Official Report 211KB pdf
Back-bench Members
14:27
The next item of business is First Minister’s question time for back-bench members. I ask members to keep questions short and answers concise.
Constitution
Off limits and “off the table”—those words were Andy Burnham’s attempt to deny democracy to Scotland and the island of Ireland. Nothing can be off limits when it comes to self-determination, so when will the First Minister next meet the Prime Minister and, when he does, will he ensure that our independence is firmly on the table?
I thought that what the Prime Minister said the other day—in relation to the international treaty obligations that the United Kingdom shared and the question of the exercise of decision-making power by the people of Northern Ireland on their constitutional future—was a very significant error. His comments disrespected an international treaty agreed between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland—not least the terms of an agreement that has enabled there to be peace in the north of Ireland for a number of decades.
In all of this, it is important that the democratic rights of people are respected. I believe in the democratic right of the people of Scotland to decide their own constitutional future. It is not for the Prime Minister to take that issue off the table. It is an issue that, in May, resulted in the election to this Parliament of the largest number of MSPs who support a referendum on independence. I will make sure that the views and aspirations of the people of Scotland and the majority will of this Parliament are enacted in due course.
Proposed Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill
To ask the First Minister when the long-promised learning disabilities, autism and neurodivergence bill will be brought before Parliament.
A variety of issues will be covered in the programme for government. I suspect that I may be addressing some of those issues in the course of the afternoon, but the Government is committed to ensuring that we have in place the support that is necessary for individuals who have additional support needs and for those needs to be recognised in the delivery of our public services. That will be reflected in the Government’s programme.
Bluetongue Virus Outbreak
When will the Scottish Government provide a ministerial statement on the bluetooth outbreak in the south-west of Scotland?
I think that it was actually bluetongue the last time I heard about it—[Laughter.]—but we can all get such things wrong.
From what I heard at the Cabinet meeting this morning, I am not aware of a request having been made to the Government for a statement on the bluetongue outbreak. If one has been made and I have missed it, Mr Hepburn will advise me—I understand that a request has not come forward.
I note Mr Carson’s request. Mr Hepburn will be happy to engage with his business manager to schedule a statement on the issue. The outbreak in the south-west of Scotland has been concerning. Mr Fairlie has been addressing the implications of that and has provided advice to the public and members of the farming community, based on the advice of the chief veterinary officer. We will be happy to share details of that with the Parliament in due course.
Rape and Attempted Rape
Can the First Minister explain why, despite his claims of generous funding for the police under his Government, the number of recorded rapes and attempted rapes has risen by 32 per cent in four years? What specifically is the First Minister going to change to deliver safer streets?
The first thing to say is that it is not the fault of the police that there are sexual assaults and rapes in our society; it is the fault of the perpetrators of those acts. In the programme for government this afternoon, I will set out some steps that I intend to lead on in relation to tackling violence against women and girls in our society.
The fact that the number of reported incidents of alleged rape and sexual assault—and, thereafter, successful prosecutions—is rising indicates to me that the measures that we as a Government are putting in place equip the police with the resources to undertake investigations, equip the Crown with the resources to pursue prosecutions, and respect the courage of those who have suffered such awful experiences to come forward and be confident that they will be supported by the police and the Crown to advance their cases, so that we can bring the perpetrators to justice.
I will always make sure that the police are well resourced. The police’s resources have increased in each of the past number of years. The fact that the police are now successful in apprehending men who have perpetrated violence against women and girls is something that we should commend the police for. They will have my full support in undertaking that work.
Before I call the next question, I ask members to please press their buttons if they want to speak—because some people are not doing that.
Child Poverty Eradication Measures
Today, children, children’s charities and anti-poverty organisations have come to their Parliament to tell us what poverty and debt mean for them. They are asking us to act faster and go further. Can the First Minister say how he will, in his words, eradicate child poverty in this parliamentary session, and will he commit to putting more money in our poorest families’ pockets by increasing the Scottish child payment?
The group that came to the Parliament was met by the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and Housing. Through the proposals in the Government’s child poverty delivery plan, in this financial year, we have committed £100 million of new, extra resources to tackle the issue of child poverty—on top of the support already delivered in relation to the implementation of the Scottish child payment. That is an illustration of how the Government is taking steps to fulfil my objective of eradicating child poverty.
