Chamber and committees

The response from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and local land management to the severe wildfires that were experienced in the Highlands last year was exceptional, and I put on record my thanks to them.

Given that wildfires are breaking out, as the cabinet secretary has referenced, including in Lochinver in my constituency this April, we are already seeing the risk. The recent introduction of fire byelaws in the Cairngorms national park, which the cabinet secretary referred to, demonstrates that a targeted approach to prevention is possible. Given the recent wildfires, will the minister urgently commence the powers in the Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2026 to allow local authorities to introduce similar protections where they are needed?

To ask the Scottish Government what advice and support it provides to rural communities on wildfire prevention ahead of the heightened risk of such fires during the summer months. (S7O-00113)

Yes, I absolutely agree with Paul Sweeney, and I will come on to talk about the connection between decommissioning and the opportunities for new nuclear energy shortly.

As I said, the contribution of the Dounreay site goes far beyond the industrial activity; it helps to sustain the very fabric of the far north. The site is also unique in Scotland for the innovation and emerging technologies required to address its complex legacy. Many of the solutions that have been developed at Dounreay have been world leading, and many more will be needed as work continues on the facilities, such as the shaft and the silo, which are among some of the most challenging decommissioning projects in all of Europe. I am therefore pleased that the energy minister recognises that, and I am grateful that I have this opportunity to put on the record my thanks to him for agreeing to visit Dounreay.

All the lessons learned at Dounreay are highly relevant to the future of nuclear energy, which is the very question that Liam Kerr has brought to the chamber. New nuclear power stations that are being designed and built today will benefit directly from the experience gained in Caithness. The knowledge developed at Dounreay will ensure that future facilities—I emphasise that I am talking about future facilities, not some of the facilities that we have heard about from SNP members—are safer, more efficient and better prepared for their full life cycle.

Liam Kerr has been able to advise the SNP himself, and I absolutely agree with his point. These matters are interconnected, and I will continue with that point.

Despite all the success at Dounreay that we have heard about this evening, the Scottish Government still has an ideological opposition to new nuclear energy. I remind members that the UK Climate Change Committee, which is an expert-led body, has made it clear that nuclear energy is essential to the UK’s decarbonised electricity mix. Meeting our climate obligations will require significant volumes of low-carbon generation, and nuclear energy has to be part of that mix. I have said this before, and I will say it constantly: good public policy is all about context. Whether SNP members like it or not, the UK Government has made a decision. We will have new investment in new nuclear energy. Therefore, the question is whether Scotland seizes the opportunities to create jobs and investment here at home. We will benefit from the energy, but will we benefit from the opportunity to create jobs? That is the question that I put to the Government tonight.

Let me also emphasise that the success at Dounreay depends on a highly skilled workforce of engineers, project managers, scientists and technicians. Those skills do not exist in isolation, as Paul Sweeney and Liam Kerr said. They are sustained by a thriving nuclear sector that needs to have long-term careers, investment and innovation. I pay tribute to the highly skilled workforce at Dounreay and recognise the potential of a community that is ready to seize those opportunities. As I said to the Dounreay stakeholder group only a few weeks ago, I will fight in this Parliament for their interests, and I hope that the Scottish Government is willing to think big and do likewise.

18:39

I, too, congratulate Liam Kerr on securing the debate. As he knows, I share the concern, which has been echoed by Stephen Kerr, Paul Sweeney and Miles Briggs, that the Scottish Government’s opposition to new nuclear sends a worrying message to Scotland’s nuclear workforce—the message that its future somehow lies elsewhere. I will build on that point, but I want to begin by highlighting the vital importance of decommissioning and, in particular, the exceptional work that is being undertaken at Dounreay, in my constituency.

It is striking that, in many discussions about energy policy, the role of decommissioning is often overlooked. However, at Dounreay, it is not only a major industrial operation but, as Tim Eagle said, a cornerstone of the local economy and the local community. The site directly employs about 1,400 staff, 96 per cent of whom live locally, and there is a wider supply chain that supports hundreds more jobs. In total, that accounts for almost a quarter of the economy in Caithness and north Sutherland, with a local economic impact of approximately £180 million. In short, a fifth of the local economy is directly connected to Dounreay.

