IT’S a new year, an election year in the Scottish Parliament, but we in the SNP will be continuing the same work we’ve been doing over the last parliamentary term – we’re going to keep campaigning for more powers for Scotland, while doing everything we can with the powers we have to improve the lives of all those who live here.

We know that must always be our priority, whether it is building and improving housing, ensuring the safety of our communities, protecting the NHS or improving education in every town, village and city across Scotland.

When she first took over as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon made it clear that a personal goal is to see the elimination of the attainment gap.

It is simply unacceptable that a child’s achievement at school and future success should still so fundamentally depend on where they go to school.

To kickstart the closure of the attainment gap the Scottish Government set up a £100 million fund for literacy and numeracy programmes in primary schools in worse off areas across Scotland.

Our aim must be to make a transformative and generational change to education and attainment here in Scotland, which is difficult to quantify without hard data on the basic numeracy and literacy levels in our schools.

Last week the First Minister launched the National Improvement Framework which will begin assessments of P1, P4, P7 and S3 pupils – allowing us to collect data on writing, reading and numeracy abilities and identify those children and schools which require additional support.

Similar tests already take place in local authorities across Scotland.

However, this Framework will help take us a step forward by providing consistent data which can be used to tackle inequality of attainment from a national and a local level.

Politicians and parties are often accused of thinking short term, how to make a quick political buck, particularly in election years.

We are not claiming that the National Improvement Framework will solve educational inequality overnight, but the data gleaned from continuous, consistent assessments will allow us to be proactive, and stop the attainment gap from widening further.

In contrast, Labour started its New Year sniping and stabbing each other, not just in the back but in the front as well.

Rather than using the opportunity to put forward a credible policy agenda, its focus has been on internal politics and Corbyn’s protracted shadow cabinet reshuffle.

We’ll leave them to fight among each other while we govern in the best interests of all of Scotland.

In my role as Minister for International Development I believe it is important to promote trade between Scotland and companies in the developing world.

Giving grant aid applies a sticking plaster to a wider economic problem which can be vastly improved with the creation of local jobs, growth and produce, that international trade provides.

There’s a well-known adage, give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

So I was delighted last week to join Kilombero Rice at its launch in the Scottish commercial market at Margiotta Food and Wine shop.

Having used their rice myself in the past while cooking, I can attest to its taste and quality – go buy it.