The MSP for Orkney hopes that the Scottish budget will provide sufficient funding for the Highlands and Islands to improve human rights.
Liam McArthur is pressuring the Scottish Government to prioritise rural communities like his constituency in today’s Budget.
This is in response to the ‘poor state’ of human rights reported by the Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) last week.
“As the commission has highlighted, many existing funding structures and policies simply do not work in rural and island settings,” MacArthur said.
The report found that rural areas across the Highlands and Islands do not meet obligations for affordable housing, food affordability and access to health services.
“Ensuring equality of human rights access across Scotland must be a priority of the government.” he advocates.
Liam McArthur, Liberal Democrat Orkney MSP.
First Minister John Swinney promised to work to improve the current situation in Parliament during First Minister’s Questions last week.
Finance Secretary Shona Robison, who is responsible for the Scottish Budget speech, responded to the report by claiming that the UK budget was weakening Scotland’s rural economy.
Furthermore, last year’s Scottish Budget does not sufficiently address infrastructure challenges in the Highlands.
According to the last budget, NHS Highlands received £807.1 million, a 5% increase for the second year running. However, this increase is not enough to secure core services such as maternity care.
The Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work & Energy plan also reveals that the spending for the Highlands and Islands enterprise has decreased by 20% since the fiscal year 2022-23.
The Budget will reportedly attempt to address the issues by creating a dedicated sector for Rural Affairs, Land Reform, and islands.
The total spending of £1,1 billion includes development measures such as the ‘Island Spending Plan,’ which includes £6.7 million.
However, the same portfolio also includes £32 million of expenditure on the non-rural Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh.
McArthur argues: ”This is not just about the overall sums of money, but also the way funding is targeted and spent.”
“Lack of access, increased food prices and unreliability of ferry services all contribute to this, highlighting the rural and island dimension to the wider issue of food poverty.”, he adds.
When asked about his expectations on the budget, he said: “As always, I hope that the upcoming budget will take account of the specific needs of island and rural communities.”
