Dave Petrie MSP selected to fight for Western Isles

Dave Petrie MSP has been unanimously adopted as the Scottish Conservative candidate for the Western Isles at the forthcoming Holyrood Elections .

Commenting on his success Dave emphasised the need for change “ For the last seven years this urban focussed Lib Dem /Labour Executive has failed the western Isles and the SNP would not do any better .

The Scottish Conservatives are the traditional protectors of rural Scotland and I will continue that fine tradition .

I am accordingly looking forward with eager anticipation to what promises to be a fascinating contest next May.”

COMHAIRLE’S PERFORMANCE: CLEARLY NOT ACCEPTABLE

Commenting after the Accounts Commission of Audit Scotland published its ‘Best Value’ report on Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council), citing a number of areas of performance where the comhairle must improve, Derek Brownlee MSP, Scottish Conservative Finance spokesman, said:

“These reports are normally worded very carefully, so these findings are pretty damning. Comhairle nan Eilean Siar’s performance is clearly not acceptable.

“Failure to introduce ‘Best Value’ processes is letting down taxpayers. Currently, it is the only means of trying to get value for money out of council spending, so if these ambitions are not being met it is simply not good enough.”

Labour’s new bed & breakfast stealth tax will hike cost of Scottish trips

With the summer holiday season in full swing, Scottish Conservatives today launched a campaign to stop Labour’s latest money-making ruse - a new stealth tax on Scottish holidays.

Gordon Brown and John Prescott (prior to losing his job) asked former Labour councillor, Sir Michael Lyons, to produce plans for new local taxes; in December’s interim report, he raised the prospect of a new local levy on England’s hotels, hostels and bed & breakfasts; in Scotland a similar exercise is underway and Unison, amongst others, has called for just such a tourism tax.

This would be on top of existing business rates and VAT on hotel bills. Based on similar taxes in other countries, this could potentially add £100 a week to the cost of a family holiday or visit to tourist destinations. Less well-off families would be the hardest hit.

Jamie McGrigor, Scottish Conservative tourism spokesman, commented:“The brilliant summer weather has shown what a great place Scotland is to spend a short break or a holiday.

But the great seaside or highland holiday is under threat from a ‘bed & breakfast stealth tax’ – Labour’s latest money-making ploy. There’s nothing wrong with choosing to travel abroad, but no-one will benefit from making Scottish holidays a rip-off.”

McGrigor: “VisitScotland must do more for smaller Highlands and Islands tourism operators”

Highlands and Islands MSP Jamie McGrigor has said VisitScotland must do more for smaller tourism operators in the Highlands and Islands.

Following a meeting today with VisitScotland.com Chief Executive Marco Truffelli, the Conservative Tourism Spokesman said if the tourism body was to be of value it must make a substantial difference to the small establishments such as B&Bs which Mr McGrigor described as the backbone of the industry

Mr McGrigor is currently surveying tourism operators across the Highlands and Islands on the performance of VisitScotland and said responses so far were largely critical of the body.

Jamie McGrigor said “This was a very useful meeting for me and I am arranging a visit to Visitscotland’s call centre in Livingston to see for myself how they handle enquiries.
”Certainly the responses I have received so far from my survey suggest that enquiries are not being handled properly, and that the restructuring of Scotland’s tourism industry continues to cause concern and even anger.

“For example, if Visitscotland.com is to be of value, it must make a substantial difference to the small establishments that are the backbone of the industry. The views I have so far received from my survey suggest that this is simply not the case.

“Only 15 per cent of inquiries to Visitscotland.com last year actually generated bookings. That cannot represent good value for money and VisitScotland must do more to help the smaller tourism operators across the Highlands and Islands”.

MSP demands a better deal for Northern Constabulary police

Commenting after today’s reports that nearly two-thirds of Scotland's police stations no longer provide a round-the-clock manned service and that only 14 out of the 74 police stations in the Northern Constabulary area are manned 24hours, Conservative Highlands and Island MSP Jamie McGrigor said:

“I appreciate that many of the remotest stations will not have a permanent police presence, however I would be interested to know what hours they are manned and what effect that has on local crime and anti-social behaviour levels.

“Communities across the Highlands and Islands want the reassurance of a local police presence in their area, especially when they’ve experienced crime amongst Highlands and Islands’ 14-16year olds rise 24%1, and total crime up in the Constabulary’s area rise 8%2.

“The Northern Constabulary area already has the lowest number of police officers employed per 1,000 of population, with only 2.52 officers for every 1,000 people. With such a large and dispersed area, and with so many remote communities to cover, it is imperative that the Scottish provides the Northern Constabulary with the support its excellent officers need to do their difficult job.

“Crime and anti-social behaviour blights so many communities across the Highlands and Islands. It’s time for the pretendy tough talk from the Liberal Democrat/Labour Executive in Edinburgh to stop, and the proper funding of our local police to start”.

MSP welcomes Scottish Beef back onto Europe’s tables

Conservative MSP Jamie McGrigor has described today’s lifting of the beef ban as a massive boost for local farmers.

The Highlands and Islands MSP said he hoped the move would help the industry re-establish its world class status and exports worth £130 million per year before the ban.

Jamie McGrigor said “The lifting of the beef ban represents a step forward for the Scottish Beef industry and is a most welcome decision for beef farmers across the Highlands and Islands.

“The Scottish beef industry has faced many pressures in the past, and I hope the lifting of the ban will help the industry to re-establish its important world class status once more and regain the £130 million market”

“Government figures for the estimated income for Scottish farms during 2005 reported a reduction from £19,800 to just £13,100 average income for farmers.

“I hope that the lifting of the beef ban will see farm incomes increase again and see the future of the industry across the Highlands and Islands secured”.

Heating schemes extension welcome but better delivery needed, say McGrigor

Responding to today’s announcement by Communities Minister Malcolm Chisholm that the Central Heating Programme and Warm Deal scheme will be extended for another two years, Highlands and Islands Conservative MSP Jamie McGrigor, who last year exposed problems with the delivery of the schemes, said:

“I welcome news that the schemes will be extended but the problems I highlighted last year were problems of delivery.

”The Executive must ensure that applications are dealt with quickly and efficiently, that work is carried out on time with the minimum of inconvenience to householders and that local companies are allowed to play a greater role in installation work.

”I know EAGA has worked hard to deal with the cases I raised but we cannot afford another situation like last year where older people, many of whom were vulnerable, faced a winter without adequate heating because of delays in the delivery of the scheme”.