July, the King’s Speech outlined a comprehensive legislative programme of around 40 key bills that the Government will introduce during this parliamentary session. Many of the bills set to be taken forward will have a positive impact in Scotland.

At the heart of the programme, and critical to rebuilding the economy and ensuring financial stability, is the Budget Responsibility Bill. This bill will ensure that all significant tax and spending changes are subject to an independent assessment by the Office for Budget Responsibility, meaning that a Government will never again be able to create the sort of budgetary chaos left by the last administration.

The Great British Energy Bill will establish the new publicly owned energy company, which it has now been confirmed will be headquartered in Aberdeen. GB Energy will be at the heart of our promise to make Scotland a clean energy superpower, bringing benefits for communities across the country, including here in East Lothian.

The Employment Rights Bill will implement the Government’s commitment to ban the exploitative use of zero-hours contracts and introduce the various new workers’ rights promised in our election manifesto. Among these will be the provision of day-one rights on parental leave, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal for all workers.

Finally, as Parliament reconvenes, it is an opportune time to highlight this year’s UK Parliament Week, which will run from November 18 to 24. Parliament Week is an annual awareness event spreading the word about what the UK Parliament is, what it does and how the public can get involved.

This is a great opportunity to learn more about the UK political system and how it functions, and I am encouraging local schools, youth groups and other organisations to consider participating in the week.

Anyone interested in finding out more about Parliament week should visit ukparliamentweek.org