By Rob Gibson MSP
Published: 29 February, 2008
John O'Groat Journal
in association with the Caithness Courier
EVERY time the Boundary Commission try to do their job, a common reaction is to say: what do "X" and "Y" have in common for our MP/MSP/councillor to represent?
I'm sure when Caithness and Sutherland first sent a joint MP to London the same criticism surfaced.
After the fiasco of the spoilt ballot papers last May, our SNP Government and many others in Holyrood think Scottish elections should be run from Edinburgh. As for the Boundary Commission, they try to even up the numbers of voters each member serves. So the resultant boundaries can be bizarre. In the Highlands the main effect has been to partition Ross-shire at each review. I well remember Ardgay and Inveroykel being in Ross and Cromarty. Wonder when these two counties were combined?
Caithness is fairly self-contained, but population change and various constitutional amendments alter the constituencies. A change of voting system could also lead to a bigger multi-member seat. Any account that may be taken in a future Scotland of distance and scattered communities would regularise the representation of island groups like Orkney and super-sparsity such as in Sutherland and Wester Ross.
Meanwhile, we are stuck with places over 100 miles apart having the same elected representative. While the Black Isle may be on or close to the A9, surely we should have a serious rethink of duties allocated to the boundary commissioners. You can have your say by writing to representations@bcomm-scotland.gov.uk or Boundary Commission for Scotland, 3 Drumsheugh Gardens, Edinburgh EH3 7QJ, before March 14.
For my part I hope we remember that every Scottish constituency has eight members, one local and seven others for the region, many of whom will be local to some part of their patch. While Black Islers may be closer to Inverness than people in the Far North, we are all users of services in Inverness. Some may still shop in Dingwall or sell cattle there, but where does Durness do its shopping? Thurso or Inverness? So community of interest has to become a future measure boundary commissioners should be made to ponder. A Scottish set of rules, made in Scotland, should be our next demand.
Anyway, no matter what shape of the constituency, its name would be better as "Caithness, Sutherland, Easter Ross and the Black Isle". Anything is better than "North Highland".
THE Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) gave Scottish rural life several gold stars in a major survey made public last week. Rural Scotland has higher employment and lower unemployment than our cities, but more "remote" areas still suffer out-migration of the young and talented, poor levels of business start-ups and a lack of modern services.
While Caithness and north Sutherland may have a huge skills base fit for new marine energy challenges, we still need to find quality desk jobs, such as those in public agencies, to balance job prospects – and we most certainly need a modern railway to the Far North, better ferry links and road improvements for safety reasons.
The OECD report noted deep social and economic divides in town and country alike, but advantages of clean energy production following on from the northerly location of oil production, the broadband revolution and flight from the cities are key advantages for us. These do foster local entrepreneurs, but inflexible planning hampers affordable house-building if young and active families are to be welcomed back.
There are many key opportunities where we live that were not widely recognised even twenty years ago. But, thanks to Highlands and Islands Enterprise having its inherited social remit, cultural and community development has been far more advanced than in the bulk of Scotland looked after by Scottish Enterprise.
A week ago in the Education, Lifelong Learning and Culture Committee we took evidence from national companies such as Scottish Opera and local organisations like HI-Arts.
The rich mix of musical, theatrical and visual arts is rooted in many communities. Of course, it could be built up. However, a growing and better-paid population will make this easier to achieve.
Undoubtedly the Highlands is moving in a positive direction culturally, a clear sign that the OECD report is a good pointer to our potential.
PRESS coverage of our clean-power potential hit a jarring note this week. Graphic statistics show the gap between Scottish Government targets and what is actually being achieved, and raise fundamental questions about the poor grasp of the issues involved by Westminster.
For instance, Germany has ten times more wind power installed than the UK. This at a time when the UK has signed up to Kyoto and the new EU generation target for green power.
On the occasion of a major conference in Aberdeen, my MEP colleague Alyn Smith has sought the urgent publication of a Scottish energy strategy to bridge the gulf between UK rhetoric and the huge potential here in the Far North.
I have to add that the new concordat between Scottish and local governments should include a regular audit of progress to implement the spirit and letter of SPP6, the Government guidelines for renewable features in all new buildings, and in adopting a detailed renewables policy. I note in passing that the Highland Council has not adopted such an approach, according to Friends of the Earth.
For sure, the excellent conference on the potential of marine energy in the Pentland Firth held on Scottish budget day earlier this month needs Jim Mather, our Energy Minister, to get a national Scottish sustainable energy policy in place soon.
It is very much in my mind as I join colleagues on the Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change Committee in visiting London and Brussels this week, seeking common cause on tackling climate chaos. I will report back to you, dear readers, in my next Holyrood Diary.
Friday, 29 February 2008
Friday, 15 February 2008
Serial scaremongering over budget proposals
By Rob Gibson MSP
Published: 15 February, 2008
John O'Groat Journal
in association with the Caithness Courier
OPPOSITION to the SNP national budget was seen off in truly spectacular style last Wednesday.
From the SNP benches we witnessed the final abstention of Labour and Lib Dem MSPs. This showed how negative the role of Labour and Lib Dem MSPs had been in the whole budget process whose rules they drew up themselves eight years ago. The Labour proposition was to seek changes to one per cent of the total amount, then propose a reasoned amendment on skills training and apprenticeships. After having it accepted by John Swinney, then to subsequently abstain from the final vote on the whole 100 per cent was as farcical a stance as I have witnessed in many years of politics. I am told Wendy Alexander was asking how to vote from another frontbencher, so cloudy were the tactics.
As for the Lib Dems, what a cheek they displayed in describing the budget as too opaque to amend in the finance committee. They were the inventors of opaque and thus ruled themselves out as a serious player.
The upshot is that around the country small businesses, councils and the general public see an SNP Government start to change the culture of administration which includes a historic concordat with local government, frozen council taxes, a small-business bonus, adding 500 extra police to the 500 already promised and increased funding in all departments on a modest scale.
Now let us turn to this week's Highland shenanigans. The news headlines are full of serial scaremongering by opposition MSPs and councillors. We are told that teachers will lose their posts, voluntary services will be slashed, learning centres will definitely close. The likes of Jamie Stone and Rhoda Grant have turned the debate on the budget proposals of the Highland Council's independent/SNP administration into a competition to see who can raise more fears about services among as many sections of the voters as possible. Don't ask for detailed explanations from them, headlines sound better than facts – and anyway, they just want to sound off. But foghorns won't deliver the services. That will come via proper accountability, audited behaviour and service level agreements for voluntary groups in receipt of local government support.
This week, after months of attacking the local government deal, Andy Kerr, speaking on BBC Radio Scotland, has finally broken ranks with Labour in Parliament and backed the council tax freeze. He actually might recognise the most generous spending settlement ever from a Scottish Government for Scotland's local authorities at a time when the Scottish Government has received its least generous settlement from Andy Kerr's Westminster colleagues.
Over the next three years councils will see their funding increase by 12.5 per cent and over the next few days we will see councils across the country taking that opportunity to introduce a council tax freeze. As Pat Watters, president of COSLA, said on Wednesday morning, in order to match the level of funding on offer from the Scottish Government councils would have to increase council tax by 3.5 per cent.
That was part of my argument in another recent Parliamentary debate. The extra costs of the Public/Private Partnership schemes for new schools and hospitals are quite unnecessary because the SNP is to launch a Fund for Future Investment to cut profiteering by the private sector and save public money. Compared with conventional borrowing, we have lost £2.1 billion in additional PPP costs in four years. What could local services do with that?
We need a pause for reflection. In the wake of the SNP budget, what we are witnessing is a new way of thinking. Taking stock of wasteful practices is well understood by local councils across the country who will bring in the council tax freeze. Every department will look closely at finding two per cent efficiency savings. By the way, that's below the amount of savings demanded in England by a Labour Government there.
Rob Gibson MSP visited the threatened Pulteneytown PO to assure staff of his support for the fight to retain the office, which he sees as a vital community resource.
DEVOLUTION – is it a process or an event? That is very much in focus this week. It is, of course, closely linked to the recent budget victory for the SNP and its supporters. We were told that Gordon Brown did not consider the idea of a devolution review to be the province of Wendy Alexander, the Tories and Lib Dems in Holyrood, and certainly not the SNP. He would dictate its scope and range. Any increased powers, especially tax powers, for the Scottish Government are ruled out by London. Scottish Labour soon responded. Wendy's spokesperson told London ministers they were "out of step" with Labour in Scotland.
Commentators have noted that the Unionist vehicle for constitutional debate would come off the road unless the subject of tax was openly discussed. Yet Scottish Office minister David Cairns MP then argued that fiscal powers were off limits.
Meanwhile, the SNP Government's National Conversation is to move on to more specific proposals. Alex Salmond announced this in Dublin ahead of the British-Irish ministerial meeting.
The threatened 2p increase in fuel prices due in April will cripple north hauliers and Scottish businesses of all sizes who need variation in Corporation Tax up here. These moves are anathema to Gordon Brown and his Chancellor Alistair Darling because they are seeing Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff governments probing for new ways to build their economies, while Brown faces losing control of more and more strings of central government. As a control freak he just hates that. But, as the pattern of getting more and more local flexibility for Scottish councils shows, it's a process that cannot be stopped.
The Scottish Parliament took the first major steps last week; the Highland Council is likely to do so this week. It's good for taxpayers and it's time we harnessed our huge resources to build Scotland and not pay for any more London mismanagement. You only need to look at the sorry saga of the destruction of our post offices to know Scottish control will be a lot more sensitive to community needs.
Friday, 1 February 2008
Too many examples of climate chaos to ignore
By Rob Gibson MSP
Published: 01 February, 2008
John O'Groat Journal
in association with the Caithness Courier
ALL over Scotland residents, businesses and public bodies are being urged by the SNP Government to decide what they can do to help our nation achieve ambitious plans to tackle climate change.
This week my colleague John Swinney, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, announced that he was launching a consultation on Scotland's first Climate Change Bill that includes the proposal for a statutory target to reduce Scottish emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.
As I wrote in my Holyrood Diary on January 4, I have been deciding how my own home can be climate-proofed. So, along with many of you, I will be delving into the government proposals that include robust annual scrutiny and reporting of progress; a framework of carbon budgets for Scottish emissions; and the publication of transparent and independent advice on when, and to what level, cuts in emissions should be made by us all.
John Swinney said: "Climate change is having a major impact on the world we live in. As a society we are at a crossroads, and we must now choose which world we will pass on to our children."
The Scottish Government is determined to play a leading role in action on climate change. Indeed actions taken today could bring clear and tangible benefits to Scotland now and in the future.
How will we go about moving to a low-carbon economy? Can we really create new jobs and improve local environments as part of our drive to generate sustainable economic growth?
I hope that you, dear readers, will agree that government, business and all of the people of Scotland must be ready to rise to the challenge of climate change. Your views on these proposals are crucial to ensure that we have the right framework to inform our actions for the next 40 years and that we build the right future for Scots to enjoy.
As a member of the Parliament's Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change Committee I will be finding ways to make these ideas work. But I am conscious that people still say: how can my little effort help? That's why this is the most exciting time to be in politics. Scotland is moving towards greater decision-taking powers and we are asking all who live in our beautiful land to commit their actions to ensure it has a bright future.
Already pressure groups such as Stop Climate Chaos have welcomed this landmark bill. Their spokesperson Jess Pepper, of WWF, has agreed that it is a great opportunity for Scotland to become a world leader in tackling climate change.
More than 30 of Scotland's most respected organisations campaigning on climate change have greeted it with enthusiasm. They agree that the consultation is a good start and are encouraged by the Scottish Government's acknowledgement of the two degrees Celsius global-warming danger threshold and the need for policy to reflect the most recent science.
But they warn us that to meet overall targets it is essential that there is a commitment to annual reductions of at least three per cent per year. Without it, the SNP manifesto commitment can't be met. Stop Climate Chaos wants emissions from international aviation included in the SNP targets, a subject that will be hotly debated. But it is correct to see this as vital so that the Scottish Climate Change Bill is seen in a global context.
TV pictures from the Pacific and Indian oceans show low-lying islands in danger of succumbing to rising tides and changing weather patterns. This surely must lead all of us in Scotland to acknowledge that poor people around the world are already feeling the real impact of climate change, as atolls we thought were idyllic holiday destinations actually face an increased risk of disasters threatening the very lives of their inhabitants.
There are too many examples of climate chaos to ignore. You can imagine how frustrated I felt when Newsnight Scotland last week focused on a saga in Bearsden where Lib Dem councillors wanted to have bin collections every second week and Tory councillors routed them at the polls last May. The piece signally failed to show any hint of a change in behaviour that people have to make in something as simple as regulating what you put in your bins and when.
If you look at the Scottish Government website it shows 10 simple ways to reduce climate-change impacts right away. But be prepared – much more will be needed each year from all of us.
