Rogart pupils ask question of First Minister
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Nicola Sturgeon has been put on the spot by Sutherland school pupils over depopulation in the county.
Students from Rogart Primary School asked the First Minister in person how the Scottish Government intended to keep people in Sutherland and stem the flow heading south in search of employment opportunities.
Concern has been mounting over depopulation with the number of people living in the county projected to fall by a worrying 11.9 per cent over the next two decades.
Only this week Highland Council signalled its intention to consult on the closure of Altnaharra and Stoer primaries, which would bring the total of schools closed in the county to four in three years.
And north, west and Sutherland councillor Hugh Morrison, speaking at a county committee meeting last week, bemoaned the fact that population levels in his ward were now so low that council homes were remaining void for longer periods and fire unit recruitment was difficult.
Rogart was one of 10 winners in a national youth competition to come up with a question to put in person to Nicola Sturgeon at an event called First Minister’s Question Time – The Next Generation.
The school’s question was: “We are the fifth generation to attend our school and we want to live here and raise our family when we are older.
“We love our school because it has got lots of nature and it’s very peaceful and safe and we think our school is special because of that.
“So what is the Scottish Government doing to keep people like us in rural areas of the Highlands?”
Rogart schoolgirls Roxy Lewis, Georgie Maclennan and Caragh Gillott travelled to Holyrood on April 23 for the televised question event. The trio were given a prime position at the very front – right beside Nicola Sturgeon’s feet.
Praising the school for an “excellent” question, Ms Sturgeon said: “That is exactly what I want – I want to see people able to stay in the rural, beautiful parts of the country and raise families there and for those to be vibrant areas of our country, just as much as Edinburgh and Glasgow.”
She went on to say that the Scottish Government had put “protections” in place to stop rural schools being closed unless there was a good reason.
And she claimed Holyrood was trying to encourage individuals and businesses to see the advantages or rural life and the quality of life it offered.
The First Minister told the schoolgirls that the costly roll-out out over the next two to three years of superfast broadband to every home and business premises in the country, should help.
“It makes it suddenly possible for someone to run a business from a remote part of Sutherland that they might not have been able to do before. They can sell online,” she said. “These things start to transform the viability of rural communities.”
Ms Sturgeon said broadband was not the only initiative, but did not give any more information.
Afterwards the girls said: “It was a really amazing experience to meet the First Minister and we are very grateful to have had the opportunity to go to Edinburgh.
“Nicola Sturgeon was nice because she answered our question very well with lots of details and she also spoke to us about where we were staying and what we were going to do. She seemed very interested and took lots of time to talk to us.
“Our overall experience was excellent and we hope that our First Minister carries out all the things she said she would in answer to our question.”
To see the girls pose the school’s question to the First Minister, visit YouTube and search for FMQT Next Generation - April 2019
