Jamie Halcro Johnston
Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party · Scotland
“I know that colleagues from across the chamber will miss his consideration of and commitment to the issues that he was most passionate about. Beatrice Wishart, too, will be giving her last speech, and I particularly thank her for all her efforts on the CPG on islands, for making it the success that it has been and for the strong voice tha…”
“I remind members of my entry in the register of members’ interests as a partner in a farming business. I thank all those who have signed today’s motion, allowing me to bring the debate to the chamber.”
“Meanwhile, the ferries crisis continues, with the Scottish National Party Government coming face to face with the consequences of two decades of neglect, while islands and ferry-dependent communities pay the price.”
“There, too, costs for operators in the visitor economy are escalating, while the Government sees this as a good time to impose more regulation and more tax. In addition to economic woes, small rural communities are increasingly seeing services moved further away.”
“[Laughter.] However, I have served with John on committees, most recently the Finance and Public Administration Committee, and I know how diligent he has been in conducting the vital scrutiny required of MSPs. Last but not least, the cabinet secretary will be giving her last speech, too.”
“That has practical consequences—whether it is the young family facing another year of being unable to afford a permanent home for their children; the small business owner who seems to be sacrificing more than she gains, but who keeps going; the working person who is trying to make ends meet; or the older person on a fixed income who is af…”
The complete record
Every one of 429 lines we hold for Jamie Halcro Johnston, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 9 of 9.
“Will the minister give way? Gillian Martin: I am coming to a close. In bringing my speech to a close, I want to reflect on the decision that is before us, which is whether to spend huge sums of money on nuclear, which will not reduce consumer bills and will leave us with an environmental hazard extending thousands of years into the future, or to continue to invest in renewables and Scotland’s future. There is a unique opportunity at stake. We have an opportunity to reach our climate goals, provide cost-competitive energy security and grow our economy through the deployment of renewables and associated infrastructure. I repeat: renewable energy is safer, cheaper and faster to deploy, and creates more jobs than nuclear generation.”
“To ask the Scottish Government how it will reduce any administrative burdens on general practitioners across the Highlands and Islands to allow them to spend more time seeing patients. (S6O-04362)”
“Farmers have to remember, however, that these criminals are well organised. They have scoped out their targets and have the delivery all in hand, even shipping abroad. It is very difficult to combat such crime, therefore, as it is not casual these days. I ask the Scottish Government, therefore, whether it would be helpful if Police Scotland categorised rural crime as I defined earlier, thus providing invaluable data to help detect and deter. Lest we get lost in figures and data, however, I stress that each and every rural theft is personal. It is distressing to the victim or victims, and must make them feel very insecure in their remote settings—let us not forget that. 17:29”
“They should not, however, put themselves at risk by confronting intruders, no matter how angry and compelled to do so they may feel, because these are really serious criminals. People can put in place measures to deter and prevent such crime—for example, marking, tracking and securing their farm machinery and tools—including in the areas that are most impacted. If those measures are taken, that must surely help to reduce insurance premiums. Indeed, many years ago, I suggested to Police Scotland that it should have a stall at the Borders shows where farmers could discreetly report their concerns, in particular about the theft of livestock. I knew that farmers often felt guilty—although they should not—because they thought that such thefts could somehow have been prevented and that they were not protecting their livestock.”
“They cannot put a tractor or a combine harvester up for sale on eBay—they have stolen it knowing exactly where they are going to sell it. The partnership includes—as one would expect— Police Scotland, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, the NFUS, Scottish Land & Estates, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the River Tweed Commission and the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which are all working together to prevent and combat rural crime. There are some measures that those in the farming community and beyond can take to help. If people see something suspicious, out of the ordinary and out of place, they can, if intervention is needed immediately, phone 999, or otherwise the 101 number, or they can report anonymously through Crimestoppers or even on the Police Scotland website.”