THIS week's debate on the importance of Scottish history in our school curriculum was a landmark event. Only three years ago the then Labour Minister was suggesting that any history taught could be covered in Secondary 1 and 2 as part of social subjects, not as a discrete and central part of every child's experience. Shamefully, some schools around Glasgow had already ditched the subject totally from the curriculum.
Today, Learning and Teaching Scotland, HM Inspectorate of Education, the Scottish Qualifications Authority, academics and the main teaching union the EIS all show willing to make history an experience throughout pupils' school careers.
We all want to emphasise that Scottish history delivered through local examples is needed before young people can appreciate the world around them. It's about successful learning, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors as the Curriculum for Excellence insists.
I was proud to take part in the debate and look forward to fighting for enough resources for our schools to deliver a broad sweep of history rooted in our own country but outward-looking as ever.
Published: 01 February, 2008
John O'Groat Journal
in association with the Caithness Courier
ALL over Scotland residents, businesses and public bodies are being urged by the SNP Government to decide what they can do to help our nation achieve ambitious plans to tackle climate change.
This week my colleague John Swinney, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, announced that he was launching a consultation on Scotland's first Climate Change Bill that includes the proposal for a statutory target to reduce Scottish emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.
As I wrote in my Holyrood Diary on January 4, I have been deciding how my own home can be climate-proofed. So, along with many of you, I will be delving into the government proposals that include robust annual scrutiny and reporting of progress; a framework of carbon budgets for Scottish emissions; and the publication of transparent and independent advice on when, and to what level, cuts in emissions should be made by us all.
John Swinney said: "Climate change is having a major impact on the world we live in. As a society we are at a crossroads, and we must now choose which world we will pass on to our children."
The Scottish Government is determined to play a leading role in action on climate change. Indeed actions taken today could bring clear and tangible benefits to Scotland now and in the future.
How will we go about moving to a low-carbon economy? Can we really create new jobs and improve local environments as part of our drive to generate sustainable economic growth?
I hope that you, dear readers, will agree that government, business and all of the people of Scotland must be ready to rise to the challenge of climate change. Your views on these proposals are crucial to ensure that we have the right framework to inform our actions for the next 40 years and that we build the right future for Scots to enjoy.
As a member of the Parliament's Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change Committee I will be finding ways to make these ideas work. But I am conscious that people still say: how can my little effort help? That's why this is the most exciting time to be in politics. Scotland is moving towards greater decision-taking powers and we are asking all who live in our beautiful land to commit their actions to ensure it has a bright future.
Already pressure groups such as Stop Climate Chaos have welcomed this landmark bill. Their spokesperson Jess Pepper, of WWF, has agreed that it is a great opportunity for Scotland to become a world leader in tackling climate change.
More than 30 of Scotland's most respected organisations campaigning on climate change have greeted it with enthusiasm. They agree that the consultation is a good start and are encouraged by the Scottish Government's acknowledgement of the two degrees Celsius global-warming danger threshold and the need for policy to reflect the most recent science.
But they warn us that to meet overall targets it is essential that there is a commitment to annual reductions of at least three per cent per year. Without it, the SNP manifesto commitment can't be met. Stop Climate Chaos wants emissions from international aviation included in the SNP targets, a subject that will be hotly debated. But it is correct to see this as vital so that the Scottish Climate Change Bill is seen in a global context.
TV pictures from the Pacific and Indian oceans show low-lying islands in danger of succumbing to rising tides and changing weather patterns. This surely must lead all of us in Scotland to acknowledge that poor people around the world are already feeling the real impact of climate change, as atolls we thought were idyllic holiday destinations actually face an increased risk of disasters threatening the very lives of their inhabitants.
There are too many examples of climate chaos to ignore. You can imagine how frustrated I felt when Newsnight Scotland last week focused on a saga in Bearsden where Lib Dem councillors wanted to have bin collections every second week and Tory councillors routed them at the polls last May. The piece signally failed to show any hint of a change in behaviour that people have to make in something as simple as regulating what you put in your bins and when.
If you look at the Scottish Government website it shows 10 simple ways to reduce climate-change impacts right away. But be prepared – much more will be needed each year from all of us.
THIS week's debate on the importance of Scottish history in our school curriculum was a landmark event. Only three years ago the then Labour Minister was suggesting that any history taught could be covered in Secondary 1 and 2 as part of social subjects, not as a discrete and central part of every child's experience. Shamefully, some schools around Glasgow had already ditched the subject totally from the curriculum.
Today, Learning and Teaching Scotland, HM Inspectorate of Education, the Scottish Qualifications Authority, academics and the main teaching union the EIS all show willing to make history an experience throughout pupils' school careers.
We all want to emphasise that Scottish history delivered through local examples is needed before young people can appreciate the world around them. It's about successful learning, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors as the Curriculum for Excellence insists.
I was proud to take part in the debate and look forward to fighting for enough resources for our schools to deliver a broad sweep of history rooted in our own country but outward-looking as ever.
Friday, 18 January 2008
Scotland can learn from Slovenia
By Rob Gibson MSP
Published: 18 January, 2008
John O'Groat Journal
in association with the Caithness Courier
AS the nights slowly shorten, I notice issues furth of Scotland are crowding for as much attention as matters close to home. So first I'll look at some international contacts I've been involved with that show promise.
Slovenia, one of the small former Yugoslav republics that successfully wrested itself from Serbia, has become the first of the recent accession states to take over the rotating presidency of the European Union.
My Westminster colleague, Moray MP Angus Robertson, was a reporter in Vienna previously and he attended a recent conference in Slovenia's capital. He described the country's potential: "Slovenia is showing us the lead. With a population less than half of Scotland, this Alpine country has taken centre stage and is presiding over the whole EU. Since securing its independence Slovenia's economy has been booming, with recent growth rates of over five per cent. Its capital Ljubljana is bustling with trade and tourism. It is also now a diplomatic centre with scores of permanent diplomatic representatives and is currently the hub of business between EU countries.
"This all has brought tangible benefits to the people of Slovenia, whose standard of living is improving massively and their country is now firmly on the map, reaping the benefits of equality amongst the family of nations. Scotland should look closely and learn from Slovenia. Unlike them, we have a much easier route to self-determination but the destination is the same: independence in Europe."
Making direct international contacts to spread understanding of Scotland is a pledge that this SNP Government takes very seriously. With climate-change and culture hats on, I hope to make my contribution. Last November I made a most successful visit to Brussels to work with Alyn Smith, one our two SNP MEPs. With the help of his policy adviser Dr Aileen McLeod I was able to meet officials of the British Council and Scotland House, which is the EU base for the Scottish Government, and representatives from the EU Commission such as the director-general of education and culture. Also on our itinerary were a number of cultural attachés and other Brussels-based representatives of their country. I met those from Estonia, Catalonia, Hungary, Flanders, Poland and Slovenia.
I was struck by their welcome recognition of Scotland and our distinctive culture as they expressed willingness to invite Scotland to participate as partners. We gave several CDs of contemporary Scots music to each representative we met. So I was delighted to receive several messages of thanks before Christmas. One came from the Slovene counsellor for cultural and audiovisual affairs, Sa\u0161o Gazdic, who wrote: "I really enjoy the Scottish music you gave me as a present at our meeting in the European Parliament. And I will try my best to establish co-operation between the Scottish House in Brussels and Slovenian artists."
There are many new artistic links to be made across the continent. That's why I was pleased to chair the inaugural meeting in Wick last Friday that seeks to set up an international symposium to bring together Scottish and Nordic playwrights that is planned to take place later this year. Caithness is a fulcrum where Norse and Celtic cultures meet. There's every good reason to encourage George Gunn and his Grey Coast Theatre Company colleagues to lay the groundwork. Thanks to Nordic Council funds, they can start to make contacts in Iceland, Norway, etc. I can see a future role for Scottish Government support as we broaden our contacts towards our Nordic near neighbours.
On the downside, the Norwegian Consulate in Edinburgh is being scaled down and diplomatic presence slashed. In Parliament I asked a supplementary question to Linda Fabiani, our Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture, last Thursday. I underlined the help that diplomats have been to local businesses here and hope to see that service restored in future.
Of course, an independent Scotland would automatically attract the provision of ambassadorial contacts which we need now and will in future through ongoing work on many joint Scots-Norwegian economic projects.
Gathering in Wick to discuss an international symposium that will bring together Scottish and Nordic playwrights are (from left) Ann Thomson, Grey Coast Theatre Company; Jacqui Clark, playwright and arts development officer with Shetland Arts Trust; Grey Coast playwright George Gunn; Gail MacDonald, Grey Coast; Christine Russell, director of Scotia Review; Julie Ellen, creative director of Playwrights' Studio Scotland; Donna Heddle, head of the UHI Centre of Nordic Studies; and Rob Gibson, Highlands and Islands SNP MSP.
BACK on home turf I was pleased to see the progress made by the McLeod family in their meeting with the Northern Joint Police Board. The death of their son Kevin in Wick harbour in 1997 will hopefully receive proper scrutiny by the authorities at long last. The case has already led to improved police procedures to deal with unexplained deaths. But I hope that the case of Kevin McLeod can be concluded with some agreement between the family and the authorities to find out, if at all possible, at this distance what actually happened. It was good to begin to clear the air.
In that regard, I am pleased that the first of the additional 150 new police recruits promised by this Government this financial year began training at the Scottish Police College at Tulliallan earlier this week.
The first batch of 52 of the additional officers will be joined by a further 98 recruits in the next two intakes to ensure that the Government delivers 150 more officers by the end of March.
This intake will increase the number of officers in the Far North and elsewhere. Therefore I welcome the actions of my colleague, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, who pledged that the SNP Government will see more police officers becoming part of the fabric of the communities they serve – building local knowledge, forging strong relationships with families and businesses and helping support safe, strong communities for all.
Monday, 14 January 2008
I was able to visit this rock school in Alness where this student was happy to play a few of her very own songs.
Myself and Councillor George Farlow of North, West and Central Sutherland.
At the official opening of the National Nature Reserve in Flow Country where Stuart Housden of RSPB is receiving a commemorating plaque from an official of National Heritage Scotland.
A group of us walking around pools of bogs.
This is a photo showing myself, Bog Miller and Russian TV Producer Alexander Korobko pointing to the spot where a stone will be placed along the Skara Brae timeline. It will sit between one marking the American moon landing and another making the invention of the telephone, and will commemorate the achievement of Yuri Gagarin and the Russian Space Programme for being the first human in space.
Thursday, 10 January 2008
Quite a year for Scotland's music - A personal view of Rob Gibson MSP
On 2nd December 2006, a couple of days into the second month of the Celtic year, I was asked to give the opening speech at the 4th annual Hands Up For Trad Awards (HUFTA). After three years of growing success based in Edinburgh the start of the Year of Highland Culture had made possible their transfer to the Nevis Centre, Fort William where, in a much transformed great big barn of a hall, hundreds of well wishers packed the sponsored tables and gallery.
Patricia Ferguson MSP, the then Scottish Executive Culture Minister, called off from performing the opening ceremony, hence my promotion as a Highlands and Islands member, albeit of the main opposition party. Simon Thoumire had honoured me with invitations as a longstanding organiser, performer and supporter of our contemporary traditional arts. I recall saying that the progress of Scotland to more self-confidence marched hand in hand with the strength of our music. The evening’s awards and performances bore witness with stand out spots from Julie Fowlis and her band, the Peatbog Fairies and the three young pipers Ross Ainslie, Ally Hutton and Jarleth Henderson paying stunning tribute to the late lamented Gordon Duncan our most innovative player and pipe tune writer of these times.
The crack in the late night club in the Alexandra Hotel was fierce with demands for wider recognition of this annual celebration and of the best of our folk artists. Why wasn’t HUFTA on TV? When would our hugely popular music gain the media coverage it deserves? We all pledged to keep up the pressure.
Patricia Ferguson MSP, the then Scottish Executive Culture Minister, called off from performing the opening ceremony, hence my promotion as a Highlands and Islands member, albeit of the main opposition party. Simon Thoumire had honoured me with invitations as a longstanding organiser, performer and supporter of our contemporary traditional arts. I recall saying that the progress of Scotland to more self-confidence marched hand in hand with the strength of our music. The evening’s awards and performances bore witness with stand out spots from Julie Fowlis and her band, the Peatbog Fairies and the three young pipers Ross Ainslie, Ally Hutton and Jarleth Henderson paying stunning tribute to the late lamented Gordon Duncan our most innovative player and pipe tune writer of these times.
The crack in the late night club in the Alexandra Hotel was fierce with demands for wider recognition of this annual celebration and of the best of our folk artists. Why wasn’t HUFTA on TV? When would our hugely popular music gain the media coverage it deserves? We all pledged to keep up the pressure.
