Caithness roads plea to Humza Yousaf gets 'deeply disappointing' response
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Campaigner Iain Gregory has criticised a "distinctly unhelpful" response to his plea for Humza Yousaf to intervene personally over the state of Caithness roads.
Mr Gregory had written to the First Minister describing the county's road network as "absolutely dire" and "the poorest in Scotland" and urging him to take action. Mr Yousaf was invited to visit the county and tour some of the worst-affected areas.
There has been no personal reply from Mr Yousaf but instead a letter from Transport Scotland advising Mr Gregory to take up the matter with Highland Council.
Mr Gregory, co-founder of Caithness Roads Recovery (CRR), said he was disappointed but not surprised by the response.
"I wonder if our letter ever went anywhere near the First Minister's desk," he said this week. "It would seem that the matter has simply been forwarded to Transport Scotland, who, once again, have stated that the situation is not a matter for the Scottish Government and have advised us, once again, to contact Highland Council.
"CRR has had sight of an almost identical letter sent to a member of the public recently. Whilst I am not in the least bit surprised, I find this deeply disappointing and distinctly unhelpful."
He went on: "Since February 2021, CRR has been fighting for Caithness and has become one of the highest-profile campaigns in the north of Scotland. Highland Council has now acknowledged that action is vital, and has allocated a much-appreciated extra £1.8 million from its strategic fund – but far, far more is needed to restore the roads network across Caithness.
"For the Scottish Government to continue to use the same tired old line after all this time is utterly pointless. Highland Council quite clearly does not have the funds required, and intervention from Edinburgh is essential.
"CRR will continue to highlight the disgraceful situation in the far north, and we sincerely hope that action will be taken before a tragedy occurs."
Mr Gregory had submitted a question about funding for Caithness roads and pavements to Mr Yousaf and the other two SNP leadership candidates, Ash Regan and Kate Forbes, at the Inverness Courier leadership debate on March 17.
At the time, Mr Yousaf said he understood how difficult the roads in Caithness could be.
In his email to Mr Yousaf on April 8, Mr Gregory reminded the First Minister of the question he had submitted at the debate. He reiterated that "the sums required to put matters right across Caithness are very substantially beyond the resources of the council".
Mr Gregory wrote: "The state of our Highland Council maintained roads, throughout Caithness, is now absolutely dire. It is beyond doubt that they are far, far worse than any other area in Highland, and we have no doubt they are the poorest in Scotland.
"We desperately need help, and the fact that the Highland Council themselves have voted unanimously to write to the Scottish Government, seeking emergency funding, bears this out.
"Can I please ask for your personal intervention in this matter? I would also extend an invitation to you to visit Caithness, where Caithness Roads Recovery would be more than pleased to take you on a tour of the county so that you could see exactly how bad things are."
The reply from a Transport Scotland official, dated May 9, stated: "As you are already aware, local authorities have a duty under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 to manage and maintain local roads in their area and duties under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to secure the expeditious, convenient and safe movement of traffic. Neither the Scottish Ministers nor the Scottish Government would become directly involved in their day-to-day duties.
"The vast majority of funding to local authorities from the Scottish Government is provided via a block grant and we do not stipulate how local authorities should utilise their individual allocations. It is therefore the responsibility of each local authority to manage their own budget and to allocate the financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.
"In 2023/24, Highland Council will receive £561.5 million to fund local services. Taken together with the decision to increase council tax by four per cent, Highland Council will have an extra £16.9 million to support vital day-to-day services in 2023/24, which equates to an additional 3.1 per cent on 2022/23.
"In addition, all councils will receive their fair share of the currently undistributed sum of £329.8 million.
"You may wish to continue raising your concerns with Highland Council."
