MP complains about city-region deal cash share
THE multimillion-pound city-region deal that has funded major infrastructure projects in the Highlands has again come under fire for being too Inverness-centric.
Speaking in the House of Commons, the Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross MP Jamie Stone called for an audit of such deals in the future because so much had gone to the Highland capital relative to remote areas.
The intervention came ahead of the latest full council meeting, with Mr Stone saying it “has meant a lot of money has been spent on Inverness but not enough in the Highlands. The minister did not seem to realise that many living in my constituency don’t feel they have benefited from the city deal and this must change.”
In his question, Mr Stone said: “A whole shed load of money has been spent in Inverness but precious little has been spent in the out laying areas. That is surely not in the spirit of the deal and should there not be an audit of this sort of deal in the future?”
Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Elizabeth Truss, replied: “We are doing city deals right across Scotland they are having huge benefits for the local economy.”
A similar argument was restated in the council chamber by Derek Macleod, the member for Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh who held up a picture of some of the investment projects.
He said: “A picture tells a thousand words, that map tells a story, it is time for a region deal as opposed to a city-region deal because out with Inverness and the Inner Moray Firth you could list on one hand the tangible contributions of this programme.”
Highland Council leader Margaret Davidson responded by saying there were benefits but that more bodies had to come forward to apply for funding rather than waiting for it to be handed out.
She said: “We have got ultra fast broadband – the only council in Scotland to get that – so we can [help] Inverness, Fort William, Wick and Thurso. And that is going to be an astonishing benefit for our universities, our colleges and our businesses and it really is a potential economic booster.”
She added: “Also, please don’t just think of saying Inverness gets everything – this is the only city-region deal and we are trying very hard to get this out and about”. And she urged people to talk to the council if they felt they should be getting more.
Councillor Andrew Baxter, instead of criticising the current deal, said the council should be looking ahead to apply for the next deal to deepen the level of spending in the region.