Dounreay is also deeply embedded in the social fabric of the community. Its funding programmes support local sports clubs, charities and individuals, providing more than £1 million annually and leveraging further match funding from other organisations.

The recent bank closures in the Highlands have been widespread. In Sutherland, not a single bank remains open. Too many of my constituents are being asked to travel hours on end, which is impacting vulnerable customers and businesses alike.

Does the minister agree that although protecting access to cash is important, it is not enough on its own? The minister mentioned access to banking. Will he undertake to write to the United Kingdom Government in support of access to banks, with regard to a provision in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, to ensure that rural communities are not left behind?

I congratulate Jack Middleton on securing the debate. He has been a strong advocate for the save STV North news campaign, and I am grateful that he has given members the opportunity to come together and coalesce around the issue.

Like many members, I am concerned about the centralisation of STV North. It is not simply a staffing decision but a cost-saving measure. It represents a fundamental change in how the north of Scotland is represented on television, and it risks weakening one of the few remaining sources of consistent, dedicated regional journalism for our part of the country.

Let us not forget that, for more than 60 years, STV North has provided coverage across the north of Scotland, including for my constituents across Caithness, Sutherland and Ross. As members from across the chamber have highlighted, it has not only delivered news bulletins but provided scrutiny of local decision making and ensured that issues affecting our communities are visible beyond the immediate area.

For those of us who represent sparsely populated communities in the north of Scotland and who are all too familiar with the challenge of ensuring that those voices are heard by Governments of all colours, which can all too often feel too distant, that role has been crucial.

The concerns about the proposals were strongly reflected in evidence to the Scottish Affairs Committee at Westminster. Nick McGowan-Lowe of the National Union of Journalists warned that they represented not a minor restructuring but a significant downgrading of regional journalism. He argued that moving production to Glasgow would undermine journalists’ ability to cover breaking news in real time. He suggested that output would increasingly rely on pre-recorded material, which would mean that events in the north could be missed or coverage of them could be delayed as a result of the erosion of the very journalism that we need in our communities. As he put it, we

“would see the cultural centre of Scotland shifted down towards the M80.”

I also share the concerns that have been echoed across the political spectrum tonight about not only the job losses that have been announced but the loss of opportunities for aspiring young journalists of the future. As a former student at the University of Aberdeen, I know how important it is that training routes and long-term career pathways outside the central belt are not only protected but strengthened.

Given the economic pressures that the broadcasting sector faces, I recognise the challenges that are involved, so I welcome the confirmation that STV’s current bases in the north region will be maintained. Nonetheless, if skilled jobs and training pipelines are removed from places such as Aberdeen and Inverness, they will be extremely difficult to rebuild. Therefore, the Parliament has a wider responsibility in that regard. I welcome what Jack Middleton called for in his speech. I assure him that, as part of this morning’s discussion in public of its work programme, the Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee considered calling in STV bosses to hold them to account. I hope that we will do so, and I am sure that I will be able to speak to Jack Middleton about that beforehand.

I am sure that the rest of us will have questions for the Scottish Government about what assurances the wider creative industries sector will need. I have no doubt that the issue will need to be seen through the lens of the upcoming Screen Scotland reforms.

It is hard to come to any conclusion other than that the centralisation of STV North lets down not only staff—who, as we will all be aware, are reporting serious concerns about wellbeing that must be addressed by STV bosses—but our communities right across the north. I fear that trust has been lost, and it will be difficult to rebuild it.

19:07

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I am sorry—I could not connect to the voting app. I would have abstained.

I begin by welcoming the cabinet secretary to his new role and wishing him well. As we have already heard, Mr McKee has been handed what might become the defining task of this Government, which is tackling the £5 billion black hole in Scotland’s finances. As Murdo Fraser has just said, although the cabinet secretary insists that his role is not about cutting front-line services, time will certainly tell.

