Crofting Bill raises more questions than answers

20 May 2009

Reacting to the publication of the draft crofting Bill, Peter Peacock, Highlands and Islands regional Labour MSP said: “The Bill will get very close scrutiny from my colleagues and I as it raises more questions than it answers.

“It also appears many of the ideas, like tackling absenteeism, could be dealt with under existing powers and does not really need legislation.

“The focus of the proposed legislation is clearly on bureaucracy with the potential to increase costs and slow down decision making.

“What crofting desperately needs right now is economic help to keep cattle and sheep on the hills and give it hope for the future.

“The bill does not deal with these issues.

“Labour will be consulting with and listening closely to what crofters have to say over the summer.

“It is not clear how the local sub-committees of the Commission will be elected or precisely who the electorate will be.

“While it appears the committees will have local responsibility for some very tough decisions, they will not have real power as all their decisions will be able to be appealed to their parent body.

“These are just a couple of the dozens of questions that will need answered over coming weeks.

Mr Peacock added: “There is a real danger that Parliament is being asked to fiddle with bureaucracy while crofting burns in the face of huge economic pressure.

“I hope crofters will make their views clearly known and my colleagues and I will be listening carefully to what they say.

Worrying Bee Number Decline for Parliament Debate

209 May 2009

The Scottish Parliament will debate the worrying implications of the decline of our honey bee numbers following the matter having been raised by Highlands and Islands Labour MSP, Peter Peacock.

Peter Peacock has been pursuing the issue of the serious decline in bee numbers and those of other pollinators through a series of parliamentary questions on the issues over recent months.

He said: “During biodiversity week, there is no better time to debate this issue as honey bees and other insects are a vital part of the diverse ecosystem we need.

“The decline of honey bees is one of the most worrying changes we are seeing in our environment and it has been happening largely unnoticed, yet has profound implications for each and every one of us.

“Two out of every three mouthfuls of the food we eat is reckoned to be pollinated by insects, many of which appear to be in decline and the implications for food production are worrying.

“The reasons for the decline are not fully understood, but are likely to be associated with a series of changes in our environment such as the loss of habitat, there may be climate reasons and some have argued there could be links to the use of pesticides.

“We know about a mite (Varroa Mite) which is affecting honey bees in particular with whole hives collapsing.

“Many species are in decline and some species of bumblebee have become extinct already.

“Even simple acts like paving our gardens are having an impact on the environment.

“Honey bees are not being enticed into our gardens because of the lack flowers and that in itself is a problem.

“Such has been the spread of the varroa mite that it is regarded to be endemic and it has been developing a resistance to certain types of treatment.

“Despite this there may be pockets of natural Scottish black bees, such as still exists on Colonsay, which are currently free of the mite. It must be important to try and protect and retain such populations while we still can.”

Mr Peacock added: “We need to understand a lot more about what is happening so that we can do more to protect the various species which we depend upon for human existence.

“I was pleased to see the UK and Scottish Governments getting together recently to sponsor more research and, following the increased interest in the issues, the Scottish Government are in the process of developing a strategy to help.

“It is only right that this important issue gets an airing in Parliament and the government given the opportunity to hear the concerns and set out what their thinking is as a pre-cursor to what I hope will be significant actions to help support the vital insect populations we need to pollinate the food we need to eat.”

Mr Peacock revealed that the motion he has tabled for the debate had received support from across the political spectrum.

Time running out for Septic Tank Owners

16 May 2009

Rural dwellers who have septic tanks could find themselves in trouble by the end of the month if they have not registered their tanks with SEPA.

Following EU rules, SEPA has responsibility for registering all septic tanks, but few people know about it.

Unless they register by the end of the month they will have a fee to pay and will be in breach of the regulations.

Highlands and Islands Labour MSP, Peter Peacock, is both encouraging people to register quickly and criticising SEPA for having failed to get their message out on the need for this action.

He said: “Thousands of my constituents across the whole of the Highlands and Islands have septic tanks, but very few of them have known they had to register them.

“Whatever SEPA did to advertise the fact that people had to register has not been successful everywhere and I know people have been taken aback to discover what they need to do and the very tight timescales necessary to complete the form.

“This issue has caused concern in many rural communities and this is first time it seems to have been effectively brought to people’s attention.

“I have written to SEPA Chief Executive asking for an explanation of what was done to tell people.

“There may have been some obscure statutory notices published somewhere, but if there was more effective communication it seems to have passed a lot of people by.

“Having done the registration online it is pretty straightforward.

“The printed form I saw was quite complex.

