§ 11. Mr. Charles KennedyTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to pay an official visit to Easter Ross to assess the local economic situation; and if he will make a statement.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonMy right hon. Friend has no immediate plans to visit Easter Ross, but, as Minister with responsibility for the highlands and islands, I am always willing to meet the hon. Gentleman and local representatives to discuss constituency matters.
§ Mr. KennedyMay I thank the Minister, following our conversations during the past week or two, for clarifying the to-ing and fro-ing between himself and the Ross and Cromarty district council? Will it be possible, probably early in the new year, for representatives of the district council to meet him to discuss their anxiety about unemployment, particularly that relating to the oil fabrication centre?
The petition that was delivered by Opposition Members this morning relates to fish farming and the dumping of Norwegian salmon on the European market. That issue affects the highlands and islands, and has a depressing effect on a key industry in the western and northern isles and on the west coast generally. Will the Minister confirm that the meeting, which I hope will take place in the new year, will be broadly based and that we will be able to discuss that issue as well as the oil sector?
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonI understand that action on fish farming has been taken with the Commission, and that my hon. Friend the Minister with responsibility for agriculture is following it up. A considerable amount has been done through Highlands and Islands Enterprise with Ross and Cromarty Enterprise to establish a Moray firth oil initiative. I recognise the problems to which the hon. Gentleman referred, but I can tell him that some 500 people who had been laid off found employment through the initiative and through retraining. I look forward to meeting the hon. Gentleman, but I stress that I have had 60 meetings in the Highlands and Islands. If necessary, I will meet him with representatives from the Department of Trade and Industry and, if possible, the Minister concerned.