Hansard

I remind members of my entry in the register of members’ interests as a partner in a farming business.

I thank all those who have signed today’s motion, allowing me to bring the debate to the chamber. With an election on the horizon, there will inevitably be a more partisan tone in the air after today’s proceedings, but I just want to recognise how often members representing remote, rural and island communities have been able to work together to get things done.

I especially appreciate the work of all those who joined me on the cross-party group on islands that I established this session. There is scope for the CPG to do more and reach out even further, but I hope that MSPs and the many other organisations and individuals involved have seen the value of having a forum for island issues at the heart of the Parliament.

In yesterday’s stage 3 debate on the Crofting and Scottish Land Court Bill, I talked about the loss of experience and expertise from this Parliament, and this debate will feature the last contributions that a number of members from the rural communities will make.

My party colleague Oliver Mundell is stepping down after 10 years representing the Dumfriesshire constituency. Oli is a scion of the great Mundell political dynasty; I first worked with his father, David, when I was a relative newbie to politics and this Parliament was further up the road. Like David, Oli has dutifully served those he represents and has always stood up for their interests, regardless of how popular it made him with our Conservative whips. I know that colleagues from across the chamber will miss his consideration of and commitment to the issues that he was most passionate about.

Beatrice Wishart, too, will be giving her last speech, and I particularly thank her for all her efforts on the CPG on islands, for making it the success that it has been and for the strong voice that she has been for Shetland. Our island communities face many challenges, and it is vital that their voices are heard in the chamber and in the corridors of power. Beatrice Wishart has very much played her part in that respect, and I wish her all the very best for the future.

John Mason, too, will be bowing out after today’s debate. I would be hard pressed to describe him as a strong voice for our island communities, given his previous confusion about what actually constitutes an island. [Laughter.] However, I have served with John on committees, most recently the Finance and Public Administration Committee, and I know how diligent he has been in conducting the vital scrutiny required of MSPs.

Last but not least, the cabinet secretary will be giving her last speech, too. I know that, because she reminded me of the fact last week. We have not always agreed—and the rest of my speech will probably highlight some of those areas of disagreement—but Mairi Gougeon has always been one of the more approachable members of a Government that is not always known for truly welcoming differing opinions. I and my colleagues would recognise that, if it were needed, the cabinet secretary would sit down with those with concerns and hear them out, and that was appreciated. We certainly wish her all the very best in whatever she chooses to do after this place.

With all of the niceties out of the way, I turn to my motion. Although it directly mentions the Highlands and Islands, I know that most of the issues that we will talk about touch constituencies and regions around Scotland that are facing the challenges of remoteness and rurality. Some listeners might see them as little more than a list of grievances, the complaints of people who have chosen to live furth of the central belt. Some might see them simply as a variation of problems felt elsewhere, and therefore no better or no worse in the end.

However, that is not the feeling on the ground in rural Scotland. Last year, the Scottish Government’s research into the effect of increases in the cost of living concluded that

“Rural and remote places in Scotland are more exposed to high inflation”,

noting the high costs of fuel, food and transport.

That is not, in itself, unusual: such businesses often operate on reduced margins; salaries are lower; and costs are often higher. What is different now is a palpable feeling that many communities are on the edge of a precipice. Instead of creating sustainable communities, it feels more as though the core resilience of many of our villages and towns has slowly been crushed.

That has practical consequences—whether it is the young family facing another year of being unable to afford a permanent home for their children; the small business owner who seems to be sacrificing more than she gains, but who keeps going; the working person who is trying to make ends meet; or the older person on a fixed income who is afraid to turn on the heating. Specifically rural issues are pushing more people into those sorts of categories. The result can be anything from depopulation to despair.

When the motion was written, I referred to the many unprecedented challenges that remote, rural and island communities have faced. We can now add a crippling energy crisis on top of those. That crisis hits not only households, but businesses and public services. It comes at a time when household finances are already stretched, when many businesses have already had their confidence battered and when we were already worried about additional costs through rate revaluations and tax changes from April. For the public sector, it comes against a backdrop of overstretched and underresourced services.

The traditional rural economy is struggling by almost every measure. Farm incomes have fallen, harvests have been decimated by the climate, and increases in regulation have driven up costs and complexity. Many rural communities are also dependent on visitors—whether they are in the Highlands and Islands, the south of Scotland or places such as Stirlingshire and Perthshire. There, too, costs for operators in the visitor economy are escalating, while the Government sees this as a good time to impose more regulation and more tax.

In addition to economic woes, small rural communities are increasingly seeing services moved further away. The local police office has disappeared, the local general practitioner surgery has been combined with one elsewhere and the local hospital has had services downgraded or lost entirely. Perhaps even the local school is at risk. The goal of efficiency savings—often without any consideration of second-order effects—is motivated not by the efficient management of resources but by driving costs down. There is a visible retreat of public services from communities. That has a cost in towns and villages being hollowed out. It also impacts the quality of service that people are receiving: it is more difficult than ever for many people to see their GP; it is a struggle to find a national health service dentist in most of the country; and crimes are going unreported, because there is no expectation of their being investigated.

The problems of remoteness are made all the greater by failures in connectivity. Our roads are in the worst state in my memory. Major infrastructure projects, such as the dualling of the A9 and the A96 and tackling the repeated closure of the Rest and Be Thankful, have been delayed or overlooked. The costs are not solely economic—sometimes they are measured in lives lost. Meanwhile, the ferries crisis continues, with the Scottish National Party Government coming face to face with the consequences of two decades of neglect, while islands and ferry-dependent communities pay the price.

If the next Scottish Government is to serve the people of remote, rural and island Scotland, there desperately need to be a reassessment of the relative cost of delivering public services in remote and rural areas. It is clear that those services are not currently being delivered effectively. In many cases, such as the delivery of social care at home, there is no strategy at all. We also need there to be real effort to grow the economies of Scotland’s regions, and an economic strategy from the Scottish Government that analyses regional impact and recognises how island and remote communities operate.

We will not always agree on the way forward. However, there are many areas in which we can work together and where the need for change is both urgent and evident. As we go into this election, I hope that the needs of remote, rural and island Scotland will be at the top of the agenda.