Official Report 730KB pdf
Grooming Gangs Inquiry
Less than three months ago, my party asked the Parliament to instigate a Scottish grooming gangs inquiry. We did so because we knew that it was necessary—we knew it then and we certainly know it now. Our amendment to the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill was the only legal mechanism available to us to do it. However, the Scottish National Party voted the amendment down.
In doing so, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs cited the leading expert, Professor Alexis Jay. Angela Constance said that Professor Jay
“shares my view and has put on the record and stated to the media that she does not support further inquiries into child sexual abuse and exploitation”.—[Official Report, 16 September 2025; c 31.]
Does John Swinney think that the justice secretary’s statement was honest?
Yes, I do. It was a reflection of the general comment that was being made about the issues at the time. As Mr Findlay knows, the Government was looking at a range of different issues in relation to the examination of the issue of childhood sexual abuse—which is building on the work that we have already undertaken in establishing the inquiry into those issues that is chaired by Lady Smith. In the debate on the issue yesterday, the Government set out further steps that we are taking. I welcome the participation of Professor Alexis Jay in the work that the Government is taking forward.
Absolutely incredible. At no point did Professor Jay say that there should be no further inquiries into grooming gangs in Scotland. The justice secretary misrepresented Professor Jay, she misled the Parliament and she misled the public—and then she went absent without leave. On 19 November, she was not here to answer urgent questions about her misrepresentation. On 25 November, she put up a junior minister to answer urgent questions on the lack of knowledge about grooming gangs in Scotland. On 26 November, again, she sat here in silence when we challenged her failure to answer questions. Yesterday, the justice secretary finally broke her silence, but she made no apology and did not accept any wrongdoing whatsoever. The misleading of Parliament must be investigated by the independent advisers on the ministerial code. Will John Swinney support an investigation, and, if it finds against the justice secretary, will he sack her?
I am satisfied with the way in which these matters have been conducted. I am also satisfied with the steps that the Government set out yesterday to the Parliament, which are that there will be an independent national review of the response to group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation in Scotland, led by the Care Inspectorate, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland and Healthcare Improvement Scotland. I welcome the fact that Professor Alexis Jay has been appointed as the independent chair for the national child sexual abuse and exploitation strategic group. All of that work will be drawn together and assessed independently, further advice will come to ministers and the Parliament will be updated.
John Swinney says that he is satisfied, but victims have no faith in this Government and no faith in this justice secretary. The mother of Taylor, who was gang raped as a child in care, told me that there is
“no substance to anything that Angela Constance says”
and that
“she cannot oversee anything.”
I wonder whether the First Minister has concluded the same thing in private. Yesterday’s announcement of a grooming gangs review was made not by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs but by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills. It looks as if the responsibility for that inquiry and for the decisions made on its findings will not be held by Angela Constance. Has John Swinney, too, realised that she cannot possibly oversee that review—and does that not show that he, too, has lost confidence in his own justice secretary?
No—that is not the case. The reason why the education secretary made that announcement yesterday is that she carries Cabinet responsibility for child protection issues, of which all that material is comprised. On Tuesday, the education secretary led the discussion at Cabinet, which involved all Cabinet colleagues, including the justice secretary, about the steps that the Government is taking, which I set out to Parliament last week in response to a question from Pam Gosal. All of that is the responsibility of the Government, and it is led by the education secretary. I have set out to Parliament the steps that we are taking.
It sounds as though the justice secretary will not have responsibility for a review into mass organised criminality, but the First Minister suggests that there is nothing unusual about that. The Scottish National Party has been shamed into launching a grooming gangs review, but it is a review that victims believe will mean public bodies marking their own homework and the Government controlling the findings. We still do not know whether the justice secretary, who did not want the review to happen and who dishonestly twisted the words of an academic and misled victims and the Parliament, will be in charge of the review. All of that is why a review simply is not good enough and an independent inquiry is necessary. Victims do not trust Angela Constance, the SNP or the authorities that have already failed them. They deserve answers and justice, and that can be achieved only by a free, fearless and independent inquiry. Why on earth cannot John Swinney see that?
