Crofting Bill Consultation Response

At the time of writing I have just submitted my response to the Government’s consultation on the future of crofting. I believe there is a need for legislation, but there are a number of parts of the Draft Crofting Reform Bill which I simply do not believe are feasible. Over recent months I have been taking soundings from my crofting friends and neighbours and have also held a number of meetings in Uist and Benbecula with crofters to hear their views on the bill. There can be no doubt that crofting faces significant problems and the Draft Bill sets out to address some of these, such as neglect of some crofts, absenteeism and speculation in house plots.  There are, however, sections of the Draft Bill which I believe need to be rethought, not least the assumption that crofters wish to take out commercial loans against their crofts. I can see no demand among crofters to do this. I believe there will also need to be careful consideration given to some of the problems raised by crofters about the proposed Register of Crofts. We should also be careful to establish whether the register would have any unintended consequences for crofters going into care homes. The Government is right to propose legislation on crofting and right to be listening so closely to the views of crofters before putting any bill to Parliament.

 Western Isles Population

It is very disappointing that the Registrar General for Scotland’s latest report shows a reduction in the Western Isles population of nearly 5% in the 10 years to 2008. Obviously the past few years have been very tough ones economically for the Western Isles but we must continue to work to make the Western Isles and attractive and a viable place to work, to raise a family and as a place to do business.  For the Uists this means that the UK Government must play their part in the future health of the Western Isles by rejecting the catastrophic plans to down-size the Hebrides Range which would result in the loss of over 150 jobs and push even more families to leave the islands.  

 Quentin Davies Meeting

On the topic of the Hebrides Range I was among the Hebrides Range taskforce members which met on the 5^th August with Defence Minister, Quentin Davies.  The meeting didn’t take place, however, until certain logistical problems facing those of us coming from Stornoway were overcome. Namely one of our two propellers ceased to turn in mid-air which meant we had to turn back to Stornoway airport to be met by fire-engines before embarking on a frantic drive down to Leverburgh to try to make the ferry! Which I’m glad to report we did, thanks in no small part to the negotiating powers of whoever managed to delay the ferry departure time by 10 minutes! The meeting itself was very constructive and the minister was left in no doubt at the anger felt in Uist at the job cuts which the MOD and QinetiQ were proposing in Uist.  The taskforce are increasingly focused on making the only kind of arguments which the MOD seems willing to hear, which are those surrounding the military and strategic importance of the base.  Hopefully Quentin Davies was listening, as he and the UK Government will certainly have to bear the responsibilities for the decisions they take in Uist. 

Benefits of RET

Welcome new figures have recently been published by the Scottish Government which shows that the Road Equivalent Tariff Pilot on the three Western Isles to Mainland ferry routes have led to an average increase of 25% in car traffic and 16% in foot traffic across all three routes since its inception last year.  I am delighted that all the evidence is showing that this historic pilot is proving to be so successful following the commitment by the Scottish Government to finding an effective and sustainable way of improving the affordability of lifeline ferry services to Scotland’s islands.  RET is a massively important scheme at such a tough time economically, particularly in the Western Isles, and these positive indications bode very well for the future viability of the scheme past the pilot phase.  Hopefully we will see further developments in the growth of RET in the remaining two years of the pilot scheme and we can begin to experience knock-on benefits for the economy of the Western Isles from such an obvious increase in popularity of our ferry routes.