Mr Peacock added: “Anyone with a septic tank who has not registered needs to do so quickly and should get in touch with SEPA for guidance.

“I look forward to hearing what SEPA have to say in answer to my letter, but it looks like things could have been handled a whole lot better and people better informed.”

Wick and Thurso urged to apply for regeneration cash

14 May 2009

Peter Peacock, Highlands and Islands regional Labour MSP is urging Wick and Thurso to submit their bids for the Town Centre Regeneration Fund.

Mr Peacock said: “Fort William’s Community Council have put forward fantastic proposals to regenerate their town centre and I would urge all other areas to submit their own plans to better their communities.”

“The Scottish Government eventually accepted Labour’s arguments for a town centre regeneration fund and that has opened up a huge range of opportunities with sixty million pounds worth of cash to distribute across the country, which is even more important during this time of economic challenge.”

“The deadline for applications is the 5th of June in the first instance and there will be a further round of applications later in the year, so it is important that all towns who are eligible make their interest known and work with their Council to make their bids .”

The dates for the deadlines were notified to Mr Peacock in a letter from Cabinet Secretary John Swinney following Mr Peacock having campaigned to have the fund established.

Speech on Flood Risk (Management) Scotland Bill

13 May 2009

I have spoken in Parliament about a visit that I made to an old lady in the village of Caol, near Fort William, who told me about the terrible flooding that she had experienced.
She told me that all her family photographs, which had been in the bottom drawer of a desk in her room, had been destroyed and she would never be able to look at them again.
It was a poignant moment.
I know that the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment and the Minister for Environment have heard similar stories in their constituencies.
If the bill does nothing other than reduce the chance of such losses in the future, it will have served a useful purpose.
The bill will speed up a series of procedures in making provision for communities who are affected by flooding. However, it remains a complex bill—some of the terminology and concepts will be extremely complex for lay people.
SEPA, which will have substantial new powers as a result of the bill, and local authorities will have a major job to do to interpret and explain the bill to communities who are affected by flooding, and to enable people to realise what is possible.
SEPA staff have been in the public gallery this afternoon—I hope that they will take seriously the agency’s new powers and their responsibility to explain the bill’s provisions.
We have made substantial progress on natural flood management.
The concept was very raw for committee members early in our inquiry on flooding, but it has been better defined and our understanding has become much more sophisticated.
Natural flood management will have a big part to play in the future, which is why members have given the issue so much attention.
I am pleased that we have made progress in that regard.
Finance will continue to be a big issue—notwithstanding the bill’s provisions—for the reasons that the minister set out.
Flooding will increase as climate change continues, which means that we will have to make more provision in more places throughout Scotland, if we are to protect communities.
There is no question but that more cash will be required over time.
The Government has a long way to go in relation not just to the quantum of cash that is to be made available but to how the cash is administered.
I urge the minister to continue to consider the administration of funding, to ensure that small communities, such as South Uist, that require large flooding schemes can get the cash that they need.
The bill is better as a result of the scrutiny that it has received.
There has been good co-operation between the Government and committee members in reaching consensus, which I welcome.
I congratulate Scottish Environment LINK staff for all their work to support, encourage, cajole and persuade committee members to take seriously and push to a conclusion certain issues
I will very much welcome the passing of the bill.

Voice of Highland Senior Citizens must be heard

13 May 2009

Peter Peacock, Highlands and Islands regional Labour MSP, is getting behind moves by the Highland Senior Citizens Network to be included on The National Older Peoples Consultative forum being set up by the Scottish Government.

Mr Peacock said: “The Highland Senior Citizens Network represent the elderly in the largest geographical land mass in Scotland.

“The fact that they are not being represented means their views are not being heard.

“They have been labelled a community group and apparently not eligible, but other similar organisations from the south and the west of Scotland have been included.

“The Highlands and Islands are being left out, when it is apparent the views of the whole country should be represented.

Mr Peacock added: “I will be writing to the Health Secretary to ensure that the voices of older people in our remote and rural communities are being heard and listened to when it comes to their health.”

