Scotland Loves Local

Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 8 December 2021.

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Photo of Ariane Burgess Ariane Burgess Green

Local issues are close to my heart. During the first lockdown, I kick-started a mutual aid group in Moray, which was inspired by countless examples across Scotland of communities pulling together, taking initiative and providing support—by local people, for local people. Despite that groundswell in community activity, most people feel cut off from local decision making. The 2019 Scottish household survey found that only 18 per cent of Scots believe that they can influence decisions that impact on them and their local communities.

Despite the growing movement to buy local and support local businesses, supply chains and skilled workers are often not in place, particularly in remote, rural and island areas. A constituent in Inverness recently wrote to me after finding that no companies in a reasonable distance of his home provide internal wall insulation. Yesterday, members raised concerns in the chamber about the insufficient provision of local maternity care services in Moray, and I have spoken before about the centralisation of air traffic control removing skilled jobs from more remote areas of the Highlands and Islands.

To reverse that situation, we should start by strengthening local supply chains, and a healthy portion of public sector catering should be locally sourced to support local farming and food sectors. The good food nation bill should instruct public bodies to include a local food procurement target in their good food nation plans.

In the housing sector, we must invest multiyear funding in skills development, training and apprenticeships to expand and upskill the workforce to deliver green homes, particularly in remote and island communities, and we must encourage house builders to use wood that is grown sustainably in Scotland, to support our rural forestry sector.

We should support more remote businesses such as Foula Wool, which is using a grant from the island communities fund to shorten its supply chain. By creating its own renewable energy-powered spinning mill on the island, it will move jobs on to the island and increase its business resilience to climate and economic impacts.

To build a net zero nation, we need to start local and bring everyone with us. That is why the Scottish Government and Greens’ shared policy programme promotes community wealth building and community-led regeneration.