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Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 15 June 2025
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Displaying 787 contributions

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Economy and Fair Work Committee [Draft]

Regional Inequalities and Productivity

Meeting date: 28 May 2025

Jamie Halcro Johnston

That is interesting, and I want to expand a little on that. However, before I do that, I will mention your responses to Willie Coffey’s questions about transport infrastructure. I do not need to tell you that transport infrastructure is a major issue in the Highlands and Islands. Although we would like better connections, making some of the connections that we have more productive—for example, through reliable wi-fi on them—might be a good place to start. You would have thought that that could be rolled out far more cheaply and quickly than some upgrades. That was just a Highlands and Islands point. I will not mention connections such as the Corran Narrows ferry, because that would only wind up my colleagues.

What I really want to talk about is digitalisation, which involves so many areas. Professor Wessels made a point about clustering—about the need to bring different groups together because, perhaps, small businesses do not have the ability to do such work. To take that to the next level, that appears to involve a national approach.

When I was a member of the Finance and Public Administration Committee, it visited Estonia to look at work there. The people there have put pretty much everything online. As I remember from the many meetings that we had, which were absolutely fascinating, they created a central framework of parameters and security—the rules, essentially—then allowed different parts of their public sector and their economy to add to that, working within those rules.

Would you like Scotland to take such an approach? Would it be feasible for us? What benefits could it bring and what risks could it have?

Economy and Fair Work Committee [Draft]

Regional Inequalities and Productivity

Meeting date: 28 May 2025

Jamie Halcro Johnston

That is really interesting. In Estonia, people in the ministry responsible spoke to us about the procurement process and how they do procurement. In this country, lots of organisations seem to come up with a need, go out to tender for a bespoke solution and then provide that solution but, invariably, it goes wrong or does not quite work. In Estonia, people work with potential tender companies before putting something out to tender. They go through all the problems first, and then only when they have a workable solution do they go to a tender. Could or should that be done here? Is it being done in some cases?

Economy and Fair Work Committee [Draft]

Regional Inequalities and Productivity

Meeting date: 28 May 2025

Jamie Halcro Johnston

David, do you want to come in?

Economy and Fair Work Committee [Draft]

Regional Inequalities and Productivity

Meeting date: 28 May 2025

Jamie Halcro Johnston

Thank you, convener. I will ask some questions about digitalisation a little later, but first—to follow up on what the witnesses have talked about—I want to ask about the public sector side.

There are some things nowadays that everybody will have experienced. For example, road works seem to take a lot longer than necessary, and there does not seem any great demand to get them finished. Turning to the health sector, I was trying to book patient transport for a family member—it took six calls, and at the end, I was told that I had to ring directly. I then spent 25 or 30 minutes on the phone to somebody else to book something that, in the private sector, I probably could have booked online in a matter of minutes. We see that again and again across the health service, councils and other parts of the public sector.

Bearing in mind that there are—as has been suggested—some good examples as well, do you think that there is enough demand, or desire, in the public sector to move more quickly to improve productivity, both for the people who work in the sector and for those who have to engage with it?

Economy and Fair Work Committee [Draft]

Regional Inequalities and Productivity

Meeting date: 28 May 2025

Jamie Halcro Johnston

That is very interesting. I recently visited Inverness prison, where staff were having to do all prisoner transfers by hand because the call system does not link in with the prison’s system—it was interesting to see that.

I do not know whether Simon Pittaway and David Phillips want to cover anything quickly in that area.

Economy and Fair Work Committee [Draft]

Grangemouth’s Industrial Future

Meeting date: 21 May 2025

Jamie Halcro Johnston

Is that engagement happening on other sites?

Economy and Fair Work Committee [Draft]

Grangemouth’s Industrial Future

Meeting date: 21 May 2025

Jamie Halcro Johnston

My question is on critical energy infrastructure. You said that you would have liked to have conversations about Grangemouth about five years ago. There is energy infrastructure, particularly in my region, the Highlands and Islands, that is probably not going to be operating until the middle of the next decade. We have just seen job losses at the Flotta oil terminal, and it will go into new ownership next year. What lessons have you learned from the process around Grangemouth that you think will help to make sure that we do not find ourselves in the same situation again? Also, are you having discussions with operators of terminals such as Flotta now to ensure that, as I said, we do not end up in the same situation as we currently find ourselves?

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee [Draft]

Housing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Meeting date: 20 May 2025

Jamie Halcro Johnston

Members will be delighted to hear that I will focus only on my amendments 552 and 555, which are particularly pertinent to my Highlands and Islands region.

I was pleased to lead opposition in the Parliament to the Scottish Government’s ban on wood-burning stoves in new-build homes in Scotland. We held a members’ business debate on the issue, which was supported by MSPs from across the Parliament, bar those from one party. In that debate, we recognised the importance of wood-burning stoves to households in the rural and island communities across the Highlands and Islands that I represent, especially in emergencies or when power is lost, as is too often the case.

Another issue that was highlighted repeatedly in that debate was the role that wood-burning stoves can play in helping to alleviate some of the worst impacts of fuel poverty for households. Again, that is an issue particularly in the northern isles, where I live, where fuel poverty rates are far too high.

I was very pleased when we forced or encouraged the Scottish Government to look again at the issue and to U-turn on what was a potentially impactful and dangerous ban, especially for my region. However, there remains the risk that such a ban could be reintroduced. My amendments would mean that, when ministers consider the regulation of direct emission heating systems that provide secondary heating, such as wood-burning stoves or other forms of emergency heating, there should be a presumption in favour of allowing those heating systems to be installed in any dwellings in remote rural and island areas.

I believe that my amendments would give my constituents and others who live in such communities, especially in the Highlands and Islands, the reassurance of knowing that, when the power goes out or their mains heating breaks, they will not be left in the cold.

11:00  

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee [Draft]

Housing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Meeting date: 20 May 2025

Jamie Halcro Johnston

I thank the cabinet secretary for taking an intervention, and I apologise for having to pop out quickly.

Recently, the Government brought in a ban on wood-burning stoves in new-build homes, then, recognising the real concerns of communities, particularly those in my region, immediately reconsidered and withdrew it. Surely that suggests a lack of clarity, which my amendments would provide a bit more of.

Economy and Fair Work Committee [Draft]

Skills Delivery

Meeting date: 30 April 2025

Jamie Halcro Johnston

Yes, it does. Those aspects were focused more on what can be delivered, but I agree with what you say.