“I thank the member for taking an intervention, and I declare an interest as a partner in a farming business. The member talks about the cost. There is also the cost of delays to undertaking work, and the impact, for example, of losing a quad bike in that it makes the job harder. All those things—just going by the insurance figures—are also huge costs, not only financially but in terms of farmers’ time. The Deputy Presiding Officer: I can give you the time back, Ms Grahame. Christine Grahame: Thank you. I absolutely concur with what the member said—that is strange for us both, is it not? Anyway. The Scottish Borders partnership against rural crime brings together key organisations working together to tackle that crime, in particular the increasing threat that is posed by serious organised crime groups that operate most often to order.”
“To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of the constitution, external affairs and culture budget for 2024-25 was spent outside of the United Kingdom. (S6O-04257)”
“I hope that this debate will leave the health secretary under no illusions about the severity of the pressures on our rural health services and the desperate need and public demand for a reverse to the running down, centralisation and loss of services that we have had during the SNP’s 18 years in power. 17:31”
“That situation is not acceptable and I am sure that even those on the SNP front benches will recognise that. That story also highlights the pressure that the Ambulance Service is under. I held my own members’ business debate just a few years ago on the pressures faced by the Ambulance Service and its crews and I know that the service continues to be called on to help or provide cover in areas outwith what should be its remit. That is only exacerbated on Skye when promises to return 24/7 urgent care to Portree hospital fail to be delivered time and time again. I must conclude, but I could have spoken, as others have done, about the pressures on mental health provision, the loss of local dentistry, a lack of the physio support that is important for many older residents, nursing shortages and the lack of accommodation.”
“A clear message was sent to the SNP that Lochaber would not accept more delay. There has been positive news about the Belford recently, but, like many in the community, I will not accept that real progress has been made until we see spades in the ground as work on the build begins. That community has been let down too many times before by SNP ministers in Edinburgh who are big on promises but not so big on delivery. Colleagues have spoken about the long journeys faced by young mothers in Caithness and Moray and those are also faced by many living on Skye. A former paramedic described to me a high- speed drive, with blue lights on, from Skye to Inverness. It was winter, it was dark and the roads were unsuitable for anything other than careful and often slow driving.”
“Neil Gray: I hope that the member will recognise that, along with the constituency member, Kate Forbes, I met residents and family members at Moss Park and that interventions by the Government and Highland Council have seen the home being saved. I recognise the strength of feeling in that community and will continue working with Highland Council to see a long-term and sustainable approach. Jamie Halcro Johnston: Saved for how long? That is the problem. What will the loss of care provision mean for the Belford hospital, which is itself in need of replacement? I joined the local community, campaigners and other politicians in Fort William last year to highlight the increasingly desperate need for the much-promised but much-delayed replacement finally to be delivered.”
“Understandably, they and their families were concerned that those new places would not be local and would not be in the communities that they grew up in, where they wanted to stay. There was also understandable concern in the community that the loss of places at the Moss Park care home would mean that staying in Fort William or even Lochaber would be impossible for local people in the future. Although it appears that there has been a reprieve for the home, for how long will that be the case—a few years or slightly longer? That community in Fort William—current residents of the home and those who may need it shortly, and their families—deserve to know that care places will still be available locally in the future. At present, they cannot be confident that that will be the case.”
“The waits to see a GP have grown, as has the paperwork that they have to deal with—they spend hours on repeat prescriptions or meeting data requests from patients. Because all of that has to be delivered by GPs themselves, they have less time to spend dealing with patients, which only increases the pressures on the system. I know from personal experience the pressure that social care is under. There are not enough carers, and there are not enough places in suitable accommodation for people who need care, so our hospitals are full of people who simply do not need to be there. That situation is not getting better; it is only getting worse. Only last year, the Moss Park care home in Fort William was threatened with closure. The residents were prepared for resettlement in new homes.”
“As other members have done, I thank Tim Eagle for bringing the debate to the chamber. The number of speakers and the pressure that is being brought to bear highlight just how important the issue of access to health and social care is to those of us who live in rural Scotland and, of course, on our islands, and to our constituents and communities. There are a number of areas that I would have liked to cover today, but I am very conscious of time, so I will not be able to go into detail on all of them. However, I hope to cover some key areas of concern. As Tim Eagle did, I will start with GPs. I recently met GPs in Orkney, who raised some of the challenges that they face, which have only increased over the years, seemingly with little response from the Scottish Government.”