Speech in the Scottish Parliament : Climate Change (Scotland) Bill stage 1

07 May 2009

Peter Peacock : As members know, I have been pottering about as an elected politician for more than a quarter of a century.
I have seldom seen an issue rise up the political agenda as fast as climate change has.
The Parliament is reflecting that development in its consideration of the bill.
It is right that we should do so, because, without question, climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing the entire population of the world.
We all know about changes in the environment from personal experience and going out and about: there is much more intense rainfall; winters are much milder; there is more flooding in winter, because of the increased rainfall; we get less snow and frost than we used to; we get more squally wind; and the wind is much stronger during certain periods.
The seasons are starting to change, too.
Birds are nesting earlier, to mention just one illustration of that.
Farmers and people involved in forestry, fishing, ornithology and climbing can reflect their personal experiences of the climate changing around them.
I pay tribute to Al Gore’s part in the process of raising worldwide awareness of climate change with his film, his lecture work and his book “An Inconvenient Truth”.
I went to hear him speak in Glasgow a couple of years ago.
His was an impressive exposition of the challenges that we face.
Unquestionably, Al Gore has been partly responsible for the shift in American public opinion that allows the Obama Government to do the things that it will now do.
That is an important point in a world context.
Controversial though Al Gore’s thesis is in many quarters—people take issue with some of the detail of what he says—he has unquestionably focused the minds of people around the globe on the issues.
Even for those who do not accept the fine detail of some of his points and arguments, it surely cannot be right to keep pumping out into the environment the amount of carbon dioxide that we do, needlessly and wastefully.

Stewart Stevenson: I very much agree with that. When Barack Obama said,
“We will harness the sun and the wind and the soil”,
he left the tides to Scotland. Is that not a key opportunity?

Peter Peacock: I am glad to see that the SNP has bought into the claims that the Pentland Firth will be the Saudi Arabia of renewables.

I support what will be going on there, and I hope that more renewable energy generation will take place there, and more widely.
Along with changes in public opinion, public awareness of climate change issues has become much more acute, sensitive and alert. Individual citizens want to do the right thing by the environment, although they are often not clear what the right thing is.
That brings me to the theme of considering the issue from the individual citizen’s perspective and thinking about what we can do individually to contribute to the aggregate change that we want to take place.
Central to that is empowering citizens. Information, in turn, is central to empowering individuals to make changes in their lives.
That can be information on, for example, insulating their homes, public transport choices or buying a certain type of car.
It might also be information on the type of housing that they construct, or on recycling, composting or a whole range of other things that they can individually take part in or do.
In my experience, it is not easy for people to access good, comprehensive, independent, impartial advice about what they should do.
What is the optimal depth of insulation for lofts?
How should people treat their windows to make them more energy efficient?
Is triple glazing definitely better than double glazing?
In my circumstances, I might ask whether an air-source heat pump or a ground-source heat pump would be better. What about solar panels and photovoltaic cells?
What is the right thing for my household to do to help combat the changes in the climate?
What about converting cars to run on liquefied petroleum gas?
What about the question of an electric car versus a modern diesel engine?
Individuals have 101 questions—even 1,001 questions—that they want to ask, but getting ready access to the answers is not straightforward. In moving the debate forward, it is important that more information is made available. Might we wish to place a duty on local authorities to help ensure that information is supplied throughout the country?

I will move on to my own experience of building a house, and I will develop the argument about information, advice and consultancy.
I built my own house about five to six years ago.
The design stage started about eight years ago.
I can tell members that it was not a thing to do when I was a busy minister, as it took up a lot of time.
My house was built to the proper standards, but it contains no renewable devices.
That is a matter of great regret.
I accept a large part of the blame for that, but not once during the process was I ever advised by my architect, by the planners or by the building warrant people about what was the right thing to do or about the range of options that were open to me.
Retrofitting my house would be expensive.
I can find all sorts of commercial products in the marketplace, and all sorts of people advancing why I should buy one product over another, but it is virtually impossible to find a single point of contact for advice on what I can do to make a difference in my home.
That brings me back to the role of advice and consultancy.
During our consideration of the bill, we might consider whether there is a way of placing a duty on architects, planners and people who are involved in building control to give such advice, to help individuals to contribute to change.

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): The new Acharacle primary school will need hardly any extra heat put into it. Does the member agree that it is best to build houses that will need no energy in the first place?

Peter Peacock: I completely agree.
That intervention brings me neatly to my next point, which is about regulation—

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Alasdair Morgan): It is your last point, Mr Peacock.

Peter Peacock: It is my last point and I will make it quickly.
If the individual citizen cannot act, we must act collectively, for example through regulation.
The need to improve building standards to encourage projects like the one that Robin Harper mentioned is central.
I could go on for ever, Presiding Officer, but you are scowling at me, so I will sit down.

Meeting with Regulator for Broadband Provision

25 April 2009

Peter Peacock, Highlands and Islands regional Labour MSP met with OFCOM Scotland to ensure that remote and rural areas of the country’s treated fairly when it comes to broadband.