Just prior to the election, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice introduced the updated child poverty delivery plan, which contained a substantial commitment to whole-family support. The Government believes that that is the best way to provide assistance to families around issues such as housing and childcare, addiction issues in some circumstances, and a variety of other factors to complement the provisions that we have made in relation to the Scottish child payment.
Other than through the budgetary reviews of the Scottish child payment, we have no plans to increase the level of that payment. We can see the effect of that payment because it is contributing to delivering a lower level of child poverty in Scotland than the level in the rest of the United Kingdom.
Stracathro Hospital
Stracathro hospital is a much-loved and appreciated hospital in my Angus North and Mearns constituency. The site offers huge potential for increasing the capacity of NHS Tayside and NHS Grampian, as it sits on the border of those two authorities. Does the First Minister agree that Stracathro hospital is a vital resource that NHS Tayside and NHS Grampian should consider using for more treatment delivery, as it is in the perfect location to accelerate the treatment times for patients waiting for elective surgery and, potentially, other types of surgery in the north-east of Scotland?
I am very familiar with Stracathro hospital, because it bordered the parliamentary constituency that I originally represented, North Tayside, and my late parliamentary colleague Andrew Welsh, the member for Angus East, and I campaigned vociferously to secure the hospital’s future when it was under threat many years ago.
Dawn Black correctly indicates that Stracathro hospital’s location and suitability as a site are significant assets for the delivery of treatment for elective care in the north-east of Scotland, and the Government recognises the advantages of its location. I assure her that we appreciate the work that is undertaken at the hospital and can see its potential for the future delivery of the model that we have developed of national treatment centres around the country.
Sally’s Law (Faster Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment)
My constituent Sally Rae received a late diagnosis for bladder cancer. It has since reached an advanced stage and she is now receiving palliative care. She was on the operating table to have her bladder removed when surgeons realised that her cancer had spread so far that the operation was no longer safe. Opportunities to detect the cancer earlier had been missed. Her family is campaigning for what they call Sally’s law, which would guarantee faster diagnosis and treatment for the most aggressive forms of cancer. Will the First Minister support that?
First, I express my sympathy to Sally Rae and her family for the difficulties that they are facing because of the diagnosis that she has received. I am sorry that there was not an approach that enabled an earlier intervention.
The concept of faster diagnosis lies at the heart of the Government’s cancer strategy. We want to ensure that suspicions of cancer are addressed early, and the 31-day and 62-day timescales for examinations are fundamental to the delivery of those commitments.
Rapid cancer diagnostic services have been delivered in a number of areas in the country, which has significantly reduced the times that individuals wait for treatment. I would be happy to explore the application of such services in relation to the case that Mr Fagan has put to me. If he furnishes me with the details, I will follow that up. I assure him that the Government wants to ensure the earliest possible diagnosis when there is any suspicion of cancer, and our services are designed to do exactly that.
Dalzell Steel Mill
Is it the First Minister’s intention to visit the Dalzell steel mill in Lanarkshire to discover why there has been no production for the past two years; why the company is only now planning to buy steel from a Kazakhstan plant, backed by the Chinese; why no accounts have been published for the past four years; and when the company intends to repay the Government loan of £7 million?
I do not have any immediate plans to visit the Dalzell plant, but Mr Rennie has put the issue to me and I will consider it.
I am familiar with the issues relating to the Dalzell plant and I am briefed on the issues that are being confronted. Fundamentally, those issues are for the plant’s owners.
The Government intervened to try to safeguard the plant’s continuation and to maintain employment. I make no apology for that—that is what the Government should do when it can. However, we rely on the actions of individual companies, and companies must be held to account for the commitments that they make to the Government. That is the case in all circumstances in which the Government has intervened to support companies. If companies have made commitments to the Government, we will hold them to those commitments, because that is essential to the nature of the relationship where we intervene.
As I said, most of those issues are for the company to explain, but if there is any interaction or interrelationship with the obligations and commitments that the company has given to the Government, then the Government will hold the company to those obligations.
Scottish Association for Marine Science
The First Minister will recall his recent visit to the Scottish Association for Marine Science in Oban. I understand that SAMS has an immediate cash flow problem, which is impacting its short-term sustainability. Given the significance of SAMS to Scotland’s research, innovation and marine sectors, and its importance to the economy of Argyll and Bute, there is an urgent need for collaborative engagement between Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the University of the Highlands and Islands and the Scottish Government to secure long-term sustainability for SAMS. Will the First Minister direct ministers to swiftly engage with SAMS to identify how best to support that vital organisation?
