HIE petition lodged in Scottish Parliament

A petition has been lodged with the Scottish Parliament’s Public Petition Committee, asking for the parliament to urge the Scottish Government to reverse its decision to create a joint board for enterprise and skills agencies, such as Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).

The petition, which is available here, has been lodged by former Highlands and Islands MSP Maureen Macmillan.

She said, “For the eight years I had been an MSP, I strived to do what I could to support and champion the causes of the scattered communities of the Highlands and Islands. I was a firm believer in the work of the Highlands and Islands Development Board (HIDB) and then the Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).

“This agency was set up in 1965 by the Labour Government to stem the de-population of the Highlands and Islands and at the same time enhance the economic and social needs of the area. By any standard, the work of these agencies has been a success in part.

She added: “I am sure, to the fact that the Board were based firmly in the Highlands and Islands where they remained in tune with the needs and desires of the communities they were set up to serve. To amalgamate this board into an overarching governing body for more than one agency and move it south to the central belt, is a retrograde step and in my view contrary to the whole concept of the HIDB/HIE in the first place.