Highlands and Islands MSP Emma Roddick has welcomed today’s unanimous recommendation of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee to reject Boundaries Scotland proposals to redraw Highland Council wards ahead of the 2022 elections. The proposals, which would see Sutherland, Culloden and Ardersier, and Skye lose councillors and move much of rural Inverness into wards [...]

In the September 2021 edition of my monthly HNM column, I discuss returning to Holyrood after a busy recess and how I fit in local visits while travelling to Edinburgh weekly - this month, in Nairn during the Book and Arts Festival. You can read the column in full on the Inverness Courier website, here.

Highlands and Islands MSP Emma Roddick has expressed concerns over the number of successful disability appeals following declined applications. Roddick said: “It worries me that three in five appeals for disability benefits were successful after initially being declined by the DWP, with Personal Independence Payment being the worst hit. “Many disabled people do not have [...]

Emma Roddick MSP is marking Challenge Poverty Week 2021, which is taking place between 4th – 10th October, by holding three surgeries around the Moray Firth area during the event. The first two will be held on Friday 8th, with Emma stationed in Nairn Community Centre from 09:30 – 11:30 and then Merkinch Community Centre [...]

In the Stage 1 debate on the Carer's Allowance Supplement (Scotland) Bill, which aims to double the winter payment of CAS this year, Emma Roddick highlighted the importance of giving money straight to carers to help them weather a perfect storm of Universal Credit cuts, the end of furlough, and rising fuel prices. Speaking in [...]

When groups lobby MSPs, Ministers, Civil Servants, Special Advisers or Law Officers, they should submit a return to the Lobbying Register. Entries can be searched at: https://lobbying.scot/SPS/LobbyingRegister/SearchLobbyingRegister However, many meetings do not meet the criteria for lobbying, and MSPs cannot submit their own entries, meaning their Lobbying Register may seem incomplete. During the first few [...]

Highlands and Islands MSP Emma Roddick has raised concerns with the Scottish Government that short-term lets are “devastating” housing stock in the region. Speaking on Thursday morning, Roddick said: “The high density of short-term let properties is having a devastating effect on the availability of housing in the Highlands and Islands. “The number of holiday [...]

MSP for the Highlands and Islands Emma Roddick has called for due attention to be paid to the Highlands in the process of improving rail services across Scotland. Roddick hailed the Scottish Government’s plans to take ScotRail into public ownership, saying it “provides us with a massive opportunity to get things right” but expressed her [...]

Highlands and Islands MSP Emma Roddick has voiced support for further measures to combat speeding drivers on the North Coast 500. Roddick said: “Speeding drivers are a huge concern for residents of the towns and villages the NC500 passes through. The route is often narrow with many twists and turns, and it’s very easy for [...]

Highlands and Islands MSP Emma Roddick has today asked the Scottish Government to consider revisiting existing restrictions on the role of Community First Responders in assisting the Scottish Ambulance Service. Roddick urged the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care to explore further ways in which Community First Responders can aid Scottish Ambulance Service crews [...]