Mike MacKenzie: Will the member take an intervention?
Mike MacKenzie: Will the member take an intervention?
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: 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: 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: 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...