Seòmar agus comataidhean

Both Argyll College and the Scottish Association for Marine Science provide a variety of courses across a number of locations in Argyll and Bute to local people and people from outwith the area. I recently took part in a round-table meeting with the SAMS to discuss the lack of student accommodation. Will the minister outline what support is available to colleges to provide suitable living accommodation for students?

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support lifelong learning and reskilling in Argyll and Bute and other rural areas. (S6O-00254)

I thank Donald Cameron for bringing this important matter to the chamber.

For almost 100 miles, the A83 traverses Argyll and Bute. From Tarbet on Loch Lomond, it snakes its way through mid-Argyll and then south into Kintyre to Campbeltown. It links towns, villages and islands. It links people across Argyll and Bute with neighbours, businesses and the lifeline services that we all depend on.

The road is also Argyll and Bute’s main link to central Scotland, but there is one section of the road that is infamous for landslips, closures and long diversions—the Rest and Be Thankful. I know the road well. It is my route home, so this is personal.

I have seen the mitigation work progress over the past 16 years—the catch pits, the wire slip capture nets, the resurfacing of the old military road, the building of the bund and now the commencement of a woodland aiming to stabilise the slope—but we need a long-term solution.

Donald Cameron has set out clearly the history and impact of the closures and detours on Argyll and Bute businesses. I am going to concentrate on the social and societal impacts.

One of my constituents living in Tarbert has regular hospital appointments in Glasgow. When the Rest is open, it is a straightforward drive of two and a half hours each way. However, if the Rest is closed, it is a journey that takes two and a half times as long—a mixture of driving and catching ferries. That is not ideal when you are healthy, but it is so much worse when you are ill.

My constituent and their carer-partner are so concerned about the impact on their health of the anxiety that comes with any hospital appointment that they are questioning whether they should attend. That should not be happening. At the Kirking of the Parliament on Friday evening, the Moderator of the Church of Scotland reminded us, as elected representatives, of the importance of

“walking in our constituent’s shoes”.

I believe that this is a situation in which we must do just that.

Before every journey, my constituents check the road reports and weather forecasts, just in case the Rest might close. They work out the best way to travel and decide whether they need to travel the day before, with the added monetary and time expense.

Three weekends ago, for example, there was a perfect storm. An accident closed the A82 north of Tyndrum, with traffic diverted via Connel, a single track bridge, resulting in horrendous tailbacks, and then there was an accident in Taynuilt. On top of that, the Cammanachd cup final was being played in Oban. Accidents and increased traffic volume on a fragile road network resulted in gridlock.

Everyone in Argyll and Bute recognises that the solution to the Rest and Be Thankful landslides must be safe, but they ask that the situation be treated as an emergency. We already have “strategic timber routes”. I suggest that the A83 is a “strategic lifeline route”.

I ask the Minister for Transport to ensure that my constituents’ voices—those of both communities and businesses—are listened to at the A83 task force meetings. The task force is there for everyone. I also ask that he looks into the possibility of appointing an independent chair for those meetings and, finally, that the dialogue between Transport Scotland and Argyll and Bute Council occurs on a more regular basis.

This week, the welcome news of the addition of the MV Utne to Calmac’s service shows, I believe, the positive changes that the transport minister is making. I hope that he continues in that vein with regard to the Rest and Be Thankful.

The people of Argyll and Bute are resilient and, as one said to me, they “don’t go bothering people until it gets really bad”. Well, it has got really bad. The health and welfare of my constituents and their businesses are at risk. For too long, they have been the victims of the geology of Glen Croe, and they now look to the Scottish Government to solve the A83 problem once and for all.

I thank my colleague Gordon MacDonald for bringing this debate to Parliament.

Confucius said:

“If one should desire to know whether a kingdom is well governed, if its morals are good or bad, the quality of its music will furnish the answer.”

Parliament’s opening ceremony at the weekend showcased the fantastic symphony of music that Scotland is creating just now. Orin Simpson on flute and the guitarist Seoras Chlad from the national centre of excellence in traditional music got our feet tapping, and Musicians in Exile were worthy ambassadors for the way in which music brings friendship and understanding across cultures. BBC Radio Scotland’s young traditional musician of the year, Michael Biggins, played “Ae Fond Kiss” by Robert Burns and “Kirn Street”, which he composed. The feast of music was rounded off by the National Youth Choir of Scotland singing “We Hold The Future”.

I had the privilege of working with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra for nearly 10 years. As a failed clarinettist in Fife Youth Orchestra, I relished the opportunity to work with musicians from backstage as opposed to being on the stage. BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra players were involved when Sistema Scotland’s first big noise orchestra was established in Raploch in the mid-2000s. They buddied up with kids and joined them regularly for visits, lessons and performances. I asked one of my friends, Iain Crawford, who is a double bassist for the BBC SSO, what drew him to become a buddy with Raploch’s big noise orchestra. He reflected what Michelle Thomson spoke about. He said that music was his safe space when he was growing up: it was where he learned to work with others and where he forged friendships. He also got a feeling of self-worth through the exhilaration of performance. He wanted to share with children his experience and his knowledge of what playing a musical instrument had given him.

In 2011, big noise Raploch played a side-by-side concert at Glasgow city halls with its BBC SSO buddies. They played a medley of classical tunes. The atmosphere, the playing and the applause were fantastic. What a memory to have. As one of the young players said, it was their chance to play with players of the BBC SSO, so they could be like them when they grew up.