As a postscript the newspapers announced two days later that Patricia Ferguson had doled out over one million pounds to Scottish Ballet and the RSNO that very weekend. Given the total spend on traditional music that amounts to an equivalent sum it prompted me to seek actual figures from the Scottish Arts Council, enterprise networks and local councils for our indigenous music product.
We were told by HAIL, the music promotion arm of HIE at the workshop they mounted ahead of RockNess in June 2006, that the music business in the Highlands and Islands as whole probably grosses £45 million per annum.
Surely the economic potential of our traditions should attract even more public support? That theme requires an audit of government sponsored spending that would need a committee enquiry to shine some light on the truth.
The start of 2007 Scottish Year of Highland Culture was marked in Inverness at the old New Year Friday 12th January. The music from Blazing Fiddles and the Inverness Gaelic Choir was fine stadium stuff and from our vantage point on the Ness Bridge we witnessed a fantastic fireworks display, most notably of fire boats floating on the river. More trad music in the streets would have been good as the throng headed for Falcon Square to witness the aerial acrobats from France.
A week later the 14th Celtic Connections kicked off in Glasgow but it was to be a much curtailed event for me. What with a forthcoming election in May and local events in the far north Eleanor and I decided to concentrate on one weekend’s concerts and for the first time the smoke-free festival club.
This was Donald Shaw’s debut as director of Celtic Connections and the mix becomes all the more intriguing. One event that continues is Showcase Scotland to which promoters and artists from many countries come to Glasgow. I convened the presentations prior to the Saturday evening concerts. They featured the HebCelt Festival, Shetland Festival and the Blas Festival in the Year of Highland Culture. A sparky question session proved a real success for these standout events and their organisers.
We enjoyed some of the more intimate performances in the Tron and Strathclyde Suites. A full house in the Tron greeted Nolwenn Korbell who is a cutting edge Breton singer playing with widely respected guitarist Soig Sibiril better known to Glasgow audiences.
I can’t pass on to the next concert without high praise for the Lori Watson trio who supported Nolwenn. Old friends from the Highland education world the Youngs were there to hear their daughter Fiona as Lori’s punk accordionist who played, sang and giggled her way through a fine Borders music set.
The following week I sang in the Parliament Burns Supper offering Ca’ the Yowes and joining in the communal numbers and playing for A Man’s A Man For Aw’ That.
In the last month of the Parliamentary session my member’s debate in praise of Hands Up for Trad was answered by Patricia Ferguson the soon to be ousted Culture Minister. Details of the debate can be found on the Official Report for 14th March. In my speech I quoted from a recent book by Kate Martin, who is now lecturing in community education at the University of Dundee. Kate was a founder of Fèis Rois and she has edited a history of the first 25 years of the fèisean movement that was launched at the Hands Up for Trad weekend last December. She sums up thus:
"It seems that in return for a relatively small investment, in the Highlands and Islands and beyond, the Fèisean are producing a generation of assertive and skilled young people who are confident in their culture and as a result can relate to other cultures. They are creating networks, enhancing the quality of life, building social capital and community capacity, and contributing to employment in rural communities.
When young people become aware of and confident about their own culture it becomes possible for them to appreciate other cultures and contribute to a wider social participation and understanding."
Also in this regard the Youth Music Initiative, which has been most successful if diverse in its forms, as fits our multi-form Scotland, has to be assessed and given new impetus. I am glad that Alex Salmond the First Minister no less gave assurances that it will not be lost and that Culture and Education ministers can bring some analysis of the output and objectives into the light. Certainly the Scottish Executive which launched the scheme would surely agree that fine tuning is required?
The Minister made no real comment on YMI but merely echoed my praise for developments in the traditional music scene yet failed to pledge any support for approaching the BBC to televise the next HUFTA or any other positive commitment.
Two weeks later in my last weekend as an MSP I followed up appointments in Thurso and Reay with a visit to the annual Rob Donn Commemoration Concert in Melvich Hall where a long rambling but intriguing series of spots on the pipes, fiddle, Gaelic choirs and spoken tribute to the bard, who was a contemporary of Burns, wove on till early dawn.
On the Monday night the 30th March I visited the tutors’ ceilidh at Feis Rois Oigridh - Junior Feis Rois in Ullapool for my last night as MSP for Highlands and Islands. The young tutors are well ready to take over the Feis movement as many of them have come through from Primary level to careers in our very own culture. Memories of the musical feast carried me into the momentous election that was underway with who knows what outcome. Tantalisingly the SNP had stayed ahead in the polls for several months. However the music of our Gaelic heartland spurred me on as I drove back home to Evanton.
After the longest count of them all on Friday 4th May at Inverness Sports Centre I was returned as the 46th SNP MSP and Dave Thompson as the crucial 47th - we confirmed the result of the stunning last gasp victory of the SNP at 5.30pm. Euphoria and sleep, then the GNER train to Edinburgh for SNP Group photos and a first and much expanded group meeting. Business done we retired to a pub or two but I was mindful of my desire to get to part of the Feis Rois Inbhich, the Adult Feis over the May holiday weekend.
A nice symmetry was achieved from the start to successful conclusion of the most momentous Scottish election in fifty years. Rita Hunter Feis Momma in chief was introducing the tutors’ ceilidh and offered me a dedication as the newly re-elected SNP MSP. It was the pipe set led by Iain MacDonald of Glenuig and Benbecula. What an honour. It’s the quality of concert no normal festival could afford. The range was as usual - mind blowing. Back in the Ceilidh Place so many folks wanted to talk about our SNP victory, alas the huge ensemble music session became a backdrop to stories of where you were when the result came through. Angus Brendan’s brother-in-law had to pull off the road whilst driving north to Ullapool while the car full of feisers hugged and wept tears of joy. A Guinness haze set in.
It took a couple of weeks to the swearing in of Alex Salmond as First Minister and the thrill of the high wire act called minority government. Deidre had been elected as an Edinburgh Councillor and became Culture and Sport Chair in the new LibDem/SNP administration, another link in the cultural chain.
After the announcement of Ministerial posts we were delighted that Linda Fabiani had been appointed to the Culture, Europe and External Relations post. Then I was unexpectedly appointed as a backbencher to be Vice Convener of Education, Lifelong Learning and Culture Committee. A stroke of luck for promoting our music and a counterbalance to the resolutely schools orientated members from the other parties. Champagne was ordered for the first SNP ministers ever!
On 23rd June we attended another big event in Highland 2007, the Outsider Festival near Aviemore which combined outdoor activities and top bands. We opted for the Idlewild and KT Tunstall event. Niall MacDonald, my assistant, plumped for Crowded House the following night who were upstaged by Shooglenifty. Like most of the summer festivals the mud won, though KT was fun.
The following Saturday in the official opening of Parliament on 30th June music played a big part, especially at the informal Picnic at the Parliament. We cheered Blazing Fiddles and the Feis Rois Ceilidh Trail and much else as the rain from the south closed in on the festivities. A most appropriate start to the people’s Parliament in its third term. The First Minister added to the big occasion with his ‘command performance’ of Black Watch. The pipes and the songs like Twa Recruiting Sergeants peppered a riveting show that has now gone global.
Summer in Brittany usually gains respite from the rains, but not this year. Our annual break reunited us with friends such as the fest noz band Dremmwel from Ploveilh, in French, Plomelin near Quimper. At the 84th Festival de Cornouaille we booked two big concerts Écosse en Cornouaille and Joan Baez.
This year’s star was undoubtedly Julie Fowlis who was hailed as the new Karen Matheson following her five star show with local heroes the Bagad Kemper, the Clan Gregor Society Pipe Band [Grade One] and the Fred Morrison Band. What a blast hearing such prestigious bands playing North Uist tunes with Julie offering Ruigidh Mi, a Gaelic version of the Breton classic Me Zo Ganet and Fred in full flight and even joking in French to wow over 2,000 folk packed in the grand chapiteau at the Place de la Resistance.
Back home in sodden Scotland we caught the last night of the Feis Rois Ceilidh Trail in the Stables, Cromarty. It’s fascinating to see the changing personnel. As one group moves on another seamlessly moves on up. What a confirmation of the Feisean Movement’s success.
Our second trip to Brittany was to the Salon Du Livre Insulaire 22 to 26 August. It was the ninth event and featured Scottish Island writers whom we had recruited and supported with the help of HiArts writing development officer Peter Urpeth. Following readings and daytime book talk, in perfect island weather, ceilidhs filled the evenings. All were encouraged to perform so I sang "The Gig In Ness" which originates a long time before the Stornoway Way. The old song is the story of how the young folk band from the ‘heart of beyond’ on tour to the north of Lewis had resonance.
A new poem arose from those nights on Ouessant. Breton dancing was a revelation to our Scots writers and an idea was born of a Scottish Island book festival and the new poem in Shetlandic and French from Christina de Luca. [Ref] An article by Ian Stephen, "The Lights of Ouessant", appeared in the November issue of Northings, the HiArts Journal.
Parliament reconvened in early September in the very week that the Blas Festival was scheduled. We managed to hear Kathleen MacInnes and Mary Jane Lamont and their bands on the Monday in Ardross Hall. Both were feeling their way to a polished set. But the finale at Fort William of Donald Shaw’s Harvest was the confirmation of the maturity of our youngsters from Feis Rois in collaboration with the lead musicians of Celtic music. There must be ways found to play Harvest across the world.
The show conceived for Celtic Connections in 2004 has been slimmed down to forty young musicians and fifteen top Celtic music players and singers up front. If ever an international work begs a slot in the Edinburgh Festival it’s this one. Hopefully a Breton venue will be found next summer and possibly one in Galicia. The idea is to have half and half young players from Scotland and the host country plus the Celtic stars. However it would be ironic if they preceded an Edinburgh gig. I was all the more pleased to launch the pre-show drinks on behalf of the Scotland Funds who hope to attract Diaspora money to promote educational and cultural ventures back here. The Feisean movement will be an early beneficiary for such philanthropy.
I was the climatic exception that proves the rule, the John Lennon Northern Lights Festival at Durness was held in perfect weather on the last weekend in September. Blue skies, calm seas and a gallimaufry of art and music were inspired by the late Beatle. Mike Merritt built the idea from scratch in February without much help from 2007. He had read Mike Russell’s novella ‘The Next Big Thing’ which inspired his vision and attracted support from John’s relations. We took in the Sunday with all-day informal music in the Oasis at Sango Sands. Canadian chanteuse Allison Crowe was a stand out act. I missed Face the West but caught Julie Fowlis at the Village Hall that evening. What a fine set she has crafted, inspiration for days ahead far beyond the road home. I lodged a motion of congratulations for the festival in Parliament (seen on the Parliament website: .
I spoke on the current political situation in Scotland at the 6th collogue in Nantes University of the French Society of Scottish Studies on 13th October.
The National Mod in Lochaber attracted some notoriety for the amateur treatment of the Minister of Culture, Linda Fabiani. Duff translation equipment left her out of the loop on the long opening ceremony. A mischievous BBC report suggested it was inexplicable that she had no announcements to make for the language. The Mod may not be the most useful vehicle to promote the language given the amateur approach to translation. I restricted my visit to a singing competition and the press conference where the announcement of Caithness as the venue for the 2010 Mod was made. The translator initially told us listeners in English that it was to be held in Sutherland before being corrected! I was delighted that Raymond Bremner and his team have realised the dream of a first visit ever by the national Mod O’er I Ord.
The autumn brought a great burst of musical activity as my discussions with Dr McLeod promised a campaign visit to Brussels to meet cultural attachés and take the temperature for promoting our music with European partners.
Just after the SNP Conference in Aviemore the Unusual Suspects were singing the following Tuesday in the Queens Hall. What a stunning group of seventeen musicians Corrina Hewat and David Milligan have led through thick and thin for five years. That night they played the Lorient Suite commissioned for the previous summer event that so wowed the InterCeltic Festival in August as a key piece in music in the Scottish feature. A fine review of it by Debbie Koritas appeared in The Living Tradition. We congratulated Corrina and heard her earnest concerns about finding new sponsors. Only in Scotland could such an innovative production akin to a Scottish National Folk Orchestra suffer such uncertainty.
Alyn Smith MEP in his European report to SNP National Council on 1st December noted the valuable work I started on my first visit to Brussels on 19th and 20th November. With the help of his policy adviser Dr Aileen McLeod we opened doors for Scottish musicians and trad music with cultural representative in the capital of the EU and far beyond.
First stop was to pin down the British Council representative as to what material help it could shed light on policy changes from London to shift funds to promote the UK in the Middle East. Next stop was the Hungarian Cultural Institute where they gave us a warm welcome for joint projects in their fine performance space.
Scotland House offered a chance to discuss how we can bring together writers, musicians and visual art and offer more gigs for Scots artists. The singers and writers series are already popular, combined events was what we suggested so that Scots music could be set alongside visual art and modern writing. Hearing from the Estonian cultural attaché Tamara Luuk who joined us at Scotland House reminded us what much smaller countries than Scotland can do to project their culture as EU members.
