Rhoda Grant

Highlands and Islands Labour MSP Rhoda Grant has accused the SNP and Green coalition of sending a message to the public that they do not care about food poverty.

Mrs Grant appeared before the Scottish Parliament’s Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee this morning, in the hope members would agree to progress her Right to Food Bill, originally launched by former Labour MSP Elaine Smith who represented Central Scotland.

However, the committee kicked the Bill into the long grass when three members and the convener, Green and SNP members, said they were not satisfied with Mrs Grant’s statement of reasons for pressing forward. Three other members, from Labour and the Conservatives, supported her.

The Scottish Co-op Party, which is supporting the Bill, has already voiced its disappointment that there will now have to be a second consultation carried out by Mrs Grant after one was previously done by Ms Smith.

After the meeting, Mrs Grant said she would forge ahead and carry out further consultation with outside organisations, but believed the first consultation was more than adequate.

“It is deeply disappointing that the SNP and Greens have sought to delay the Right to Food Bill at committee this morning,” said Mrs Grant.

“The pandemic has made the Right to Food Bill even more urgent.

“To delay on this vital matter sends a message to the public that this government is not interested in tackling food poverty.

“There is no time for dither and delay. The SNP and Greens need to drop their partisan opposition to this vital Bill and put the needs of the people of Scotland above petty politics.”

Mrs Grant continued: “Access to food is a human right, but it is being denied to too many people in our country. The pandemic has only exacerbated this and increased the need for action to be taken to address the problems in our food sector.”

If Mrs Grant can get her Bill passed, it would enshrine the Human Right to Food into Scots’ law, to place responsibility for realising and progressing this right upon the Scottish Government, including the ability to hold them to account.

Over the summer Mrs Grant met community groups, charities and organisations, which have an interest in the right to food, to get a better idea from specialists about the key issues.

“The Scottish Government has suggested that a wider Human Rights Bill could include the right to food, but have not confirmed whether they would have an independent body ensuring the right under this act would be met,” the MSP added.

“I want to move this forward now and not have it dragged out further but I won’t be deterred and will continue the fight.”

Highlands and Islands Labour MSP, Rhoda Grant, is delighted to see her motion on “Green Lairds” debated in Parliament today (Thursday 30th September) and calls for greater land reform and regulation by the Scottish Government.  Her motion seeks to address the emergence of “Green Lairds” and their exploitation of our unregulated land market to purchase land in rural areas including the Highlands and Islands.

These private purchasers and businesses buy land due to the climate emergency and to offset their carbon emissions elsewhere.  They are then able to claim Government grants and access beneficial tax arrangements, which in turn inflates land values. This disadvantages local communities as they are priced out of purchasing local land.

The MSP has urged the Scottish Government to drastically increase the regulation surrounding Scotland’s land markets to “create a more just and fairer Scotland”.

The MSP has said that this can be done by giving intervention powers to the Scottish Land Commission to act on land monopolies and to better enable public interest purchases. There should also be a cap on the total public subsidy that can be accessed by large land owners.  We should also act on Community Land Scotland’s suggestion for a Community Wealth Fund and task Co-operative Development Scotland with promoting co-operative and mutual ownership of land.

Compared to other countries, Scotland is considered to have very little land regulation. This has led to over 50% of rural Scotland being owned by a small number of private owners.

Speaking after the debate Rhoda Grant MSP said: “It is vital that these businesses tackle their carbon emissions but not at the expense of the Scottish people. Buying land to simply off-set their bad behaviour elsewhere is not acceptable.

“Scotland has had an unregulated land market for decades but sadly, we are now seeing a new type of exploitation. We are seeing the commodification and financialisation of the climate emergency which is stimulating private land grabbing.

“For example, these multi-million-pound businesses can take money from the public purse through grant funding to plant trees and build corporate reputation. Some purchasers are also likely to hedge against future carbon tax liabilities too. It’s a win win situation for them yet it disadvantages local communities from buying land that they know and tackling the carbon emergency locally.

Mrs Grant continued: “I am today, urging the Scottish Government to make bold moves to increase land regulations and to encourage community ownership. This will create a more just and fairer Scotland and it will protect our country from this and future exploitation.”

