Minister has powers to act now on islands’ needs — McArthur

Orkney’s MSP Liam McArthur has pressed Scottish ministers to set out the powers it proposes to devolve to island communities in the context of the ministerial island working group.

Mr McArthur raised the issue during Topical Questions at Holyrood this afternoon, questioning also how the replacement of the NorthLink vessel Hamnavoe with the Helliar during the refit period in January was consistent with the spirit of the First Minister’s Lerwick Declaration and the aims of the working group itself.

“Mr Mackay continues to insist he can do nothing to address the needs of our island communities without independence. Yet last week, the OIC Convener made clear that the demands of the three island authorities were unrelated to the outcome of the referendum,” Mr McArthur said.

“To date, the Scottish government has chosen to use its extensive powers to centralise decision-making in areas such as policing, economic development and further education. Rather than address this, however, SNP ministers prefer to talk about what they would do with the powers they don’t have.

“The ministerial island working group is due to meet again in January, at which point the MV Hamnavoe will be heading off for two weeks to be replaced on the Stromness-Scrabster route by a freight vessel. I am sure Mr Mackay will want to explain to Orkney’s representatives on his group how this decision is in keeping with the spirit of the so-called Lerwick Declaration.

“Or perhaps this too is something that SNP ministers will only promise to resolve if people in Orkney agree to their demands to vote ‘yes’ in next year’s referendum. If so, it is a tactic that is likely to backfire.”