Coastal Flood Protection

That the Parliament notes the first anniversary of the deaths of five members of the MacPherson/Campbell family on South Uist on 11 January 2005 as a result of a severe storm and sends heartfelt sympathies to relatives and friends of the family; welcomes the funding package from the Scottish Executive which, according to Hugh Henry’s reply to question S2W-19378 on 6 October 2006, amounts to £9 million; welcomes the final agreement by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar to a study of the Stoneybridge shingle bank and other vulnerable coastal areas, with a view to giving recommendations as to an appropriate, costed engineered solution, eligible, hopefully, for grant aid under the Coastal Protection Act 1949; calls on all coastal local authorities to consider providing specific support for communities to develop and protect natural storm defences, and calls for the speedy installation of an early coastal flood-warning system to prevent further avoidable loss of life.