HPMAs, NorthLink, Coronation

The big events this week in the Parliament were two debates on Highly Protected Marine Areas, or HPMAs. I secured the first as a members’ debate on Tuesday, followed by a Conservative debate on Wednesday which saw several SNP members dissent from the Scottish Government.

Stakeholders, the fishing and aquaculture sectors are united in opposition to the SNP/Green proposals, the government having failed to bring communities around Scotland’s coastline along with it, a recipe for disaster bringing unnecessary fear and anxiety. I hope these debates will spark a re-think in Scottish Government plans.

I also spoke with representatives from Water Safety Scotland about their water safety code, highlighting the dangers our waters can present. You can find out more on their website here.

During the sessions of questions to the Scottish Government I asked about the Energy Skills Passport for offshore energy workers. Renewables are an important and growing sector but there is still some uncertainty for workers with desired skills transferring from the oil and gas sector as equivalent certification can be expensive. The minister responded to a colleague that such a passport is intended to be delivered by the end of the year and I will continue to hold the Scottish Government to account on this issue.

I also took the opportunity to quiz the Transport Minister on the booking system for the Northern Isles ferry route as bookings beyond 30th September are not open. The Transport Minister was unable to say when dates after this would open, beyond “as soon as possible”, stating he would write to me with an indication of when bookings are expected to open. You can watch the full exchange here.

On Thursday evening I joined colleagues at the White Ribbon Scotland (WRS) parliament conference. White Ribbon aims to engage more men in the eradication of Violence Against Women and Girls and I am pleased to see that a project is under development in Shetland. You can find out more about WRS at www.whiteribbonscotland.org.uk.

Yesterday was a historic day with the coronation of HM King Charles III alongside his wife, Queen Camilla. The pageantry that UK plc does so well was once again evident in London, while closer to home there was a ‘Coronation Big Lunch’ in Scalloway, ‘coronation teas’ in public halls, along with small informal gatherings to celebrate this momentous occasion. In Baltasound Valerie Johnson decked out the Post Office in bunting, just as she did for the Platinum Jubilee.