Chamber and committees

Thank you for that insight.

Staying with the rural aspect, I wonder whether Hazel Chisholm or Lorraine Cook have encountered particular challenges in enabling people to make the transition from temporary to more permanent accommodation in rural areas.

You might have seen some of the early concerns around the Killin hotel. Ukrainian people had moved into the hotel and become quite settled there—they had got jobs locally and were sending their kids to the local school. The early concerns were then around their having to move out of the hotel into more permanent accommodation and what that might mean with regard to moving jobs and schools. How is that transition being managed in Highlands? I have had a lot of conversations with Stirling Council about how it is dealing with that in relation to Killin, but how are rural local authorities trying to manage that in general?

Last week, we heard from the consul that there are travel issues, including with regard to re-registering cars for use in the UK, so there is quite a complex set of issues. It would be good if you could provide any brief insights on that.

That is great. The committee will obviously be very interested in seeing the results. Does Angus Duncan Campbell or Kirsty MacFarlane want to come in?

That was very useful.

In your written submission, you mentioned linking that in with air travel as well. A national entitlement card for island residents could potentially cover different transport modes.

I want to ask specifically about the community board’s involvement in project Neptune. What was your involvement in it? How did you find the process? What are your expectations for your involvement in the future?

When do you anticipate finishing that piece of work?

Thanks very much for that insight. Another issue that has been raised with us is the prioritisation of island residents for booking and boarding, particularly if they have an urgent or last-minute need to access a ferry. Have you, as a community board, engaged with CalMac on that? If so, what has been its response?

That was useful.

Good morning. I want to ask about road equivalent tariff, what the case might be for reform of RET and how RET has influenced services and procurement over time. I realise that we are a bit short of time, so if I could get a nugget of a response from each of you, that would be fantastic. Let us start with Alf Baird.