The Scottish Parliament’s health committee which I convene recently launched a call for views on the Assisted Suicide (Scotland) Bill.

The proposed legislation introduced by independent MSP Margo MacDonald, will provide a means for certain people who are approaching the end of their lives, to seek assistance to end their lives at a time of their own choosing.

The MSP’s previous attempt to change the law was unsuccessful, but she believes the public now has greater awareness of the issue giving her new Bill a better chance of passing.

As my mailbag will confirm, this is a topic that has polarised public opinion and there are clearly strong views on both sides of the debate.

There is no doubt that legalising assisted suicide would be a huge change in how we treat people at the end of their lives, and there are a number of important moral and ethical issues that need to be explored as part of this debate.

This is why as a committee, we want to hear from as wide a range of people as possible – from GPs, pharmacists and the wider medical profession who would have a role in assisting in a person’s suicide to the third sector, police and legal profession.

Hearing from the experts is important, but we also want to hear from members of the public who are for and against, as well as individuals who may be affected by the proposed legislation.

We will use these views as a platform for debate as to how people are treated at the end of life.

To submit evidence to the Committee you can email HealthandSport@scottish.parliament.uk by Friday 6 June. To read more about the consultation you can visit the Scottish Parliament’s website at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk

Comments made by Alex Salmond in his recent interview with GQ magazine dominated the headlines this week.

 He provoked an angry response from the Ukraine community in Scotland for expressing his admiration of President Putin who according to Amnesty International has cracked down on political dissent, encouraged arbitrary arrests and corrupted the judicial process.

 But Putin wasn’t the only one to receive Salmond’s praise. He also described the media mogul Rupert Murdoch – whose papers where embroiled in the phone hacking scandal – as a ‘remarkable man’.

 To cap it all off, during his interview he appeared to characterise Scotland as a ‘nation of drunks’.

 In the backdrop of all this, there were stories that didn’t make the headlines, but which are impacting on our young, the old and the type of society we want to be.

 It was confirmed that the SNP’s education policies are sucking the life out of our local colleges.

A survey of numeracy in Scottish schools revealed that the number of primary school pupils doing well in maths has dropped hurting their life chances.

And the crisis in our hospitals was highlighted yet again in an inspection of the Southern General, which found patients who were cognitively impaired being moved from ward to ward hampering their recovery.

These are the issues that are of real concern to the people of Scotland. And these are the issues that Alex Salmond needs to focus on.

 He should spend less time being interviewed in fashion magazines and more time taking action to help ordinary working people.

 Unfortunately for us all, Scotland will be on pause as long as the First Minister’s vanity project continues.