Scottish Government 'committed to building a vibrant rural economy', Caithness councillors are told
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Two councillors who criticised a report on depopulation as an insult to Caithness have been assured that the Scottish Government is "committed to building a vibrant, sustainable and inclusive rural economy".
Matthew Reiss and Andrew Jarvie took issue with the Addressing Depopulation Action Plan, pointing out that Caithness didn't warrant a mention anywhere in its 95 pages.
The pair also noted that the document claimed A9 dualling from Perth to Inverness will "unlock the economic potential" of the region while making no reference to the 110-mile section of trunk road between Inverness and Thurso.
The councillors sent a joint letter to Scotland's migration minister Emma Roddick, an SNP MSP for the Highlands and Islands, after she launched the plan in February.
Councillor Reiss (Thurso and Northwest Caithness) and Councillor Jarvie (Wick and East Caithness) are part of the five-strong Highland Alliance group of independent councillors on Highland Council.
At the end of last year, a council report warned of "severe population decline" in the far north with the population of Caithness expected to fall by 18 per cent by 2040.
The action plan sets out the Scottish Government’s strategy to support people to live, work and raise families in places affected by depopulation, including the Highlands.
In her reply, dated March 15, Ms Roddick wrote: "Recognising that the causes and drivers of depopulation can vary greatly between communities, the plan does not seek to set out our approach to addressing depopulation in distinct communities across Scotland, nor exhaustively cover every policy area’s impact on every instance of population decline.
"Instead, it sets out a broad understanding of these challenges and establishes a long-term programme of work to address them, while also highlighting the important role of local leadership within this.
"We have engaged extensively with stakeholders to ensure the final plan is coherent and collaborative, including with Highland Council and other stakeholders in the Highlands and Islands, who inputted extensively to its development. These stakeholders, and others, steered the plan’s focus with regard to specific communities in the region experiencing acute population challenges."
The minister added: "The Scottish Government is committed to building a vibrant, sustainable and inclusive rural economy that meets the goals of achieving a nature-positive and wellbeing economy for future generations.
"We are also developing a Rural Delivery Plan to set out the actions that government is taking to improve outcomes and resilience across rural, island and rural coastal communities, covering a range of areas including economic development.
"This plan will provide a platform to prioritise and progress existing work to seize opportunities and address the challenges faced by rural Scotland, as well as driving greater rural mainstreaming and reprioritising action to support our rural communities."
