Hard of Heeding

Standing outside Arbuthnot House in Peterhead with a Cod Crusader, fishermen, a small group of children and various members of the public, we were very conscious that it was an unusual Sunday evening.

It was a day of records. A record high January temperature – in nearby Aboyne it was 18 degrees. And a first, a First Minister in Peterhead to listen to our concerns.

But within a short time we knew better. A redundancy package not a recovery package was coming our way.

I have been visiting various fishing-related people, telephoning others, exchanging emails, receiving letters. The overwhelming majority know, like me, that what is proposed isn’t what we need.

One telephone call was to Jack McConnell, Labour’s First Minister, the head of the Scottish Government. Until the 1st May election that is.

As he drove north, I spoke to him on his car phone. Now since the introduction of digital phones a few years ago, I had thought the distortion that one could get with the original mobile phones had gone. Apparently not.

Despite his acknowledging very clearly the point I put to him about how vital it was to protect our investment in fishing so that when we could have a realistic opportunity to catch fish in future, he now delivers a package to slash and burn our industry.

Fewer boats means fewer fishermen, means fewer on-shore jobs, means fewer weans growing up with an assured future.

And the irony is that by failing to buy back licences and quota, these will end up in foreign hands. We could watch others catch our fish in years to come.

Forty Million pounds to buy back boats will secure a ‘pension’ for the lucky skippers, make the banks happy to get their loans paid off, but leave fishermen and community to carry the burden.

So what did I ask for?

I thought about all those shore-based industries that can’t diversify. If you make ice for the boats and there are no boats, who will buy your ice? If you make fish boxes and there are no fish, who will use your boxes? If you supply the food for a crew, who will eat it now?

A business rates holiday would help. But the Council would need more money to fund that. Jack says that’s an interesting idea.

A rent holiday for companies using Council or Enterprise company factories or offices. I have seen some of the business books of companies. Cash flow might, just might, balance with this help. Jack says that’s an interesting idea.

And a cheeky request for half a million to bring broadband to our area is not rejected either.

But as my mother used to say when I seem not to hear her as a bairn, “I used to think you were hard of hearing but now I know it’s hard of heeding.”

Listen up Jack, it’s now you that seem hard of heeding.

Cattle Numbers

As if our communities were not being hit hard enough by an EU-imposed fishing crisis, there are also indications that revision of the Common Agricultural Policy may also hit us hard.

Now it has long been accepted that the CAP is a mess. It produces food – and astonishingly in this day and age, subsidised tobacco – a deal of which finds no buyer.

The farmer of the future needs to be a steward of the countryside, and to be paid as one. But the move from production to protecting our rural environment needs to be managed to allow farmers to make the change.

But there is some good news. Average farm incomes across Scotland have risen from £6,000 in 2000-01 to a projected £10,500 in 2001-02. But adverts on the back of Edinburgh buses tell MSPs that their drivers can make £18,500 a year. That puts into perspective the limited reward for farmers’ long hours and financial risk.

And as if things are not bad enough cattle farmers are having trouble getting their money too.

The British Cattle Movement service is, if you will forgive me, making a right ‘cod’ of it. Data are lost, or not entered into their computer system, or allocated to the wrong farmer.

Then when farmers apply for cattle slaughter premiums and the like – a refusal to pay.

That is why I spoke in Parliament last week in an attempt to get it sorted.

Amendment 92C

The Land Reform Act it now is. After enormous effort we finally got there.

And only one minor procedural glitch. A Labour member seemed to be missing from the chamber when their amendment to the Bill came up for debate.

So the Presiding Officer asked the SNP to move it. We were happy to do so.

Then the Labour MSP voted against it! Parliamentary democracy at work.

New Year Resolutions?

It is 2003 and fishing continues to dominate. In fact I share with colleagues a commitment to make it a key issue in the Scottish Election that is only a couple of months away.

But if turnout at the election is not high enough, the credibility of any fishing campaign would be damaged.

So that is why throughout my nearly two years in Parliament, I have sought to establish groups and work with people in the community who are not identified with any political party. And that has been the source of our success on major campaigns such as to save Peterhead Prison and for new investment in a hospital in Banff.

The Cod Crusaders are the latest manifestation of that attempt to link community to politics to deliver results.

So my first resolution is to keep working with community interests.

Windy Places

My Parliamentary questioning this week flushed out that survey data about neighbours’ attitudes to wind farms is flawed. It seems that the Scottish Executive, the government, are now having to re-do the survey.

Meantime it may be appropriate to review decisions already made about wind farms. And for the local proposals near Hatton it should mean that added weight is given to concerns that members of that community have expressed.

We want more renewable energy. Scotland has long been strong in hydro power. Flooding glens and relocating inhabitants was, and some extent remains, controversial. But a benefit was delivered to us all.

Building and operating wind farms will be an important part of reducing our dependence on nuclear power. But we need to find the right locations, offshore must be a strong contender, and be sure that the economics stack up.

A second resolution is to support rational progress towards renewables.

Making Law

With 22 Bills and very little time before dissolution, I am very busy making law.

This week we shall be debating Land Reform over two days. In Committee I previously participated in 12 meetings lasting about 35 hours in total. And we considered over 500 amendments to the Bill.

Now at the final stage we are looking at a three figure number of amendments as well.

Bills to reform Agricultural Holdings and the Criminal Justice system are also keeping me very busy.

So what? Will this investment of time deliver value?

For farmers the new Bill provides new tenancy agreements that should create more opportunities for young farmers to start their careers. Only a lucky few have money to buy their own farm and the opportunies to purchase are few and far between as well.

Changes to the Criminal Justice system being introduced are quite wide-ranging. I have written previously about my initiative to head off Liberal Democrat plans to make criminals of parents who administer a light smack to a child. More importantly we have brought new rules to protect children from beating and injury to their head.

But it is changes for victims of crime that will probably deliver more for the many.

When passed, the Bill will ensure that victims can contribute to parole board reviews which take place before serious offenders are released. And the requirement that victims of serious crime are notified before offenders are released will be widely welcomed. The lack of this has long been an issue.

But the Land Reform Bill has taken most time.

At last it formalises the right of communities to buy land. Contrary to some reports it does not provide any money for communities to do that. They must, as at present, find the funds for themselves.

But for many a community looking for a plot for a village hall or some other community facility it will be a valuable new power.

Most interest, and time, has focussed on what has been called a “Right to Roam”.

Interestingly it seems that I have become the first MSP to be quoted in the Scots Laws Times. I had a vigorous interchange with a legal witness about whether trespass was a crime in Scotland. I said no. He claimed otherwise.

The text of our exchange seems to now be being used as part of Edinburgh University’s law courses.

Broadband

And more progress may be looming on getting our area on to the Broadband train. It seems that experiments in Crieff and Campbelltown are going well. They use the power company’s cables to deliver communications services as well.

And both Peterhead and Fraserburgh, perhaps Banff and Macduff, could justify the investment to get “Power Line Broadband”. I have met with the company working on this and I have added a resolution to step up my activity of this.

But Finally

But above all we must have a workable plan to save fishing commmunities. And it must be agreed no later than June.