James Stockan, Leader of Orkney Islands Council, has voiced his frustration at digital connectivity in the islands and has criticised the Scottish Government on what he says will be delays to deliver the programme in 2021.
The Draft Scottish Budget presented by Kate Forbes, Finance Secretary in the Scottish Government has taken on board the issues of ferry fares in and to/from Orkney.
One of the two subsea cables which links Orkney to mainland Scotland, connecting up electricity distribution, has been successfully replaced by SSEN (Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks).
“”These are not easy issues, but, if there are different ways of protecting our island communities, we are open to them.”
“funding to Orkney Islands Council follows a tried and tested formula to ensure fairness to all 32 Local Authorities, in Scotland.”
“I would have thought OIC might be interested in saving £50m in capital cost whilst at the same time doubling ferry vehicle capacity.”
“It’s a simple question – which would you rather be…”
“I listened in horror today to Radio Orkney where James Stockan is trying to push for more tourists to come to Orkney”
“With the resources available to us, we calculate that the majority of our children and young people would be at school for two days a week at best.”
Visits by cruise ships have not been cancelled.
