I hope Chatterbox readers managed some relaxation over the festive period and that the New Year finds you all in good spirits.
I have been out and about in the constituency in my new Nissan Leaf, electric car, which has been fun and very interesting.
In the Highlands there are “fast” charge points for electric cars, which take several hours to charge a car. In the case of my car it is three and half hours which is fine if you have other things to do, however there are not enough “rapid” charge points, where charging an electric vehicle can be done in half an hour (80%) to an hour (100%).
If we are to tackle climate change and reduce emissions in the Highlands, we have to make the charging process as efficient as possible.
So, it was good to be able to use a recent question in the Scottish Parliament to ask the Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, Aileen McLeod, if the number of “rapid” electric car charging points in the Highlands and Islands should be increased to make ownership of electric vehicles in the Highlands and Islands more attractive.
It was heartening to learn that the Minister agrees with me that more rapid charge points will aid the climate change process and better still that there are already 43 available for public use. I was also pleased to learn that there will be a further ten commissioned in the coming months and Scotland is developing one of the most comprehensive networks of rapid charge points in Europe.
This is great, but the nearest rapid charge points to the Black Isle are Inverness, Tain and Ullapool, so as part of my campaign to bring more rapid charge points to the Highlands, I will be pressing for one on the Black Isle, as well.
The level of grant support available to help crofters build and improve their homes is to be significantly increased. From April 1 this year, crofters will be able to apply for up to £28,000 under the new Croft House Grant Scheme and up to £38,000 if they live in island and specified mainland communities and as chatterbox readers will know, there are many crofters in Easter Ross.
I have been campaigning for increases in the Croft House Grant Scheme for some time and I made that known in my contribution to the recent consultation on the matter.
I want to see our remote, rural and island communities flourish and the recent changes to the scheme are a positive step in that direction. I am reassured that the Scottish Government has listened to the views of crofters, who will benefit greatly from the remodeling.
At a recent (20/01/16) meeting of the Rural Affairs, Environment and Climate Change Committee (RACCE) I welcomed my colleague, Graeme Dey’s amendment, to the Land Reform Bill, which will create a register of persons of significant control in relation to the proprietors of land.
Transparency is an essential component of Land Reform and I was struck by the broad agreement right across society that that is essential.
We not need to look far in my constituency at this very moment to find situations in which transparency would be helpful. A couple of estates have changed hands recently. Indeed, including one, where the companies buying them are registered in Jersey and this is not an isolated example. Therefore, it is essential that we have information on who owns land in Scotland.
I used another RACCE Committee meeting to get agreement on a meeting of interested parties with the Assistant Chief Constable Graham of Police Scotland, in order to be updated on the raptor poisoning cases in Ross-shire.
The specific date of the meeting has not yet been arranged, but it has been agreed to be held before the end of the Parliamentary term in March.
I believe a meeting with Police Scotland and other interested parties on the Ross-shire raptor poisonings would give reassurance to the general public that this matter is still top of the police agenda.
The new plan for the future of Gaelic by Highlands and Islands Enterprise is welcome as it will enhance how Gaelic is utilised for social and economic gain, which follows recent research showing the economic value of the Gaelic language in the Highlands to be £5.6million. This is great news and will it builds on the progress made in the organisation's previous plan which covered the period from 2012-15.
I will be standing down in 2016, which comes with a tinge of sadness after 9 years as, first a regional MSP, and then Constituency MSP, however I am confident I am passing the baton onto a younger and talented SNP candidate in Kate Forbes and I will campaign hard to ensure she is elected as your representative for the Black Isle after the Scottish Elections in May.
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