Committee
Public Petitions Committee, 25 Feb 2003
25 Feb 2003 · S1 · Public Petitions Committee
Item of business
New Petitions
Barra Air Service (PE598)
First, I pay tribute to the action group both for their efforts on the island of Barra and for the public meetings that were held in Glasgow. It might interest committee members to know that, on a cold, wet Thursday night, for a meeting that was advertised only on Barra, and in an age of supposed political apathy, we still managed to get 100 people to attend a meeting in a Glasgow pub to register their support for the campaign.I do not want to repeat the points that were made by the representatives who are here. They have first-hand knowledge about the threats to the health service, tourism livelihoods and business. However, it might interest committee members to know that the petition carries the support of every household on Barra. I wonder how many of the petitions that have come before the Public Petitions Committee in the past four years have had the support of every household in the community that is affected by the issue with which the petition deals.Perhaps I can draw on my experience of previous petitions to assist in several areas of the petition. First, we have been through every possible parliamentary procedure—written and oral questions to the Executive, motions lodged in Parliament, a members' business debate in January and questions to the First Minister last Thursday—to get the petition's issue on the agenda. We exhausted the possibilities of the parliamentary process before bringing PE598 to the Public Petitions Committee. I hope that that fact will be taken into account.On a point that Alasdair Morrison made in his letter, it is worth saying that last Thursday, in answer to a question, the First Minister said that a decision would be due in the next few weeks. However, as the members of the action group made clear, the next few weeks will also see the end of the current session of Parliament. I do not think that it would be unduly cynical to suggest that there is a danger of an unpopular decision being taken when there will be no parliamentary scrutiny. One specific thing that we ask of the committee is that it writes to the Executive and makes it clear that a decision must either be made now, to allow elected representatives to call the Executive to account for its decision, or be postponed until after the election, so that the new representatives can scrutinise the decision. The absence of such scrutiny would be unacceptable in the current climate.In the past, the committee has been loth to get involved in specific campaigns and cases. However, the point is that there could be a region-wide review of the principle of PSOs and of public subsidies for direct air links. The tenders for the routes to Campbeltown and Tiree are for three years; only the Barra tender has been reduced to one year. We do not know the parameters of the Executive's review. For example, we do not know whether the definition of a PSO will be reviewed. The petition is about a generic problem that can be tackled on the basis of the issue, even if the committee is not minded to consider the petition's specific issues—which, of course, I urge the committee to do.I emphasise the seriousness of the position to which the petition refers. The community is worried not just about a single aspect, but about its future, which it is determined to secure. The direct air link is critically important for the Isle of Barra. The Barra community needs to hear from the Executive, either soon or after the election, that there will be a guaranteed long-term commitment to the island and not just a two-year commitment that will leave us staggering on to the next crisis.The recent suggestions in the press—which were made only there—that were dismissed by the First Minister on Thursday were that the review period would be extended for two years. That does not mean that there would be a three-year commitment or an indefinite commitment; it just means that the period for reviewing whether there should be a service would be extended by two years. We should view that as a stay of execution rather than as a long-term commitment by the Executive to the future of the crucial Barra air service.
In the same item of business
The Convener:
Lab
The next petition is PE598 from Ms Karen MacLean, on the subject of the Barra air service. The petitioners are calling on the Parliament to urge the Executiv...
Jessie MacNeil:
I am.
The Convener:
Lab
Okay. You will have three minutes to speak to the petition, after which we will open up the meeting for members to ask questions.
Jessie MacNeil:
We thank the committee for giving us an opportunity to use the democratic structure of the Scottish Parliament to present our case for the retention of the B...
The Convener:
Lab
Thank you. We have also received colourful support for the petition from children in Barra, which I will pass round to members. A card from Christine MacLean...
Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP):
SNP
First, I pay tribute to the action group both for their efforts on the island of Barra and for the public meetings that were held in Glasgow. It might intere...
Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab):
Lab
I associate myself with everything that Jessie MacNeil has said about the process—the lack of consultation before the announcement was made, and the realisat...
Mr Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con):
Con
I put my full support and that of my colleague Mary Scanlon behind this petition.Recently, the Rural Development Committee did a report into integrated rural...
Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab):
Lab
I also support the petition. Barra is within my constituency, and I am glad to see the people putting forward their petition so well.I want to draw out the i...
Jessie MacNeil:
There is some health service provision within the Western Isles, as the First Minister said when he answered the question on Thursday. He stated that there w...
Rhoda Grant:
Lab
Are you saying that, in the long run, it could cost an awful lot more to charter air ambulances to take people off the island when they are very ill?
Jessie MacNeil:
Yes. We would need more air ambulances for routine health appointments rather than for emergency evacuations.
Rhoda Grant:
Lab
Is it also the case that people go to Glasgow when births are complicated? It would be difficult to take mothers with young babies, who might be very ill, on...
Jessie MacNeil:
I will let Karen MacLean answer that question, because she has had experience of maternity cases and the difficulties that are associated when maternity case...
Karen MacLean:
The answer to Rhoda Grant's question is yes. If somebody is in difficulty at the end stage of the pregnancy, it is necessary to get them to Glasgow, where th...
Rhoda Grant:
Lab
Is the service important for keeping people on the island? People who are starting a family or who are elderly and infirm would become nervous about living o...
Karen MacLean:
Yes. That is the case without a doubt. I recently spoke to one of the secondary school teachers, who is not from Barra; we take in most of our teachers. When...
John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD):
LD
Good morning folks and welcome to the great city of Edinburgh. To start, will you tell us when you left home for this visit to Edinburgh and when you are lik...
Karen MacLean:
We left on Saturday and we will not get back until tomorrow afternoon.
John Farquhar Munro:
LD
It is a three-day trip.
Karen MacLean:
Yes. We could have left yesterday, but we would not have arrived in Edinburgh until about 7 o'clock, which was far too late. If the weather conditions had ch...
John Farquhar Munro:
LD
That is considered normal in Barra and other remote areas, but if I suggested to somebody in Edinburgh that it would take three days to go to a meeting, they...
Karen MacLean:
I do not know. That is one of the flaws in the argument.
Councillor Donald Manford:
We would like to understand precisely the answer to your question. The first announcement that was made advised us that the service was to be reviewed becaus...
John Farquhar Munro:
LD
In a remote area such as Barra, which is on the periphery, a direct air link is an essential part of the transport provision. The service should not be consi...
Jessie MacNeil:
When the Executive raised the question of overlap on the introduction of the new ferry between Barra and Eriskay, we expected it to cause conflict not on our...
The Convener:
Lab
I welcome Alasdair Morrison to the committee. I will give him a minute to catch his breath.
Dorothy-Grace Elder:
Ind
I admit that I am still baffled by the fact that in the 21st century anybody should be at risk of losing their air service just because they have got a bette...
Jessie MacNeil:
When the health board was drawing up its brief report, the Scottish air ambulance service stated that it saw the air ambulance service continuing. When we in...
Dorothy-Grace Elder:
Ind
So the air ambulance service would be threatened. I assume from what you are saying that the state of the beach can change within a few hours and needs a tea...