Meeting of the Parliament 06 September 2023
That point is very well made by Martin Whitfield.
Even if the Government succeeds in growing the workforce by 1,000, it will still not reach the level that it was at in 2019.
The lack of availability and choice poses problems everywhere for those who are most in need, but it will be a particular issue in rural and island areas. The number of childminders in Orkney has fallen by 40 per cent over the past decade. I know from my mailbag the real impact that that is having on my constituents—not least on women who are looking to return to or remain in employment.
On that theme of equality and opportunity in rural and island areas, let me conclude with a few areas where the Government urgently needs to up its game in the interests of fairness, equality, opportunity and community resilience.
Funding for councils has been squeezed across the board, but Orkney Islands Council continues to suffer from lower funding per head of population than other island authorities. Now more than ever, that is resulting in cuts to services on which some of the most vulnerable in my constituency rely. We need to see a more equitable settlement across our islands.
On transport, the First Minister promised “new ferries”, albeit ones that are already in construction. To date, though, that has excluded replacement of Orkney’s ageing internal fleet, despite the fact that it is as crucial in providing a lifeline to the islands in my constituency as the CalMac Ferries fleet is to islands on the west coast. The task force that was set up to look at that issue needs to deliver and urgently map out a funded programme for ferry replacement.
On road equivalent tariff fares, the SNP Government has failed to deliver cheaper fares on Pentland Firth routes to match those that have been in place for a decade and more on the west coast. SNP ministers blame UK state aid rules, having previously blamed European Union state aid rules, but the Scottish Government has confirmed that it has made no effort to agree a way forward with the UK Government.
The Government’s failure to deliver on its promise of superfast broadband to 100 per cent of premises by 2021 means that the digital divide between the haves and the have-nots remains as wide as ever. Orkney has the poorest coverage and slowest speeds anywhere in the country, which affects access to services, education, business opportunities and much more. The digital divide undermines whatever aspirations the Government might have in terms of equality, opportunity and building resilient communities.
There are many more examples that I could cite that illustrate the mismatch between promises made by SNP ministers and the daily reality for islanders. The programme for government repeats some of those promises and adds quite a few more. Making such promises is easy. What islanders—and people across Scotland—want to see, though, is a commitment to painstaking delivery. That will be the real test of what the First Minister set out yesterday.