That outreach work still happens. The joy of music is shared with children throughout Scotland. In fact, this afternoon, 20 BBC SSO players are in Campbeltown grammar school in Argyll and Bute, teaching and playing bite-size excerpts from classical music pieces, and encouraging more than 200 schoolkids to connect with music.

The 2019 “People change lives” report, which Gordon MacDonald referred to, was on

“Consolidating five years of evaluation learning from Sistema Scotland’s Big Noise centres in Stirling, Glasgow & Aberdeen”.

A 16-year-old participant from Raploch said:

“Big Noise has had an impact in my life and has pushed me to see many open opportunities in and out of school ... I was so shy, now I’m an outgoing person by watching them teach and the way they treat us which has made me a much more confident person ... Big Noise has made me want to do volunteering and working with kids ... hopefully coming to volunteer here will keep me in music as if I wasn’t it would be a massive hole in my personality.”

That is an amazing and fantastic achievement, and Wester Hailes children and families have that to look forward to. Like colleagues, I am looking forward to seeing people perform. Who knows? Someone might follow in the footsteps of Ralph Tartaglia, who grew up in Wester Hailes and now plays the viola for the Ulster Orchestra.

On Saturday, the chamber was filled with great Scottish music. Let us ensure that all Scots are brought up with music in their hearts.

As the minister said, the plans for a national centre for music are an exciting example of Scotland’s celebration and appreciation of culture. It is encouraging to know that the Scottish Government recognises the importance of cultural centres in local communities.

Will the minister reiterate that the £1.25 million given to the public libraries Covid recovery fund is another brilliant example of that appreciation in action in communities across Scotland?

What discussions has the Scottish Government had with the United Kingdom Government regarding the announcement of a temporary visa scheme to tackle skills shortages?

Through a Scottish land fund development application, the Islay Development Initiative has secured 264 acres of Cornabus forest. A range of options, from affordable-to-buy housing to woodland crofts, is being scrutinised. Will the cabinet secretary outline what support the Scottish Government currently gives to new entrants to crofting?

The United Kingdom Government has confirmed that it again intends to delay post-Brexit food and farming import checks. Once again, Scotland’s vital food and farming sectors find themselves paying a price for the Tories’ extreme Brexit plans. Does the First Minister share my concern that that last-minute delay highlights that the Tory Government has no real solution to the Brexit issues that it has created and is just kicking the can down the road once again?

I refer members to my entry in the register of interests and my interest in Islay Energy Community Benefit Society.

The Tory motion can only delay our journey to net zero. We must be ambitious and reject it. Scotland has a responsibility to meet our climate obligations while ensuring a secure energy supply and supporting our highly skilled workforce to transition to the green jobs of the future. The SNP-Green Scottish Government is wholly committed to ending Scotland’s contribution to climate change by 2045, and to ensuring that we do that in a way that is just and leaves no one behind.

I understand that Scotland is a net exporter of energy.

Scotland should be proud of the action that has been taken so far. Emissions are down by 51.5 per cent since the 1990 baseline. In 2020, 95.9 per cent of gross electricity consumption came from renewable sources. Renewable energy capacity is 11.9GW and there is 14.6GW of renewable energy capacity in development.

In its autumn 2020 report, the Climate Change Committee said of Scotland’s progress that

“the Scottish economy has decarbonised more quickly than the rest of the UK, and faster than any G20 economy since 2008. Emissions have fallen rapidly while the economy has grown.”

The Scottish Government recognises that challenges remain. Ending our contributing to climate change will require transformational change from every element of society.

I went to the University of Aberdeen and gained my accountancy qualification there in the early 1990s, so I know about the importance of the oil and gas industry to the north-east of Scotland. Many companies that I have audited are related to the oil industry—supply boats, rig management companies and equipment repair and supply companies—and employ thousands of skilled men and women. Now is the time to harness their skills and experience for a just transition from fossil fuels to renewables.

In July, I visited Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior when she was docked at Leith. I remember the news stories of her crews protesting at North Sea oil rigs in the 1980s, but now Greenpeace is working with oil rig workers to promote a just transition. Together, they have produced a short film, “Rigged: A Worker’s Story”, which includes interviews with former offshore workers. One of them said:

“I don’t think we are going to have a great planet until we do things because it’s the right thing to do, rather than because it is profitable”.

Those are salient words, and words that Tory members should perhaps heed.

I support the Scottish Government’s view that the opening of new oil fields, including Cambo, must be reassessed in the light of the climate emergency that we now face, so I was pleased that the First Minister wrote to Westminster to ask the UK Government to think again.

The stark warning from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that the climate emergency poses a severe threat and heightened risk to the planet is a powerful reminder that we all must do more to deliver a just transition.

The green jobs workforce academy will help to assess people’s current skills and help them to undertake the necessary upskilling or reskilling. The knowledge and experience of the oil and gas sector and its supply chain will be so important in developing the essential low-carbon technology.

As I said in the chamber last week, in my Argyll and Bute constituency the renewables industry is blossoming. Renewable energy support industries are also establishing themselves. Renewable Parts Ltd, for example, is an innovator in the wind-energy supply chain in Scotland. The company is based in Renfrewshire and in Argyll and Bute and has created a refurbishment and remanufacture supply chain that is creating new jobs in the green energy industry, with skills that are critical to the growth of the circular economy.

Oil and gas are finite, but wind and tides are not. It will come one way or another, sooner or later: the writing is on the wall for oil and gas. The Scottish Government is determined to use the hard-won skills of our oil and gas industries to make Scotland a green powerhouse, with a transition to a greener future—a just transition.