The Communications representative of the Flemish Culture Minister was most enthusiastic about more Scots music being hosted there. She subsequently thanked us for the visit and pledged support to ‘organise projects between Scotland and Flanders’.
The Catalan policy adviser on European affairs gave us a goody bag full of CDs, pamphlets and promotions of Catalan culture across Europe. Clearly they are very well organised and at twice the population size of Scotland highly adept at promoting their nation. The most truly enthusiastic man we met all day was Sašo Gazdić, the Slovene counsellor on cultural and audiovisual affairs. He was of the view that we were so very lucky to have such a distinctive culture with which Slovenes could readily associate. Good prospects again for joint musical projects.
To each group we offered some CDs of Scottish trad music and promised to keep up the discussion about cooperation. Over dinner that evening members of the Caledonian Society in Brussels explained their ambitious plans for a modern style Highland Games to showcase Scottish talent.
On the second day the Polish Permanent Representation in the EU was our first port of call where we were loaded with various wide-ranging cultural publications. As such a major contributor of young workers to Scotland cultural links are vital. The Commission officials who met us from the Directorate General of Education and Culture were keen to promote the very recently agreed European Year of Intercultural Dialogue. This fits well with our idea of a debate at local national and international level.
There’s a very fruitful trail to be developed as more reps of more member states get our upbeat cultural message.
Dr McLeod summed up our project by saying, “We want others to share in our cultural experience. This is who the Scots are and what we are about, that we have a very vibrant traditional music scene in Scotland on the up because they recognise we now have a government in Scotland that is committed to supporting this sector.”
“I'm often reminded of the comment by Sašo, the Slovene, as to how lucky we are in Scotland to have such a distinctive culture, a distinctive presence and being who we are - that for all those 'dark' years has been bubbling away under the surface because there has been such a lack of support from previous administrations with the funding focused very much on the big name companies, i.e. Scottish national ballet, etc. and now there has been a real sense of a flourishing, of a blossoming of that aspect of our culture, combining the very traditional with the modern interpretations - and what a combination that is. While flourishing in Scotland, it now needs to flourish in the wider Europe of which we are a part.”
The day after my return from Brussels Richard Holloway made a rare comment on traditional music in his Thought for the Day on BBC Radio Scotland, Wednesday 21 November 2007. This was also ‘No music day’ which only BBC Scotland seemed to give any credence and Holloway urges anyone who is troubled to play some traditional music today. He said,
“Appropriately I watched Phil Cunningham's programme Scotland's music last night on BBC 2 Scotland.
“The Series is a brilliant TV documentary, informative, great to look at and profoundly moving. Much of the credit for that has to go to the deep research behind the series as well as Phil Cunningham's natural warmth and skill as a presenter.
“The heart warming thing about the series is the way that it examines the mysterious power music has over the human soul.
“In one programme he explored the way emotions that are rarely captured in words can be caught in a few bars of music. Especially when we want to express desolation and loss.
“Scotland is famous for the sadness of it's singing, the way it packs worlds of grief into the lilt and drift melody. It's impossible to explain it, but we all know it when we hear it. It can grab us any time and bring back life times of loss.
“Centuries of memory….If you have a broken heart words may not mend it, but if you want to sooth it in spite of the fast (no music day) listen to some traditional Scottish music today.”
At various points during the year we heard news carried by very attentive arts correspondents about Richard Holloway’s championship of El Sistema, the classical music scheme in Venezuela that plucks youngsters from the slums and provides them with new hope and direction through mass classical music playing. A project in the Raploch estate in Stirling is envisaged and fund raising has begun. I hope it will be complimentary to the Feisean and not downplay the role of indigenous music that Scots have in abundance. I have not heard what state traditional music is in Venezuela but I’m surprised none of the journalists covering this story have asked.
In a great climax to the year many people told me they were thrilled by the six part TV series on BBC 2 hosted by Phil Cunningham exploring Scotland’s Music. So were we. Trying to catch or record each programme became a mission. Each one revealed a range and depth of study along with the fabulous locations that deserve a major award in themselves. By the time we celebrated the Hands Up For Trad Awards on December 1st again in Fort William it was obvious Phil’s award as composer of the year was more than well earned. He should also have a special award as the artist who has given voice and vision to our music so that at last hundreds of thousands can see its brilliance.
I was even more determined to see HUFTA on TV next year and Phil’s show on DVD long before that. With the Broadcasting Commission taking evidence on such issues can be raised directly in the context of the content and direction of Scottish viewing. It emerged at the year’s end that the BBC was responding to audience demand. They confirmed that a DVD of Scotland’s music was being ‘considered’! Apparently 250,000 Scottish viewers of the Saturday evening peak time shows had tuned in.
We’ve made real progress on a number of fronts this year. It has had some great musical moments, imagined new projects and begun a highly motivated collaboration between Alyn Smith MEP, Dr Aileen McLeod and myself with supportive friends in the scene such as Rita Hunter, Arthur Cormack and Ian Green. We are beginning to see the way forward on our journey to ensure that contemporary traditional music plays its full part in lives of the nation and among our neighbours too.
In the Scottish Budget Spending Review a series of National Performance Framework targets have been published by the SNP government. The list contains a series of strategic objectives to be met in the next three years. On the cultural front it states – ‘We take pride in a strong, fair and inclusive national identity’. To measure delivery and accountability it states ‘Improve people’s perceptions, attitudes and awareness of Scotland’s reputation’. Traditional arts and cultural developments fits that bill.
After such a stand out year as 2007 I can only agree with singer Karine Polwart who claimed in the Sunday Herald on 16th December that:
‘This is a good time to be a folk musician. There’s a lot of cross-fertilisation across genres, and a different approach to music. Lots of people making their names just now have very specific local identities, the Arctic Monkeys and Lily Allen for example. There’s that whole sense of being somewhere and speaking in your own voice’.
RG/hs 18.1.08
Friday, 4 January 2008
Energy-saving exercise highlights challenge we face
Published: 04 January, 2008
John O'Groat Journal and Caithness Courier
IN this first week of 2008 I wish every reader and your families all the best in peace, prosperity and health.
To that end, as an MSP on the Scottish Parliament's Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change Committee (TICC), I'll be heavily engaged this year in weighing up how people all over Scotland should take practical steps to reduce all of our CO2 output. By next New Year the SNP Government should have consulted and produced a bill to underpin an ambitious three per cent reduction year-on-year to reach an 80 per cent overall reduction of CO2 by 2050.
Such ambitions are likely to be testing but they are long overdue and vital to our planet. To this end I've been engaged as one of the MSPs from all five parties on an energy-saving exercise to improve our own homes as an example to others. That's why a progress report is an apt contribution when I'm writing this column on a cold, wet January afternoon.
Jack McConnell (Labour), Jim Hume (Lib Dem), Mary Scanlon (Conservative), Robin Harper (Green) and I have had professional energy surveys of our houses. We have had thermal image photos taken to reveal the heat-leakage points and we have been offered commercially available CurrentCost monitors to measure the energy use of various domestic appliances. In return, before July we should have taken steps to improve our energy ratings. We will each contribute £100 to go to the winner, who will be the member whose property has most improved its NHER energy rating. That MSP will then offer the £500 to the charity of their choice.
Now for the mixed news of the initial surveys. Our home, built in 1994 – a modern version of a one-and-a-half-storey cottage with wooden porch and two dormer windows – came out top in the initial calculations of each of the five houses. This shows we have an energy rating of 6.1, just above the Scottish median figure of 6.0. But new houses should have an energy rating of 8.0 on a scale of 0 to 10!
The independent energy-efficiency consultant then explained the good news that our home produced 3.5 tonnes of greenhouse gas carbon dioxide per year as a result of the energy we use: This amount is much lower than the UK average. Any energy-efficiency measures undertaken will reduce these CO2 emissions as well as our fuel bills.
On top of that, the thermographic comparison of the five MSPs' properties showed that all revealed areas of inconsistency indicative of missing or damaged insulation. The most heat loss came from Jack McConnell's house in Wishaw; next was Mary Scanlon's, in Inverness; third worst was Jim Hume's cottage in Selkirk; and then Robin Harper's in Edinburgh was second. Our home in Evanton was "in the best condition".
The big issue for all of us is how we can tackle the problems the surveys reveal, because it's an issue that affects every home and public building in the land.
*
SEVERAL pertinent questions come to mind. It costs to get professional surveys of energy ratings and thermal images. If we are all to follow through suggested improvements to reduce CO2 emissions from our homes these involve costs for improved insulation around our windows and in the eaves, for a more efficient boiler or for large domestic items such as a replacement for our old energy-inefficient washing machine. It could also require considerable investment in home energy equipment such as wind, solar or heat pumps.
I was discussing these with the local builder of our house at the village dance on Hogmanay. On New Year's Day we first-footed a very successful eco-friendly architect friend, Neil Sutherland, to discuss a long-planned extension to create our modern but and ben.
Their reactions confirmed my views. For a start, the national planning laws need to be much stricter. The builders should get training in better insulation. The measurement of energy ratings should be carried out by building standards officers of the local authority. All builders need to see thermal images of their work so as to spot the problem areas of potential heat loss. So who should provide these? Once again it has to be a public service.
I've made enquiries and I understand there's an underused thermal imaging camera in council HQ in Inverness. I've encouraged our local councillor to get the use of it and make some pictures of a variety of homes. But the fact is it should be standard practice as part of a house log that shows the energy rating of each property and improvements made by the owner. It should be passed from owner to owner by law.
That's why I'm pleased that the SNP Government has trebled the cash available for home renewables. But it behoves the local planning departments of each council to aid and not hinder this process. Evidence of unreasonable obstruction by individual planners must be rooted out by councillors. Far too many homes with lovely gold bath-taps and scant regard to total insulation have been recommended for planning approval in the past, while eco-friendly homes made of wood and other non-vernacular materials have been blue-pencilled before planning committees even meet.
I'll have a lot more to say on this subject as we get down to improving our own home over these next few months. I'd like to thank the partners who conceived the MSP Energy Challenge. They are Friends of the Earth Scotland and the Energy Saving Trust, and I must also thank my fellow MSPs who have exposed their dwellings to scrutiny. It's a service to everyone that we can all be proud of.
John O'Groat Journal and Caithness Courier
IN this first week of 2008 I wish every reader and your families all the best in peace, prosperity and health.
To that end, as an MSP on the Scottish Parliament's Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change Committee (TICC), I'll be heavily engaged this year in weighing up how people all over Scotland should take practical steps to reduce all of our CO2 output. By next New Year the SNP Government should have consulted and produced a bill to underpin an ambitious three per cent reduction year-on-year to reach an 80 per cent overall reduction of CO2 by 2050.
Such ambitions are likely to be testing but they are long overdue and vital to our planet. To this end I've been engaged as one of the MSPs from all five parties on an energy-saving exercise to improve our own homes as an example to others. That's why a progress report is an apt contribution when I'm writing this column on a cold, wet January afternoon.
Jack McConnell (Labour), Jim Hume (Lib Dem), Mary Scanlon (Conservative), Robin Harper (Green) and I have had professional energy surveys of our houses. We have had thermal image photos taken to reveal the heat-leakage points and we have been offered commercially available CurrentCost monitors to measure the energy use of various domestic appliances. In return, before July we should have taken steps to improve our energy ratings. We will each contribute £100 to go to the winner, who will be the member whose property has most improved its NHER energy rating. That MSP will then offer the £500 to the charity of their choice.
Now for the mixed news of the initial surveys. Our home, built in 1994 – a modern version of a one-and-a-half-storey cottage with wooden porch and two dormer windows – came out top in the initial calculations of each of the five houses. This shows we have an energy rating of 6.1, just above the Scottish median figure of 6.0. But new houses should have an energy rating of 8.0 on a scale of 0 to 10!
The independent energy-efficiency consultant then explained the good news that our home produced 3.5 tonnes of greenhouse gas carbon dioxide per year as a result of the energy we use: This amount is much lower than the UK average. Any energy-efficiency measures undertaken will reduce these CO2 emissions as well as our fuel bills.
On top of that, the thermographic comparison of the five MSPs' properties showed that all revealed areas of inconsistency indicative of missing or damaged insulation. The most heat loss came from Jack McConnell's house in Wishaw; next was Mary Scanlon's, in Inverness; third worst was Jim Hume's cottage in Selkirk; and then Robin Harper's in Edinburgh was second. Our home in Evanton was "in the best condition".
The big issue for all of us is how we can tackle the problems the surveys reveal, because it's an issue that affects every home and public building in the land.
*
SEVERAL pertinent questions come to mind. It costs to get professional surveys of energy ratings and thermal images. If we are all to follow through suggested improvements to reduce CO2 emissions from our homes these involve costs for improved insulation around our windows and in the eaves, for a more efficient boiler or for large domestic items such as a replacement for our old energy-inefficient washing machine. It could also require considerable investment in home energy equipment such as wind, solar or heat pumps.
