To mark Fuel Poverty Awareness Day, Orkney’s MSP Liam McArthur has called for forthcoming legislation to be properly ‘island proofed’.

If the only things certain in life are death and taxes, for a political career mishandling of the latter can often lead to the former.

Orkney’s MSP, Liam McArthur has received ministerial assurances that the needs of island farmers and crofters will be taken into account as the government develops plans for future agriculture policy. Mr McArthur was also invited to make recommendations on who might be involved in any advisory group set up to take forward this work.

Orkney’s MSP, Liam McArthur, met earlier this week with representatives of U3A who were in parliament showcasing the work the organisation does. Mr McArthur joined MSPs from across the party spectrum in showing support for U3A and confirmed that he is looking forward to attending a meeting of the U3A group in Orkney later this year to discuss life as an MSP and discover more about what the group does locally in the islands.

Orkney’s MSP, Liam McArthur MSP has expressed concern at delays in the roll out of the Scottish Government’s broadband programme while repeating his call for investment to be prioritised at areas, such as Orkney, with the poorest coverage

Liam McArthur (Orkney Islands) (Scottish Liberal Democrats): To ask the Scottish Government when it will conclude procurement of the R100 programme, and whether it expects to meet the target of 100% superfast broadband coverage by 2021.

Orcadian 29/01/19

To the surprise of presumably no-one, Orkney has once again been named best place in the UK to live.  I’ve never been quite sure what the criteria are for this competition, but if it looks right and feels right then chances are it is right.

Holyrood Highlights 25/1/19

After a fantastic weekend in Glasgow, where Orkney musicians ruled the roost at Celtic Connections, Monday saw me back in the constituency office dealing with the usual mix of casework and phone calls.  My various meetings started with a catch-up session at the Council with education officials, where we discussed issues ranging from teacher recruitment to school meals.  Later in the day, I met with Tim Hurst, head of Wave Energy Scotland for an update on progress in development the wave energy sector in Scotland, including the implications for activity and employment here in Orkney.  After a couple of further meetings with constituents, I sat down with Catherine Johnson and Robbie Fraser to discuss preparations for the Orkney Sports Awards at the end of the week.

Orkney’s MSP, Liam McArthur has again raised in parliament concerns in Orkney about the decision to replace MV Hamnavoe with a freight vessel during the current re-fit period. Mr McArthur had previously highlighted the issue with the First Minister back in November, saying that Orkney was being “badly let down”.

Orkney’s MSP and MP, Liam McArthur and Alistair Carmichael have reacted to a “Which?” report showing that Orkney has the slowest broadband speeds of any area in Scotland by repeating calls for the UK and Scottish Governments to prioritise future investment in the islands.