Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Meeting date: Wednesday, December 8, 2021

Official Report 989KB pdf

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Urgent Question

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Storm Barra (Power Cuts)

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to restore power to households experiencing power cuts following storm Barra.

Earlier today, the First Minister chaired a ministerial meeting of the Scottish Government’s resilience room, which I and others attended, to ensure that appropriate power restoration measures are in place. There has been no pause in activities by either the power companies or the Scottish Government between storms Arwen and Barra.

Scottish Government officials remain in constant contact with power companies, and ministers are being briefed. Scottish Power Electricity Networks announced this morning that all power outages in its area had been reconnected, predominantly in the south of Scotland. It was confirmed that welfare support such as food vans had been deployed by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, and resilience partnerships continue to work on a range of welfare issues.

The power companies have also restated and published the range of support measures and compensation that are available to customers.

With reports that there are still 600 premises without power, principally in my region of North East Scotland, and with further poor weather being forecast, it is imperative that the situation is resolved as soon as possible. Storm Barra, of course, comes straight after storm Arwen, and many residents have just seen their power supply restored after the damage that was caused last week.

Part of the widespread frustration—and, in some places, anger—that exists is around the lack of clear communication from the Government and the energy suppliers. The minister will surely agree that nine days without power is completely unacceptable. When exactly can customers expect power to be restored, and what guarantee can be given that the timing will not be pushed back again and again?

I acknowledge the inconvenience to members of the public and the hardship that comes with that, and I acknowledged that when I made a statement about storm Arwen last week. The issues that we have faced in relation to storm Barra have been of less gravity than those faced in relation to storm Arwen. Following storm Arwen, all Scottish Power customers were reconnected to supply by Thursday of last week, and all but a handful of cases relating to Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks were reconnected by Saturday. A few isolated and unoccupied properties were connected on Sunday morning.

I have been advised that, at 8 minutes past 3, the total number of customers that are off supply is 511, most of whom are in the north-east of Scotland. The entire Scottish Power network is back up and running, subject to the fluctuations that take place on any normal day. The final restoration time for the last fault is expected to be 7 pm tonight.

I thank the minister for that further information on the progress that has been made, even in recent hours. I know that a lot of hard work by the power companies will be continuing on the ground to reconnect properties.

However, concerns for vulnerable residents remain and lessons must be learned, as those weather events look set to continue. Can the cabinet secretary tell us the proportion of those who are deemed vulnerable who have been contacted and offered support? I believe that, in places, that was slow to happen last week. When can we expect to see results from the promised inquiry, so that greater resilience can be built ahead of future storms?

It is impossible for me to give Mr Marra a figure for the number of cases that have been contacted, because people were provided with varying levels of support for different lengths of time. However, there is a substantial issue, which I have been discussing with the power companies and the local resilience partnerships, whereby the power companies have an assessment of vulnerable customers and the local resilience partnerships have an assessment, but I am not confident that in all circumstances the assessments relate to the same grouping of individuals.

We must have a good understanding of the vulnerability of individuals and the circumstances in which they are vulnerable. An individual who has access to an electricity supply might be able to cope with their vulnerability, but the issue might relate to the interruption of another service. We will look closely at that question, because it is vital that we are able to deliver support to individuals when they are affected.

I have already commenced the review, and I expect the terms of reference to be finalised in the course of this week. I have discussed the matter with the power companies, and we will update Parliament as the review makes progress. We recognise that there is an immediate necessity to strengthen arrangements wherever possible, because we might face further such incidents over the winter.

There are a number of supplementary questions, and I am keen to take them all. I ask members to be as brief as possible with the questions and responses.

As the two storms have battered Scotland, flooding has been a serious concern. What assessment is being made of the damage to flood defences, and what extra measures are being put in place over the winter to deals with further storms?

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency operates a system of alerts that take into account all the aspects of different forms of flooding. The worry of coastal flooding was particularly acute in relation to storm Barra, but in the south of Scotland, in the Annan area, the issue is river-based flooding. Mr Golden represents a region that has a number of different and challenging circumstances that are relevant to the issue.

The issue of flood defences will be reviewed by the relevant authorities, and the Government will engage in that exercise. SEPA undertakes a lot of work to survey the flood risk across the country, and ministers expect to be updated on any lessons to be learned from that work.

I have been contacted by constituents regarding the disruptive impact of storm Barra on parts of the south-west, in the Rhins of Galloway, including Ardwell, Sandhead and Drummore. What engagement has the Scottish Government had with Dumfries and Galloway Council regarding the impact of storm Barra, and what support is the Government able to offer the local authority to help those who are living in affected areas?

The Government’s regional resilience co-ordinators are in place and are supporting local responders across Scotland, including in the Dumfries and Galloway area. I recognise the challenges from coastal flooding that will have taken place in those communities.

In relation to financial support, my colleague the Minister for Public Finance, Planning and Community Wealth, who is sitting alongside me on the front bench here, has activated the Bellwin scheme in relation to both storm Arwen and storm Barra. That opens up the opportunity for local authorities to put to the Government legitimate financial claims for consideration.

As the Deputy First Minister is well aware, there has been severe damage across the coast of Dumfries and Galloway. In particular, 40 feet of Drummore harbour has been destroyed. It is a huge setback for the community group, which only recently took over ownership of the harbour with a view to providing more marine-based services to support the fragile local economy.

Will the Government commit to engaging and working with the community to address that devastating setback to its ambitions?

I am delighted to give that commitment. As Mr Carson might recall, a few weeks ago, in the aftermath of a previous storm incident, I visited Annan. One of the issues was the loss of two significant footbridges, and I agreed to engage constructively with the local community once it had had an opportunity to consider its next steps.

With regard to the circumstances at Drummore, the involvement of a community group is a welcome endeavour, and we will happily engage with it to see what we can put in place to practically support its efforts.

Following storm Arwen, it is estimated that more than 1,000,000m³ of timber has been blown down in Scotland, which is about 20 per cent of the annual harvest. Yesterday, when I visited Berwickshire to see the devastation, constituents told me that felling legislation urgently needs to be revisited in the light of the storm, to help the industry with the clear-up and replanting. What additional resource is being provided to Scottish Forestry to fast-track those applications?

We will look at that issue. I acknowledge the reality of the point that Rachael Hamilton puts to me. Some of the aerial footage showing the loss of forestry stock is terrifying. Obviously, practical steps have to be taken to resolve the situation. We have a great deal of expertise to bring to the discussion, and I will make sure that the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands can engage appropriately with the industry. The Government will take whatever steps are necessary to assist in any way.