Mike MacKenzie: 6. To ask the Scottish Government, given the pressure on public sector budgets, what steps have been taken to ensure that quality of support for disabled people is safeguarded. (S4O-00016)
Mike MacKenzie: I thank the cabinet secretary for that reassurance.
Mike MacKenzie: Has the cabinet secretary heard from Argyll and Bute Council whether it intends to go ahead with its proposed school closures?
Mike MacKenzie: It is a great privilege to have been elected to serve the people of the Highlands and Islands region. It is where I was born and where I first made my home as a young adult, although, Presiding Officer, you will no doubt discern from my accent that I spent most of my formative years growing up in Glasgow. In my time here in this Parliament, I hope in some small way to help bridge the gulf of...
Mike MacKenzie: 6. First, I should declare the interest noted in my register of interests. To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that provision is made for extra costs associated with social housing in fragile rural communities. (S4O-00027)
Mike MacKenzie: The minister has partly answered my supplementary, but is he aware that the reduction in the affordable housing grant has made it very difficult for housing associations and other organisations to consider building houses in the most fragile rural areas in the Highlands and Islands region? These are often the most remote communities where, although building costs are the highest,...
Mike MacKenzie: Will the member take an intervention?
Mike MacKenzie: I will be as brief as I can. There is no need for me to reiterate some of the points that have been made. I would like to pick out only a few important points. I am disappointed to see so few members here today, particularly on the Opposition benches, because rural areas are going to become increasingly important as we move through this century. They will change from backwaters into our...
Mike MacKenzie: One dark night around 10 o’clock in late September 1977, I went with two companions to the assistance of a yacht in Easdale Sound. We had been alerted by the screams of women on board the yacht. We commandeered the only boat that was available, the Easdale ferry, which was an overgrown rowing boat with an outboard engine. There was a brisk wind, but we were experienced boatmen and...
Mike MacKenzie: Will the member take an intervention?
Mike MacKenzie: Will the member take an intervention?
Mike MacKenzie: Will the member take an intervention?
Mike MacKenzie: The member may not be aware that the most recent building standards—the 2010 standards—include 30 per cent more energy efficiency measures. They are already challenging the construction industry, especially in the creation of affordable housing. That is happening in the member’s region in particular because of the extra rural costs. Therefore, I am surprised that she is asking for even...
Mike MacKenzie: The last major reform of further education was undertaken by the previous UK Tory Government in 1992-93. Our Tory friends in Scotland would like us to forget that era, but the iron lady and her successor have left rusty stains on Scotland’s soul that will not be forgotten until we remove their various legacies. Our Tory friends in Scotland will never be able to rebrand themselves...
Mike MacKenzie: No, I have only four minutes. The Tories turned our colleges into businesses competing with each other to replicate courses not in any genuine market, but in one in which the competition was and is for public subsidy. That is not business and it is certainly not the free market that our Tory friends profess to worship. Education is not and should not be about business. It is one of our higher...
Mike MacKenzie: 3. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to speed up the application process for the Scotland rural development programme. (S4O-00216)
Mike MacKenzie: Will the cabinet secretary confirm the financial allocation that is to be awarded by the Argyll regional project assessment committee for the remainder of the seven-year programme?
Mike MacKenzie: I declare an interest and ask the Parliament to note my entry in the register of members’ interests. It is a great privilege to speak in the debate, because I have helped to build houses since I was a boy. I have seen huge changes in the house building industry over that period, almost all of them for the better. I am sure that members will be relieved to know that the era of the...
Mike MacKenzie: That question has already been answered. I will not dwell on the semantics of the difference between two terms. The occupants of a house do not care whether it is part of a shared-equity ownership scheme or social rented; they are just pleased to have a house.
Mike MacKenzie: No. I have already taken one intervention and I have to move on.