Emma Roddick MSP has spoken out about the need to reassure rural and island Scotland that a minority SNP government will work for them. Questioning the First Minister John Swinney as he stated his priorities for Scotland in a statement to Parliament today, the Highlands & Islands MSP pushed for commitments to rural and island [...]

Emma Roddick MSP pressed the Scottish Government last week for "clarity" on rules around wood-burning stoves, following confusion as to whether they are banned for use in new-build properties as a main heating source despite being a sustainable fuel. The Minister for Climate Action, Gillian Martin, confirmed in the Chamber that she will be undertaking [...]

MSP for the Highlands & Islands Emma Roddick has been appointed to the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee at the Scottish Parliament. The Committee focuses on areas including rural land use, forestry, farming and crofting, food and drink supply chain, animal welfare and wildlife crime, and fisheries and aquaculture, and will scrutinise the Parliament’s work [...]

Emma Roddick visted Da Gairdins to hear about the history of the land and how the charity was formed. Da Gairdins in Whiteness is a 60-acre site filled with woodland, gardens, and ponds, with a view across the sea. Ruby Inkster and her late husband Alan founded Da Gairdins, a place where her family had [...]

Emma Roddick MSP has met with the Carbon Neutral Islands team in Yell to hear about the work going on. The Carbon Neutral Islands project includes six islands – Barra, Great Cumbrae, Hoy, Islay, Raasay, and Yell – and is supporting the islands in their journey to become carbon neutral by 2040. Each island has [...]

Emma attended the 2024 Rural Housing Scotland Conference in Aviemore on Friday [23rd of February 2024] to discuss the Scottish Government’s Addressing Depopulation Action Plan and how to sustain rural communities in the Highlands & Islands. The plan, which was published last week [16th of February], is particularly important to rural communities that are already facing a [...]

Emma Roddick met with members of the Scottish Rural & Islands Youth Parliament in Holyrood on Thursday [18th of January]. Members of the Rural & Islands Youth Parliament travelled to Edinburgh to meet with MSPs to discuss ten demands that were created by members at the 2023 Scottish Rural & Islands Youth Parliament event in November. [...]

Emma has visited local businesses in Fort Augustus, talking about the Scottish Government’s latest Building a New Scotland paper which focuses on migration policy in an independent Scotland and how it could support them deal with the impact of rural depopulation.  Since the end of the freedom of movement after Scotland was taken out of the EU against [...]

Highlands & Islands MSP Emma Roddick has commended the work of a group providing emergency food parcels across Badenoch and Strathspey, saying that the service is essential amidst the ongoing cost of living crisis. An independently run service, Badenoch and Strathspey Food Hub provides relief to anyone struggling to afford food through emergency food parcels [...]

Highlands & Islands MSP Emma Roddick visited the Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team base in Aviemore this week. As part of her busy recess schedule, Ms Roddick was shown around the base by team leader Iain Cornfoot who explained the team’s process for handling callouts and what rescue missions around the Cairngorms can involve. The Cairngorm [...]