In a session of questions and answers in the Scottish Parliament this morning, North East MSP Mike Rumbles called on the Scottish Government to make it a priority for the R100 programme to provide superfast broadband for homes in Aberdeenshire and allow the region to catch-up with levels of access seen elsewhere in Scotland.  

Scottish Liberal Democrat spokesperson on the rural economy Mike Rumbles has refused to support Brexit legislation on transport that must be passed by the Scottish Parliament as a consequence of the UK Government’s EU Withdrawal Act.   

Residents living in Aberdeenshire are less likely to have access to superfast broadband than almost anywhere else on the Scottish mainland, according to figures provided by the Scottish Government to Mike Rumbles MSP and the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee this morning.

Rail passengers heading to the North East have faced severe disruption today, after a lengthy breakdown of the Caledonian Sleeper train due to engine failure between Montrose and Arbroath.

Waiting times in Accident and Emergency facilities across NHS Grampian hit an eight month low this week, with only 88.2% of patients being seen within the 4 hour deadline. The cash strapped local health board has not reached the 95% target in any week since 22^nd July 2018.

In a session of question and answers in the Scottish Parliament today, North East Liberal Democrat MSP Mike Rumbles grilled the Scottish Government’s Health Secretary about a decade of underfunding that has left the local health board with some of the worst waiting times in Scotland.

In response to a Parliamentary Question lodged by Liberal Democrat MSP Mike Rumbles, the minister responsible for delivering Scottish Government’s R100 programme has dropped the 2021 target for the project. Admitting that it would be ‘challenging’ to meet their previous commitment and incorrectly claiming that the timetable always had a ‘degree of flexibility’.  

Facing questions from North East MSP Mike Rumbles in the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee this morning, The Scottish Government’s Transport Secretary admitted that the US Military, not RyanAir, provides Prestwick Airport’s single largest income stream. It is expected that the news will be a major concern for potential buyers for the business.

In a statement to the Scottish Parliament this afternoon, the Rural Economy Cabinet Secretary ignored calls from Scotland’s crofting community and ignored clear recommendations set out in a cross-party report by the Rural, Economy and Connectivity Committee, to bring an end to piecemeal crofting legislation and produce a comprehensive crofting bill during this session of Parliament.

Commenting on ScotRail boss Alex Hynes’ appearance before the Rural Affairs and Connectivity committee, at which he confirmed that the rail firm did not expect to meet the franchise performance target of 92.5% until the end of 2021, Scottish Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson Mike Rumbles MSP said:

“There is no point in a performance target if ScotRail intend to miss it for almost the entire duration of the franchise.