Scotland’s island communities have been let down by the SNP Government and deserve fairer support and more equitable treatment.
Connectivity issues to and between Scotland’s island communities and a lack of resilience in lifeline services are driving depopulation, undermining local economies and causing serious disruption to livelihoods.
The Scottish Government’s delayed rollout of superfast broadband continues to have a disproportionate impact on rural and island communities.
Island communities are also vulnerable to damage to infrastructure. Shetland has had 2 telecommunications blackouts in the past year, once due to damage to subsea cables and once due to severe weather.
Island communities across the UK should remain viable places to live, work and study.
Depopulation in the islands is a serious challenge and it must be addressed if we are to retain the unique communities across the isles in Shetland.
Beatrice Wishart
Depopulation can be reversed with proper support for transport and communications infrastructure, helping to boost resilience and improve the sustainability of those communities affected.
Unfortunately, under the SNP this just is not happening.
Scotland’s ferry service has declined since the SNP Government came to power in 2007 with the rate of vessels being replaced falling to less than one new vessel every three years compared to every fourteen months between 1993 and 2007.
The internal ferry fleet in Orkney and Shetland fell below minimum standards in the Scottish Government's National Ferries Plan in 2013 and have been excluded from its successor, the Islands Connectivity Plan, as well as the Strategic Transport Project Review.
All this despite obvious concerns about their age, reliability, accessibility and impact on the environment.
Orkney’s ageing internal ferry fleet urgently needs replaced, but Scottish Ministers claim it’s nothing to do with them. As a result, islanders face delays, disruption and often not even being able to get on their lifeline services.
Liam McArthur
We need to see strong action from the Scottish Government to ensure our island communities can thrive.