I recognise the significance and seriousness of the issue. It has been treated as such by my Government, which is why we have taken careful steps to do all the explanatory and investigative work and come to the right conclusion about whether an inquiry of the nature that Mr Findlay put to Parliament yesterday is appropriate and necessary.
Mr Findlay said that a collection of different organisations are marking their own homework. The organisations that I referred to were set up by statute and have to operate independently of Government. That is what the law requires of them. They are the Care Inspectorate, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Healthcare Improvement Scotland. It is really important that I, as First Minister, make it clear, openly to the public in Scotland, that I have absolute confidence in the independent decision making and scrutiny of those organisations, because that is vital for public confidence.
In recent weeks, we have seen reports from Healthcare Improvement Scotland that have challenged and been very critical of health boards in this country. That is because HIS is exercising independent and fearless scrutiny, as will Professor Alexis Jay as the independent chair of the national child sexual abuse and exploitation strategic group. That gives me confidence that we are going about the process in a serious and detailed fashion, to ensure that the perspective of victims is properly addressed as we consider this significant and serious issue.
“NHS in Scotland 2025: Finance and performance”
Audit Scotland has today published yet another damning report on the Scottish National Party’s mismanagement of our national health service. It is grim reading for John Swinney, but more devastating for patients and staff.
The report found that
“despite more money ... and more staff ... NHS Scotland’s performance has not improved in line with commitments made by the Scottish Government.”
It says that NHS boards are
“struggling to break even, with seven ... requiring ... Government loans”
and it exposes an “implementation gap” between SNP announcements and the reality for patients. Is it not a damning indictment of John Swinney that, despite his promises, long waits persist, and that, in his hands, the NHS is, in Audit Scotland’s words, “unsustainable”?
Anybody who observes these exchanges at First Minister’s question time will understand that I am the first to accept that there are challenges in ensuring that the NHS recovers from the disruption of the two years of the Covid pandemic. I accept that that challenge exists, but significant progress is being made. For example, the number of planned and performed operations in Scotland represents the highest level since January 2020, before the pandemic. In the 12 months to October 2025, 297,014 operations were planned, which is a 4.5 per cent increase from the previous 12 months, and 271,328 operations were performed, which is an increase of 4.6 per cent. That demonstrates that, although there are challenges, progress has been made, and the plans that I have put in place to focus on long waits are beginning to take effect.
The NHS needs to recover from John Swinney and the Scottish National Party. That is the problem that we have across the country. His predecessor promised to end waits of more than a year by September 2024—he failed. John Swinney has promised to end waits of more than a year by March 2026, but, right now, more than 11,000 patients have been waiting for more than two years. What is the result? Figures published this week show that a record number of patients are being forced to go private, with 13,455 private admissions between April and June this year. People in pain are being forced to remortgage their homes and spend life savings to get the treatment that they need.
The founding principles of our NHS—that it is free and available at the point of need—are being destroyed by the SNP. Why is John Swinney doing what even Margaret Thatcher failed to do, which is to privatise healthcare in Scotland?
It is interesting that Mr Sarwar has shifted the ground of his argument on private treatment. Some months ago, Mr Sarwar put to me a figure that was a much more significant accusation on the amount of private treatment that was under way. I cannot remember the exact proportion, but it was of the order of something like one in six of the population, which was absolutely a ludicrously nonsensical figure. Mr Sarwar has changed his ground.
Let me give Mr Sarwar some reassurance about what is happening about long waits. Between April and October this year—[Interruption.]
Let us hear one another.
Between April and October this year, new out-patient waits of more than a year reduced by 17.9 per cent—that is just since April. In the same period, the waiting list size for new in-patient and day-case procedures waiting more than 52 weeks has reduced by 26.1 per cent.
I say to Mr Sarwar that I accept that there are challenges in the national health service as a consequence of the Covid pandemic, but this Government is delivering on the progress that I said would be made.
