Health, wealth and the A96 in the mix for Moray MP
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THE state of the NHS, concerns over the lack of progress dualling the A96 and the cost of living crisis have all featured largely of late for Moray MP Douglas Ross on his annual surgery tour.
The second such tour since the end of pandemic restrictions, it has been proving a busy time – more so than last year – as he visits communities large and small to find out first hand the issues which are concerning people.
Ongoing delays in accessing NHS treatment, often due to pressures put on the service by Covid, remain a huge worry.
Mr Ross said: "Health issues have dominated again.
"Clearly people understand that there were delays because of Covid and some operations and treatments had to be pushed back but I've heard some shocking cases of people waiting years – long before Covid – and I'll be getting in touch with NHS Grampian to ask where they are [on the waiting list] and what can be done.
"People are living in pain and need their operations fairly soon, they've been on the waiting list for far too long."
Another major issue which has been flagged up to him is that of connectivity, in particular the dualling of the A96 which still appears no nearer to becoming a reality.
Mr Ross continued: "Connectivity has become a national issue – think about the ferries serving the islands, the fact that we're not getting this infrastructure built as promised – and I've had quite a number of people coming to my surgeries frustrated with the Greens in government and some of the measures they're bringing forward that is having an impact in this part of Moray and right across the constituency.
"However reliable this is, the Scottish Government have said the A9 will be dualled – it should've been dualled by now, that promise was made a long time ago – but when you start asking them about the A96 they are far less committal. There are reviews, there are studies and, of course, we heard from the First Minister when he was at Speyfest that the review that was supposed to be delivered last December, that's now been postponed several times, has been pushed back again from the summer to the autumn, so none of the works can start until that review has been published and discussed.
"I think that means more and more people are frustrated about the huge sums of money spent on these reviews when that money should be going into shovels on the ground and building the road that we were promised. I know it's always going to be controversial and routes will be questioned but I think most people living in this area and who visit this area can see the need for dualling of the A96 between Aberdeen and Inverness, it is not fit for purpose.
"Businesses see it as a barrier to expanding because of our poor infrastructure connections. Moray Chamber of Commerce did a survey last year and I think it was 96-97 per cent of their businesses were saying dualling the A96 was critical to their business needs. As I said, it was a promise made by the SNP which so far hasn't been delivered and the Greens in government have said they are not in favour of building improved roads like this, dualling routes like the A96.
"Indeed, Maggie Chapman, who represents part of this area in the Scottish Parliament, is quite clear that she would be quite happy to see the A96 not dualled and look [instead] at other safety measures on the A96. That's clearly not representative of the views of people who live in this area; by and large they want to see the road fully dualled."
Mr Ross went on to describe the Greens' input to issues such as the dualling of the A96 as less than helpful and went on to question why the SNP continued with their alliance deal with them at Holyrood.
"Bluntly, they [the Greens] are anti-motorist, anti-car and anti-road," he said.
"There wasn't a necessity for [then First Minister] Nicola Sturgeon to bring them into government and there was no need for [current First Minister] Humza Yousaf to keep them in government but given that they have, given that they have ministers in senior positions within government they clearly have influence. Sadly, that influence, despite having a small number of MSPs, is having a huge impact on communities here in Moray and across the north-east of Scotland where a car is not a luxury it's a necessity.
"These infrastructure and upgrade projects are not a luxury they are a necessity and that's why they've been promised for so long. Every other political party can see the need for them but, sadly now the Greens are in government, it looks like the can has been kicked even further down the road."
He went on to warn that the lack of progress on the issue of dualling the A96 and their continued alliance with the Greens could come back to haunt the SNP electorally.
Mr Ross added: "I've heard during my surgeries already that there's this sense that the Scottish Government doesn't represent areas outwith the Central Belt and all the focus is on that Glasgow-Edinburgh corridor.
"There're communities up here, across Moray, that feel ignored by the Scottish Government and a very clear example is what the SNP have failed to deliver despite promises they've made."
Looking ahead over the next 12 months, the Moray MP identified the cost of living crisis as perhaps the biggest challenge facing both Moray and the country as a whole.
He noted that the issue had been flagged up at surgeries, with many people keen to find out if there will be more support forthcoming from the government and how they can access existing measures which have been put in place.
Helping people to access various types of benefits and support was something Mr Ross said he and his office had been kept busy with and were available to assist with as far as possible.
One benefit in particular – Pension Credit – was not being claimed by many people who could be entitled to it.
As to how he envisaged the cost of living crisis would play out over the next year, Mr Ross commented: "It's still early days but the most recent inflation figures as we speak wer encouraging.
"There's still a long way to go and the economy is still in a very precarious position but I think we can see the moves taken by the Chancellor and the Prime Minister are starting to bear fruit."
Mr Ross's constituency office can be contacted at (01309) 679253.
