Jenny Gilruth's constituency includes Kinglassie.

'2018 is here. A new year, and a fresh opportunity for your elected representatives to stand up for Fife.

A lot of my time as an MSP is taken up in Holyrood by committee work. I sit on both the Health and Sport and the Local Government committee. Many folk don’t realise that these committees are cross party - so, what that means is that whilst I am an SNP MSP, I work closely with Labour, Conservative, Lib Dem, and Green members to hold the Scottish Government to account.

Last Monday the Local Government Committee published a report on City deals. You might remember these deals first came about during the 2014 Referendum in Scotland; they promised to promote growth to Scotland’s cities and surrounding areas. The UK Government and the Scottish Government matched spending, with smaller areas - like Fife Council - pitching in additionally. The Edinburgh City Region Deal, of which Fife Council is a partner, totalled £1.1billion.

I criticised the deal back in July, as I believe it was a missed opportunity for Fife. And remember, as tax payers we are paying for this deal.

We are talking about over £1 billion of investment. We are talking about a roundabout in Edinburgh. A concert hall - in Edinburgh. And £350 million for Queen Margaret University - just outside of Edinburgh. It beggars belief that any Fife politician could welcome this deal.

As a Fife MSP, it would be simply untrue for me to tell a young person in my constituency that improvement works to a roundabout in Edinburgh will have a positive impact on their lives.

What is clear from the report is that Fife Council - and specifically David Ross, who was the Labour Council Leader at the time - completely failed to actually speak to local communities in Fife about what they wanted from the deal. That’s what I find most startling.

I believe that plans to reinstate the Leven Rail Link should have been the number one priority for Fife Council in these negotiations. I remain in the dark as to whether that was ever the case.

Hoping to get to the bottom of this, my office submitted a Freedom Of Information request to Fife Council on the of November 21 2017. Fife Council have ignored it.

2018 is a New Year. But for folk to have faith in their elected representatives then we need honesty and truth in everything we do. That should cut across political parties. Those in Fife House should not be above scrutiny.

As the MSP for Mid Fife and Glenrothes I will continue to push for the Edinburgh Region City Deal to provide greater investment for Fife'.