I think, on the basis of that rambling response from the First Minister, that he needs some time off and a wee rest. SNP-run Scotland was the only United Kingdom nation where there was an increase in private admissions during the period that I cited. The truth is that Scots are paying the price for John Swinney’s incompetence. Thousands are forced to go private to get the treatment that they need, remortgaging homes or borrowing money to pay, for example, £15,000 for a knee replacement, more than £14,000 for a hip replacement or £3,000 for cataract surgery. That means that Scots have been forced to pay at least £59 million of their own money, on top of their taxes, for cataracts and hip and knee replacements in the past year alone.
That breaches the founding principles of our NHS that healthcare is free and available at the point of need and that access is not based on the ability to pay. People who cannot raise the money are left to wait in pain and anxiety. Why is John Swinney forcing Scots in need to choose between paying the financial cost and paying the human cost of his incompetence and failure?
I simply remind Mr Sarwar that our national health service was disrupted for a period of two years because of Covid, and there is a backlog in treatment. We are working hard to ensure that we reduce that backlog.
To reassure Mr Sarwar, the amount of hip and knee operations reached an all-time high in 2024. As I have just recounted, we are now performing more operations in the national health service, and we are now back to performing at the pre-pandemic level, which is an indication of the effectiveness of the reforms that I have put in place and of the plans that are being delivered for people in Scotland. On that basis, the Government is absolutely focused on ensuring that the national health service meets the needs of people in Scotland as we recover from Covid and delivers on the expectations of the people of our country.
National Health Service
I am sorry to say that the First Minister has had his head completely in the sand about the crisis in our NHS. Everybody knows somebody who has been let down. Anas Sarwar rightly talks about the human cost; let me tell the First Minister what that looks like.
Isobel and Martyn Knights were travelling down the dual carriageway near Aberdeen when Isobel had a violent seizure and stopped breathing. With nowhere to pull over, Martyn had to use every ounce of his police training to get her heart going again while the car was still moving. The car screeched to a halt at the front door of the accident and emergency department and Martyn explained to staff what had happened. However, after moving their car, Martyn was not allowed to return to Isobel’s side; A and E was just too busy. She was left alone in a corridor for six hours—remember, her heart had only just been restarted. When she was eventually seen by a doctor, it was obvious that that crucial information had been overlooked. If someone can turn up at accident and emergency after having stopped breathing for minutes and not be seen for hours, what does that say about the state of our NHS?
First, I am very sorry to hear of the details of the experience of Isobel and Martyn Knights. I am happy to explore the exact circumstances of the case that Mr Cole-Hamilton has put to me. The purpose and focus of accident and emergency is to provide immediate intervention for those who are in the gravest of conditions, and it is my expectation that that should happen in all circumstances.
Martyn and Isobel are absolutely clear: they are not having a go at the hard-working staff who looked exhausted that day in A and E. Emergency departments are backed up because hospitals are rammed and because there are so many people who are stuck there who should be in care homes or being looked after at home. That is what the Auditor General told us this morning.
Let us put it into perspective: when the Scottish National Party first came into power, in a single month, only a handful of people ever waited more than 12 hours in accident and emergency—it hardly ever happened. Despite the best efforts of staff, the figure has increased by 63,000 per cent. Does the experience of Isobel and Martyn not show how mistakes can be made and patients can be put in danger because accident and emergency is overwhelmed on the SNP’s watch?
A range of different factors will affect the circumstances in any accident and emergency department at any given time. Some of them will be about whole-system challenges, such as delayed discharge, where hospitals are so congested that it is difficult to ensure that patients can be transferred from A and E into routine wards in a timely manner. We work with local authority partners to ensure that we further reduce delayed discharge in order to support accident and emergency, and the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care is actively pursuing that on my behalf this week.
The second issue is the case load that presents at A and E. In that respect, we have taken forward work to put in place frailty units that will enable us to support frail patients more actively and in a more supportive environment than the mainstream of A and E, where there can be some acute and challenging circumstances.
The third factor is the prevalence of individual health conditions. As members of the Parliament will know, we are seeing an early and significant upsurge in the prevalence of flu, which is resulting in significant presentations at our hospitals. Indeed, in the past two weeks, there has been an increase of 70 per cent in flu admissions to hospital as a consequence of the gravity of the condition, despite the high performance of flu vaccinations that are currently under way.
