Emma Roddick has welcomed the progress of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill and called on the Scottish Government to ensure that the Bill provides adequate support to community groups who wish to take ownership of land. Ms Roddick highlighted the importance of the Bill in supporting community groups to own and manage land for the [...]

MSP for the Highlands and Islands Emma Roddick has highlighted the positive impact Brora Learning Zone has on the lives of adults who use the service this World Mental Health Day. The dedicated space provides adults with a space they can use to learn new skills and be creative. Some of the art made by attendees is also sold in the centre, with the money being reinvested into its programme. The SNP MSP [...]

MSP for the Highlands & Islands Emma Roddick has stressed the need for a social tariff to be introduced, particularly in the Highlands and Islands, questioning the First Minister on his work to pursue lower energy bills for those who have the least to spend.  Emma highlighted the fact that on top of the UK [...]

MSP for the Highlands and Islands Emma Roddick has urged the Scottish Government to invest money into making use of the building we already have. It comes after the Programme for Government was announced yesterday, which saw almost £600 million committed to affordable housing, including £40 million to bring existing homes into affordable use. Speaking on this, [...]

MSP for the Highlands & Islands Emma Roddick has met with Orbex in Tongue last week to see the progress on the Sutherland Spaceport. The Spaceport, which was granted planning permission in 2020, will be the first spaceport on the UK mainland capable of vertical rocket launches. There are three locations involved in the project [...]

First stop on Tuesday's Summer Recess adventure schedule was Assynt Hydro Ltd. with the Assynt Crofter’s Trust and Councillor Marianne Hutchison. It was amazing hearing about how the project came together through one man - John MacKenzie’s - passion and belief in it, to it now providing a steady source of income for the Trust, [...]

Highland Stoneware is such a staple of Sutherland that it’s hard to imagine there was a time before it - but it’s now celebrating its 50th year. I got to spend part of the afternoon with its founder, David, who showed me pieces of the business’s past and present, and talked about how the team [...]

SNP MSP for the Highlands & Islands Emma Roddick called for councils to be given the power to place levies on cruise ships visiting island communities in Parliament earlier this term. The Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill, was passed in the last Parliamentary session before recess, and will allow local authorities to apply a visitor tax on tourists [...]

MSP for the Highlands & Islands Emma Roddick has reiterated the urgent need to do more to tackle homelessness in Scotland last month in Parliament. Speaking in the Scottish Parliament at the end of June, Emma noted that the Scottish Government must readjust their policy further in response to the housing emergency in order to [...]

MSP for the Highlands & Islands Emma Roddick has urged the Scottish Government to allocate more funding for mobile abattoirs in the region. The Scottish Government allocated £180k last year from the Small Producers Pilot Fund, which aims to support microbusinesses in Scotland, to support two mobile abattoirs.   Emma urged the Scottish Government in [...]