Jean Urquhart MSP has welcomed the latest figures published by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), which show that those living in Orkney, Shetland and Eilean Siar have the highest life satisfaction and wellbeing levels in Scotland.
Commenting on the figures, which also show that Scotland has higher levels than both England and Wales, the Highlands and Islands MSP said:
“It came as no surprise to me that those living on Scotland’s islands have particularly high levels of wellbeing and life satisfaction, even when compared to the impressive results across the rest of Scotland.
“When I was in Shetland last week for a constituency visit, I witnessed first-hand these traits. The can-do attitude and strong sense of community across Shetland undoubtedly feeds into this, and there is a lot to be learnt from Island life.
“However, we must not be complacent. As ever, there are issues affecting communities across Scotland, not least due to cuts imposed by the Con-Dem coalition government in Westminster.
“The SNP is dedicated to mitigating the impact of these cuts, and with measures such as our commitments to free personal care, caring for carers, tackling child poverty and fuel poverty and freezing council tax, we will continue dedicating ourselves to improving people’s wellbeing.”
Jean Urquhart 