The Government is taking forward a range of interventions to ensure that we are working to reduce demand in A and E services, so that individuals such as Isabel and Martin Knights can be supported in the way that I would expect them to be.
Local Housing Allowance (Impact of Freeze on Poverty Levels)
To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on the Scottish Government’s latest engagement with the United Kingdom Government regarding any impact on poverty levels in Scotland of the freeze to local housing allowance. (S6F-04511)
It is disappointing that the UK Government’s budget contained no commitment to end the freeze on local housing allowance. Next year will be the second year of the freeze and it will be three years since the local housing allowance was last uprated. The Resolution Foundation has warned that next year, the gap between real-world rents and housing support will be the biggest on record.
The chancellor spoke about tackling child poverty, yet she failed to restore local housing allowance rates. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation estimated that 20,000 private renters, including 10,000 children, will be pushed into poverty in 2025-26 as a direct result of the policy.
Meanwhile, the Resolution Foundation predicts that the affordability gap, which is currently bigger than when the Conservative Government increased the local housing allowance in 2020, will rise to 25 per cent by 2029-30, unless the UK Government intervenes. That amounts to £180 a month for hard-pressed families.
While Labour continues to make lives harder for the most vulnerable, can the First Minister tell us more about the steps that the Scottish Government is taking across housing to further its ambition of eradicating child poverty?
The warnings from the Resolution Foundation are deeply troubling. The Scottish Government is investing more than £100 million in discretionary housing payments this year to offset UK Government welfare cuts. Some £2 million of that, announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, will help families in temporary accommodation to secure homes in the private rented sector. That is part of our mission to eradicate child poverty.
On the question of local housing allowances, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice has been calling for an end to the freeze as part of the UK child poverty strategy, which is a move that would help to lift more families out of poverty.
A9 Dualling Project (Funding)
To ask the First Minister what funding is in place to ensure that the A9 dualling project is completed by the target date of 2035. (S6F-04502)
The Government remains committed to completing the dualling programme by the end of 2035, and the necessary funding will be in place to do so.
This week, The Scotsman reported that ministers were expected to reject private funding under the mutual investment model, which had been planned for further sections of the A9 dualling project, even though that has been utilised for two sections that are progressing. That raises real concerns about whether this vital scheme can progress, given the constraints on capital funding in the Scottish Government’s budget.
A9 dualling has already been delayed 10 years from the original planned completion date of 2025, and any further delays will cost more lives needlessly. Just on Tuesday evening, we saw another serious accident at Ralia, which left one passenger in a critical condition in hospital and closed the road for hours. What guarantee can the First Minister give us that there will be no more delays in delivering this vital project?
I was very sorry to hear about the incident on Tuesday evening at Ralia, and I express my good wishes to the individual, who I understand is in a critical condition as a consequence. We hope for their full recovery.
As I said in my earlier answer, the Government remains committed to completing the dualling programme by the end of 2035, and the necessary funding will be in place to do that.
Will the First Minister commit to introducing a duty of candour for the A9 project, as recommended by the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee, to ensure that the Parliament and the public are fully informed about progress, delays and financial challenges in real time?
The Government responded to that request by indicating that it would report regularly to Parliament, and that is exactly what the Government will do.
MV Lord of the Isles (Replacement)
To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on whether the Scottish Government will instigate a direct award to Ferguson Marine for the replacement of MV Lord of the Isles. (S6F-04505)
The procurement process for the replacement of MV Lord of the Isles engages complex legal and subsidy control issues. Any decision must take into account the responsibility that we have to secure the best outcomes for our island communities and businesses. We are currently considering the business case and next steps in relation to MV Lord of the Isles replacement and we will confirm those in due course.
The presence of Ferguson Marine and its workforce is important to my constituency. The only way that that presence can continue is by ensuring that the yard has a strong order book. Making the yard efficient and effective and winning new orders is the responsibility of the new interim chair and management team, who are supported by the Scottish Government in those endeavours.
