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More heat than light          18/2/13

 

Sir,

I regret to have to say that my erstwhile colleagues in the SNP party, from MP, MSP and including also a number of councillors, are again guilty of an inglorious “own goal.” The wording of the petition to the Scottish Government Petitions Committee is a knee-jerk reaction to a political decision on inter-island flights taken in good faith by the Comhairle, after extensive consultation at locality level, and is in my view inadmissible.

Quick reference to the Scottish Government guidance on submitting a Petition (4 pages of A4), states the following:

“A primary role of the PPC is to hold the Scottish Government to account. It has no remit to intervene in the operational decisions or actions of other public bodies in Scotland such as health boards and local authorities. A petition which requests the Parliament to do something it clearly has no power to do is inadmissible (page 2).”

Whilst it may be politically necessary to mobilise action in response to this decision of the Comhairle, it is a bit late in the day, and is at best foolhardy, at worst anarchic. Petitions should be embarked upon with a view to seeking a positive outcome, and not utilised as a big stick with which to beat the perceived offending council, democratically elected.

I believe your readers will have witnessed similar actions taken recently by our elected representatives with regard to - Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) with massive increases in fares for Commercial traffic, as imposed by the Minister, and more increases round the corner; School Closures, with upwards of an additional £1m being wasted because of delay in implementation, and the meter still ticking re legal action and fees; and of course cost of fuel, with inept political interventions to date (still paying 154.9p per litre for diesel in the Uists). All of these measures impact negatively on island residents.

This highlights for me the concerns we should all carry re the power struggle continuing between an SNP administration at Holyrood, bolstered on these islands by a SNP MP and MSP, and an independent council which is doing its level best to work within a much reduced budget, set by Holyrood.

I have previously written publicly about Inter-Island flights, and I have also communicated with respective Ministers, expressing the view that additional funding should be found from central government to enable continuation of inter-island flights, even with a reduced service, including the Barra to Benbecula route. The Western Isles Health Board received an additional funding of £1.7m only last week from the Minister for Health and Well Being. The Finance Secretary has a budget of over £30bn, the Comhairle has a budget of £117m. Where there’s a political will, a way can be found.

Our MP and MSP are, with respect, missing the target! Surely they are best placed to speak with the key SNP ministers at Holyrood who are budget holders, and work with the Comhairle to ensure essential life-line inter-island flights continue. Any cursory glance at the workings of the Petitions Committee will quickly reach the conclusion that (i) only competent petitions will be considered, (ii) they are thorough and detailed in receiving evidence from all relevant parties, and (iii) they don’t reach decisions quickly.

Western Isles Health Board are not likely to come to the aid of the Comhairle to share costs in subsidising air services, and comfort themselves in the knowledge that the Air Ambulance Service is available in any health emergency. This is short-sighted, and will incur massive increases in costs of emergency call-outs at £8000 +  per flight: politicians from all parties should be alarmed at this prospect.

My advice to Dr Allan and Mr MacNeil is to reconsider your strategy, and please get on the phone with Ministers Keith Brown and John Swinney with a view to seeking additional temporary funding meantime to ensure continuation of flights from Barra to Benbecula, even if only for three days per week, linking in with the Benbecula to Stornoway connection. This will go some considerable way to allay immediate concerns and give the necessary time for a more detailed examination of inter-island flights across all remote locations, including Orkney and Shetland.

To help inject a level of common sense into this unfolding fiasco, I will again send a copy of this letter to Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon.

Andrew Walker

3 Kyles Flodda

Gramsdale

Isle of Benbecula