Chamber and committees

Good morning. I will pick up on what Beatrice Wishart was asking about: the enforcement regime and how the REC Committee’s report recommended changes and moving away from the self-assessment culture to an independent approach to assessment and enforcement. What efforts have been made to move to a more independent monitoring process?

I am conscious of the time, convener, so I am happy to pass on to colleagues.

So, it could run in tandem with the national aquaculture technology hub in Stirling.

I welcome the opportunity to speak in this important debate, and I congratulate Tim Eagle on securing it.

Many members have outlined well the challenges created by rural depopulation. Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders, in my South Scotland region, are no exceptions. I will therefore focus my brief remarks on those areas and on some of the actions that constituents tell me must be taken if we are to support our rural communities to have a thriving future.

Falling populations, a lack of affordable housing and high fuel costs are among the challenges faced by D and G and the Borders. Indeed, researchers at Scotland’s Rural College detailed the problems in a new study released during the latter part of last year. Transport poverty was identified as an issue, with people depending on their own vehicles due to the absence of affordable alternatives. The study, which was carried out as part of wider work for the Scottish Government, found increased costs of homes and fuel, particularly across Dumfries and Galloway. For example, researchers said that there had been

“a ... clear trend of significant house price inflation from 2004 to 2021”,

with average property prices increasing by as much as 102 per cent, compared with 71 per cent in urban areas.

The study also suggested:

“High proportions of second and vacant homes”

were

“a ... persistent ... challenge in ... remote mainland ... locations.”

That is a particular challenge that I hear from constituents daily. Places in D and G such as the coastal Rockcliffe and the Isle of Whithorn have many registered second homes, which stops local people being able to purchase or even rent property and contributes to the decline of local amenities such as shops, GP practices and local schools. In some locations, more than a third of the housing stock is taken up with second homes. Although I understand that the Government is taking action on second homes, I ask the minister to ensure that local authorities take the steps that are available to them to address the issue.

One area that continues to be brought up as something that will help address rural depopulation and recruit people into sectors such as the NHS is the availability of local amenities. Recently, Dr Stephen McCabe, the clinical director of primary care in NHS Highland, wrote an interesting blog with suggestions on how to address rural depopulation challenges, and he specifically addressed the issue of rural depopulation in relation to general practice, which he highlighted as a global issue. I did a quick search just as everybody was starting to speak today, and it is clear that rural areas across the world are going through demographic transition, with declining population being witnessed across the globe. Japan has many islands, as Scotland does, and it, too, is experiencing depopulation.

The ODI, which is a think tank, has published online reports and briefing papers on population decline and what to do about it. It therefore isnae just a Scottish issue; there are so many reasons why it is happening, and we can learn from them.

I really appreciate Alasdair Allan’s point. Half of the ministerial team are fae rural constituencies, so members cannot constantly go on about the SNP just being about the central belt, because that is not the case.

Will the member take an intervention?

I really do not have the time, Mr Carson. I am sorry, but I know that you are on your feet next.

Dr McCabe said that one of the issues that we need to think about is “amenity”, which other members have also already spoken about. In that respect, he mentions

“good broadband ... fast and reliable transport ... affordable housing”

and

“easy access to a wide variety of activities both for themselves and their children.”

He also talks about the need for “work/life balance” to allow people to work in a more manageable way or not to work so many hours, and the need for shops, cafes and other places where they can hang out. Finally, he says:

“Unless ... we can provide similar levels of amenity in our rural areas we will struggle to fill our”

healthcare

“vacancies.”

I ask the minister to reflect on those suggestions and look to work with other ministers on ensuring that our planning system, for example, works towards that aim.

I welcome the debate. I know that there has been a lot of interest in it, and I am keen to ensure that Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders receive equal attention when addressing rural depopulation.

Good morning. I wanted to pick up Stephen Morgan’s point about the difficulty in becoming an employer and people being put off as a result. Why is it difficult and what would make it easier?

David Aitken, you talked about innovation and allowing social workers to have good ideas, and you used the example of dog grooming. How do we ensure that social workers who are making assessments can choose to be innovative?

I have a question for David Aitken, who is online. You talked about video learning as a method of teaching people. Is that delivered in multiple languages, including British Sign Language, in Scotland? During Covid, a lot of the instructions on hand washing and wearing face protection were provided in eight or nine different languages. Is education delivered multiculturally and in multiple languages?