Chamber and committees

Is that as far down as you go? I think that there is an island with one person on it—I take it that they are not involved in that project, or are they? Is there a cut-off point where you say, “This is the population number below which we will not be engaging”?

I am trying to understand this. I do not envy the task that you face, given such diversity, but the target, I imagine, is to sustain our islands and increase population as best we can, so it would be really handy if you could give me an example of an island whose population is, say, under threat and needs to be sustained and increased. What proposals came from that kind of community, and what was your response to it? Similarly, what proposals came from an island such as Skye, let us say, which does not need so much help and—I do not know—is buzzing along happily, and what was the response? That would give me an idea of how effective and realistic the grass roots are. I think that you said that one of the important things was building confidence in some of the islands that they could do something, but that would have to be tempered with realism and finance.

I have silenced them all.

Good—

That is good. That is what I wanted.

Has he got his microphone on?

That is good to hear—I need to know this stuff.

I just want tangible examples.

Oh well.

The cabinet secretary has touched on this issue. Do you have an estimate of how much Covid knocked back all those plans? For two years, everything was practically on hold. I am not talking just about the finances; I am talking about the practicalities of delivery at a time when no one could move anywhere.