Chamber
Plenary, 06 Dec 2006
06 Dec 2006 · S2 · Plenary
Item of business
Rural Post Offices
I offer John Swinney my warmest congratulations on securing the debate. I am sure that it will worry him that I agree with every word he said.
If we were to conduct a survey of the most and least popular professions, we would probably find that sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses were at the opposite end of the spectrum from tax inspectors and, dare I say it, politicians.
I draw members' attention to the most remote parts of the British mainland, which are in my constituency. Early yesterday morning I had occasion to visit Lairg post office and sorting office. As members of all parties have said, the local knowledge in such post offices in remote and sparsely populated areas is crucial. Sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses in such areas know that Mr and Mrs Mackay have not been in for their pension, and the people who deliver the letters know when something is wrong. They act as an early-warning radar and are part of our social structure and fabric. Sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses are loved and respected in the Highlands, as I am sure they are in other parts of Scotland.
Much has been said about the services provided by post offices. I will try Mr Swinney's patience by straying into the Royal Mail aspect of the debate. The delivery service for the whole of north-west Sutherland, from Tongue right round the corner past Cape Wrath and down to Lochinver, is provided by six people: Julian Martin, Stewart Rushworth, Malcolm Ross, Walter McKenzie, Susan Wood and Patrick Grey. The service that they deliver is vital; it is about delivering not just letters and parcels but newspapers, and it allows people to get to the shops. Walter McKenzie even delivers flowers to a flower shop in the north. It is all about the timing and meeting the trains.
We have a superb service, which was founded in the 19th century and is part of the weave of the fabric of our society in the Highlands.
In winter, Rob Gibson and I have to drive through the most filthy weather in the north-west, from Altnaharra to Tongue, but we always see the red vans and post buses driving along. There is a lady living in Laide called Joyce Morrison—Rob Gibson will know her—who depends on that service to get to the dentist and doctor. We cannot say that anything is more valuable than that.
Some things are beyond price. Our forefathers in the 19th century put together something that is very special about this country. We were streets ahead of the rest of the world and we have been copied the world over. The test for us and the rest of the UK is how we protect our vital service. What John Swinney said was right. We wish the minister the very best in her endeavours with London. I see the matter from a unionist perspective, as opposed to how Rob Gibson sees it, but I agree that it is a test for us.
If we were to conduct a survey of the most and least popular professions, we would probably find that sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses were at the opposite end of the spectrum from tax inspectors and, dare I say it, politicians.
I draw members' attention to the most remote parts of the British mainland, which are in my constituency. Early yesterday morning I had occasion to visit Lairg post office and sorting office. As members of all parties have said, the local knowledge in such post offices in remote and sparsely populated areas is crucial. Sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses in such areas know that Mr and Mrs Mackay have not been in for their pension, and the people who deliver the letters know when something is wrong. They act as an early-warning radar and are part of our social structure and fabric. Sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses are loved and respected in the Highlands, as I am sure they are in other parts of Scotland.
Much has been said about the services provided by post offices. I will try Mr Swinney's patience by straying into the Royal Mail aspect of the debate. The delivery service for the whole of north-west Sutherland, from Tongue right round the corner past Cape Wrath and down to Lochinver, is provided by six people: Julian Martin, Stewart Rushworth, Malcolm Ross, Walter McKenzie, Susan Wood and Patrick Grey. The service that they deliver is vital; it is about delivering not just letters and parcels but newspapers, and it allows people to get to the shops. Walter McKenzie even delivers flowers to a flower shop in the north. It is all about the timing and meeting the trains.
We have a superb service, which was founded in the 19th century and is part of the weave of the fabric of our society in the Highlands.
In winter, Rob Gibson and I have to drive through the most filthy weather in the north-west, from Altnaharra to Tongue, but we always see the red vans and post buses driving along. There is a lady living in Laide called Joyce Morrison—Rob Gibson will know her—who depends on that service to get to the dentist and doctor. We cannot say that anything is more valuable than that.