I will do that. I am sorry to hear about the difficulties faced by SAMS. I fondly remember visiting SAMS a number of times during my ministerial involvement, and I very well remember the visit with Jenni Minto. I will ask ministers to engage directly with Highlands and Islands Enterprise, with SAMS and with the Scottish Funding Council to see what steps can be taken to ensure that we safeguard the future of SAMS and address any issues that it faces at present.
It is purely a coincidence that I am wearing a SAMS tie this afternoon.
Legal Aid
The First Minister will be aware of the civil legal action being supported by the Scottish Legal Aid Board against Bernera Community Association in my constituency. Does the First Minister share my concerns about the award of legal aid in that case? Has it prompted any discussions within his Government about the legal aid process?
I will have to look at the specific case that Mr MacKinnon raises, because I am not directly familiar with it, but decisions about legal aid are taken independently by the Scottish Legal Aid Board, within the legislative framework. Parliament legislates for the framework within which the Scottish Legal Aid Board works, and if issues arise from particular cases, such as the one that Mr MacKinnon has raised, Parliament has the opportunity to reflect on that. If Mr MacKinnon would care to write to me with details of his concerns, I will have those explored to satisfy myself that the Scottish Legal Aid Board has properly pursued the correct approach in awarding legal aid in that case.
Cancer Treatment (Workforce)
The First Minister will be aware that NHS Highland is facing a staffing crisis in oncology, risking delays to treatment and forcing patients to travel further for care. At a public meeting that I held at the North Highland Cancer Information and Support Centre, one constituent told me that they feel like forgotten people.
The Government has described the crisis as an operational matter, but it is also the consequence of a national shortage of oncologists. What steps will the First Minister take to ensure that NHS Highland can deliver cancer treatment as close to home as possible? Will he also commit to bringing forward a rolling 10-year national health service workforce plan that will finally be fit for purpose?
The issues that Mr Green raises about the oncology workforce are issues that affect several parts of the country, although we do have strong levels of staffing in a number of areas, which is enabling the delivery of strong performance on the 31-day and 62-day standards.
The issues that Mr Green raises are relevant to some of the issues that I will talk about in the programme for government. I agree entirely with Mr Green that it is best for care to be delivered as close to home as possible, and I want to entrench that view within our approach to the health service. However, there are often obstacles to doing that, and those can often be caused by the boundaries between health boards and the employment obligations on individual oncologists in different parts of the country. I would like to provide Mr Green with the assurance that I could directly address the oncology issue in NHS Highland that he rightly raises with me, but having the ability to do that across health board boundaries is challenging. That is why I am going to set out some of the reforms that I will set out today.
I answer Mr Green in that fashion because it is important that Parliament engages constructively with the Government in trying to solve the issue that he raises, which is an entirely legitimate individual circumstance that my wider reforms are trying to address. I look forward to engaging with him and his colleagues on that important point.
City of Edinburgh Council (Housing Standards Compliance)
Recently, the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman took the Labour-run City of Edinburgh Council to task over two cases in which the council placed vulnerable, disabled residents in flats that were unfit to let. What action can the First Minister and the Scottish Government take to ensure that the council adheres to the ombudsman’s decisions and improves its processes so that my constituents do not have to move into unfit or unsafe homes?
Obviously, it is for the City of Edinburgh Council to properly address the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman’s report. I am concerned to note that the property in question did not meet the required standard before it was let and that problems have remained.
The Government has introduced measures that, from 6 October, will require landlords to properly investigate and ensure that damp and mould are addressed as quickly as possible. As part of that response, I urge the City of Edinburgh Council to act on the ombudsman’s recommendations.
I will ask my officials to liaise with the landlord and the Scottish Housing Regulator to monitor landlords’ compliance with the standards and outcomes that are set out in the Scottish social housing charter.
Inverclyde Economy
I thank the First Minister for visiting Inverclyde last week. Will he indicate what support the Scottish Government can offer Inverclyde to stimulate the local economy and house building?
I am grateful to Mr McMillan and to Councillor Stephen McCabe, the leader of Inverclyde Council, for hosting my visit to Inverclyde last Monday. It provided me with valuable insight into the challenges that Inverclyde faces, including the loss of employment and the importance of public sector investment in the locality.
