Author: Rhoda Grant

“I am absolutely appalled by the treatment of DeeAnn Fitzpatrick over the review into her case,” said Highlands and Islands Labour MSP Rhoda Grant.
“There are no two ways about it, it is an absolute cover up and no member of staff should be treated in this way.
“At the very least the First Minister should have invited DeeAnn to a private meeting to discuss the review and the conclusions, but what happened was that a public statement was issued before consulting with DeeAnn.
“I’ve written to the First Minister on a number of occasions asking for a meeting with her and with DeeAnn and I have requested that once again.
“The behaviour that DeeAnn experienced should be called out and not buried and the chapter closed without her seeing the full report.
“DeeAnn’s treatment by the Scottish Government is just abysmal.”

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The new Scottish Government Health Secretary is admitting that there will be no new investment in Skye, Lochalsh and South West Ross health services when it comes to out-of-hours recommendations in the recent Sir Lewis Ritchie report.
Jeane Freeman has told me that “in the main” any investment will need to come from the budgets of NHS Highland, the Scottish Ambulance Service or NHS 24.
This has taken me aback by the frank admission, querying how improvements can be made without any extra money. I wrote to Ms Freeman asking about more resources, especially in the light of money made available for the Caithness health services redesign.
I am sure this will be a revelation for most patients on Skye who are expecting more from the Scottish Government,
I’ll be contacting constituents and the chief executives of the health authority, ambulance service and NHS 24 with copies of the letter and would like to know their reaction to this.
The message from the Government is really – we’ll make the right noises, we’ll consult the community and sign up to an independent report but don’t expect a penny more from us!
If the health authority is to get no extra money, then the Government need to answer how on earth they can maintain Portree and at the same time build a new hospital in Broadford?
The Health Secretary told me:
“This is not comparable as the Caithness budget relates to the reprovision of services across Caithness which includes the building of care hubs and the refurbishment of Caithness General Hospital and that expenditure is more comparable with the expenditure estimated for the new hospital build at Broadford.
“In the main the recommendations contained in Sir Lewis’s report are focussed on utilising existing services in a different way and these do not require significant investment.
“Where there will be investment, whether by NHS Highland, The Scottish Ambulance Service or NHS 24 in supporting the delivery of the recommendations in Sir Lewis’s report, I expect those boards to identify and account for that from within their existing allocations. Some of that expenditure may not be known as it will depend, in parts, on the discussions with the people in Skye, Lochalsh and South West Ross as they coproduce solutions with the board.”

 

I am fully aware of the current works being carried out at the Stromeferry bypass and equally aware that there can be delays of up to three hours. This fact is causing a lot of frustration locally and to many, the option of a 140 mile round trip is a non starter for what is normally a 30 minute 23 mile journey.

As a result I contacted a senior official within Highland Council and was told that on Thursday 27 September, there will be a community meeting in Lochcarron Village Hall to discuss the issues and frustration with the current works. There will be a drop in session between 2pm and 5.30pm and a presentation between 6pm and 7pm. Thereafter there will be a general question time, so I would encourage as many people as possible to attend. Unfortunately I will be in the Scottish Parliament and cannot attend in person.

With regards to the long term plans, I was afraid over the months and years that I have been involved that they may have got kicked into the long grass. This appears to have been the case. It appears that Highland Council are looking at three corridors of interest. The North route, (behind the village) the South route (Glen Udalain) and the online route – basically moving the rail line out into the sea area and moving the road to where the rail line currently is situated. The latest STAG (Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance) has been submitted to the Scottish Government seeking support from the Government with regards funding. This appraisal is now on the desk of the current Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Michael Matheson MSP.

I understand that during Highland Council’s consideration of the capital five year spending plan in the spring of this year, that no finance was set aside for a new route. However there continues to be a £1m allocated for current works.

This saga has gone on too long. In my view this route should be a trunk road as it is the gateway to the islands via Skye and South West Ross.The Stomeferry Bypass was opened in 1970 and at that time was hailed as a great achievement. However, it was built along the Moine Thrust, a geological area of shattered and fragile rock. Over the period since the road was opened there has been many landslides and near misses. It is an absolute miracle that no one has been killed over the last 48 years.

This issue has dragged on and dragged on, school children travel the route everyday, people use the route to go to work daily and it is well used by tourist and sightseers alike. It is not acceptable that the local Government and the Scottish Government have not come up with a safe alternative by now and instead choose to bicker about whose responsibility it is.

I have written to the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Michael Matheson MSP, today and asked him to move this issue up his ‘to do list’ and bring to an end the uncertainty caused to motorists and parents of school children who use this route every day wondering if they will be struck by landslide or falling rocks.

I have  asked why it has taken so long for Paul Wheelhouse, Minister for the Islands is to address a Forum on the Western Isles Ferry provision.

Whilst I welcome the news that Paul Wheelhouse will eventually address questions on this severe issue, I am perplexed as to why he did not address it during his recent visit and indeed why Alasdair Allan, at that point, to bring it to his attention. This is not a new problem.

This visit comes on the back of the sustained pressure from many stakeholder groups including Outer Hebrides Tourism, CNES, the Business community, Islanders and Scottish Labour. Only last week I challenged the Minister to be transparent on the funding fiasco surrounding the MV Loch Seaforth.

We have been fighting for action to address the severe capacity restrictions which damages the fabric of ordinary life for Islanders whilst losing the fragile economies millions of pounds each year through the thwarting of tourism initiatives.

The resilience of the fleet is simply non-existent and we have seen services removed and disrupted at short notice.

To simply claim that there has been investment in the past does not hold water given that recent new ferries have seen severe delays in delivery and extortionate amounts being spent on ports to accommodate these new designs, not to mention the £53 Million being spent to in effect hire the Loch Seaforth from Lloyd’s bank for eight years.

Every time a new ferry is commissioned it results in millions of pounds being spent having to accommodate the design of the boats.

Against all opinion and advise SNP Ministers decided on a single large ferry for the Stornoway route rather than 2 smaller ferries which would have fitted the existing port facilities and provided resilience to other routes during planned maintenance. Surely if the advice had been heeded we would not find ourselves in this Perfect Storm.

I have laid several amendments in her name to the Planning Bill at the Scottish Parliament.  These amendments are designed to ensure that planning legislations looks at repopulation.  Many parts of the Highlands and Islands have become depopulated and this trend looks likely to continue.  These include amendments to facilitate repopulation and resettlement objectives are taken into account by Ministers.  Subsequent amendments require the mapping of ‘no longer inhabited human settlements.

In the past, some of the planning legislation and land use policies have actually had a negative effect on rural parts of the country, often leading to depopulation making it harder for areas to sustain themselves.  It is vitally important that this new Bill is amended to ensure they offer solutions towards the profound challenges we face in the Highlands and Islands.

Our rural areas provide huge benefits for Scotland, places the people of Scotland love to visit because it is beautiful.  That is to be celebrated and visitors are very welcome.  But as well as having countryside and ‘wild’ places for people to visit, we also want people to visit living places, vibrant communities with distinct culture and traditions.  We must ensure those communities are protected, to retain and restore population – it is people that are the lifeblood of the Highlands and Islands.

My amendments hopefully go some way to ensure that the new Planning Bill facilitates rural repopulation with sustainable economic and environmental development.  Hopefully, we can work towards protecting our rural areas for the future.