A new report has warned that any future devolution deal for the Highlands must begin by tackling the region’s higher cost of living and long standing demographic challenges rather than simply transferring more powers from Westminster.
Remote Scotland: Spiralling Towards Unviability?, published by Highland MP Angus MacDonald, argues that people living in rural communities continue to face significantly higher costs, lower incomes and reduced access to essential services than much of the rest of the UK.
The report comes as Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pledged to move more decision making away from Westminster and towards local communities, with discussions reportedly taking place over new models of devolution for Scotland.
Rather than adopting approaches designed for England’s city regions, the report argues that any new settlement for the Highlands must recognise the realities of living and working in remote communities.
Among its findings, the report says one in three Highland households are living in fuel poverty and that families in remote areas spend around £1,000 more each year on energy than the Scottish average.
It also highlights that more than one in five children across the Highland area are living in relative poverty despite many families facing higher everyday costs than elsewhere in Scotland.
The report points to growing pressure on healthcare and social care, noting that the Highlands has lost 18 per cent of its care home beds for older people since 2014 while the region’s elderly population continues to increase.
It also claims that post Brexit replacement funding has fallen around 60 per cent short of the value of previous European Union support, leaving many rural communities with fewer resources for local development.
The report renews calls for a dedicated Minister for the Highlands and Islands at Holyrood together with a cross government strategy to address housing, transport, healthcare, education and energy issues across rural Scotland.
Angus MacDonald MP said:
“This report shows that people here face a ‘Highland premium’ at almost every stage of life, from finding childcare, to heating their homes, accessing healthcare, and finding care at the end of life.
“You cannot build a fair devolution settlement without recognising that it costs more to live here.
“The cost of living is up to 30% higher, incomes are 10% lower, housing is more expensive, public services are less available, there is an ageing population and a dramatic drop in school rolls.
“The disappearance of EU funding has left a chasm, while too many communities aren’t seeing their fair share from the renewables boom.
“These aren’t isolated problems.
“They are the consequence of years of policies that have failed to account for the realities of rural living.
“Unless governments begin recognising the true cost of living in remote communities, the gap between the Highlands and the rest of the country will only continue to widen.
“The Highlands cannot be an afterthought in this new conversation about power and place.
“Andy Burnham built his career on the idea that Westminster doesn’t understand life outside it, well, neither does a settlement designed for Manchester work for Mallaig.
“There is now a real conversation about giving more power to local communities.
“That’s welcome, but whoever ends up making decisions locally, those decisions have to start with the reality of life in the Highlands.”
The report concludes that any future devolution settlement will only succeed if it reflects the distinct economic, geographic and demographic challenges facing the Highlands, rather than treating the region as an extension of urban Scotland.
