Speeches by MacDonald.

“The Corran ferry from Fort William to Ardnamurchan is being replaced at the moment. A single ferry and two new harbours is £58 million. The cost of tunnelling it was not very much more, and would not have had the cost of replacing the ferry, looking after it, maintaining it and all that. Yet we still opted for the ferr…”

“To support the hon. Gentleman’s argument about the price of electricity, renewable energy is largely generated in Scotland, north Wales and south-west England. We have the highest level of fuel poverty, we have no mains gas, and the suffering caused to those rural areas is remarkable. Until that is improved, we are not…”

“If the Minister will allow me, I will make more of an intervention than a speech. The Liberal Democrats very much welcome the £150—thank you very much—but I suspect that that figure was worked out on the basis of the average UK energy costs of approximately £1,750. In sunny Inverclyde, where people are wandering around…”

“The bottom line is you are all waiting for BT Openreach to do it?”

“Yes. Sorry, Neil, would you like to chip in?”

“I think it is only BT Openreach, as far as I am aware. Okay, thank you.”

“I do not think they reach into the West Highlands.”

“Why would you do it if there is already, for example, a spare BT cable?”

“That all sounds very nice, but I am going to give you the alternative view, and I saw you there when I asked question 1. Can I give you the example of a fictitious family who live between Portree and Staffin? Hundreds of people live in the north of Skye. When the fibre was connected, it was connected from Portree to St…”

“In terms of supplying our constituents, do you think we should regulate to enforce the sharing of masts? I don’t care as much about competition; I care about availability.”

“You are also looking at other operational changes. Presumably there is an opportunity, for example, to offer 6G to the islands or whatever it is. Are you doing anything on your masts or any other major operational changes for Shetland?”

“Who do my constituents get in touch with to find out what they can do to get decent connectivity? I am obviously not important enough to get decent connectivity. I honestly mean that. We do not have superfast broadband at home. We do not have 4G or 5G, and nobody will take my calls or direct me. What happens if you are…”

“How is that getting on? How is it looking? Is it likely?”

“Who do we get in touch with? You just told me what you did about your flat.”

“Mr Robinson, you have been doing an investigation into putting in an additional subsea cable and you are meant to announce in the spring of this year.”

“Thank you. If all three of you could reply to this. We have a major problem in remote Scotland with basically a declining population, particularly of the young. I am the MP for, among other places, Skye and Wester Ross. Skye high school was built for 1,000 and there are only 500 children in it. That is the same up and …”

“People say that it is compulsory in other countries to share masts, and we do not share masts in the same way in the UK.”

“Is R100 run by the Scottish Government?”

“12. What steps he is taking to support rural homes that use heating oil.”

“In the remote highlands and islands, where mains gas is not available, where we have the highest level of fuel poverty in Britain, where local households and businesses rely on heating oil and electricity, and where much of Britain’s renewable energy is generated, but to minimal local benefit, does the Minister accept …”