Dave Thompson MSP

LIKE thousands of others every year, I recently enjoyed a lovely trip to the woods at Strathmashie, near Laggan.

There, I was delighted to meet Robin Jackson, development manager of the Laggan Forest Trust, and others from this wonderful organisation which does so much to introduce children from the local area and farther afield to the flora and fauna of this woodland.

I was there because I had been approached by the Bank of Scotland Foundation to present a cheque for £5,000 to the Trust so it can expand its educational services for visitors.

While at the Trust’s headquarters next to Laggan Wolftrax at the end of October, I was impressed to see just how enthusiastically the area was being used. In addition to the educational walks and guides in the woods, the nearby mountain bike track was attracting a steady stream of visitors and local schoolchildren were getting ready for Halloween through a series of craft and educational activities.

This hive of activity is evidence of the benefits that community ownership has brought to Strathmashie and I was enthralled to hear of other projects the organisation will now be able to take forward following the new funding from the Bank of Scotland Foundation, an independent charity which receives an annual donation of £1 million from Lloyds Banking Group to provide grants to charities all over Scotland.

I am sure the results will be much appreciated by Megan, April and Spencer, who came along for the occasion, and the rest of their classmates at Gergask Primary as, I am sure, will pupils of other local schools too.

I have also been busy on another aspect of Badenoch’s position as a focal point for outdoor pursuits – this time the area’s snow sports.

Last year I raised concerns about an unequal VAT regime imposed by the Westminster Government which places Scottish ski resorts at a financial disadvantage when they compete for business with resorts in Continental Europe, where a lower tax is levied.

This concerns VAT on ski lift passes, which is levied at 20 per cent by Westminster. While the extra cost for a single trip may not seem worth arguing about, the difference becomes daunting when added together for a week-long pass of the type that visitors to the area would consider when weighing up whether to travel to Scotland, France, or Austria for their ski break.

Unfortunately my case for a reduction to allow a level playing field for Scottish resorts when competing for business from potential customers from the south of England, who are equidistant between Cairngorm and the French Alps, was rejected by the Treasury. I was heartened, however, to see that this had been taken up in the recent Snowsports Sector Review, jointly commissioned by Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Scottish Enterprise. Coming on the back of an admission I received from the Treasury last year that a reduction from the current 20 per cent rate to five per cent would be competent under EU law, it now appears that progress may be possible. Hopefully the area’s MP, Danny Alexander, now Chief Secretary to the Treasury, will feel able to look more favourably on the proposal now that it has broad support.

Further to this, I was delighted to help launch Snow-works, a new mentoring programme to help the development of the next generation of snowsport competitors.

At a launch in Coylumbridge earlier this month, I was joined by local Olympian Alain Baxter and also former Olympic hammer thrower Shirley Webb, perhaps now better known for her former role as Battleaxe on the Gladiators TV series. We were joined by the entire Scottish ski team with their coaches and I wish every success to this exciting new way to pass on the best sporting and lifestyle tips for our young stars of the future.

Another well-kent local face I was pleased to meet recently was Kingussie Parish Church’s Reverend Helen Cook, who had been invited to lead Time for Reflection at Holyrood, the Parliament’s weekly religious slot, when MSPs and staff are invited to step back and consider a bigger picture than the party politics that take up so much of Holyrood’s time.

I was delighted that Rev Cook was invited for this honour and was pleased to join her and her family after she addressed the chamber. Her talk on the responsibility of elected leaders to strive for peace was stimulating and refreshing and very pertinent in today’s world.