I am very aware of the arguments about why the issue of a direct award is extremely challenging. However, I am also conscious that the investment that the Scottish Government has already made in the yard will be lost for good if the yard does not have an order book. Will the First Minister commit to a direct award for the replacement of MV Lord of the Isles? That could lead to securing further work, if the board and management are successful, which would keep Ferguson Marine firmly rooted in Port Glasgow, creating employment and building ships.
I am very supportive of securing a future for the Ferguson Marine yard. More than 10 years ago, I worked hard to ensure that it survived the difficulties that it faced at that point, and the Government has given the yard sustained support over many years.
As I indicated in my earlier answer, the issues around the MV Lord of the Isles direct award are complex and involve significant subsidy control issues that the Government cannot ignore in any way, shape or form. However, I give Mr McMillan the assurance that the Government is absolutely committed to working with Ferguson Marine to secure its future.
Ferguson Marine’s future depends on it independently securing work both from the United Kingdom and overseas. It is a Scottish National Party Government-owned yard, so what action is the First Minister taking to ensure that it is competitive, restores its reputation for delivering projects on time and under budget, and can procure its own work rather than relying on a direct award?
That is part of our ensuring that the yard has leadership and a workforce in place to support the direction towards its being able to attract orders and operate competitively in international markets. That is what Government support for the yard is all about and the focus of our interventions will be to ensure that that remains the case.
There is a strong economic and social case for a direct award to the yard, and I urge the First Minister to support such an award. A decision on the contract has been delayed for far too long and the workforce deserves clarity, so will the First Minister undertake to ensure that there is a speedy decision? If he cannot commit to a direct award of the contract today, will he commit to supporting Ferguson’s through other avenues, such as the second round of the small vessel replacement programme, and the delivery—in full—of the promised £14.2 million investment?
As I indicated in my earlier answers—and I think that Katy Clark will appreciate these points—there are complex issues of a legal nature, in relation to subsidy control, that the Government simply cannot ignore. I am enormously sympathetic to and supportive of a future for the yard. That is why the Government has committed investment to support the yard, which will be available to the yard at the moment when it is appropriate for it to be deployed. We are open to working with the yard to strengthen its competitive position to enable it to win vessel contracts and take those forward on an on-going basis. That remains the focus of the Government’s intervention on the issue.
Does the First Minister agree that, whatever solution is found to the tender in question, the decision must be informed by the views of people in Uist and other island communities, who clearly want to see new vessels in service as soon as is feasible?
I understand and support that point. It was under this Government that the connection was established between Mallaig and Lochboisdale, which is the route on which MV Lord of the Isles primarily operates. I know how important that connection is to Dr Allan’s constituents in South Uist and surrounding communities. It is important that we reflect on the necessity for sustained connections for all island communities. That lies at the heart of the Government’s strategy in relation to the Clyde and Hebrides ferry services.
We move to general and constituency supplementary questions.
Bothwell (Arson Attacks)
Residents of Bothwell in my region have been left shaken by the spate of targeted firebombing attacks on restaurants in the area. Four premises have been targeted by arson attacks over the past six years, with two taking place in September. People living in Bothwell have expressed fear and frustration, with one individual saying:
“it feels like it is becoming a no-go area socially.”
There are now empty plots where restaurants once stood; jobs have been lost; and families have been impacted by recent events.
Bothwell residents deserve not just answers but reassurance. What reassurance can the First Minister give my constituents that Police Scotland is taking those events seriously? Will he ask the relevant minister to make inquiries to ensure that all information that can be made public is being circulated within the community?
I am aware of and concerned by those issues. I reassure Meghan Gallacher and her constituents that all cases that are presented to Police Scotland are taken seriously, and that will be the case in relation to those examples.
It is patently obvious that criminal behaviour is involved, so there will be a need for that information to be handled within the criminal justice system, to ensure that those responsible can be prosecuted for the acts that they are taking forward.