On that occasion, I committed to considering some of the proposals and to ensuring that the Government works collaboratively with the Inverclyde socioeconomic task force to provide a better economic series of opportunities in the area. I commit to updating Mr McMillan on the Government’s response to those issues as part of the ongoing dialogue that we will have with the task force.
I point out that we have made a very strong commitment to Inverclyde in relation to regeneration, including investment of more than £43 million through the affordable housing supply programme. I look forward to further discussions with Mr McMillan and his colleagues in Inverclyde.
Paediatric Surgery in Moray
The First Minister will be aware that paediatric surgery has abruptly ceased at Dr Gray’s hospital in Elgin. Does he think that it is fair to people in Moray to be stuck in a cycle of vital medical services restarting only for them to abruptly stop again? If he does think that that is unfair, why has that been a consistent theme of healthcare in Moray for the past decade, on the Scottish National Party’s watch?
It is important that members appreciate—I certainly cannot escape the obligation—that healthcare services must be delivered with patient safety at their heart. That is an absolutely fundamental commitment. I totally understand the concern in the Moray community—indeed, I have heard directly from Laura Mitchell, on behalf of the people of Moray, about the circumstances at Dr Gray’s—but, where there are patient safety concerns, the Government must respond to them. The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Care has done exactly that through her dialogue with the leadership of NHS Grampian.
Again, I come back to my answer to Mr Green on some of these points. There are challenges in delivering healthcare services close to home in localities such as Dr Gray’s hospital in Elgin for the people of Moray. Those services can be challenging to sustain due to the presence and prevalence of health board boundaries.
The proposals that I am about to set out to Parliament this afternoon will be of assistance as we try to address those issues and provide continuity of care as close to home as possible for the community of Moray. I look forward to Mr Bannerman engaging constructively with the proposals that I am about to set out.
North Sea Oil and Gas
Does the First Minister agree that the North Sea oil and gas industry is hanging by a thread? If so, will he now show leadership and come out and support our oil and gas industry by unambiguously supporting Jackdaw and Rosebank and new exploration drilling?
I have been very open with the Parliament about my view on oil and gas developments in the North Sea. Legal obligations have to be fulfilled in the consideration of any applications for oil and gas developments in the North Sea. Any development must be compatible with the legal obligations that we have on our journey to net zero. As part of that decision-making process—in which I am not a player because the issues are decided entirely by the United Kingdom Government—the UK Government is entitled to consider the comparison between the emissions that will come from domestic developments of oil and gas and those that will come from the importation of oil and gas from other jurisdictions, given that, for years to come, we will continue to use oil and gas as part of our domestic activities.
The issues of energy security and security of supply also have to be considered by the United Kingdom Government to ensure that, while we have a continued reliance on oil and gas, we have access to supplies. Some of the issues that we are wrestling with about security of supply and aviation fuel, which are areas in which we have vulnerabilities arising from the conflict in the middle east, have been exacerbated by the closure of the Grangemouth refinery at the hands of the United Kingdom Government, which promised to save Grangemouth and failed to do so.
The final thing that I need to say is that, although we will be reliant on oil and gas as part of our energy mix for years to come, we have to make the transition to renewable energy. Again, it is the United Kingdom Government that controls the pace of developments in renewable energy, and it has to get a move on to accelerate the timescale for their delivery, because the economic damage to Scotland of our energy policy being handled by the United Kingdom Government is now visible for every one of us to see.
Knife Crime
Why did the First Minister cut funding to the no knives, better lives programme when knife crime is at epidemic levels?
Knife crime in Scotland is significantly reduced compared with when this Government came to office. The number of hospital admissions for cases in which individuals have been injured by the use of knives has also significantly reduced. I am very aware of the tragedies that have taken place in our country. The Cabinet Secretary for Justice and I met the parents of Kayden Moy, who tragically lost his life on Irvine beach in a savage attack, for which individuals have been prosecuted.
The Government is sustaining its commitment to no knives, better lives.
Why did you cut the funding then?
I do not need Mr Kerr to shout at me. I will go away and check all the numbers for myself. I will look at them and see what needs to be done.
I say to Mr Kerr that there are some issues on which perhaps we should all put our shoulder to the wheel and work together to tackle youth violence, knife crime and violence against women and girls, rather than posturing about it in the Parliament.
