Hansard

I join others in congratulating Alasdair Allan on bringing this important motion before us. There is nothing more important than housing. Everyone needs to live somewhere and we hope that that somewhere is a home.

Like others, I am keen to see responsible tourism in the Highlands, but no one needs to holiday in a home. I am not a fan of the term “second home” or “holiday home”, because it is an additional property; a home is different and we must set that language against the fact that many people have no home or no prospect of a home.

The motion talks about the islands’ housing market; the market forces are the problem that we are dealing with, and I am keen that we separate market forces from the fundamental human need for shelter and the role that the state plays in its provision, in the form of good-quality social housing. Like Dr Allan, I am pleased that those millions have gone to the Western Isles for additional housing, but it is a drop in the ocean.

I commend Pàdruig Morrison and the other campaigners for their work. We know that rural housing is closely linked to population retention and that the issue is not exclusive to the northern or western islands. I am from rural Lochaber, and there is far more housing there than there was when I was a boy but, because of the nature of the occupants, there is no school or post office. Properties that were previously tied to jobs—on an estate or, more commonly, in forestry or the hydroelectric scheme—have been sold off, and therein lies a problem.

The statutory obligation for assessing housing needs lies with the local authority and, like Dr Allan, I am keen that the broadest consideration is taken. I had a look at the “Outer Hebrides Local Housing Strategy 2017-2022”; it has all the right words and they are all in the right order, but we hear from Community Land Scotland’s report that islanders fear “economic clearance” and there is some justification for that. The report also says that

“Young islanders could not compete with offers made by buyers from elsewhere in the UK.”

Again, the problem is market forces; why should they have to compete? We should be housing our population. In the north of Mull, there are plenty of houses but very few homes.

My colleague Rhoda Grant touched on the West Harris Trust, which became involved in the project for that very reason. Staffin Community Trust said:

“We refused to sleepwalk into becoming a retirement village”.

That trust has done great work there by providing the first affordable houses in 21 years; they will house seven families, which makes the school resilient.

There are lots of suggestions for what we can do, and a number of them have been shared with us. There are limitations to some of them. Control areas and planning requirements for short-term lets, which my colleague Andy Wightman has talked a lot about, would be very important.

With regard to the decentralisation of jobs, many of us are conducting the business of Parliament from our houses, so there is no reason why many of the jobs in the public sector that are currently being undertaken from home cannot be done from home henceforth. Jobs and houses go hand in hand.

The importance of the issue for the Gaelic language must not be underestimated. We need a massive house-building programme, and we need to involve Highlands and Islands Enterprise, with a focus on people. Any impact assessments that have been demanded by the islands suggest that we do that. Let us house our island populations, and let us protect and sustain the heart of the Gàidhealtachd.

Hugh Ross from the Staffin Community Trust said:

“The sound of children playing in the gardens will be a very welcome noise - that of a community with a bright future.”

Tha gu dearbh—yes indeed.