Jim Hume MBA FRSA ARAgS HonAssoc BVA is a former Scottish Liberal Democrat politician. He was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) of the South of Scotland region from May 2007 to March 2016. He is currently Director of Public Affairs & Communications at Change Mental Health and Convenes the National Rural Mental Health Forum.[1]
Background
Hume was born in Peebles but raised in Selkirkshire. His previous positions include Chairman of "Environment and Land Use" for the National Farmers Union of Scotland and President of Lothians and Borders NFU. He was active during the Foot-and-mouth crisis of 2001. Hume was also chair of the Borders Foundation for Rural Sustainability and was on the board of Scottish Enterprise Borders, a member of the Forestry Commission's South of Scotland Regional Forum, a Trustee of The Borders Forest Trust and a founding Director of the South of Scotland Loan Fund Scheme.
Member of the Scottish Parliament
Hume was elected to the Scottish Parliament to represent the South of Scotland region at the 2007 general election, making him the first Liberal Democrat MSP in the region since the Scottish Parliament was created in 1999. He was also elected councillor of the Galashiels and District region of Scottish Borders Council on the same night. Hume was Scottish Liberal Democrat Spokesman for Housing and Health. He sat on the Scottish Parliament's Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee, and was the committee's EU Reporter. He was also the Scottish Liberal Democrat Deputy Whip and a member of the European Committee of Regions.
In December 2014, Hume successfully introduced a Member's Bill in the Scottish Parliament, the Smoking Prohibition (Children in Motor Vehicles) (Scotland) Bill. It was enacted in January 2016 and protects 60,000 children every week from the dangers of second hand smoke in cars.[2] In the twelve months following his Bill, the number of children being exposed to second-hand smoke halved.
In October 2015, Hume called on Health Secretary Shona Robison to review support provided for gender identity clinics after new figures revealed that the average waiting time for a first appointment at two of Scotland's GICs was more than a year.[3]