Dave Thompson MSP

I hope De tha dol readers managed some relaxation over the festive period and that the New Year finds you all in good spirits.  I have been out and about in the constituency in my new Nissan Leaf, electric car, which has been fun and very interesting.

In the Highlands there are “fast” charge points for electric cars, which take several hours to fully charge a car. In the case of my car it is three and half hours which is fine if you have other things to do, however there are not enough “rapid” charge points, where charging an electric vehicle can be done in half an hour (80%) to an hour (100%). I am pleased, however, to have recently used the “rapid” charge points in Elgin, Aviemore and Pitlochry and plan to check out those in Fort William soon.  Although, if we are to tackle climate change and reduce emissions in the Highlands, we have to make the charging process as efficient as possible, therefore politicians of all hues and other organisations should be giving consideration to this as we move forward in 2016.

So, it was good to be able to use a recent question in the Scottish Parliament to ask the Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, Aileen McLeod, if the number of “rapid” electric car charging points in the Highlands and Islands should be increased to make ownership of electric vehicles in the Highlands and Islands more attractive.

It was heartening to learn that the Minister agrees with me that more “rapid” charge points will aid the climate change process and better still that there are already 43 available for public use. I was also pleased to learn that there will be a further ten commissioned in the coming months and Scotland is developing one of the most comprehensive networks of “rapid” charge points in Europe.

However, I have heard that some of these “rapid” points have not been working properly. If local constituents have any information on their local charge points I would be pleased to receive it.

Just prior to Christmas, I took part in a Scottish Parliament debate on Stage 1 of the Land Reform Bill and highlighted the fundamental requirement to use land for the benefit of the community and the need to have a proper debate on the conditional right to buy for those with secure 1991 farming tenancies.

This would mean the introduction of a conditional right to buy for those with secure 1991 farming tenancies. The conditions would be either the tenant being second generation and/or the tenancy being over 50 years old. We need to have this debate, otherwise the process will be soured going forward, and it is a matter I will continue to pursue.  In the meantime, the Bill is now moving through Parliament, where, I am sure, it will be considerably strengthened.

I am pleased that I reached my £500.00 fundraising target by growing a beard for “Decembeard” – an initiative created to raise £500,000 towards beating bowel cancer.

Every 15 minutes someone is diagnosed with bowel cancer, so despite the added itchiness, I took to the task of growing my beard seriously for the worthy cause of tackling the disease.

I would like to thank all those who donated and let everyone know that I have decided to keep the beard for a little while at least, which is acceptable to my wife Veronica, now that it has passed the “prickly” stage.

I have written to Marine Scotland’s Marine Protection Area (MPA) Consultation  strongly supporting the submission on the Small Isles MPA from the Mallaig and North West Fishermen’s Association, supporting the modest changes to the Small Isles MPA that the MNWFA are requesting.

These changes will mitigate the economic impact on the west’s fishermen of the MPA fishing restriction, but will not endanger any marine features, which is a win-win proposal for both the marine environment and the industry.

I wish De tha dol readers all the best for the forthcoming year.