Let's press case for new court in Dingwall
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Given the Scottish Government commitment to policing and maintaining police numbers, recorded crime in Scotland is at a 37-year low. This has had the desirable result, as the consultation refers, of reducing the volume of work in the courts, and it is therefore right at this time of UK financial constraint to consider the future court structure.
However, I am extremely concerned by the proposal to close Dingwall Sheriff Court and also the proposal to end High Court circuit attendance at Inverness. I have gone on record to say I will be responding to the consultation, and that the future of Inverness Sheriff Court, sitting in the relatively cramped Inverness Castle, should also be reviewed.
So I propose that this consultation is an opportunity to build a new, fit for purpose, state of the art sheriff court in Dingwall, to replace both Dingwall and Inverness. This would have the benefit that the considerable asset of Inverness Castle, which is already an iconic part of Highland tourism, could be redeveloped to maximise this tourist potential.
I made this point strongly to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice in the Scottish Parliament last week. He said the Scottish Court Service accepted my points, but that given the current financial settlement the funds for the new court would have to come from the proceeds of redeployment of the existing buildings. The most valuable of these is Inverness Castle so I will be discussing that with the court service shortly.
n I also spoke last Thursday in the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) debate. CAP reform is an issue on which Scotland has distinctive needs and it is vital that the UK Government recognises them.
A report commissioned by the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2008 highlighted the worrying tendency of the UK Government to present a position on CAP that takes no account of the priorities of the devolved administrations. Owen Paterson, the new environment secretary in London, has confirmed that by signalling that the UK Government will seek to accelerate the drive towards a free market in CAP. That is not the view in Scotland, the other devolved administrations or most of the rest of the EU.
The European Commission’s current proposals include a requirement that three different types of crop be grown on each holding for it to qualify for support. That measure could be particularly challenging for Scottish farmers and crofters to satisfy, as many who work in livestock areas may grow only a couple of fields of spring barley or maize and 55 per cent of Scottish agricultural land is used for rough grazing.
NFU Scotland has criticised those proposals as far too simplistic for the more mixed farming that is predominant in Scotland. The differences between the agricultural industries in Scotland and England demonstrate the need for a strong Scottish voice in the EU CAP negotiations.
Even Dacian Ciolos, the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, echoed those concerns when he called for the UK Government to recognise the Scottish and Welsh “specificities”.
n I also spoke last week in the Gambling Proliferation Debate. I believe that the occasional flutter is fine, but there is a fine balance to be struck between this and protecting vulnerable people in our society from what can be a damaging addiction.
I grew up surrounded by gambling: the football pools, the horses, cards and – of course – the one-armed bandit. Too long ago, when I was a boy I took bets on the horses down to the bookies for my dad. I am not sure that that was altogether legal. In those days the bookies was up an outside stair above a paper shop. The bet and the money, along with a nom de plume, were handed to a man through a wee window, so at least there was a bit of culture in it. My dad’s nom de plume was “Black Jet” after our jet black cross Labrador-Alsatian, who was my best friend. I therefore know a bit about gambling.
Research by the Theos think tank suggests that lower-income gamblers spend proportionately more on the lottery than the rest of the population and, I believe, benefit least from it.
I highlighted a new form of lottery that I think is particularly distasteful – the postcode lottery. Readers might find that strange, but in that model of gambling everyone in the country is entered by default, but must pay to be eligible for a share of the prize if their postcode wins.
Psychologically, that puts people in a similar position to a regular lottery player who uses the same numbers each week and is afraid to miss a week lest their numbers be drawn. The crucial difference, of course, is that in the postcode lottery the pressure to participate and not miss out on the prize exists regardless of whether someone has played before or not.
Look at the newspaper headlines: “Get in! We’ve won £10,000 just in time for Christmas!” and “If you don’t enter, you won’t win it!” That puts pressure on people. It is an insidious pressure that works subconsciously and is a step too far. It is past time for another look at this exploitation of our communities through gambling. We must tackle the issue.
* Dave Thompson is the SNP MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch.
