RHODA GRANT: People in rural areas and off grid should have same access to services and support
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Holyrood Notebook by Rhoda Grant
As we start a new year can I wish you all the very best for 2023. I hope that this year, we will overcome the cost-of-living crisis while also providing help to those who need it.
Last year, the cost-of-living crisis affected everyone, and I find it awful that families are having to choose between heating and eating.
That is why in 2023, I will bring forward a Right to Food Bill that would ensure that everyone is able to afford nutritious food for themselves and their family. More on this will be announced soon.
I will also continue my work to ensure that all my constituents can access health services as locally as possible.
No one looking at photos and film footage of the roads during the recent bad weather could be anything other than horrified at the prospect of driving in those conditions to access healthcare – whether that be maternity or other health services.
We need to end the centralisation of healthcare and allow decisions to be taken as close to home as possible. It’s true when campaigners say that if this were happening in the central belt, it would have been fixed years ago. Rural areas are disproportionately disadvantaged and that needs to end.
Before Christmas, I urged the Westminster government to prioritise those that are off gas grid. I find it unfair that those on the grid are receiving support from the government but those off gas grid are not.
In September, I wrote to the (then) Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy welcoming the news that a fund would be available for oil and LPG for off-gas grid homes to tackle the rising cost of energy. I then went on to ask for further details to pass onto constituents.
I received a response that was not clear. The Minister of State for Climate stated that those outside the Energy Price Guarantee scheme would receive equivalent support to those on gas grid. However, he then went on to say that customers would receive financial support from the business that they have a “direct commercial relationship with”.
I find this concerning as I believe that households will be missed. Some households have bought in bulk and are rationing their supply through winter. Others are shopping around for the cheapest deal and thus do not have a “direct commercial relationship” with an energy supplier. How will they receive support?
The whole thing has been handled dreadfully. I am seeking clarity from Westminster and I will ensure to update constituents.
Finally I wish to welcome the news that 17 villages in Caithness and 15 locations in Sutherland are scheduled to get a reduced 20mph speed limit established in 2023.
This is something I support as it will improve the safety of both drivers and pedestrians.
- Rhoda Grant is a Labour MSP for the Highlands and Islands.
