Rural Affairs
Graeme Downie Excerpts(3 weeks, 1 day ago)
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Graeme Downie (Dunfermline and Dollar) (Lab)
I congratulate those who made their maiden speech this afternoon. My constituency of Dunfermline and Dollar has a significant rural area, particularly through west Fife and Clackmannanshire. While rural areas often face different challenges from urban areas, the concerns are often the same. They include access to health, education, transport and other public services, so while this debate is about rural affairs, we must always be careful to ensure that we tackle the different challenges faced in rural areas with thoughtful consideration and sensitivity, and without creating division with those who live in urban and suburban areas.
I begin by mentioning concerns that farmers in my community have raised about changes in the Budget to agricultural property relief. Along with five Scottish Labour colleagues and Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, I was recently able to meet NFU Scotland and have a constructive conversation on that and other issues. It was disappointing, however, that no one from the Scottish National party was able to attend. Constructive engagement, rather than the often misleading and divisive rhetoric we have seen from some Conservative Members, will always be appreciated by our farming communities. I am awaiting further information from NFUS, but I believe that it understands the intention of the policy that has been announced, and our eagerness to work with it and others to support Scottish farmers.
My constituency includes former coalmining villages such as High Valleyfield, Oakley and Blairhall. Their rurality, along with high levels of deprivation, presents unique challenges. Bus services are irregular and unreliable, making access to healthcare difficult. It can take more than an hour to get to Dunfermline by bus, a journey that takes just 15 minutes by car. Similarly, without a car it is next to impossible to access train or bus services to cities such as Edinburgh or Glasgow, while the lack of services after 6 pm in some areas means that park-and-ride options are not viable for those who want to commute by public transport.
Living in rural areas presents a further difficulty in accessing health services. Buses to either Forth Valley hospital near Falkirk or Victoria hospital in Kirkcaldy can take more than an hour, so getting to an appointment at a specific time without a car is difficult and very disruptive to day-to-day life. The community in High Valleyfield experienced this just over a year ago, when the breast screening van was withdrawn. People were then required to travel to Dunfermline, a journey of more than two hours each way. Sadly, I heard of women of all ages no longer making their appointments, and I do not think anyone in this House would want that. At a recent surgery in Dollar, I was told of the incredible challenges in accessing hospital transport services; the excessive bureaucracy and other barriers disadvantage people living in rural areas.
Although failing transport infrastructure causes challenges, digital infrastructure is similarly problematic and is not the panacea for accessibility that it is sometimes heralded as being. Rural areas suffer from delays in getting broadband infrastructure. Openreach was very excited to bring cabinet service to the village of Blairhall in my constituency. Everyone was looking forward to it, and it was completed—other than for seven houses on one street, where Openreach decided it was not commercially viable to introduce the service. The SNP’s R100 programme, already delayed and over budget, will eventually get to delivering this upgrade, but not until 2026 or 2027.
After the pandemic, increasing numbers of tourists have sought to take advantage of the beauty to be found in rural Scotland. Tourists increasingly visit Culross, a village in my constituency where movies and TV shows such as “Outlander” were filmed. As we approach Christmas, the House might be interested to know that much of the film “Christmas in Scotland” was filmed in this beautiful village. But, of course, this brings its own pressures, as thousands of visitors and hundreds of tour buses visit Culross each week. I am delighted that Fife council is working with the excellent and very active Culross community council on these issues, but we must balance the needs of visitors with the needs of, and impact on, the local community.
I could go on and on about the fantastic rural communities in my constituency, but I will end with my commitment to continuing to champion and advocate for the different needs, priorities and considerations of our rural communities throughout my time in this House.
Oral Answers to Questions
Graeme Downie Excerpts(2 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Emma Hardy
It is always a pleasure to meet my hon. Friend, and I would be delighted to talk to him about that in more detail.
Graeme Downie (Dunfermline and Dollar) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Steve Reed)
Scotland’s financial allocation will be confirmed through the spending review that concludes in October. As agriculture is devolved, it will be for the Scottish Government to allocate funding to farmers in Scotland. The UK Government are supporting farmers across the country with a new deal to boost economic growth and strengthen food security. We will protect farmers from being undercut in trade deals, make the supply chain work more fairly and back British produce.
Graeme Downie
Farming and agriculture are a vital part of the economy in west Fife and in my constituency of Dunfermline and Dollar. Yesterday, I was delighted to meet a delegation from NFU Scotland. Given the economic, social and environmental value of active farming and crofting in Scotland, and its significant contribution to the wider UK economy, will the Secretary of State share what he will do to ensure that food security and food production in Scotland remain at the heart of our national security?
Steve Reed
Many of those issues are devolved to the Scottish Government. I have already held meetings with the Scottish Agriculture Minister and we are due to meet again next week, and I will be making sure that we have a strong working relationship.
Where the UK Government have a role in particular is with trade deals. Many British producers were upset that because the previous Government erected barriers to trade when they were told that they would continue to get open access to the European markets, they could no longer continue to sell their great British produce into those markets, damaging them economically and financially. We will be seeking a new veterinary deal with the European Union to get those exports moving again.