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Highlands and Islands Labour MSP, Rhoda Grant, and Labour Councillor, Jimmy Gray, have briefed the Chair of the Labour Party on their concerns over the Levelling Up funding being allocated to the Highlands and Islands region.

When the Chair of the Party, Anneliese Dodds MP, visited Inverness recently, Mrs Grant and Councillor Gray, took the opportunity to flag the issue up to her.

Mrs Grant has previously written to Michael Gove in the UK Government expressing her disappointment that the councils in the Highlands and Islands region have been placed in levels 2 and 3 of the fund despite the recognition from the EU in the past that the region has specific challenges in terms of geographical scale and sparcity of population. The Levelling Up fund will not amount to the same as the financial support given by the EU in the past.

Anneliese Dodds said ““Again and again we’re seeing that the UK Government has nothing to offer the different parts of our country beyond press releases and empty rhetoric.

“Rather than targeting support to where it is most needed, they’re pitting region against region and town against town to bid for pots of cash from Westminster. And the SNP are taking a similar centralising approach in Holyrood.

“We need a proper plan that will make sure everyone in the country, from the Highlands and Islands to Land’s End, have opportunities on their doorstep and that no-one feels they have to get out of their local area to get on.”

Rhoda Grant said “Rural poverty and depravation do not show up easily in the indicators used by both the Scottish and UK Government, which is largely postcode based. In rural areas the poor live side by side with the very rich and therefore the real disadvantage faced in these communities is hidden.

“In the Highlands and Islands many of these issues are also masked because of the success of some parts of Inverness compared with the rest of the area. Often our young people are forced to leave to seek employment and housing and many areas are extremely fragile because of this.”

Councillor Gray said “It was really refreshing to meet up with a UK politician with a firm grasp of all the challenges facing the Highlands of Scotland and with some really clear ideas of what is needed to try and deal with these issues.

“Anneliese is all too aware of the dangers of centralisation within Scotland and the accompanying risks to the economy and the quality of life of people in the Highlands and Islands. She is also very clear of the responsibilities of the UK Government, particularly considering all the rhetoric about the net benefit for every part of the UK from leaving the EU, much of that hype now looks really so much like empty talk.”

Mrs Grant also cited the Scottish Government’s centralisation agenda as a key factor in these trends. She said “We heard recently that the Scottish Government has vowed to return to Labour policy of dispersing public service jobs throughout the country and yet in Highlands and Islands they are railroading HIAL into centralising Air Traffic Control jobs in Inverness, taking them away from our rural areas, at the same time.

“Put all these factors into the melting pot and it’s painting a pretty grim picture for the economy and infrastructure in the north” continued Rhoda Grant “but Labour will work to have this decision overturned.”

Highlands and Islands Labour MSP, Rhoda Grant, was shaken but definitely stirred when she joined Caithness Roads Recovery campaigners in Caithness.

Mrs Grant met Helen Campbell and Iain Gregory on Monday for a tour of some of the worst roads in Thurso.

The MSP has supported the campaign to have local roads resurfaced and repaired as a matter of urgency in Caithness and North West Sutherland and has previously contacted Highland Council and the Scottish Government, joining the concerns of residents.

“You can hear descriptions of the problems, and see photos, but to drive along those roads and see the damage for yourself just brings home what people have been telling me and just what they have been suffering,” said Mrs Grant.

“It was definitely a shake, rattle and rolling time along some roads which residents are refusing or reluctant to use anymore, dodging the potholes and crawling along at a low speed.

“I am happy to support continuing pressure on Scottish Government Ministers and would be willing to sit around the table with cross-party politicians to acknowledge the scale of the problem and solve it.

“Years and years of underfunding by the Scottish Government has led to budget and staff cut-backs and now the gaps are literally beginning to show!”

Mrs Grant also witnessed more traffic on the roads, as many people are opting for a staycation this year and added that, while the area wanted to encouraged tourists it must also ensure that it has the infrastructure to cope with them.

A spokesperson for the campaign said: “Caithness Roads Recovery are delighted that Rhoda Grant MSP visited Caithness to see things for herself. We strongly urge the Highland Council and the Scottish Government to sit down and address this crisis as a matter of urgency”