With that caveat, I am happy to advise that the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs will raise the issue with the chief constable. However, the amount of information that can be made available will be constrained by the necessity to protect that information in order to support criminal prosecutions, which there should be in the cases of the behaviour that Meghan Gallacher has put to me today.
Acorn Project
The United Kingdom Government promised to end the dither and delay and committed £200 million to the Acorn project in June. Yet, months on, not a single penny has reached the developers, and now a project partner is seeking to sell its stake. After failing to intervene at Grangemouth and Mossmorran, and after retaining an energy profits levy that is throttling investment, if the UK Government fails to act on Acorn, it will be clear that it has abandoned Scottish industry.
Does the First Minister agree that, if a private buyer cannot be found for the stake, Great British Energy must step in to ensure that the project goes ahead, particularly in the light of its setting its five-year project today?
I have been very clear to Parliament over a long period of time about my support for the Acorn project. Indeed, it is an issue that I raised frequently with the previous Conservative UK Government to seek progress, and it is an issue that I have raised with the current UK Government to seek progress.
In relation to the discussions on Storegga’s involvement in the Acorn project, the Deputy First Minister has been involved in dialogue with the UK Government on that question. Acorn is a significant project that is key to the just transition and to the economic opportunities of the north-east of Scotland. The Scottish Government will do all that we can to support its development.
I also make the point that the presence of the energy profits levy is a significant inhibitor in all our actions. I call on the UK Government, as I will do again when I see the Prime Minister tomorrow, to remove the energy profits levy, because of the damage that it is doing to the north-east of Scotland and to the future of the Scottish economy.
Offshore Workers (Health and Safety)
Last week, fossil fuel giant Shell UK was fined more than £500,000 after pleading guilty to two offences following a Health and Safety Executive investigation into its Brent Charlie platform. That was a potentially catastrophic incident that put the lives of more than 175 offshore workers at risk due to negligence and penny pinching by Shell.
Does the First Minister agree that such behaviour from Shell is wholly unacceptable and that offshore worker health and safety must be paramount to our energy transition, if that transition is to be in any way just?
On all occasions, the welfare and safety of workforces must be paramount in any industrial activity in our country. That is why the Health and Safety Executive, which is a reserved agency, exercises its responsibilities and why I strongly support its work to ensure that the aspirations that Mercedes Villalba puts to me are reflected in working practices in all circumstances, particularly in the acutely serious context of offshore platforms.
I very much welcome the role of the HSE in protecting the safety of workers.
Scotch Whisky (Tariffs)
Last week, the United Kingdom chancellor increased duty on Scotch whisky. That has heaped pressure on that vital sector and the jobs in it, including those in my constituency. Another, bigger issue is US tariffs. The First Minister has already pressed the case all the way to the Oval office, but will he now exert pressure on the UK Government to stand up for Scotland and to press for a deal in this vitally important industry?
I am very keen to make sure that a deal is arrived at on whisky tariffs. As members will know, I have put significant effort into trying to ensure that the case is made directly to the President of the United States. However, as members also know, trade deals cannot be negotiated by the Scottish Government—they have to be negotiated by the United Kingdom Government.
I am waiting with expectation for the UK Government to do what it should have been doing all along, which is to give priority to Scotch whisky and to ensure that we are exempt from United States tariffs. We are waiting for the UK to deliver the action that we all expect it to deliver.
Prostate Cancer (Screening)
Last Friday, the United Kingdom National Screening Committee decided not to recommend a national screening programme for prostate cancer. The very next day, listeners to “Off the Ball” heard Kenny Macintyre speak very candidly about his own diagnosis with prostate cancer. Kenny was getting regular tests because of a family history of the disease, and he said:
“I’m very lucky to have caught this early, and I believe that is only because I pushed for regular testing. I had absolutely no symptoms and all examination indicated things were normal. Had it not been for regular checks, which revealed a rising trend in my PSA levels, things may have been very different.”
We are lucky that we have men such as Kenny Macintyre, Sir Chris Hoy and others who are speaking about their experience, raising awareness and encouraging men to come forward and get checked. However, prostate cancer is still killing 8,000 men in Scotland every year.
