Meeting of the Parliament 18 January 2024
Perhaps somebody should register their interests while they are chuntering from the sidelines.
In 2016, the Scottish Government pledged £25 million to boost rural housing. However, as of 2023, only £18 million of that had been spent. The Government is failing to secure affordable homes for young people. I say to Alasdair Allan that young people are being forced out of their communities for that very reason. By failing in its commitment to invest in rural housing, the Government has failed to support young people.
We must value our rural communities. With their strong traditions and sense of belonging, towns and villages on our islands hold an important role in the culture and history of Scotland. If we are to continue the cultural and historical nature of our rural communities and allow people to contribute to rural and island communities, we must offer them every opportunity to stay.
The cabinet secretary mentioned transport among the list of challenges highlighted by the youth parliament. That is one of the key areas in which the SNP has failed. It has not sorted out the A9, which is a lifeline for many rural communities in Scotland. We recently found out that works to dual the A9 will not be completed until 2035. Tragically, 83 people have lost their lives on that road since the SNP promised to dual it by 2025. That is just another example of the SNP letting down rural Scotland.
To list all the transport failings of the Government and their impacts on young people would take up a lot of time. However, a key issue that the cabinet secretary did not mention is ferries. There were 689 ferry cancellations across Scotland between 1 January and 16 May 2023. That is just appalling. We have heard about the issues that islanders have in running businesses on the islands and ensuring that they are able to stay, work and live where they grew up.
On farming and agriculture, many farmers and crofters are deciding on their future right now, while the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill is being considered by the Parliament. Farmers and crofters want to take the next steps to secure Scotland’s food future, agriculture future and crofting future, but the Government is blindfolding our young farmers and crofters by failing to give them the ability to plan for the long term. If we want Scotland to be a market world leader that produces wonderful high-quality produce, we must back the next generation. There has been a £78.4 million cut to the rural affairs and islands budget and a further £33.2 million cut to the agriculture budget. The message is not a positive one for young people.
I know that I have only limited time, Presiding Officer, but if you were to place yourself in the shoes of a young person growing up in rural Scotland, I think that you would be as worried as I am about what the future held for you. I speak to many young people who are not positive about their future because of the Government’s crumbling schools, unreliable local transport, poor employment opportunities and lack of investment in their future. Those are a number of challenges that they face.
On a positive note, I want to ensure that we can provide the young people of Scotland with a good vision, with ambition, not a stale and foostie Scottish National Party Government that has let them down.
I move amendment S6M-11896.2, to insert at end:
“, and notes that the Scottish Rural and Islands Youth Parliament raised a number of issues affecting young people in rural Scotland, including the Scottish Government’s lack of long-term commitment to the rural and island environment, the lack of mental health support for people in the Highlands and Islands, a transport system that is not fit for purpose and a housing sector that fails to meet the needs of the population.”
15:51Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.