Committee
Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee, 20 Oct 1999
20 Oct 1999 · S1 · Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee
Item of business
Local Economic Development
Mr Robertson:
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There have been minor tensions. For example, some people want more for fishing and some want more for agriculture or for something else. However, there have been no major tensions. In fact, the only real tension in the plan group concerned a portion of the plan—on agriculture—that was due to come from another department. The plan as it is now drafted is very good. The biggest hurdle that we will face will be getting it through Europe. Europe likes to have a plan with lots of fine detail, which will then be adhered to over a five-year period, but life is not like that. A plan with fine detail for five years will not be appropriate for dealing with some of the problems that arise during that period. The general plea from the Highlands and Islands partnership to Europe is for flexibility—we want to be able to create schemes under the plan that will devolve spending and authority to the bodies in the area that are good at running development and infrastructure projects. Councils are superb at organising projects such as the Eriskay causeway, which has just started, and the Uist-Harris ferry. Excellent projects such as those can be safely delegated to local areas, as can schemes such as the HIE tourism attraction scheme. We also operate HIE waste schemes—a programme for bringing business waste problems to the fore and addressing them in an environmentally friendly manner—and HIE standards, for upgrading tourist businesses. What we are all looking for from Europe is flexibility.
In the same item of business
The Convener:
SNP
The first part of our inquiry will be a discussion with representatives of Highlands and Islands Enterprise, who have joined us at the witness table. I welco...
Mr Jim Hunter (Chairman, Highlands and Islands Enterprise):
Thank you very much, convener. First, on behalf of those in HIE and many other people in the Highlands and Islands, I warmly welcome your decision to come no...
The Convener:
SNP
Thanks, Jim. You are very welcome. We look forward to hearing from Iain.
Mr Iain Robertson (Chief Executive, Highlands and Islands Enterprise):
A schematic view of the Highlands and Islands indicates the scale and spread of the area, which comprises the northern half of Scotland and a sixth of Britai...
The Convener:
SNP
Thank you, Iain, for a comprehensive presentation and for some refreshing insight into the strengths of the network and the problems that endure in the Highl...
Mr Robertson:
We have been fortunate to receive sustained funding from successive Governments, which we value greatly. However, with pressure on Government and throughout ...
The Convener:
SNP
How does that translate into the practical choices that face the network? You will find no lack of support in this committee for increasing value for the pub...
Mr Robertson:
We have become good at leveraging resources from, and working with, other bodies. We have had to become good at financial engineering in our projects and at ...
The Convener:
SNP
So, for example, instead of HIE contributing 40 per cent of funding to a project, it is contributing 25 per cent and leveraging resources from elsewhere?
Mr Robertson:
Yes.
The Convener:
SNP
I understand that, but what does that mean for the viability—or rather, the commencement—of more uncertain projects, for which, in the past, support from Hig...
Mr Robertson:
The area has not lost any projects through lack of funding, but there is often a fine line between viability and non-viability. We have had to be firm with a...
Mr Hunter:
I offer a further thought on that. Although our grant aid to projects is focused on development, development in a rural area such as this is not solely about...
Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con):
Con
Mr Robertson, you mentioned that HIE was formed in 1991 and that there are 10 LECs. There are two parts to my question. First, does HIE propose to reappraise...
Mr Robertson:
In answer to your first question, we have no proposals to change the LECs; that would have to be done through the Scottish Executive. We find that our LECs a...
Tracey Slaven (Head of Corporate Planning, Highlands and Islands Enterprise):
The formula share affects six of the LECs significantly and, as members will appreciate, the Western Isles LEC is most affected. We start from the population...
Mr Robertson:
The beauty of the network is that, although we start off with the indicative budgets for the LECs based on the formula share—that is done in sync with the ne...
The Convener:
SNP
What proportion of your budget are you likely to move around in that way in any given year, Iain?
Mr Robertson:
Eighty per cent of our budget is spent by or for the LECs, but I am not sure how much—
Ms Slaven:
The swing in any one year has been up to about £8 million or £9 million. The strength of the network lies in the fact that, over the eight or nine years in w...
The Convener:
SNP
If my mental arithmetic is any use, that means that you are talking about perhaps 12 per cent that may be moved around in any given year to reflect market re...
Mr Robertson:
That does not happen every year. For example, the Aviemore town centre project went slowly for a couple of years. During those two years, we had inward inves...
Mr Hunter:
There is no doubt—I speak partly in my previous capacity as chairman of a LEC, Skye and Lochalsh Enterprise—that that flexibility and that potential for addi...
The Convener:
SNP
I am interested in the concept of voluntary swinging around of resources. I would be fascinated to be a fly on the wall at some of the discussions or telepho...
Mr Robertson:
One of the things that we need to do in the network every year is to ensure that we maximise the spend. If money is coming to the Highlands, we certainly do ...
Allan Wilson (Cunninghame North) (Lab):
Lab
Those answers have covered some of the points that I wanted to ask about. On objective 1 transition funding, I was at yesterday's European Committee, where t...
Mr Robertson:
The Highlands and Islands European partnership, comprising ourselves, local authorities and other bodies, has been hugely successful and is regarded in Europ...
Allan Wilson:
Lab
The convener of the European Committee mentioned tensions.
Mr Robertson:
There have been minor tensions. For example, some people want more for fishing and some want more for agriculture or for something else. However, there have ...
Allan Wilson:
Lab
Is that flexibility in infrastructure projects in particular or across the board?