What is the First Minister’s response to the National Screening Committee’s recommendation? Does he agree that, if we do not have a national programme, we should at the very least be encouraging as many men as possible to come forward to get tested, and we should be making those tests as easily available as possible, as they will literally save lives?
I very much associate myself with the comments that Douglas Ross has made.
Mr Ross will be aware that the Government relies on the advice from the UK National Screening Committee, as do all Governments across the United Kingdom. That is dispassionate advice, which the screening committee gathers and shares with us. Mr Ross will appreciate that, although many of us will be enormously sympathetic to the point of view that he puts forward, when we receive formal advice, we have to have good reason to depart from it.
At the request of Sir Chris Hoy, I chaired a discussion in Bute house a few weeks ago that drew together a range of different experts on prostate cancer. I wanted to challenge whether more could be done to expand screening, as Sir Chris Hoy was very much requesting, and which request I also heard strongly expressed in Kenny Macintyre’s contribution at the weekend.
We have asked the chief medical officer in Scotland to take forward further scrutiny and consideration of the issue, and ministers in the Scottish Government are very much open to looking afresh at that question. There will be further updates to share with Parliament in due course.
For today, I reinforce Mr Ross’s point and encourage any man who is concerned about this issue to pursue any testing that they think is necessary, given that we all know that the earlier such circumstances are identified, the better the outcomes are likely to be. I welcome Mr Ross’s contribution and assure him of the Government’s focused intervention to try to address the issue.
Turning Point Scotland (Glasgow Services)
The First Minister will be aware of Turning Point Scotland, which is a major voluntary sector provider of drug and alcohol services. The charity is facing an existential funding crisis after being billed £800,000 by City Property Glasgow (Investments), an arm’s-length organisation of Glasgow City Council. The bill for repairs, following the closure of the outstanding 218 women’s justice service, is £600,000 higher than the estimate by an independent surveyor, and it poses a very real risk to all Turning Point services in Glasgow.
The council is not responding, and neither is the board of City Property Glasgow (Investments). Will the First Minister agree to meet Turning Point? I know that he thinks that it is a valuable organisation. Will he help to resolve the situation to ensure the continuing provision of Turning Point’s drug and alcohol services in Glasgow?
I acknowledge the importance of the services that are provided by Turning Point in Glasgow. Obviously, that is a local matter for Glasgow City Council, but I will inquire about the situation and identify, with the Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy and Sport, Maree Todd, whether there is any action that the Government can take. I am not familiar with all the transactions that are involved, but we will look into them and see what action it is possible to take.
Suicide Rates
Scotland is the only United Kingdom nation that is seeing a reduction in deaths by suicide. Front-line organisations credit early intervention and strong partnership working. I see that in the community action network that I facilitate in Motherwell and Wishaw. How will the Government promote best practice and ensure that suicide rates continue to fall in Scotland?
We—the Government and society—must be very active in doing all that we can to prevent suicide in our society. We have been working in partnership with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities on the “Creating Hope Together” strategy, which is delivered through Suicide Prevention Scotland and which is focused on tackling the prevalence of suicide and the inequalities that so often lead to it. I assure Clare Adamson that the Government will continue to have that focus in the suicide prevention action plan for 2026-29, which will be published early in the new year, in order to continue that important work.
Hospital Waiting Times
I declare an interest as a practising general practitioner in the national health service.
William McLaughlin wrote to me to say that he had to sit on an accident and emergency trolley for eight hours before he was admitted for a serious illness, and the report from Audit Scotland has laid bare the abject failure of the Scottish National Party Government in this respect. From hospitals to waiting lists, everything that the SNP touches seems to be crumbling.
First Minister, stop the spin, stop reading selective stats, stop defending the indefensible and accept the independent Audit Scotland report in full. Will the First Minister apologise to NHS staff, to long-waiting patients and to William McLaughlin?
Always speak through the chair.
I am very open with the Parliament about the challenges experienced in the national health service. I accept that it takes longer for some individuals to receive treatment than it should and that that will cause distress. To Mr McLaughlin, and to anyone in such circumstances, I express my apology and my regret at that situation.
