The company which runs the Student Loans Company for the UK Government has today announced that it plans to slash its Glasgow operations and lay off 200 jobs in Glasgow and Hillington.

Work is also to be transferred to Darlington in the North East of England and has led to fears that this could just be the beginning of a gradual erosion of The Company's presence in Glasgow; which currently employs over 1000 people in the City and Hillington.

Sandra White MSP for Glasgow has welcomed the broad consensus across the political spectrum to tackle the problem of illiteracy in Scotland.

The Literacy Commission recently reported that almost one in five Scots had problems with reading and writing and called on the Scottish Government to implement an action plan to address these findings.

First Minister Alex Salmond today announced funding of over 34 million from the European Social Fund and European Regional Development Fund at a summit in Glasgow intended to act as a platform to protect and promote jobs throughout the country.

Sandra White MSP for Glasgow welcomed the announcement and called upon all parties to work together to ensure that Scotland emerges from this recession in the strongest possible position.

Sandra White MSP attended the Hillhead High School Winter Concert 2009 meeting the teachers and pupils form the Scholl along with donating this year's Christmas tree.

The evening included various performances from the Schools Jazz Band; Choir; Ceilidh band; guitar group; The DeadWeightz; Belle Manning; Erin McQuarrie; Hannah Forsyth; Jane Robinson; S3 AllStarz and Percussion Ensemble.