Having been the youngest MSP elected to the Scottish Parliament after the election in May 2021, I am always keen to promote the voices of younger folk, especially those from the Highlands and Islands.

For that reason, it was a pleasure to welcome some of the incredible participants from the Scottish Rural and Islands Youth Parliament to Holyrood last week, ahead of a debate which saw MSPs from all parties encourage and support the views of our young folk in shaping future policy for Scotland.

Our young folk have a vast knowledge and plenty of fresh ideas to help shape the future of this country.

It was back in November 2023 that I was able to attend the first Scottish Rural and Islands Youth Parliament, held in Fort William as part of the main Rural and Islands Parliament meeting.

That event, which included attendees from Orkney, came up with ten demands during sessions that I thoroughly enjoyed being part of, along with my SNP colleague Mairi Gougeon in her role as Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform, and Islands.

I was delighted that Mairi arranged the session at the Scottish Parliament last week so that we could continue listening to and engaging with the Rural and Islands Youth Parliament members.

Among the demands drawn up at the Fort William event was a reform of the housing market to meet the needs of folk in rural and island areas. Issues around housing which they highlighted included affordability, energy efficiency and fuel poverty, housing quality, and community autonomy.

With other topics including – unsurprisingly – transport, food and agriculture, skills, education and employment, environment and nature regeneration, and mental health and wellbeing, there was plenty for me and my fellow MSPs to follow up on.

And it was great to see the SNP Government motion commending the important contribution of the Scottish Rural and Islands Parliament and the Rural and Islands Youth Parliament being passed by the parliament.

As Mairi said during the debate, we have a duty to listen to young people, as well as work in partnership with them, if we are to achieve better outcomes for our rural and islands communities.

She pointed out that it is not just the conversations in Holyrood on the topics highlighted by the Youth Parliament that will be important, but those that young folk have had, and will have, with one another as part of a network of rural and island youth.

I look forward to continuing this kind of engagement and ensuring the voices of young folk across the Highlands and Islands are heard.

Another issue on which voices across the region need to be heard is the dualling of the A9. I was among local MSPs invited to a technical briefing last week, where we had the opportunity to hear about the work on the A9 between Inverness and Perth and ask any questions.

The work is due to take place between now and 2035, and I have been clear that all constituents, such as residents in Orkney who don’t live near the A9 but still use it for work or leisure, should be given equal opportunity to feed into community engagement sessions.

This is a regular column by SNP Highlands and Islands MSP Emma Roddick. All Highlands and Islands Regional MSPs have been offered the same space in The Orkney News to share their personal views.