Transport / HIAL board appointments to bring ‘expertise’ amid islander representation concern
CRITICISM that no Highlands and Islands residents are appointed board members at the operator of the region’s airports has been rebuffed by the government.
A spokesperson for government agency Transport Scotland said two recent appointments of two people to the Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL) board will bring “substantial experience and expertise”.
It comes after Shetland’s Liberal Democrat election candidate Emma Macdonald said it was “it is totally ridiculous that HIAL’s board still contains no-one who actually lives in the region”.
It is understood that two people listed as members live in the Highlands and Islands, but they are on the board because of their jobs with HIAL.
Other members of the board, such as the new chair, are appointed.
HIAL operates a range of airports across the region, including Sumburgh Airport.
It is company owned by Scottish ministers which receives subsidy funding from the Scottish Government.
Macdonald took aim after Yorkshire-based aviation consultant Christopher Holliday was appointed as HIAL’s new chair and Edinburgh accountant Gillian Woolman was given a non-executive director role.
“At a time when islanders and Highland communities are facing soaring air fares, fragile connections and real uncertainty about the future of our lifeline services, it is totally ridiculous that HIAL’s board still contains no-one who actually lives in the region,” she said.
“SNP ministers cannot say they have not been warned – Liberal Democrat colleagues have been raising concerns about the problems with HIAL for years.
“That the SNP have failed to appoint any islanders to the board of HIAL for so long and have defended this unfair situation shows that they cannot be relied on to improve matters.”
Macdonald said “getting islander representation on the board of HIAL is really the bare minimum we should expect – if elected I will be working to make sure this happens”.
Current Lib Dem MSP for Shetland Beatrice Wishart also said HIAL and the communities it serves would “benefit from voices with local experience of our transport connectivity and services, avoiding the central belt one size fits all groupthink”.
However, a spokesperson for Transport Scotland said the appointments will bring expertise to the board – while it said it continues to encourage applications from Highlands and Islands residents.
“The recent appointment of chair and non-executive director to the HIAL board will bring substantial experience and expertise to the board as it works to deliver the quality of service Scottish ministers and communities expect to receive,” they said.
“Scottish ministers continue to encourage applications from Highland and Island residents who can bring lived experience along with the relevant skills to the boards of organisations.
“Appointments, reappointments, and extensions to the Boards of public bodies in Scotland are carried out in line with the Ethical Standards Commissioner’s Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies in Scotland.”
The topic is nothing new, with then transport minister Michael Matheson saying back in 2021 that it was “not appropriate to limit the candidate pool for board membership by imposing requirements for where candidates come from”.
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