“Too many families now mourn loved ones who have been lost on the A9. So, my message to the SNP Government is simple: no more failures, no more excuses—get the A9 dualled.”
“If John Swinney is confident that he did not mislead the Parliament—or the communities or campaigners who will have heard his comments— he should refer himself to his own newly appointed independent adviser on the ministerial code, surely confident that they will clear him of any breach. Of course, I doubt that he will, because this Government does not do accountability or transparency. Even when it knew definitively that the dualling would not happen as promised, it refused to be honest with Parliament and the public. As has been the case far too often with this Government—the ferries fiasco is an obvious example—no one has lost their job. This has been a shameful saga that has involved endless broken promises, deadlines missed, communities lied to, lives ruined and, of course, lives lost.”
“However, that was not the case, because more than a week before John Swinney gave me that response in the chamber, the Scottish Government had been told that the dualling would not be completed by 2025. An email had been sent that said: “it should be made clear that the current published completion date of 2025 will no longer apply to the Programme.” That email was sent directly to the then Deputy First Minister, John Swinney. When John Swinney told me that nothing had changed, that was not true. He knew that the 2025 date would not be met, but he kept the deception going that it would. John Swinney, the then Deputy First Minister and now First Minister, misled the Parliament when he said that the SNP promise to dual the A9 would be delivered.”
“Following his budget statement to the Parliament on 15 December 2022, I asked John Swinney, the then Deputy First Minister and Acting Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy: “Will the cabinet secretary finally admit what my Highlands and Islands constituents and his Perthshire constituents know, which is that the promised dualling of the A9 between Inverness and Perth will not be completed in 2025 or, indeed, any time soon?” He responded: “The Government’s position on the completion of the dualling of the A9 remains intact.”—[Official Report, 15 December 2022; c 86.] To some people—possibly more charitable people than me—that response might be acceptable, if, ignoring the evidence of his own eyes on the lack of progress on the dualling, John Swinney was still naive enough to think that an engineering miracle could happen and the project could still be completed as promised.”
“Put simply, it is the building of a road where there is already a road; it should not challenge, as it has done, the abilities of a country with the engineering heritage and expertise of Scotland. What galls most about this shameful saga is the dishonesty of the Scottish Government. The communities that are most reliant on the road could have accepted some delay to the project if real progress had been made or been obvious but, time and again, they were told by SNP ministers— or by SNP MSPs quoting SNP ministers—that all was fine and on track and that dualling would be completed, as promised, by 2025. Nothing has changed. The deception went to the very top.”
“There is, of course, inconvenience in a journey delayed, but far worse is sitting in stationary traffic as emergency services pass or an air ambulance flies over, desperate to get as quickly as possible to the scene of another accident—sitting in the car with the fear that, just ahead, yet another incident may have been serious enough that another family or community will have to be told of the loss of a loved one. Too many have already lost their lives, and too many will probably experience that in the next few years. We did not need to be here. All major projects face challenges and issues with the terrain or economic factors, as other members have said. That must always be considered. However, dualling the A9 is not some engineering marvel.”
“There have been major improvements since then, including new bridges and new stretches of dualled road. Between 1979 and 1997, under the Conservatives, 25 miles of the A9 were dualled between Inverness and Perth, and 12 miles of it were dualled between 2007 and 2022 under the SNP. Although that work has undoubtedly made the journey shorter and safer than it was, the SNP promised us a fully dualled A9 between Inverness and Perth—and a safer road. However, travelling on the road last year, particularly during the summer, it felt as though almost every journey was disrupted by an accident.”
“Many of us on the Conservative benches, along with the stalwart campaigners, some of whom are in the gallery today, have been campaigning to get the road dualled between Inverness and Perth for far too many years. My colleague Murdo Fraser and I launched our campaign for the dualling as far back as 2006, when we were both young, fresh-faced and full of hope—that should give you an idea of how long ago it was. Our petition attracted well over 20,000 signatures and clearly played a role in encouraging the SNP, which included the A9 dualling in its 2007 manifesto. However, here we are, 18 years later, still waiting. I have been using the A9 all my life. I still just about remember heading up the old road on the way home to Orkney via the Kessock ferry and the long and winding route up to Scrabster.”
