A NEW report published by The Scottish Human Rights Commission, (SHRC), has highlighted the challenges people living in Argyll and Bute face, when accessing their human rights to health, housing and food.
The comprehensive report covered Argyll and Bute, Hebrides, Highlands, Moray and Northern Isles and highlighted some extremely concerning issues, people living in these regions, have to deal with.
From a local perspective the report covered three areas – Dunoon, Colintraive and Lochgilphead and focused upon resident’s rights to food, clothing, housing, health, social care and education.
One of the most concerning findings of the report was the lack of specialist services following sexual assaults in certain areas, particularly in Argyll and Bute. The report stated: “Currently, women who have been assaulted must travel to Glasgow to access services, often wearing the same clothes they were assaulted in, as delays or cancellations in ferries can exacerbate this lack of dignity and care. Duty-bearers have cited cost as a reason for not providing local services.”
Another portion of the report found that there is a lack of quality employment opportunities to retain young people in the local region and that the employment opportunities that remain are largely in hospitality, which has been detrimentally affected through various factors including Brexit.
On the rights to housing the report stated: “Large-scale infrastructure projects, which could positively impact local communities, are often negatively affecting housing availability. Testimonies indicate that big
businesses were bringing into rural and islands communities significant workforce for large scale three to five-year infrastructure projects, but rather than negotiating an investment in building housing for staff which could benefit the local communities post-projects. Projects seem to be approved without assessing their impact on local housing or requiring companies to build their own housing. In Shetland and Argyll and Bute, this has driven up prices on the limited rental market due to competition from higher-paid professionals, making it unaffordable for locals to rent. Measures to address this issue have not been part of project developments.”
The report was conducted by SHRC last year as a way of better understanding issues affecting rural and island communities across Scotland. Human rights are devolved to Scotland and SHRC has made a number of recommendations to the Scottish Government following their report including that urgent action is needed to address homelessness, hunger and access to sexual and reproductive health services across these rural regions.
Chairwoman Prof Angela O’Hagan is hopeful the report’s data will make a difference she said: “Too many people in Highland and Islands are hungry, homeless, without access to healthcare, and the basics for everyday life. With this work, we are piloting a new way of monitoring, one that brings the commission closer to communities and enhances their voices and struggles. While we continue to develop this way of working, we expect that all duty-bearers will reflect carefully on the evidence found in this report, and the action now required from them to meet their human rights obligations.”
The Scottish Government has announced the implementation of nine key measures aimed at improving access to food and reducing reliance on food parcels and have highlighted progress in rural housing, stating that more than 10,000 affordable homes were delivered across rural Scotland between April 2016 and March 2023.
Additionally, the establishment of a National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care was noted as a significant step toward supporting health and social care providers in delivering long-term, sustainable healthcare solutions for rural and island communities.
A Scottish government spokesperson said: “We recognise the rights to food, housing and health and that is why we have taken action to advance human rights in practice now, as well as to prepare the public sector for new duties in the future in relation to the rights highlighted in the report.
“We believe that no-one should have to compromise on food or other essentials and have published a plan, grounded in human rights, to tackle this.”