I was discussing these with the local builder of our house at the village dance on Hogmanay. On New Year's Day we first-footed a very successful eco-friendly architect friend, Neil Sutherland, to discuss a long-planned extension to create our modern but and ben.
Their reactions confirmed my views. For a start, the national planning laws need to be much stricter. The builders should get training in better insulation. The measurement of energy ratings should be carried out by building standards officers of the local authority. All builders need to see thermal images of their work so as to spot the problem areas of potential heat loss. So who should provide these? Once again it has to be a public service.
I've made enquiries and I understand there's an underused thermal imaging camera in council HQ in Inverness. I've encouraged our local councillor to get the use of it and make some pictures of a variety of homes. But the fact is it should be standard practice as part of a house log that shows the energy rating of each property and improvements made by the owner. It should be passed from owner to owner by law.
That's why I'm pleased that the SNP Government has trebled the cash available for home renewables. But it behoves the local planning departments of each council to aid and not hinder this process. Evidence of unreasonable obstruction by individual planners must be rooted out by councillors. Far too many homes with lovely gold bath-taps and scant regard to total insulation have been recommended for planning approval in the past, while eco-friendly homes made of wood and other non-vernacular materials have been blue-pencilled before planning committees even meet.
I'll have a lot more to say on this subject as we get down to improving our own home over these next few months. I'd like to thank the partners who conceived the MSP Energy Challenge. They are Friends of the Earth Scotland and the Energy Saving Trust, and I must also thank my fellow MSPs who have exposed their dwellings to scrutiny. It's a service to everyone that we can all be proud of.
Friday, 21 December 2007
We must match the mood of growing self-confidence
Published: 21 December, 2007
John O'Groat Journal and Caithness Courier
I WAS intrigued by the recent spat in the Groat on the merits of the writer Neil M. Gunn.
He was a Caithnessian whose work inspires more and more folk round the world for he valued "the primordial goodness in man, a natural generosity". Therefore Iain Sutherland should be able to detect more than two or three local people who know Gunn's work are more than the few who immediately respond to his provocative remarks.
Neil Gunn gave up civil service work and went Off in a Boat in 1937 from which he concluded some very positive lessons. His journey took him from Skye to Iona, then on to the Caledonian Canal and back to Inverness where he warned at one point that "One could hope for less individual mistrust in the Highlander, or, if one likes, the Scot and so envisage a wide emergence of cooperative effort". We are still waiting.
Would that the world in which we live was also listening. On his retiral this week, the outgoing UK chief of security Sir Richard Mottram warned that global warming, flu pandemics, the emergence of rogue states, globalisation and its impact on power balances, global poverty and its impact on population movement, energy security, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and serious and organised crime are significant problems alongside his prime business of global terrorism.
In the Scottish Parliament we do have some ways of addressing many of these issues from a local perspective on the north-west coast of Europe. Of course, we could do with more powers to tackle certain of these issues ourselves. I'm glad that in the coming year parliamentary committees will address some of the issues of climate change to set us all targets for CO2 reduction. We will back energy security via the clean, green power of our seas and winds. We will try to build a national food policy to use more of our own abundant resources. Also my party, the SNP, seeks to pledge one per cent of our national income to help fight global inequalities that threaten so many of the planet's peoples, just as the Norwegians do. But we need the full tax powers to deliver.
In Scotland we face a tight cash settlement of a 0.5 per cent increase in this year's budget share dictated by the London Treasury. So, from national gallery directors to local recycling charities, cries of neglect and betrayal fill the air. Maybe I'm more sensitive this time round, but we should be feeling more confidence about the concordat between the Scottish Government and councils that will lead to a more shared and open way of deciding the priorities for local spending that people say they want. But councillors beware: in the past council officials have followed their own agenda. You will have to choose carefully from the options that include the excellent value we gain from services delivered by the voluntary sector. These must not become a victim of some official's private fiefdom.
Two Thursdays ago the Scottish Government Finance Secretary John Swinney announced his council spending plans. They embody a new partnership with councils that will require mature handling. For example, he said: "In 2007/08, some three-quarters of the funding from central government to local government is not ring-fenced. Under the concordat, we are extending the element that is not ring-fenced to about 90 per cent. A relatively small number of specific grants will remain ring-fenced. The largest of those is the police grant, which in 2008/09 amounts to £600 million."
*
SCOTLAND under the SNP Government has embarked on a new course to trust the people. The scowls on the Labour benches told their own tale, for their micromanagement of spending suppressed local debate and stifled voter interest. That has to change to match the mood of increasing self-confidence across the country.
When people are asked about Scotland's constitutional future, we are told that a System 3 poll finds 40 per cent of voters for independence (with a far higher percentage in the Highlands). The question asked envisages the Scottish Government negotiating this with Westminster. That's why the Unionist Labour, Lib Dem and Tory parties tried to head off that largest minority position. They won a parliamentary debate to order the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body to arrange a constitutional commission but one which concentrated on more powers, not total power for Scotland. They want to ignore the Scottish Government's National Conversation launched this summer which is open to all options. It has had the most impact of any government consultation, with tens of thousands of hits and responses. So I think that we should all make it a New Year resolution to get informed and demand that all options be reviewed.
*
TALKING of new moods of optimism, in 1937 Neil Gunn saw a new mood that would conquer the defeatism that epitomised the era of the Clearances.
He wrote: "How great the change since then! Though hardly yet a suggestion of what will be when the Highlands develop their natural industries through water power and recognise they have fish and trout and salmon, mutton and game and meat, heather honey and milk and berries, roots and vegetables and whisky, that cannot be excelled, if they can be equalled, for quality and flavour anywhere in the world. The end is not yet. To realise that this is no great prophecy – consider the eyes of industrial combines. These combines will beat the landlords and the scenic sentimentalists. And if it does not go well with the workers after that, the workers will fight. There will never again be the defeatism of the Clearances. The folk will come into their own. God hurry the merry day!"
As we celebrate Christmas and the new birth it proclaims, as we follow that with a new year, let's apply hope and resolve to all the possibilities for our families our community, nation and world. Season's greetings to you all.
John O'Groat Journal and Caithness Courier
I WAS intrigued by the recent spat in the Groat on the merits of the writer Neil M. Gunn.
He was a Caithnessian whose work inspires more and more folk round the world for he valued "the primordial goodness in man, a natural generosity". Therefore Iain Sutherland should be able to detect more than two or three local people who know Gunn's work are more than the few who immediately respond to his provocative remarks.
Neil Gunn gave up civil service work and went Off in a Boat in 1937 from which he concluded some very positive lessons. His journey took him from Skye to Iona, then on to the Caledonian Canal and back to Inverness where he warned at one point that "One could hope for less individual mistrust in the Highlander, or, if one likes, the Scot and so envisage a wide emergence of cooperative effort". We are still waiting.
Would that the world in which we live was also listening. On his retiral this week, the outgoing UK chief of security Sir Richard Mottram warned that global warming, flu pandemics, the emergence of rogue states, globalisation and its impact on power balances, global poverty and its impact on population movement, energy security, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and serious and organised crime are significant problems alongside his prime business of global terrorism.
In the Scottish Parliament we do have some ways of addressing many of these issues from a local perspective on the north-west coast of Europe. Of course, we could do with more powers to tackle certain of these issues ourselves. I'm glad that in the coming year parliamentary committees will address some of the issues of climate change to set us all targets for CO2 reduction. We will back energy security via the clean, green power of our seas and winds. We will try to build a national food policy to use more of our own abundant resources. Also my party, the SNP, seeks to pledge one per cent of our national income to help fight global inequalities that threaten so many of the planet's peoples, just as the Norwegians do. But we need the full tax powers to deliver.
In Scotland we face a tight cash settlement of a 0.5 per cent increase in this year's budget share dictated by the London Treasury. So, from national gallery directors to local recycling charities, cries of neglect and betrayal fill the air. Maybe I'm more sensitive this time round, but we should be feeling more confidence about the concordat between the Scottish Government and councils that will lead to a more shared and open way of deciding the priorities for local spending that people say they want. But councillors beware: in the past council officials have followed their own agenda. You will have to choose carefully from the options that include the excellent value we gain from services delivered by the voluntary sector. These must not become a victim of some official's private fiefdom.
Two Thursdays ago the Scottish Government Finance Secretary John Swinney announced his council spending plans. They embody a new partnership with councils that will require mature handling. For example, he said: "In 2007/08, some three-quarters of the funding from central government to local government is not ring-fenced. Under the concordat, we are extending the element that is not ring-fenced to about 90 per cent. A relatively small number of specific grants will remain ring-fenced. The largest of those is the police grant, which in 2008/09 amounts to £600 million."
*
SCOTLAND under the SNP Government has embarked on a new course to trust the people. The scowls on the Labour benches told their own tale, for their micromanagement of spending suppressed local debate and stifled voter interest. That has to change to match the mood of increasing self-confidence across the country.
When people are asked about Scotland's constitutional future, we are told that a System 3 poll finds 40 per cent of voters for independence (with a far higher percentage in the Highlands). The question asked envisages the Scottish Government negotiating this with Westminster. That's why the Unionist Labour, Lib Dem and Tory parties tried to head off that largest minority position. They won a parliamentary debate to order the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body to arrange a constitutional commission but one which concentrated on more powers, not total power for Scotland. They want to ignore the Scottish Government's National Conversation launched this summer which is open to all options. It has had the most impact of any government consultation, with tens of thousands of hits and responses. So I think that we should all make it a New Year resolution to get informed and demand that all options be reviewed.
*
TALKING of new moods of optimism, in 1937 Neil Gunn saw a new mood that would conquer the defeatism that epitomised the era of the Clearances.
He wrote: "How great the change since then! Though hardly yet a suggestion of what will be when the Highlands develop their natural industries through water power and recognise they have fish and trout and salmon, mutton and game and meat, heather honey and milk and berries, roots and vegetables and whisky, that cannot be excelled, if they can be equalled, for quality and flavour anywhere in the world. The end is not yet. To realise that this is no great prophecy – consider the eyes of industrial combines. These combines will beat the landlords and the scenic sentimentalists. And if it does not go well with the workers after that, the workers will fight. There will never again be the defeatism of the Clearances. The folk will come into their own. God hurry the merry day!"
As we celebrate Christmas and the new birth it proclaims, as we follow that with a new year, let's apply hope and resolve to all the possibilities for our families our community, nation and world. Season's greetings to you all.
Friday, 7 December 2007
There must be no 'arrogant use of power' by any police force
Published: 07 December, 2007
John O'Groat Journal and Caithness Courier
AT the weekend I was reading about the riots in Paris suburbs and a warning from the journalist Mary Riddell of The Observer contained in the heading, "A French lesson we ignore at our peril."
It was a stark message about the police as authority figures alienating the young. It also referred to the removal of neighbourhood policing by Monsieur Sarkozy when he was interior minister. Ms Riddell recalled how, following the Brixton riots in London in 1981, Lord Scarman talked of the "arrogant and abrasive use of power" by the Met. In Brixton the scenes of devastation left 50 residents and 400 police injured.
That made me recall views expressed by Northern Constabulary's Chief Constable Ian Latimer about SNP Government proposals to recruit 500 new police nationally and to redeploy more experienced personnel into frontline duties. He was reported as saying he wanted new recruits, not redeployed older officers. Given the tight budget settlement handed down from the London Labour Chancellor, the SNP manifesto pledge for a thousand new officers on the beat will have to be delivered in phases.
But Mr Latimer, knowing the political circumstances, still delivered his tuppenceworth: new men, not retreads. Now I realise there are operational issues that Joe Public and the Northern Joint Police Board know little of. In our family my father was a policeman and so was my brother, much more recently, so I understand a bit about shifts and deployment patterns being designed to suit circumstances. Therefore I would expect our chief constable to make a constructive contribution which I don't expect from our political opponents. Peter Peacock, for example, has been scaremongering on many issues, including raising doubts about the deployment of a score of new bobbies in the North. Perhaps Mr Latimer could adopt a different mode of expression.
It all came together last week when the report was issued by the Scottish Police Complaints Commissioner Jim Martin on the Kevin McLeod case. Mr Martin called on Mr Latimer to personally apologise for the shortcomings in the police inquiry into Kevin's death in Wick in February 1997 and the offhand way the family have been treated since.
Surprise, surprise, Mr Latimer responded that he had already apologised by letter to the family expressing "professional regret" for the conduct of the inquiry into the as-yet-unexplained death of Kevin. Also unsurprisingly, Mr Latimer refused to accept that Northern Constabulary had shown "institutional arrogance".
There remain many unanswered questions about this case. To name but two, key evidence was destroyed rather early and the force refused to meet the McLeod family after the 2003 independent report by Chief Constable Andrew Cameron of Central Scotland Police.