Some things are beyond price. Our forefathers in the 19th century put together something that is very special about this country. We were streets ahead of the rest of the world and we have been copied the world over. The test for us and the rest of the UK is how we protect our vital service. What John Swinney said was right. We wish the minister the very best in her endeavours with London. I see the matter from a unionist perspective, as opposed to how Rob Gibson sees it, but I agree that it is a test for us.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Murray Tosh):
Con
The final item of business is a members' business debate on motion S2M-4876, in the name of John Swinney, on a threat to the rural post office network in Sco...
Motion debated,
That the Parliament notes the public concern over the future of the rural post office network in Perthshire, Angus and other parts of rural Scotland; notes t...
Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP):
SNP
I thank the many members who signed my motion and the Parliamentary Bureau for facilitating an important debate about the future of services in rural Scotlan...
John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP):
SSCUP
Does the member agree that it is not only rural post offices that are at risk, but the whole network of post offices across the country, which is under inten...
Mr Swinney:
SNP
Mr Swinburne makes a fair point. I will say something about the business viability of post offices being jeopardised.Due to the limitations of transport in r...
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Con
There is a very long list of members who wish to speak in the debate. I will discuss with the minister whether we might have a brief extension. However, ther...
Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD):
LD
I congratulate John Swinney on instigating this timely debate. At a presentation on 30 November, Tom Begg, the chairman of Postwatch Scotland, said that rura...
Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP):
SNP
Will the member give way?
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Con
The member is almost at the end of her time.
Nora Radcliffe:
LD
The report continues:"If the country wants a comprehensive network of Post Offices to continue, a more explicit funding mechanism must be put in place, toget...
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Con
Can you wind up please?
Nora Radcliffe:
LD
There are many things that could and should be done to maintain a unique network that is a valuable asset. If we do not use it, we will lose it and, if we lo...
Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP):
SNP
I congratulate my colleague John Swinney on securing tonight's debate. On 22 September in Birnam, he and I sat at a packed meeting with sub-postmasters from ...
Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con):
Con
I congratulate John Swinney on securing a debate on what is an important matter for the whole of rural Scotland.I appreciate that support for sub-post office...
Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab):
Lab
I thank John Swinney for bringing this important debate to the Parliament this evening.Post office closures have a significant knock-on impact on local commu...
Mr Andrew Arbuckle (Mid Scotland and Fife) (LD):
LD
I thank John Swinney for securing this debate. It is significant that a large number of MSPs from across the political divide are attending and want to speak...
Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP):
SNP
I thank John Swinney for securing the debate.It is clear to me that we need to have joined-up thinking in our own back yard before we make a case for it to L...
Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green):
Green
I thank John Swinney—the man who has had more members' business debates than the entire Scottish Green Party in the second session of the Parliament—for secu...
Richard Lochhead (Moray) (SNP):
SNP
My last members' business debate earlier in the year was on the subject of the future of Post Office card accounts and the future of our post office network,...
Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD):
LD
I offer John Swinney my warmest congratulations on securing the debate. I am sure that it will worry him that I agree with every word he said.If we were to c...
Mr Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con):
Con
I congratulate John Swinney on securing the debate and, like Jamie Stone, agree with every word that he said. As another MSP for the Highlands and Islands, I...
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Con
Before I call the next speaker, I am minded to accept a motion without notice to extend the debate by 10 minutes.
Motion moved,
That, under Rule 8.14.3, the debate be extended until 6.04 pm.—Mr John Swinney.
Motion agreed to.
Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
I congratulate John Swinney on securing this debate, but the problem with debates on post offices is that we have to revisit the issue so often. If, as Jamie...
Euan Robson (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (LD):
LD
I, too, congratulate John Swinney on securing this debate.The pre-1997 UK Government had the unhappy record of overseeing the closure of 3,500 local post off...
Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP):
SNP
Rural communities are at the heart of the debate. I have the privilege of representing one of the three parliamentary constituencies in Aberdeenshire, where ...
The Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development (Rhona Brankin):
Lab
I, too, am pleased that John Swinney has given us the opportunity to discuss further the important subject of rural postal services. I have rural postal serv...