Mr Peacock met with OFCOM Director for Scotland Vicki Nash this week to stress the need for the Highlands and Islands areas to have improved access to services and the regulator expressed a willingness to be involved in any further discussions organised on the issue.

Mr Peacock said: “I had a very constructive discussion with the OFCOM Director for Scotland and impressed upon her the vital importance of ensuring that any policy on a universal service obligation included policies that would deliver full higher speed broadband coverage for the whole of the Highlands and Islands.

“I explained the frustrations many people experience with current broadband access and reliability in the Western isles and more widely and a need to address the widening gap in service provision between the area and the rest of Scotland, which would be unacceptable if it was allowed to continue.

“I have agreed to try and involve OFCOM in further discussions as I continue to push the case for improved services and I will be writing formally to her and making a submission to a current consultation on access and inclusion.”

The meeting came as MEP Catherine Stihler tabled two questions to the European Parliament about the provision of broadband for remote and rural areas.

Ms Stihler said: “Equal access to broadband is a clear objective for the European Union and it is important to ensure that everyone is able to make use of technology.

“I have tabled questions to the European Commission and Council to help push for people living in remote and island communities will get the support they need to ensure they get access to broadband.”

North MSP continues to fight for Elgin By Pass

21 April 2009

Highlands and Islands Labour MSP, Peter Peacock, has today renewed calls for the Scottish Government to provide a much needed by pass for Elgin.

Following the hugely disappointing refusal by the SNP Government to back an Elgin by pass Mr Peacock submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Scottish Government to establish what was happening behind the scenes before the decision was taken not to make any funding available.

Mr Peacock said: “The need for a by pass has had my support and I shared in the disappointment at the refusal of the Transport Minister, Stewart Stevenson, to sanction it in the plans for Scotland’s transport improvements right up to 2020.

“In a copy of an email I received it clearly reveals that the A96 in general and the Elgin by pass in particular was always treated unfairly when compared to the A9.

“It seems clear that from that point on the case for an Elgin by pass was undermined and was never going to happen.

“This is a disgrace, particularly since in reality the government are not proposing any significant improvements to the A9 either.

“Indeed, all reference to a by pass for Elgin (and Keith) was removed in October 2008 even though the case for it was similar to some improvements suggested for the A9.

“At the last minute a passing reference to Elgin was added back for what appears like only presentational purposes, given the go ahead was not sanctioned.

“Clearly if Elgin was ever to be a contender it needed to be on the list and being actively considered right up to the last minute when final decisions were made.

“The criteria used seem to discriminate against Elgin as they do not fully account for the wider economic benefits that opening up development land could bring.

“The Scottish Government would need to seriously look at changing the criteria if Elgin is ever to qualify.

“Sometimes though you just have to make the political commitment to get something done when you know it is the right thing to do.

“Everyone thought the SNP had given that commitment before they got elected, but it transpires that was not the case and people feel they have been let down.

“Many people, myself included, cannot fathom why a by pass of Elgin is not of as much importance as a by pass of Nairn.

“I want to see Elgin treated fairly and the Scottish Government need to set out clearly whether they believe a by pass is needed and whether they are prepared to put their hand pocket to fund it.

“At the moment it seems it is the central belt that is getting all the cash.”

Worries Grow Over new Broadband Satellite Services for North

24 April 2009

Worries over the reliability and level of service provided by Avanti to consumers in the north are emerging, says north MSP Peter Peacock.

The Labour MSP for the Highlands and Islands has been campaigning for improved broadband services across the region.

Mr Peacock has received a number of messages and e-mails expressing concerns and has tabled Parliamentary Questions about the issue and is seeking a meeting with Avanti to discuss progress in delivery and the reliability of the service.

Peter Peacock said, “Having high speed reliable broadband is becoming a modern day necessity for business and, increasingly, for leisure and entertainment.

“My office has received messages and e mails of concern about the new Avanti satellite services from some customers who have been connected and that is a worry.

“The service is designed to fill the gap left by more traditional forms of broadband not being available in some parts of the Highlands and Islands.

“The intention by government is right to try and fill the gap left, but the service needs to be reliable and I want to see this initiative succeed.

“That is why it is worrying that a trickle of complaints is beginning to filter through to me already.

“I have tabled some Parliamentary questions and will be seeking a meeting with Avanti to put to them some of the concerns that are being raised.”

Mr Peacock added: “I will be happy to hear from anyone experiencing difficulties, so I can put their point to Avanti and I hope they will be able to give me the re-assurance that the issues are just teething troubles and not something much more fundamental.”