Na h-Eileanan an Iar SNP MP Angus MacNeil has welcomed BT’s launch of a new scheme next month which will offer affordable fibre broadband and call packages to anyone receiving Universal Credit and other means-tested benefits.

Eligible customers will receive average download speeds of 36 mbps and 700 mins of calls for £15 a month. A Call-only plan will also be available, priced at £10 a month and including unlimited minutes.

 Mr MacNeil said: “Contact with others either online or by phone has never been more important. With limits on face to face contact with others continuing, the vital importance of having access to affordable fibre broadband and call packages has never been greater.

“Throughout the pandemic, many aspects of our lives have turned to virtual communication – to keep in touch with friends and family, home schooling, working from home, for community meetings etc. This new scheme will be helpful to those who have found keeping in touch a challenge due to financial constraints.”

BT Home Essentials will be for those who are on Universal Credit or a range of means tested credits and will launch in June.

https://newsroom.bt.com/bt-to-launch-new-at-cost-social-tariff-in-june–offering-support-to-over-four-million-households-on-low-income/

Na h-Eileanan an Iar SNP MP Angus MacNeil has praised Prospect union for easing industrial action this week to enable ballot boxes to be moved between islands after the polling stations have closed on Thursday.

Mr MacNeil said: “Prospect and Air Traffic Control members in both Benbecula and Stornoway, and other places, are very justified in trying to protect their jobs and making sure jobs are not taken from these fragile communities to be bizarrely put into a central location in Inverness at a far greater cost.

“We would hope that, once elected, the new Scottish Government would be understanding to the needs of the islands and make sure that we don’t lose these jobs in our communities.

“They need to get a grip of the wayward elements within HIAL who have been disregarding island legislation and the good of island communities in their attempt to spend even more public money – a sum of £2m each and every year –  because they refuse to entertain the prospect of doing what they say they need to do, locally.

If they costed this, they would find it would save them and the public purse a lot more money and wouldn’t be damaging our island communities.

“I hope any new or continuing Transport Minister will be up to the game of catching HIAL and protecting the communities.”

Na h-Eileanan an Iar SNP MP Angus MacNeil & Western Isles SNP Council Group Leader, Gordon Murray, has expressed astonishment at the fact that not all options have been considered and costed for HIAL managing air traffic control at island airports. Especially against a background where political parties have policies, schemes and ideas to maintain the population in Scotland’s vulnerable communities. HIAL seem hell bent on not just taking some jobs out of these communities, but just about the best paid jobs out of these communities.

The revelation came in a letter from Transport Scotland after Mr MacNeil had queried better value for money options that would deliver what HIAL claimed they need to deliver.  These options could prevent relocating jobs and uprooting families to Inverness but maintaining island communities in line with government policy and with better value for money for the public purse. Astonishingly HIAL did not calculate the costs for these options.

Commenting Angus MacNeil MP said:

“At a time when public budgets are pressed like never before, to get a letter from Transport Scotland reiterating that the ATMS project is not a cost saving exercise is frankly jaw-dropping. 

“The letter states “The ATMS project is not a cost saving exercise” and further states that “Costings were not calculated for all options.” This much I know to be true as there are two cheaper options than empire building in Inverness and if HIAL manage to hoodwink Scottish Government Ministers, then each and every year £2 million will be needlessly wasted from the Scottish Government’s budget and jobs will be removed from the islands, cancelling out any other government spend to further help people remain in our island communities. 

“Between the Scottish Government and Audit Scotland, somebody has to rapidly get a grip about what is going on and remove the uncertainty that is hanging over too many islanders jobs at the moment. The hoodwinking of the Government must end.” 

Commenting SNP Council Leader, Cllr Gordon Murray, said: 

“HIAL need to review their decision in terms of the huge impact this will have on the islands – the people of these islands are ambitious and are our greatest resource, it’s time public agencies such as HIAL acknowledged this. 

“By retaining these jobs on the islands, HIAL will be making an investment with far-reaching positive consequences for communities than if it were to continue its plans. HIAL need to be a part of the transformational change these islands need and this is their opportunity.”   

ENDS

Na h-Eileanan an Iar SNP MP Angus MacNeil has repeated his numerous calls for MV Pentalina to be used on West coast routes.

Mr MacNeil has pressed many times over the last three months for the vessel to be trialled, prior to the current difficulties with MV Loch Seaforth.

He is also questioning the role of Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL), a wholly owned public corporation of the Scottish Government, which owns the ferries, ports, harbours and infrastructure for the ferry services on the west coast.