MV Glenachulish (Annual Service Charge)
I am interested in hearing the First Minister’s response to comments reported in The National that the community-run MV Glenachulish ferry—the world’s only manually operated turntable ferry, which was taken on by the community to keep it running and provide local jobs—faces an uncertain future due to a landowner’s enforcement of a fixed £10,000 annual charge for their ancient “rights to ferry”, regardless of the service’s income.
I am very familiar with the ferry service that Ariane Burgess mentions. The service, which I have used, is an absolute joy and a great asset to the communities of Skye and Glenelg. I have seen the news media reports and have asked for advice on the issues that are involved to determine whether there is any legitimate intervention that the Government can make. I would be happy to write to Ariane Burgess once that information has come to me and we have a clear understanding of whether there is any scope for the Government to act.
Stagecoach Bus Services
Stagecoach has announced cuts to commercial bus services in Monifieth, in my Angus South constituency, affecting links to the medical practice and Ninewells hospital. People are rightly concerned about accessing healthcare, so can the First Minister set out how the Scottish Government is working to improve bus connectivity and to ensure that communities such as Monifieth stay connected to vital services?
I sympathise with Mr Melville on the issues that he is wrestling with in the Monifieth area. I represent the adjoining constituency to Mr Melville and I have wrestled with some of those issues in the Carse of Gowrie in relation to changes to services that affect the access of my constituents to Ninewells hospital, so I am very sympathetic to the points that Mr Melville raises.
The better buses legislation that is being brought forward by the Government is part of the means of ensuring that we can exercise greater control and scrutiny to ensure that bus services meet the demands of people in Scotland.
There is the opportunity for initial engagement about those questions to ensure that the companies that provide bus services, which are now increasingly financially supported by the Government, are able to act always in the interests of the public.
Diageo Workers (Speyside)
Over the summer, it emerged that 172 Diageo distillery workers across Scotland were at risk of redundancy. Still workers in Speyside are disproportionately affected. Diageo has been clear that both global and domestic pressures have led to those job losses, including duty increases by successive Tory and Labour United Kingdom Governments.
Ahead of the UK budget next month, will the First Minister make the case to the Chancellor of the Exchequer for a cut to duty for Scotch to support growth, jobs and investment in Speyside?
I understand the significance of the points raised by Laura Mitchell. We have been in contact with Diageo about the announcements that it has made. Tom Arthur, the Minister for Business and Fair Work, met the company in July to raise his concerns. He received assurances that there would be no Scottish site closures and that the distilleries would all remain operational.
Laura Mitchell is absolutely right that alcohol duty puts huge pressure on the sector. It is disappointing that our calls for the disparity in duty to be addressed in the most recent budget went unheard. The Deputy First Minister will be preparing submissions from the Government to the UK Government in advance of the budget in late October and we will urge the new chancellor to end that unfairness during the budget process.
I have been pleased to engage with the whisky sector over the summer—indeed, I was in discussions with the whisky industry just last week—about the positive effect of the Scottish Government’s work on ensuring that the tariffs on Scotch whisky applied by the United States have been lifted. That obviously helps to reduce the competitive pressures on companies such as Diageo.
I assure Laura Mitchell, who has a very close interest in the health of the Scotch whisky sector, given her constituency responsibilities, of the Government’s continued focus on ensuring that the sector is protected and that it is able to continue contributing so substantially to the Scottish economy and to tax revenue in the United Kingdom.
Running Events (Female Categories)
What action will the First Minister take to ensure that community running events held on publicly owned land in Scotland, including parkrun, operate female categories based on biological sex, as is required by the Equality Act 2010, following the Supreme Court ruling.
I know that I am responsible for a lot of things, but I am not responsible for running parkruns. I take part in some of them occasionally, but not at high speed.
Those issues are set out clearly in the guidance that is available and in the legal judgments of the Supreme Court. They are clear for all who have a relevant governance responsibility to follow those guidelines.
Monklands Hospital Replacement
What reassurance can the First Minister provide to constituents in my area and in North Lanarkshire generally that, following the Government’s decision not to proceed with the current full business case for the Monklands replacement project, it remains fully committed to delivering a new Monklands hospital, including the retention of core services such as accident and emergency? What specific steps will the Government take to ensure that the reset process results in a deliverable replacement hospital within the agreed timescales?