However, it is just not good enough for Sandesh Gulhane to say the things that he has said about the performance of our national health service. The plan that I have put in place, which is designed to tackle long waits, is working—it is delivering results. Between April and October this year, new out-patient waits over a year reduced by 17.9 per cent, with reductions for five consecutive months. In the same period, the size of the waiting list for those waiting for more than 52 weeks for new in-patient and day-case procedures reduced by 26.1 per cent. Moreover, GP numbers, which should be of some concern to Dr Gulhane, are rising on my watch.
So, yes, there are challenges, but this Government is delivering the solutions for the national health service in Scotland.
Housing Crisis (Glasgow)
I know that the First Minister is aware of the scale of the housing crisis in Glasgow, which has been exacerbated by the United Kingdom Government’s changes to asylum policy—changes that are harming the lives of asylum seekers and are also harmful to the budgets available for public services. Will the First Minister tell us what urgent action the Scottish Government has taken, since his officials started meeting the local authority, registered social landlords and others to discuss the situation, to ensure that those parties have the resources that they need to deal with this crisis, which is not of their making?
The first thing that we have done is to press the Home Office to address those issues—the Home Office is the root cause of the issues and difficulties that Mr Harvie has raised in the Parliament today—and we are working collaboratively with Glasgow City Council in that respect.
Other steps that we have taken include increasing investment in housing and, in particular, ensuring that void accommodation is brought back into use. In our partnership with Glasgow City Council, we have seen much progress being made, and I commend it for the work that it is doing, including with registered social landlords, as part of that process.
As a consequence of the support that we make available to the council, particularly in relation to homelessness, we are working as effectively as we can to tackle the significant issues that Mr Harvie has raised.
Non-residential Social Care Charges
Will non-residential social care charges be abolished by the Scottish Government before the end of the current parliamentary session, as was promised in the First Minister’s party’s 2021 manifesto?
The Government is working to address that issue. There is a range of competing financial pressures that we have to address, and we are working in collaboration with partners to do so.
Devolution Settlement
The First Minister will know that, before the general election last year, the Labour Party promised to widen devolution for Scotland and Wales. This week, 11 Labour members of the Welsh Senedd wrote to the Prime Minister, accusing the United Kingdom Government of “rolling back” on devolution promises.
Whether it be the internal market or pride in place funding, Labour’s abysmal record in Government shows its contempt for devolution. Welsh members of that Assembly have described their own party’s actions as a “constitutional outrage”. [Interruption.]
Let us hear Mr Brown.
Welsh Labour members have described their own party’s actions as a “constitutional outrage”, showing at least a willingness to defend the devolution settlement—a willingness that is absent from the Labour Party in this chamber. [Interruption]
Members, let us hear Mr Brown. I know that every member in the chamber would expect to be heard when putting a question.
They do not like freedom of speech, Presiding Officer.
Does the First Minister share those concerns and can he outline what dialogue the Scottish Government has had with the UK Government on the devolution settlement, particularly in relation to the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 and pride in place funding?
I acknowledge the letter sent by a number of Labour Senedd members to the Prime Minister, expressing views that this Government would share about the unacceptability of the internal market act, which is a product of post-Brexit legislation from the Conservatives and is actively undermining the powers of this Parliament.
When that bill was passing through the United Kingdom Parliament, the Labour Party in Scotland—and, indeed, the Labour Party in the House of Commons—vigorously opposed it. Therefore, when the Labour Government was elected, it was our reasonable expectation that the internal market act would be abolished and that we would have a restoration of the powers of this Parliament.
As with so many other promises from the Labour Party, that was broken immediately after the election of the Labour Government, so we can have absolutely no confidence that the Labour Government is going to fulfil its promises to protect devolution and to abolish the internal market act.
That concludes First Minister’s questions.
The next item of business is a members’ business debate, in the name of Jamie Hepburn. There will be a short suspension to allow those leaving the public gallery and the chamber to do so.
12:46 Meeting suspended.Previous
General Question Time