Mr MacNeil said: “Quite clearly the MV Pentalina is now a boat that will have to become a feature on the West coast as I have been saying for quite a number of months now, and calling for a trial even before the latest difficulties with the MV Loch Seaforth.

“In my dealings around the ferry issues, I really have to question what the point is of CMAL other than to complicate and to put in an extra layer that is definitely not required. I don’t think it was ever required and it certainly isn’t required now. The Scottish Government should look to save money and abolish CMAL perhaps. This money could be used for the outright purchase of MV Pentalina.”

Mr MacNeil has written several times to Transport Scotland on the potential use of MV Pentalina and has been in correspondence with Calmac on this matter as well as regular dialogue with local businesses and constituents who have raised concerns directly with him.

In response to his correspondence, Transport Scotland have now asked Calmac to include the use of MV Pentalina in the dry dock review and in response to further correspondence from Mr MacNeil, Calmac have said the vessel may be deployed as short term relief in the winter.

Angus MacNeil has today repeated the call for the trial of the MV Pentalina given the news that the MV Loch Seaforth is suspended until at least the end of April.

Na h-Eileanan an Iar SNP MP Angus MacNeil said:

“Given the breakdown of the MV Loch Seaforth and the challenges we will again face on the west coast of Scotland on the CalMac ferry routes it is imperative that the MV Pentalina is tested and trialled to see if it is a viable ferry for use on the routes.

“We would be in a hugely dire situation now if another ferry broke down. The current situation is bad enough but to know there is a ferry sitting idly by is frustrating. Between the Government, Transport Scotland and CMAL the decision has not been made to trial the MV Pentalina to see what it can do, it is very frustrating indeed.

“Now is the time for action. I would call on the Transport Minister, Michael Matheson, to urgently intervene to make sure that the Pentalina is brought into the equation.”

ENDS

The Boots store in Stornoway is to introduce instore PCR testing from April. By doing testing in the morning and using the Royal Mail 24-hour delivery service they will be able to get samples to the laboratory within the required period for a 48-hour response. 

In addition, the store will also be receiving one of the new instore testing devices in the first week of April. This machine undertakes rapid antigen testing and can give results within minutes for customers. 

This follows representations that Na h-Eileanan an Iar SNP MSP Alasdair Allan and MP Angus MacNeil have made to health retailers to address the lack of private testing in the islands. 

Angus MacNeil MP commented: 

“I was delighted to hear from Boots today that they will be introducing PCR testing in Stornoway from April. This is something which I had been discussing with them for some time. 

“I worked with local offshore workers to provide Boots with a long list of firms who employ workers from the islands and they are now looking to engage with those firms regarding the new instore testing devices. 

“This is very positive news and will overcome one of the challenges which has faced those in employment away from their island homes during the pandemic.”  

Alasdair Allan MSP commented: 

“This is really good news from Boots and I am grateful for them in taking the islands situation into account in their rollout of testing stations. 

“As the pandemic has gone on and countries have introduced testing requirements at their borders this has presented real problems for those who work abroad or at sea. 

“I hope that this new facility in the Stornoway store will help ensure that those islanders working away will be able to spend more time with their loved ones when on leave.” 

Commenting on the escalation of Air Traffic Control Industrial Action, Na h-Eileanan an Iar SNP MP Angus MacNeil said:

“These strikes should not be happening, HIAL have got to change their view. 

“The idea that you take jobs out of islands and put them into cities, out of the most fragile and into the most prosperous is completely wrong.  That an arm of the Scottish Government is doing this is doubly wrong.

“This proposal should be abandoned now, and people can go back to living their lives normally without threats from having to relocate from fragile island communities to the big cities of Scotland.”

ENDS

Na h-Eileanan an Iar SNP MP Angus MacNeil asks Transport Scotland to think again about trialling MV Pentalina on the West Coast.

In response to his letter of February 22^nd to Transport Minister Michael Matheson – which was responded to by Transport Scotland – it was stated that there were no immediate plans to charter an additional vessel but that the matter would be kept under review.

Mr MacNeil said: “It is time for Transport Scotland to think again and to trial MV Pentalina in the ports and crossings on the West Coast.

“We know there are huge pressures on the ferries on the West Coast given the debacle around the yard on the Clyde.

“Meantime, the most pressing issue is to get the MV Pentalina trialled on the West Coast and the sooner this happens the better.

“Calmac would, I think, like to use the MV Pentalina but they’ve got many layers of bureaucracy to get through, not least CMAL and Transport Scotland.

“Perhaps the MV Pentalina should be officially requested by CalMac for trial and see where that takes us.”