Far north missing out on City Deal says MP

A lack of accountability for the success of Scotland’s city deals is behind the failure of money from the Inverness and Highlands City Region Deal reaching the far north, says Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross MP Jamie Stone.

The deal has been signed and is in delivery stage with funding of £315 million.

A report by spending watchdog Audit Scotland has warned that Scotland’s city deals lack provisions to measure performance and many may have already missed opportunities to meet targets due to a lack of measures to track progress.

Mr Stone said: "There is a huge sense of disappointment in the far north that money from the Inverness and Highlands City Region Deal doesn’t make it to my constituency. Audit Scotland’s findings will do nothing to boost people’s confidence in this scheme.

“This lack of accountability or clear measures for success has allowed money to be concentrated on Inverness with very little being spent in the rural areas of this vast region deal.

“In 2018 I asked the Treasury for an audit on this deal but was rebuffed and told the deal was good for local economies.

“Audit Scotland’s report shows this is not necessarily the case. Both the UK and Scottish Governments must accept that communities in Caithness and Sutherland are not being served by the City Region Deal and look into a new deal that focuses only on the Highlands, as suggested by Highland Council leader Margaret Davidson.”

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