Meeting of the Parliament 18 January 2017
Words are so devalued in our political discourse that they are hurled about until the air is so thick with exaggeration, hyperbole and superlatives that it is impossible to see the truth. The future of Highlands and Islands Enterprise is the latest battleground in our war of words, and I am really quite disappointed that Opposition parties have spread such fear among local communities and HIE staff with their irresponsible rhetoric.
For Donald Cameron to praise land reform when his party voted against it smacks of the same hypocrisy. That is one thing that the Highlands and Islands have not forgotten. Let me be clear: Dean Lockhart said this morning that HIE was to be abolished, but that is a downright mistruth.
We need a strong economy—not for its own sake, but because our friends and family members need job opportunities, a steady income and reliable public services across this country.
HIE has been instrumental in turning the Highlands around in the past 50 years. Interestingly, it has done that partly with more than £23 million in European Union funding between 2007 and 2013. Therefore, it is cheek—absolute cheek—for the Conservatives to accuse this Government of undermining HIE when their London colleagues will be pulling the rug from under the feet of HIE on EU and other funding for the Highlands and Islands.
I apologise to Edward Mountain, but the purpose of the review is to empower HIE with more resources and to expose HIE to more international opportunities—all that while maintaining the current management structures, the office of the chief executive, the staff and the local decision makers. In other words, the purpose of the Scottish Government’s review is to strengthen HIE’s service to communities. That is devolution of power—not centralisation.