Some still believe there could have been a murder or culpable homicide. Kevin's family are unlikely to find out. But there could be a killer at large in Wick today.
From another point of view there's the accumulated police knowledge of the victim. Also there are questions about police expertise in dealing with such cases. With most other crime in the area there is a high clear-up rate, but there is also the unenviable record of Northern Constabulary in failing to solve violent deaths.
Therefore, drawing some conclusions, neighbourhood policing with a full-strength force is key with well-trained specialist back-up available when necessary. However, there is a need to beware "arrogant and abrasive use of power" by any police force. The SNP Government is committed to delivering the resources. Make no mistake, we back community policing and officers on the beat. So I hope the police board will act on Jim Martin's report because they are the local democratic representatives to whom the chief constable reports.
I also think not only that the McLeod family deserve an early meeting with Mr Latimer but that he should review his public pronouncements in the interests of good police and public relations in Wick and every other community in the North.
*
SEVERAL years ago, early in the Labour/Lib Dem coalition government, they spent £300,000 on consultants to decide how best to brand Scotland. The answer was to use the Saltire, Scotland's national flag. A no-brainer, you might say.
Last week a row broke out when Labour leaders threw up a smokescreen to hide their palpable troubles north and south of the border with ineligible donors by rubbishing the refreshed Scottish Government logos, photos and slogans to make visitors "Welcome to Scotland".
I appeared on Radio 4 and Radio 2 with the Labour MSP Jackie Baillie, who coined spurious slogans such as "the home of Chip and PIN" as examples of the kind of thing on offer. The myth about Europe ordering the production of straight bananas has as much credence. For £125,000 we developed, produced and erected a new suite of posters. You don't get many 30-second adverts on prime-time TV for that price. Frankly it's great to get rid of the cringeworthy Labour/Lib Dem line about the greatest wee country in the world.
Listeners to Radio 2 did lighten up the debate with some of their own suggestions, from the banal to the plain wicked. These included "Scotland – the most subsidised wee country in the world"; "Scotland – England's last colony"; "Scotland – find out why it's called bonny"; "Scotland – for ever"; and so on. My favourite dotty one was "Scotland – hilly and chilly!"
Maybe the Leith Agency, who also designed the award-winning advertisements for Irn Bru and the anti-smoking campaign ads, has a little more savvy.
John O'Groat Journal and Caithness Courier
AT the weekend I was reading about the riots in Paris suburbs and a warning from the journalist Mary Riddell of The Observer contained in the heading, "A French lesson we ignore at our peril."
It was a stark message about the police as authority figures alienating the young. It also referred to the removal of neighbourhood policing by Monsieur Sarkozy when he was interior minister. Ms Riddell recalled how, following the Brixton riots in London in 1981, Lord Scarman talked of the "arrogant and abrasive use of power" by the Met. In Brixton the scenes of devastation left 50 residents and 400 police injured.
That made me recall views expressed by Northern Constabulary's Chief Constable Ian Latimer about SNP Government proposals to recruit 500 new police nationally and to redeploy more experienced personnel into frontline duties. He was reported as saying he wanted new recruits, not redeployed older officers. Given the tight budget settlement handed down from the London Labour Chancellor, the SNP manifesto pledge for a thousand new officers on the beat will have to be delivered in phases.
But Mr Latimer, knowing the political circumstances, still delivered his tuppenceworth: new men, not retreads. Now I realise there are operational issues that Joe Public and the Northern Joint Police Board know little of. In our family my father was a policeman and so was my brother, much more recently, so I understand a bit about shifts and deployment patterns being designed to suit circumstances. Therefore I would expect our chief constable to make a constructive contribution which I don't expect from our political opponents. Peter Peacock, for example, has been scaremongering on many issues, including raising doubts about the deployment of a score of new bobbies in the North. Perhaps Mr Latimer could adopt a different mode of expression.
It all came together last week when the report was issued by the Scottish Police Complaints Commissioner Jim Martin on the Kevin McLeod case. Mr Martin called on Mr Latimer to personally apologise for the shortcomings in the police inquiry into Kevin's death in Wick in February 1997 and the offhand way the family have been treated since.
Surprise, surprise, Mr Latimer responded that he had already apologised by letter to the family expressing "professional regret" for the conduct of the inquiry into the as-yet-unexplained death of Kevin. Also unsurprisingly, Mr Latimer refused to accept that Northern Constabulary had shown "institutional arrogance".
There remain many unanswered questions about this case. To name but two, key evidence was destroyed rather early and the force refused to meet the McLeod family after the 2003 independent report by Chief Constable Andrew Cameron of Central Scotland Police.
Some still believe there could have been a murder or culpable homicide. Kevin's family are unlikely to find out. But there could be a killer at large in Wick today.
From another point of view there's the accumulated police knowledge of the victim. Also there are questions about police expertise in dealing with such cases. With most other crime in the area there is a high clear-up rate, but there is also the unenviable record of Northern Constabulary in failing to solve violent deaths.
Therefore, drawing some conclusions, neighbourhood policing with a full-strength force is key with well-trained specialist back-up available when necessary. However, there is a need to beware "arrogant and abrasive use of power" by any police force. The SNP Government is committed to delivering the resources. Make no mistake, we back community policing and officers on the beat. So I hope the police board will act on Jim Martin's report because they are the local democratic representatives to whom the chief constable reports.
I also think not only that the McLeod family deserve an early meeting with Mr Latimer but that he should review his public pronouncements in the interests of good police and public relations in Wick and every other community in the North.
*
SEVERAL years ago, early in the Labour/Lib Dem coalition government, they spent £300,000 on consultants to decide how best to brand Scotland. The answer was to use the Saltire, Scotland's national flag. A no-brainer, you might say.
Last week a row broke out when Labour leaders threw up a smokescreen to hide their palpable troubles north and south of the border with ineligible donors by rubbishing the refreshed Scottish Government logos, photos and slogans to make visitors "Welcome to Scotland".
I appeared on Radio 4 and Radio 2 with the Labour MSP Jackie Baillie, who coined spurious slogans such as "the home of Chip and PIN" as examples of the kind of thing on offer. The myth about Europe ordering the production of straight bananas has as much credence. For £125,000 we developed, produced and erected a new suite of posters. You don't get many 30-second adverts on prime-time TV for that price. Frankly it's great to get rid of the cringeworthy Labour/Lib Dem line about the greatest wee country in the world.
Listeners to Radio 2 did lighten up the debate with some of their own suggestions, from the banal to the plain wicked. These included "Scotland – the most subsidised wee country in the world"; "Scotland – England's last colony"; "Scotland – find out why it's called bonny"; "Scotland – for ever"; and so on. My favourite dotty one was "Scotland – hilly and chilly!"
Maybe the Leith Agency, who also designed the award-winning advertisements for Irn Bru and the anti-smoking campaign ads, has a little more savvy.
Friday, 23 November 2007
Ormlie group can be proud of its energetic efforts
Photo: Rob Gibson MSP with Louise Smith of Ormlie Renewables at the Caithness Heritage Fair in Wick.
Published: 23 November, 2007
John O'Groat Journal and Caithness Courier
THERE'S been a positive change of public mood in recent months. All across Scotland you meet people at events who feel that the pace of Scottish life has gone up tempo.
It was just great to win the 2014 bid to host the Commonwealth Games, but we must ensure that athletics and sport in Caithness can benefit out of it. People are glad to support Scottish success and they believe lots of good will flow from it.
Locally, I much enjoyed the Caithness Heritage Fair in Wick on November 10. So much effort is put in by a wide variety of groups to spice up and enjoy the life of Caithness, of yesteryear and today. For instance, the huge interest in family history is shown by the depth of knowledge of members of the Caithness Family History Society, while Wick Youth Club has had great success in promoting the playing of rock music by a cohort of youngsters; they gain positive feelings from their achievements in the Music-Link-Media workshop.
Talking of achievements, Ormlie Community Association can be rightly proud of its award gained from Energy Action Scotland for the Caithness Energy Advice Project (Energy SOS – "Shout Out Savings!"). Louise Smith and her team are starting the practical work to engage every householder in the area on ways they can take part in climate-change mitigation and adaptation. Put simply: warmer, cosier homes that don't use excess electricity.
I also visited Dunbeath Heritage Centre on the same day. We had a fascinating discussion about the possibilities of rolling out a lot more information to schoolchildren and others about the linguistic mix of place-names in this area. In some cases, three different language roots are involved. Nan Bethune hopes to see a lot more engagement by schools in understanding how Caithness has been a cultural crossroads for many centuries. Indeed, Neil M. Gunn shows that interface in many of his stories and novels. With the coming of the Royal National Mod to the county in 2010, it should trigger a far better local understanding of our complex roots.
*
THERE has been a widespread welcome from many parts of the country for the decision by the Scottish Qualifications Authority to make questions on Scottish history an essential part of the Higher history exam from school year 2010/11. The exam will contain a mandatory Scottish section, so I would join in the congratulations to those teachers, academics and politicians who campaigned successfully for this decision and believe that, after years of Scottish history being overlooked in secondary schools, pupils at Higher level will finally have a chance to learn about and understand their own heritage and the part that it played in the creation of the modern world.
In the context of the Curriculum for Excellence, this should require the SQA to equip every teacher involved with materials that relate to the local involvement in national events and the national significance of events locally that have been overlooked at qualification levels. It's another example of a quango resolving to apply an aspect of the SNP election manifesto without the need for any law to be passed. I'm so glad they have, because under the Labour/Lib Dem regime of the past eight years there was even a suggestion that history wasn't a necessary discrete subject in secondary schools. We gain in confidence when we know of our own national and local story.
Rob Gibson MSP with Louise Smith of Ormlie Renewables at the Caithness Heritage Fair in Wick.
*
THE Government economic strategy was debated on Wednesday afternoon in Holyrood and the SNP won the day by accepting an amendment from the Tories in the name of Derek Brownlee which added, at the end of our motion, "and, recognising the importance of small businesses to the Scottish economy, calls on the Scottish Government, if additional resources become available, to prioritise the acceleration of the full implementation of the reductions in business rates for small businesses announced in the budget on 14 November 2007".
Surprisingly, this did not find favour with Labour and the Lib Dems. They ignore the realities of life in the Far North and across Scotland. Not only will the SNP's commitment to the small business bonus be delivered, as promised in our manifesto, it will have a major part to play in the new targets of increasing the wealth of every family by £10,000 in the next few years. Of course the tight budget settlement makes it difficult to deliver by April 2008, but it will be fully implemented by 2011. So let's praise John Swinney for his ability to stick to these sustainable growth measures.
However, there has been a huge orchestrated campaign by Labour and the Lib Dems to talk up broken promises. If the debate was about starting to improve the numbers of police on our streets, about reducing class sizes in P1 to P3 to 18 in the next four years, things would look differently. But I have to say that every extra teacher trained and deployed, every extra police constable in place, and every new dentist trained in the new Aberdeen dental school sounds like good common sense to me. Of course, though, opposition wants to see things happen instantly, even if this bunch in opposition had the last eight years to deliver.
And in that I hope the mood of optimism among people who will benefit from the council tax freeze and all the other SNP budget measures will agree that we can do so much better by having all the economic levers that normal nations have. Devolution can be made to work better, but there's no substitute for the logic of full powers.
Friday, 9 November 2007
Scaremongers' same old song
Published: 09 November, 2007
John O'Groat Journal and Caithness Courier
HOLYROOD in recent weeks has been peppered by repeated attempts of the opposition to claim the SNP Government has broken its manifesto promises – that is, five months into a four-year parliament the Labour, Tory and Lib Dem front benches are charging around to pour scorn on the sound start made by Alex Salmond's team.
They question our promises to reduce class sizes in P1 to P3 and get another 1000 police on the beat, and the rescue package for farmers and crofters following the Pirbright foot-and-mouth outbreak. Curiously there is little response to facts that show Scotland pays its way.
Unsurprisingly the scandal of Ofgem is its claim to be aiding renewable energy development in the face of the grid charges it placed on Scottish producers. It looks all the more ludicrous when government statistics shatter the myth that Scotland is subsidised by London and south-east English taxpayers, and we could pay our way even better with cheap access to the grid.
The SNP Government is already delivering for Scotland's children on our pledge to make Scotland smarter. We have begun to drive down class sizes in deprived areas, provided funding for 300 additional teachers, increased pre-school education and provided £40 million additional capital funding for school buildings.
This Government is doing what Labour failed to do: delivering on our commitments and taking positive steps to ensure children born under an SNP Government get the best possible start in life. Over the last eight years Labour and the Lib Dems failed to produce any strategy for Scotland's children to support them in their early years and failed to meet their own class-size pledges.