It is often said that voters are never wrong. As my colleague Willie Rennie said in his opening remarks of this parliamentary session, given the low turnout of voters and their rejection of some of the established parties, it is clear that people are pretty fed up. They are working hard and they are playing by the rules, yet things are simply not getting any better. Therefore, we are in urgent need of a change in approach.

Liberal Democrats were therefore encouraged by the First Minister’s comments at Prosper’s annual forum held last week. He was right to say that our planning system is broken and needs to “work better”. He was also right to say that we need to change how public services are delivered, starting

“from the needs of the citizen, of the business, of the community.”

However, I warn the cabinet secretary that he faces an uphill struggle to rebuild public confidence, particularly in rural Scotland. I agree with what Michael Marra said earlier. We must recognise that there has been almost 20 years of an SNP Government, and some contrition about what has not gone right or what has not been reformed would be welcome.

Too often under this SNP Government, the term “reform” has been code for ever-greater centralisation. The centralisation of the police led to the closure of the Inverness control room and the loss of local operators with detailed knowledge of our communities. The one-size-fits-all approach taken in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has left stations in north-west Sutherland, in effect, unavailable for years. There is also the long-term trend of concentrating specialist healthcare in the Highlands at an overstretched Raigmore hospital, or, worse, losing services altogether, not least vascular care—an issue that I know Edward Mountain of the Conservative Party raised in the previous session.

As I said in my first speech in the chamber last week, Liberal Democrats believe that the best decisions are made when local people are empowered to make them. I therefore welcome the intent shown in the empowering people, places and communities workstream, but I urge the Scottish Government to go further and give my constituents greater reassurances by using its rural renewal bill to put rural proofing into law.

Turning to the cabinet secretary’s commitment to making public services more efficient, I will use what I have left of my time to focus on one key area: social care, including delayed hospital discharge. It is quite astonishing that our NHS is losing £1.2 million a day because, on any given night, around 2,000 patients are stuck in hospital. Those are people who should be cared for in their communities at a fraction of the cost. If we are serious about tackling delayed discharge and reducing pressure on the NHS, the Scottish Government must deliver on its commitment to join up services.

In the Highlands, the end of life care together partnership, which is co-led by Highland Hospice, is a great example. I see Jenni Minto nodding in agreement. Between May 2023 and September 2024, people who accessed its helpline spent more than 4,000 fewer days in hospital, thereby generating savings of up to £3.8 million. Highland Hospice estimates that, with an investment of around £1 million a year, it could deliver that service right across the Highlands. That would be a compassionate choice. It would reduce delayed discharge, save money—which I know the cabinet secretary is looking to do—and ensure that more people receive the care that they want, where they want it, which is at home.

In closing, I commit the Scottish Liberal Democrats to holding the Government to account and working constructively where common ground can be found. However, we must be guided by the principle of empowering local communities, not by a one-size-fits-all approach.

I move amendment S7M-00309.1, to insert at end:

“notes concerns that previous reforms undertaken by the Scottish Government have led to the centralisation of public services, including through the creation of Police Scotland, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the proposed National Care Service; believes that the centralisation of services and the adoption of a one-size-fits-all approach have had a detrimental impact on rural Scotland, and further believes that any future public service reform should be guided by the principle of local decision-making, with communities empowered to shape the services on which they rely.”

The Liberal Democrats have long called for an independent review, so I welcome the appointment of Professor McCourt as an independent chair. It is imperative that local campaigners and those who have lived experience are fully engaged, including Willie Rennie’s constituent Lori-Mark Quate, who was previously given a commitment on involvement in the task force, although that has not happened to date.

Will the cabinet secretary recommend that Professor McCourt meet the Caithness Health Action Team and experience at first hand the 100-mile-plus journey that mums in the far north are forced to make? Will she also clarify whether the review will examine restoring consultant-led maternity services in Caithness?