RHODA GRANT: Apt that 'permacrisis' is Collins Dictionary’s word of the year

This month, the word “Permacrisis” has been announced as Collins Dictionary’s word of the year. This word describes the feeling of living through a period of war, inflation and political instability.

In the same month that Matt Hancock was announced to be entering the “I’m a Celebrity” jungle, the Bank of England hiked interest rates to 3%, and inflation remains at a record 40 year high. “Permacrisis” appears - to me at least - to be a great word to describe what has been an unpredictable year, or more, in politics.

In Parliament this month, we saw the A9/A96 dualling plans being debated. An important topic for the Highlands.

Recently, there have been a series of accidents on the A9 near the Slochd Summit – eight deaths in a three-month period. That alone should prompt action from our Scottish Government but sadly I was not reassured by this debate.

You do not need to be a road engineer to know that the 2025 A9 deadline and the 2030 A96 deadline are impossible. It is clear to me that the Scottish Government is not prioritising these deadlines. For example, only hours before this debate, I received an invitation from the Cabinet Secretary for a meeting to discuss these roads – something which I had requested months ago.

In regards to the A96, I welcome the news that the Inverness to Nairn section is progressing and that an announcement will arrive in the coming weeks. However, until both roads are completely dualled, I believe that they will remain two of the most dangerous roads in Scotland.

We also must consider the A9 north of Inverness too. This section contains many accident blackspots at junctions like Tain and Munlochy. While new lighting and measures such as diverting traffic turning right to the safer North Kessock and Tore routes are welcome, I will continue to have dialogue with Transport Scotland and the Scottish Government on longer term safety improvements needed.

The Minister for Transport stated in the debate that the A9 and A96 were very different roads. I would personally argue that they have more in common than she thinks. Both carry women in labour to regional hospitals – Raigmore or ARI – and this adds risk to an already risky journey.

The cold hard truth is, if this were the central belt the dualling of the A9 and A96 – and the maternity issues highlighted above – would have been solved years ago. This is something I have continuously argued and will continue to argue. We deserve a transport system, be it road, rail, bus or active travel that is on par with the rest of the country. That would be fair. But sadly, I fear it is falling on deaf ears in the Scottish Government.

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