In 2003, Jack McConnell promised to cut class sizes in primary one to a maximum of 25 pupils. In 2006, 41 per cent of children in primary one – children born under a Labour Government – were still in classes of over 25. In 2007, Wendy Alexander says class sizes don't matter any more. It's time for Labour to make up its mind.
Labour won't be forgiven for its dereliction of duty and denials in the face of a national farming crisis. When foot-and-mouth compensation was delivered after the 2001 crisis, it was underwritten by Westminster. In 2007, the Treasury would not allow Defra, its London-based agriculture department, to pay up after the threat of an early election had passed.
At Holyrood, Lib Dems gave initial support for Labour's defence of Gordon Brown, Alistair Darling and Hilary Benn by voting for the Labour amendment which was defeated by the combined SNP, Tory and Green votes. Then the Lib Dems flip-flopped and backed the compensation package as offered in Scotland.
As was noted by Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, most of the country knows that the Westminster Government is responsible and should pay up, like they did in 2001. Although our package amounts to more than three times the amount of cash that Labour had been due to commit before Brown bottled out of his election plans, the Scottish Government's £25 million emergency package is certainly not the end of the problem.
If Westminster wants to retain control over issues like animal welfare then it needs to take responsibility for them.
*
ENTERPRISE Minister Jim Mather on the floor of the Parliament stated that the Scottish Government would seek to emulate and exceed the powers of Canadian provinces which have responsibility for the revenues accruing from oil reserves on their territory.
On a visit to Canada during the recess, Jim saw for himself the benefits that a Canadian province such as Alberta can gain from husbanding its own oil reserves whereas in Scotland we find our oil revenues flowing south into the London Exchequer. Chancellor Darling has already projected that the coming six years of North Sea revenues will be £55bn – a substantial increase over the £38bn from the previous six-year period.
In particular, Alberta's oil fund ensures lower personal and business taxes for Albertans. The responsibilities that the Canadian provinces hold are in sharp contrast to the power London Government has over our own resources. Now our Energy Minister in Scotland seeks to emulate the success of Alberta. Coming after Labour Minister Malcolm Wicks's comment that building up an oil fund like Norway was an attractive idea, this shows that the debate on a Scottish oil fund is going in the SNP's favour.
*
JUST when the true wealth to Scotland of our full tax contribution to the UK Treasury was revealed, Ofgem published a Sustainable Development Report which stated that it was making a substantial contribution to renewable energy targets. This is the same regulator that introduced a transmission charge regime and proposes zonal transmission charges that undermine the economic viability of renewable generation in the north and west of Scotland.
It is utterly ludicrous for them to claim these moves are positive for producing a sustainable energy system. We know Scotland has huge renewables potential – indeed it has been described as the Saudi Arabia of renewable energy – but much of this is being put at risk by the insane system that Ofgem insists on pursuing.
On top of that, a speech by Scotland Office Minister David Cairns accepted the economic viability of an independent Scotland. He's the man who came to Caithness for the Beyond Dounreay conference and insisted renewable energy investment was good for the Far North. It's not just the Tories in London and the London tabloid papers that run down Scotland.
Labour and the Lib Dems in Scotland have played the same scaremongering game for years, flying in the face of the facts about Scotland's ability to prosper as an independent country – such evidence would put Scotland as third wealthiest nation in the EU.
The opposition's unrelenting negativity is one of the key reasons why they lost the election in May, and I suspect it will take them some time yet to sing a new song with any degree of conviction. We need that positive song, for this St Andrew's Day gives us cause for a small national celebration.
John O'Groat Journal and Caithness Courier
HOLYROOD in recent weeks has been peppered by repeated attempts of the opposition to claim the SNP Government has broken its manifesto promises – that is, five months into a four-year parliament the Labour, Tory and Lib Dem front benches are charging around to pour scorn on the sound start made by Alex Salmond's team.
They question our promises to reduce class sizes in P1 to P3 and get another 1000 police on the beat, and the rescue package for farmers and crofters following the Pirbright foot-and-mouth outbreak. Curiously there is little response to facts that show Scotland pays its way.
Unsurprisingly the scandal of Ofgem is its claim to be aiding renewable energy development in the face of the grid charges it placed on Scottish producers. It looks all the more ludicrous when government statistics shatter the myth that Scotland is subsidised by London and south-east English taxpayers, and we could pay our way even better with cheap access to the grid.
The SNP Government is already delivering for Scotland's children on our pledge to make Scotland smarter. We have begun to drive down class sizes in deprived areas, provided funding for 300 additional teachers, increased pre-school education and provided £40 million additional capital funding for school buildings.
This Government is doing what Labour failed to do: delivering on our commitments and taking positive steps to ensure children born under an SNP Government get the best possible start in life. Over the last eight years Labour and the Lib Dems failed to produce any strategy for Scotland's children to support them in their early years and failed to meet their own class-size pledges.
In 2003, Jack McConnell promised to cut class sizes in primary one to a maximum of 25 pupils. In 2006, 41 per cent of children in primary one – children born under a Labour Government – were still in classes of over 25. In 2007, Wendy Alexander says class sizes don't matter any more. It's time for Labour to make up its mind.
Labour won't be forgiven for its dereliction of duty and denials in the face of a national farming crisis. When foot-and-mouth compensation was delivered after the 2001 crisis, it was underwritten by Westminster. In 2007, the Treasury would not allow Defra, its London-based agriculture department, to pay up after the threat of an early election had passed.
At Holyrood, Lib Dems gave initial support for Labour's defence of Gordon Brown, Alistair Darling and Hilary Benn by voting for the Labour amendment which was defeated by the combined SNP, Tory and Green votes. Then the Lib Dems flip-flopped and backed the compensation package as offered in Scotland.
As was noted by Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, most of the country knows that the Westminster Government is responsible and should pay up, like they did in 2001. Although our package amounts to more than three times the amount of cash that Labour had been due to commit before Brown bottled out of his election plans, the Scottish Government's £25 million emergency package is certainly not the end of the problem.
If Westminster wants to retain control over issues like animal welfare then it needs to take responsibility for them.
*
ENTERPRISE Minister Jim Mather on the floor of the Parliament stated that the Scottish Government would seek to emulate and exceed the powers of Canadian provinces which have responsibility for the revenues accruing from oil reserves on their territory.
On a visit to Canada during the recess, Jim saw for himself the benefits that a Canadian province such as Alberta can gain from husbanding its own oil reserves whereas in Scotland we find our oil revenues flowing south into the London Exchequer. Chancellor Darling has already projected that the coming six years of North Sea revenues will be £55bn – a substantial increase over the £38bn from the previous six-year period.
In particular, Alberta's oil fund ensures lower personal and business taxes for Albertans. The responsibilities that the Canadian provinces hold are in sharp contrast to the power London Government has over our own resources. Now our Energy Minister in Scotland seeks to emulate the success of Alberta. Coming after Labour Minister Malcolm Wicks's comment that building up an oil fund like Norway was an attractive idea, this shows that the debate on a Scottish oil fund is going in the SNP's favour.
*
JUST when the true wealth to Scotland of our full tax contribution to the UK Treasury was revealed, Ofgem published a Sustainable Development Report which stated that it was making a substantial contribution to renewable energy targets. This is the same regulator that introduced a transmission charge regime and proposes zonal transmission charges that undermine the economic viability of renewable generation in the north and west of Scotland.
It is utterly ludicrous for them to claim these moves are positive for producing a sustainable energy system. We know Scotland has huge renewables potential – indeed it has been described as the Saudi Arabia of renewable energy – but much of this is being put at risk by the insane system that Ofgem insists on pursuing.
On top of that, a speech by Scotland Office Minister David Cairns accepted the economic viability of an independent Scotland. He's the man who came to Caithness for the Beyond Dounreay conference and insisted renewable energy investment was good for the Far North. It's not just the Tories in London and the London tabloid papers that run down Scotland.
Labour and the Lib Dems in Scotland have played the same scaremongering game for years, flying in the face of the facts about Scotland's ability to prosper as an independent country – such evidence would put Scotland as third wealthiest nation in the EU.
The opposition's unrelenting negativity is one of the key reasons why they lost the election in May, and I suspect it will take them some time yet to sing a new song with any degree of conviction. We need that positive song, for this St Andrew's Day gives us cause for a small national celebration.
Friday, 26 October 2007
We won't stay silent on Trident
Published: 26 October, 2007
John O'Groat Journal and Caithness Courier
EARLIER this week, at a meeting held in Glasgow, MSPs and councillors, anti-nuclear weapons campaigners and church leaders gathered to plan resistance to the development of son of Trident.
The UK Labour Government, the Tory opposition and to a great extent the Liberal Democrats at UK level all agree: Britain won't be Britain without a credible nuclear weapons capacity. No seat at the UN Security Council, no longer a world policeman... there's a lot at stake. Not least for the Lib Dems, whose one hope of power in Westminster is a hung parliament at the next election.
When it comes to civil nuclear matters regarding Dounreay, John Thurso and Jamie Stone opt out of party policy which is against nuclear reactor development. I see that the Scottish Lib Dem leader Nicol Stephen is saying that Scottish Parliamentary representatives should remain silent on the Trident issue because it is a reserved matter – imitating the position taken by Labour's leader in the Scottish Parliament, Wendy Alexander.
This directly contradicts Mr Stephen's message to Lib Dem activists at his party's pre-election conference in February where he attacked a Labour memo telling Labour Party branches to avoid all mention of Trident and Iraq, and also said that Liberal Democrats would not keep quiet on those issues and would hold Labour "accountable to the voters of Scotland on May 3".
So what's changed now? Well, the Lib Dem MP John Barrett is breaking ranks with his leader and is listed to be speaking at an anti-Trident rally on November 3 in Edinburgh. Also there's an SNP Government in Scotland that is seeking popular support for moves to block Trident deployment on the Clyde.
Obviously the Lib Dems have to oppose the SNP because it's a reserved matter and Mr Salmond, they feel, should concentrate on the NHS and education, not pick fights with London... so why do so many MPs dabble in Scottish Parliament matters?
But Mr Stephen and his dwindling band of supporters should ponder this. In a tight budget settlement with the lowest increase for any of the last several years, the Scottish Government is being hampered from delivering more police on the streets, more teachers and smaller classes, and a fully-funded NHS, because UK priorities are to spend billions on the Trident replacement, continuing to pay a huge cost in soldiers and cash to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. At the same time, Brent crude oil hits a new high of $90 a barrel, which pours taxes into the Treasury but not into the Scottish block grant. Scotland's health, economy and safety and the people's wishes go against those who seek political power in London at Scotland's expense. The Scottish people want rid of Trident. They also show strong support for the SNP Government's efforts to stand up for our nation.
*
DURING the tattie holidays we were invited to a wedding in Brittany. The Le Lay family were celebrating their oldest son's wedding. We joined in with gusto, and a couple of days after the celebrations we saw the apple harvest for their distillery that makes cider and spirits. It was a delight to see apple varieties growing in the orchards that go to make good live cider.
On a smaller scale it's also apple harvest time here at home. The Discovery and Stirling Castle varieties have done well in our garden this year. But you'll never see these in the supermarkets. There are many old Scots varieties that grow well where we live. Since fruit is one of the low-maintenance crops, anyone with the space should be planting some apple trees.
*
ALSO in Brittany I had the chance to speak in Nantes at a conference of the French Society for Scottish Studies. It was organised by the research centre on national identity and intercultural matters based at the local university. Their annually colloquium focused this year on Scottish national identity in which 22 papers were read and debated over two days. My own contribution on "The Scottish Political Scene Today" had potentially the graveyard slot – first thing on Saturday morning – but amazingly the room was packed with more than 60 attendees, half of whom were students who forsook their beds on a fine Saturday morning to be there.
The slot overran due to the interesting questions that probed the Scottish body politic and found it in rude health. Then I was driven speedily across town to an old warehouse where Annie Thiec, one of the Nantes politics lecturers, conducted a half-hour conversation on the same subject for transmission on Euradio. It is a multicultural radio station run by three journalists and a dozen students from all over Europe. It has the backing of the EU Europe for Citizens programme. An FM station broadcasts locally, and the podcasts and streaming for internet audiences allow debate and discussion of views from citizens of the 27 partner nations.
By the way, the conversation was in English with Annie Thiec who completed her thesis on the momentous 1995 Perth and Kinross by-election which was won by my colleague Roseanna Cunningham, now an MSP – a fact she told me afterwards.
Out there in the world there is a growing interest in Scotland and Scottish studies. Our First Minister, Alex Salmond, has much to tell from his recent US trip. But we are far behind the Irish in academic recognition. Their culture, history and progress is studied in dozens of dedicated departments in universities the world over. Our universities are keen to make these links; several already do, but it is all the more urgent that the UHI Millennium Institute gains its full charter as the Highlands and Islands perspective is most attractive to many of the Scottish Diaspora.
Whether it's Trident, broadcasting, higher education or cultural showcases, if Scotland's government doesn't speak up, hard experience indicates that London cannot be relied upon to do so.