“Goodness—follow that! As others have done, I thank the committee for all its work. I also thank the committee clerks and, of course, Laura Hansler for her work and commitment to this vitally important cause. The debate is undoubtedly important for me and for my constituents, but it is a disgrace that we are having to have it again. It is a shameful indictment of the Government’s abject failure to deliver on its promises to my constituents. At the beginning of 2025, the original target date for delivery, we should be preparing for the final stretch of dualling to be completed. Instead, we are here in Parliament, listening to more excuses from the Scottish Government on why it is not complete.”
“The report is interesting but, for many of us who live in the Highlands and Islands, it tells us little that we do not already know. There is a lack of affordable housing. Healthcare services are becoming more distant for some and inaccessible for too many. There is fuel poverty in communities that are circled by machines that heat the homes of others many miles away. Many people in the Highlands and Islands feel a long way from the decisions that are made here in Edinburgh but those decisions impact greatly on their lives. Although the Highlands and Islands are still a great place in which to live, work and be brought up, it is getting harder for many people to do that. 13:06”
“New pylons, substations and other energy infrastructure are being forced on communities across the Highlands and Islands without their permission, and too often with only the most token amount of consultation— consultation that many see as almost a fait accompli. That is a clear democratic and moral deficit. That leads me to my last point, which is about how decisions are made and their impact. Island residents have seen the introduction of legislation on island proofing to allow the consideration of unique island needs, although many are understandably sceptical about whether it is anything more than a tick-box exercise. However, rural communities are not afforded the same protections, despite many being as remote as— and, in some cases, more remote than—some of our island communities.”
“Last year, I dealt with the case of a household who were stuck in their property because the condition of their road left them isolated in their home. There were potholes so large that the local delivery drivers refused to deliver to them. Thankfully, after a letter to the council on their behalf, work was done on the road and they can enjoy their home again, but also leave when they want to. That issue of enjoying one’s home leads me on to another issue that I would like to raise, although it is not included in the report. People across my region are faced with the prospect of increased industrialisation of their communities, but they see little or no gain from it, and they feel powerless to have their say on it.”
“Transport connectivity was also highlighted in the commission’s report, and the crisis faced by our ferry-reliant communities has been raised in Parliament on too many occasions to mention. It is not only islanders who suffer; residents and businesses that are reliant on the ageing and unreliable ferries that serve the Corran Narrows route in Lochaber have been extremely vocal on just how great a threat the lack of a reliable service is to the sustainability of their communities. When I visited that area as part of my summer tour, many people were quite clear that, without action—soon—they would be forced to move away from the area that they call home. Many Highland roads are not much better.”
“When that pressure includes the downgrading of maternity services and a lack of social care, it challenges the sustainability of many of our communities. The deterioration of health services is far from being the only challenge. After 18 years of this Government, we have a housing emergency in Scotland—a crisis that the Scottish National Party responded to by cutting the housing budget by nearly £200 million. Added to that, the dedicated rural and islands housing funds were not fully utilised, with millions of pounds left in Government coffers in Edinburgh despite the schemes being extended and there being a clear and desperate need for more affordable housing in our communities.”
“I thank Rhoda Grant for bringing this debate to the chamber. Along with debates this afternoon on the A9 dualling and on rural healthcare, it begins a very welcome focus to the Parliament today on issues that impact on the Highlands and Islands region—the focus on those issues is welcome because they are being discussed, rather than because of the underlying reasons why they are being discussed and the failure to deliver rural and island services. This evening, I will speak in my colleague Tim Eagle’s debate on rural healthcare, so I will not focus on that now, other than to say that the impact of pressure on our health services is often felt more acutely in our more remote rural and island communities. Distance to care, and the impact of healthcare services being further away from those who use them, is a real and growing concern.”