I recognise Fulton MacGregor’s keen interest in that issue. Alongside Neil Gray, he has campaigned hard for a new hospital.
The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Care has made it clear that we will deliver a new hospital for Monklands at Wester Moffat and that the decision not to approve the current full business case reflected affordability concerns. It would not have been value for money for the public purse to approve designs that would cost £5 million per hospital bed.
NHS Lanarkshire is already working with the Scottish Government through a formal reset process to ensure that a revised proposal is clinically safe, affordable, sustainable and deliverable. The new hospital at Wester Moffat will have core acute services, including A and E, and it is my clear expectation that the work will be done as quickly as possible, with the aim of a refreshed plan being delivered to the health secretary in 2027.
Inverurie General Practitioner Walk-in Clinic
Less than 24 hours after healthcare professionals raised concerns that the expansion of the Scottish National Party’s GP walk-in centre pilot could lead to service duplication, health inequalities and destabilisation of existing local services, it was announced that Inverurie’s new clinic cannot open due to recruitment difficulties. We then heard that, even if the centre opens, it could be open for only a few days. How will the Government get enough doctors to open Inverurie’s walk-in centre without taking them from already stretched local services, and when will it do so?
I am very pleased that the Government has fulfilled its 100 days commitment to the expansion of the GP walk-in clinics. Indeed, the Government has exceeded what we told the public we would deliver. That is just another example of the Scottish Government delivering more than we committed to delivering for the people of our country.
Obviously, there will be practical issues in individual locations around the country. With the Government’s relentless focus on delivery, we will ensure that, where developments need to be supported by additional recruitment, we undertake that to ensure that members of the public—this is the absolutely key point—can get access to healthcare services at a time when it is convenient for them to do so. That is happening in increasing numbers and in increasing locations right across the country.
Glasgow School of Art (Mackintosh Building)
In July, the Glasgow School of Art published its latest business case, which confirmed a gap in excess of £200 million in the funding to save Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s masterpiece. The school’s leadership has stated that a project of such scale is beyond its institutional capacity. The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland and the Royal Institute of British Architects have now backed my long-standing call for the state to step in.
After eight years of limbo, will the Government now treat the Mack as the national project that it is and, as the French Government did with Notre-Dame, lead the establishment of a special-purpose vehicle with world-class project management expertise and step up to underwrite the full and faithful reinstatement of Glasgow’s and Scotland’s most globally significant architectural achievement?
The Cabinet Secretary for Education, Culture and Gaelic, Màiri McAllan, has met the Glasgow School of Art, and we are obviously very familiar with the conclusions that it has arrived at and the proposals that it has set out. The cabinet secretary has given the assurance that the Government will work closely with the Glasgow School of Art in taking forward the project. We recognise the enormous significance of the Mackintosh building, and we all share the aspiration that Mr Sweeney has set out to Parliament. The Government will work constructively to bring that about.
On Mr Sweeney’s specific proposals about governance, I will have those considered to determine whether they represent the most appropriate way of proceeding with such a development. However, I assure Mr Sweeney of the importance that the Government attaches to this particular building and to its reconstruction and development. We will focus on trying to ensure a positive outcome for the city of Glasgow as a consequence.
Youth Football Matches (Safety)
Will the First Minister say whether, following a successful summer of sport, he is concerned about reports of poor behaviour at youth football matches? Does he agree that football should be a safe and welcoming environment for our young people? What actions does the Scottish Government plan to take to support clubs to ensure a safe and positive environment for participants, officials and supporters?
I agree with Pauline Stafford that Scotland has experienced a vibrant summer of sport. As this is the first formal opportunity that I have had since the Commonwealth games to do so, I publicly record my deep appreciation to Commonwealth Games Scotland, the delivery company that delivered the Commonwealth games, the city of Glasgow, the people of Glasgow and team Scotland for the outstanding performance of the Commonwealth games. They were all a credit to our country and we should be very proud of them. [Applause.]
In relation to the questions on youth football, it is vital that youth football is carried out in a safe and respectful environment, and behaviour around the touchline of football fields is an important part of that. The safety of all should be prioritised, particularly where children and young people are involved in good sporting activity—they should not be exposed to any unacceptable behaviour around football fields. I would support all measures to ensure that a safe environment exists for all to participate in Scottish football.
That concludes back-bench FMQs for this week. I apologise to the members whom I was unable to call.
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