John O'Groat Journal and Caithness Courier
EARLIER this week, at a meeting held in Glasgow, MSPs and councillors, anti-nuclear weapons campaigners and church leaders gathered to plan resistance to the development of son of Trident.
The UK Labour Government, the Tory opposition and to a great extent the Liberal Democrats at UK level all agree: Britain won't be Britain without a credible nuclear weapons capacity. No seat at the UN Security Council, no longer a world policeman... there's a lot at stake. Not least for the Lib Dems, whose one hope of power in Westminster is a hung parliament at the next election.
When it comes to civil nuclear matters regarding Dounreay, John Thurso and Jamie Stone opt out of party policy which is against nuclear reactor development. I see that the Scottish Lib Dem leader Nicol Stephen is saying that Scottish Parliamentary representatives should remain silent on the Trident issue because it is a reserved matter – imitating the position taken by Labour's leader in the Scottish Parliament, Wendy Alexander.
This directly contradicts Mr Stephen's message to Lib Dem activists at his party's pre-election conference in February where he attacked a Labour memo telling Labour Party branches to avoid all mention of Trident and Iraq, and also said that Liberal Democrats would not keep quiet on those issues and would hold Labour "accountable to the voters of Scotland on May 3".
So what's changed now? Well, the Lib Dem MP John Barrett is breaking ranks with his leader and is listed to be speaking at an anti-Trident rally on November 3 in Edinburgh. Also there's an SNP Government in Scotland that is seeking popular support for moves to block Trident deployment on the Clyde.
Obviously the Lib Dems have to oppose the SNP because it's a reserved matter and Mr Salmond, they feel, should concentrate on the NHS and education, not pick fights with London... so why do so many MPs dabble in Scottish Parliament matters?
But Mr Stephen and his dwindling band of supporters should ponder this. In a tight budget settlement with the lowest increase for any of the last several years, the Scottish Government is being hampered from delivering more police on the streets, more teachers and smaller classes, and a fully-funded NHS, because UK priorities are to spend billions on the Trident replacement, continuing to pay a huge cost in soldiers and cash to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. At the same time, Brent crude oil hits a new high of $90 a barrel, which pours taxes into the Treasury but not into the Scottish block grant. Scotland's health, economy and safety and the people's wishes go against those who seek political power in London at Scotland's expense. The Scottish people want rid of Trident. They also show strong support for the SNP Government's efforts to stand up for our nation.
*
DURING the tattie holidays we were invited to a wedding in Brittany. The Le Lay family were celebrating their oldest son's wedding. We joined in with gusto, and a couple of days after the celebrations we saw the apple harvest for their distillery that makes cider and spirits. It was a delight to see apple varieties growing in the orchards that go to make good live cider.
On a smaller scale it's also apple harvest time here at home. The Discovery and Stirling Castle varieties have done well in our garden this year. But you'll never see these in the supermarkets. There are many old Scots varieties that grow well where we live. Since fruit is one of the low-maintenance crops, anyone with the space should be planting some apple trees.
*
ALSO in Brittany I had the chance to speak in Nantes at a conference of the French Society for Scottish Studies. It was organised by the research centre on national identity and intercultural matters based at the local university. Their annually colloquium focused this year on Scottish national identity in which 22 papers were read and debated over two days. My own contribution on "The Scottish Political Scene Today" had potentially the graveyard slot – first thing on Saturday morning – but amazingly the room was packed with more than 60 attendees, half of whom were students who forsook their beds on a fine Saturday morning to be there.
The slot overran due to the interesting questions that probed the Scottish body politic and found it in rude health. Then I was driven speedily across town to an old warehouse where Annie Thiec, one of the Nantes politics lecturers, conducted a half-hour conversation on the same subject for transmission on Euradio. It is a multicultural radio station run by three journalists and a dozen students from all over Europe. It has the backing of the EU Europe for Citizens programme. An FM station broadcasts locally, and the podcasts and streaming for internet audiences allow debate and discussion of views from citizens of the 27 partner nations.
By the way, the conversation was in English with Annie Thiec who completed her thesis on the momentous 1995 Perth and Kinross by-election which was won by my colleague Roseanna Cunningham, now an MSP – a fact she told me afterwards.
Out there in the world there is a growing interest in Scotland and Scottish studies. Our First Minister, Alex Salmond, has much to tell from his recent US trip. But we are far behind the Irish in academic recognition. Their culture, history and progress is studied in dozens of dedicated departments in universities the world over. Our universities are keen to make these links; several already do, but it is all the more urgent that the UHI Millennium Institute gains its full charter as the Highlands and Islands perspective is most attractive to many of the Scottish Diaspora.
Whether it's Trident, broadcasting, higher education or cultural showcases, if Scotland's government doesn't speak up, hard experience indicates that London cannot be relied upon to do so.
Friday, 12 October 2007
Flourishing festivals give us something to celebrate
Published: 12 October, 2007
John O'Groat Journal and Caithness Courier
IT'S a shame that Gordon Brown didn't decide to go for an election this November (not least because the SNP is riding high in the polls).
However, another reason would have been to see how a Scottish Prime Minister and his Chancellor would defend this week's decision to increase Scotland's budget by (when taking inflation into account) 1.4 per cent for the next three years, starting with a 0.5 per cent increase for the next financial year.
The SNP's treasury spokesman Stewart Hosie described this as a "lousy deal" and said that Scotland had been "short-changed".
Labour has denied this, but what is undeniable is that it is the smallest increase in the Scottish budget since devolution and it comes at a time when oil prices are strong and are forecast to increase.
However, that is the nature of devolution and the SNP Government will work within the settlement.
THE pleasant Indian summer can't disguise the fact that for livestock farmers in Scotland it has been anything but. The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, Richard Lochhead, announced that there is to be a cull of 250,000 light lambs which should have been sent to market in continental Europe but, due to foot-and-mouth restrictions, couldn't be exported.
The lambs are set to starve on the hillside this winter. It is regrettable situation and very much an action of last resort. Farmers are to be compensated at £15 per lamb, which from what I hear is more than they are selling for at market. However, it is a situation that no-one wanted.
BETTER news came last week when the Petitions Committee unanimously agreed that the Association of Caithness Community Councils' petition on rail improvements to the Far North rail line (including a Dornoch rail link) should be put forward for consideration by the Transport Committee.
The case for the petition is attracting cross-party support and will be a great help when it comes to committee. I spoke in favour of the petition last week, as did Highland Committee members Rhoda Grant and John Farquhar Munro. There was consensus that a reduced rail journey time to the Far North is crucial to the development of a post-Dounreay local economy. I will be doing all I can to make it a reality. I am sure a cross-party approach can make it happen.
FOOT-and-mouth caused the cancellation of many "Gates Open" farm events last month. But two weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending the Living Food festival at Cawdor Castle. Most of the produce came from Morayshire. However, Caithness and other parts of the Highlands and Islands have much to offer in terms of prime quality meat, vegetables and fruit. Hundreds of people attended the feast, showing that there is a growing public demand for tasty, local, fairly-priced foodstuffs. Producers in Caithness can capitalise on this.
IN the Education Committee we have been delving into the SNP Government proposals for a six-month pilot scheme in five local authority areas (alas not Highland) to offer free school meals to all pupils. The committee is composed of a majority of opposition MSPs and they have been at pains to find fault with the plans.
After all the humming and hawing, the committee agreed by seven votes to nil, with one Tory abstention, that the order to set up the pilot should be approved; and indeed Parliamentary approval was given on Wednesday, October 3, at decision time.
What it heralds is a food culture change for all families with school-age children or younger. But we will need £80 million a year to achieve this – so health comes at a price. I hope the public at large will applaud the SNP Government for its commitment to making a start.
AS all organisers of festivals know, it's an act of faith when you stand there waiting for the first customers to arrive. Even with electronic ticketing it can be nail-biting, especially for smaller events. It is equally true of the 40 events in the recent Caithness Arts Festival and the even more recent John Lennon Northern Lights Festival at which the eclectic programme was matched only by the unseasonably sunny weather in Durness.
I am very keen to see how the Scottish Arts Council and other bodies offer support to artists. I have been lodging a series of questions in Parliament and I'm also seeking evidence from North festival organisers to weigh up the treatment they receive from the SAC.
It was a pleasure to see so many friends from Wick, Thurso and the Back Coast among the thousand people who gathered to celebrate the John Lennon connection in the last week in September.
Mike Merritt pulled the idea together earlier this year. Despite the difficulties of funding being closed for Scotland's Year of Highland Culture he assembled a wide range of talent. John Lennon's close family were supportive from the start, as the late pop star had spent youthful holidays with relatives at Sangomore. I met his sister, Julia Baird, in Durness and was delighted to talk to someone who knew the ex-Beatle both before and during his fame.
May the celebrations develop and flourish next year in Durness. It's great to see new artistic efforts prosper in the Far North.
John O'Groat Journal and Caithness Courier
IT'S a shame that Gordon Brown didn't decide to go for an election this November (not least because the SNP is riding high in the polls).
However, another reason would have been to see how a Scottish Prime Minister and his Chancellor would defend this week's decision to increase Scotland's budget by (when taking inflation into account) 1.4 per cent for the next three years, starting with a 0.5 per cent increase for the next financial year.
The SNP's treasury spokesman Stewart Hosie described this as a "lousy deal" and said that Scotland had been "short-changed".
Labour has denied this, but what is undeniable is that it is the smallest increase in the Scottish budget since devolution and it comes at a time when oil prices are strong and are forecast to increase.
However, that is the nature of devolution and the SNP Government will work within the settlement.
THE pleasant Indian summer can't disguise the fact that for livestock farmers in Scotland it has been anything but. The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, Richard Lochhead, announced that there is to be a cull of 250,000 light lambs which should have been sent to market in continental Europe but, due to foot-and-mouth restrictions, couldn't be exported.
The lambs are set to starve on the hillside this winter. It is regrettable situation and very much an action of last resort. Farmers are to be compensated at £15 per lamb, which from what I hear is more than they are selling for at market. However, it is a situation that no-one wanted.
BETTER news came last week when the Petitions Committee unanimously agreed that the Association of Caithness Community Councils' petition on rail improvements to the Far North rail line (including a Dornoch rail link) should be put forward for consideration by the Transport Committee.
The case for the petition is attracting cross-party support and will be a great help when it comes to committee. I spoke in favour of the petition last week, as did Highland Committee members Rhoda Grant and John Farquhar Munro. There was consensus that a reduced rail journey time to the Far North is crucial to the development of a post-Dounreay local economy. I will be doing all I can to make it a reality. I am sure a cross-party approach can make it happen.
FOOT-and-mouth caused the cancellation of many "Gates Open" farm events last month. But two weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending the Living Food festival at Cawdor Castle. Most of the produce came from Morayshire. However, Caithness and other parts of the Highlands and Islands have much to offer in terms of prime quality meat, vegetables and fruit. Hundreds of people attended the feast, showing that there is a growing public demand for tasty, local, fairly-priced foodstuffs. Producers in Caithness can capitalise on this.
IN the Education Committee we have been delving into the SNP Government proposals for a six-month pilot scheme in five local authority areas (alas not Highland) to offer free school meals to all pupils. The committee is composed of a majority of opposition MSPs and they have been at pains to find fault with the plans.
After all the humming and hawing, the committee agreed by seven votes to nil, with one Tory abstention, that the order to set up the pilot should be approved; and indeed Parliamentary approval was given on Wednesday, October 3, at decision time.
What it heralds is a food culture change for all families with school-age children or younger. But we will need £80 million a year to achieve this – so health comes at a price. I hope the public at large will applaud the SNP Government for its commitment to making a start.
AS all organisers of festivals know, it's an act of faith when you stand there waiting for the first customers to arrive. Even with electronic ticketing it can be nail-biting, especially for smaller events. It is equally true of the 40 events in the recent Caithness Arts Festival and the even more recent John Lennon Northern Lights Festival at which the eclectic programme was matched only by the unseasonably sunny weather in Durness.
I am very keen to see how the Scottish Arts Council and other bodies offer support to artists. I have been lodging a series of questions in Parliament and I'm also seeking evidence from North festival organisers to weigh up the treatment they receive from the SAC.
It was a pleasure to see so many friends from Wick, Thurso and the Back Coast among the thousand people who gathered to celebrate the John Lennon connection in the last week in September.
Mike Merritt pulled the idea together earlier this year. Despite the difficulties of funding being closed for Scotland's Year of Highland Culture he assembled a wide range of talent. John Lennon's close family were supportive from the start, as the late pop star had spent youthful holidays with relatives at Sangomore. I met his sister, Julia Baird, in Durness and was delighted to talk to someone who knew the ex-Beatle both before and during his fame.
May the celebrations develop and flourish next year in Durness. It's great to see new artistic efforts prosper in the Far North.
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