Torcuil Crichton

Torcuil Crichton

Labour — Na h-Eileanan an Iar

Speaking in the House of Commons on 27 October 2026

Debate

Strengthening Community Resilience

Contribution

I pay tribute to the men and women of Scottish and Southern Electricity, who are out there right now reconnecting the homes in the Western Isles that lost power over the weekend due to the storms. Resilience is in-built on the islands, but as other Members have pointed out, we have major problems with connectivity because of the move from analogue to digital phonelines, which means that when the power goes out, people do not have the phone or the internet—and they often do not have a mobile signal either. BT and Openreach’s response—to give powerpacks to vulnerable customers who ask for them—is simply not adequate, and mobile phone providers do not have the means to maintain their signal during storms. Will the Minister call in those companies and get them to up their digital game and ensure that there is digital resilience—not just in the places that are easy, but on the edge, where people are vulnerable, isolated from their neighbours, and where the ambulance is an hour away?

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