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Chamber

Meeting of the Parliament 19 November 2025

19 Nov 2025 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Rural Communities (Challenges)
Ross, Douglas Con Highlands and Islands Watch on SPTV

I am always happy to accommodate Christine Grahame in any way that I can.

I am delighted to contribute to the debate, which has been brought to the chamber by my friend and colleague Finlay Carson, who has ably articulated the problems in his constituency in the south of Scotland.

I will take us up to Moray, in the north-east of Scotland, and talk about some of the problems that we are experiencing there. I could highlight many issues in the debate, but I will focus on just two.

The first issue concerns the on-going campaign by the save our surgeries Burghead Hopeman group. I have raised this matter time and again in the chamber, and we have had meetings with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care and with the Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health. I am sorry that neither of them is in the chamber tonight, but I will relay the debate to them and highlight the issue again.

We have a proposal from a campaign group that is made up of people who want to see a difference in their community. They have been met with challenges—their local surgery has shut down and they have come up with an alternative, but they continue to come up against obstacles from the Scottish Government, Moray health and social care partnership and others. A proposal from the group is sitting with the Scottish Government, but it has had no response. I urge the Minister for Drug and Alcohol Policy and Sport, after the debate, to go back to her officials in the health department to get a response for the save our surgeries Burghead Hopeman group.

I have tried the same with the new chief executive of NHS Grampian. I raised the plight and the campaign of the save our surgeries group with her when I met her a couple of months ago, but I am still waiting for a response for the group from NHS Grampian. I urge the minister and NHS Grampian to engage constructively with SOS Burghead Hopeman, because it has plans that can improve local healthcare. Those plans are innovative and could make a real difference to those two communities, and I hope that they are taken seriously.

In the same item of business

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur) LD
The final item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S6M-19548, in the name of Finlay Carson, on the growing tide of on-going challenges facing...
Finlay Carson (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con) Con
I thank all members from across the chamber who supported the motion. I will be clear: rural Scotland, including areas such as Stranraer and the Rhins in Dum...
The Deputy Presiding Officer LD
Mr Carson, I caution against electioneering in the chamber.
Finlay Carson Con
My apologies, Deputy Presiding Officer. Scottish Conservatives believe in fairness and that where someone lives should never determine the quality of care t...
The Deputy Presiding Officer LD
I advise members that there is a lot of demand to speak in the debate. I am conscious that we have already been late in starting, so I will require members t...
Christine Grahame (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (SNP) SNP
Deputy Presiding Officer, can I go after the next speaker? I am having technical difficulties with my Surface laptop.
The Deputy Presiding Officer LD
I think that we can do that.
Christine Grahame SNP
Thank you.
The Deputy Presiding Officer LD
I call Douglas Ross, assuming that he is ready to go. 17:51
Douglas Ross (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Con
I am always happy to accommodate Christine Grahame in any way that I can. I am delighted to contribute to the debate, which has been brought to the chamber ...
Craig Hoy (South Scotland) (Con) Con
As ever, Mr Ross is speaking up for his rural constituents. What do you think that viewers of the debate tonight should read into the fact that not one sing...
The Deputy Presiding Officer LD
Always speak through the chair, Mr Hoy.
Douglas Ross Con
I think that it is very disappointing. I will listen closely to the speeches from SNP members when we hear them. However, I note that we have members’ busine...
The Deputy Presiding Officer LD
I am not getting an indication from Ms Grahame that she is ready just yet, so I will call Craig Hoy and possibly come back to Christine Grahame after that. ...
Craig Hoy (South Scotland) (Con) Con
I thank Finlay Carson for bringing this important debate to the chamber. Today, we are talking about one overarching issue: the SNP’s neglect of rural Scotla...
The Deputy Presiding Officer LD
I see that Ms Grahame is still not ready, so I call Rhoda Grant. 18:00
Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab) Lab
I thank Finlay Carson for securing this important debate. His motion speaks about the impact of urban-based policies on Dumfries and Galloway, and that is re...
The Deputy Presiding Officer LD
I call Sharon Dowey. 18:04
Sharon Dowey (South Scotland) (Con) Con
The challenges that my colleague Finlay Carson has laid out are moving and troubling, and illustrate the experience of an area that faces a number of problem...
The Deputy Presiding Officer LD
I now call Christine Grahame. 18:08
Christine Grahame (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (SNP) SNP
I thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, for allowing me to resolve my technical issue—so far, so good, but it is early days yet. I congratulate the member on...
Tim Eagle (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Con
I thank the member for bringing this really important members’ business debate to the chamber. In some ways, I am a little bit shocked. I had a speech prepar...
Christine Grahame SNP
I am obliged to the member for taking my intervention. I am not aware of this—perhaps you can advise me. Does NHS Grampian operate the hospital at home mode...
The Deputy Presiding Officer LD
Through the chair.
Tim Eagle Con
I was on the IJB in Moray when the hospital at home model was being discussed, and I remember making the point at the time that the model works only if we ha...
Brian Whittle (South Scotland) (Con) Con
I thank my friend and colleague Finlay Carson for securing the debate, which I have been listening to intently. I did not map out a speech—I thought that I w...
Carol Mochan (South Scotland) (Lab) Lab
I, too, thank Finlay Carson for bringing today’s debate to the chamber, and I was pleased to support his motion. As we have heard, people in rural areas face...
Rachael Hamilton (Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con) Con
My colleague Finlay Carson’s motion is absolutely spot on, and I thank him for bringing the debate to the chamber. Under the SNP, taxpayers are paying more a...
Christine Grahame SNP
I hope that the member will agree that the demographics in the Borders are extremely challenging, with an increasing elderly population that is living even l...
Rachael Hamilton Con
Christine Grahame has made my point for me: we should not have inequality, simply because of a geographical difference between urban and rural communities. I...