Contents
- General Question Time
- First Minister’s Question Time
- Climate Cafés
- Portfolio Question Time
- Veterans and Armed Forces Community
- Parliamentary Bureau Motion
- Motion without Notice
- Decision Time
First Minister’s Question Time
Police Scotland
I remind members that my wife is a serving police officer.
Serious failures in the Scottish National Party’s centralisation of Police Scotland contributed to tragic deaths on the M9 in 2015. The deaths of Lamara Bell and John Yuill were a tragedy that the Government vowed would never happen again. However, this week, David Kennedy of the Scottish Police Federation said:
“We might see more M9 cases appearing where people actually die because that’s the harsh reality if there are not enough police officers”.
Under the SNP, police numbers have fallen by more than 700 since the creation of Police Scotland. How much lower will Humza Yousaf let them fall?
First and foremost, my thoughts remain with the families of Lamara Bell and John Yuill, who were affected by the tragic incident on the M9 in 2015.
In relation to the facts about Police Scotland, I will remind Douglas Ross of a few important facts. First and foremost, the SNP-led Scottish Government has increased police numbers since we came to power; they have increased by more than 300. We have increased police numbers and have continued to see more officers per head in Scotland than there are in England and Wales. Scotland has 30 officers per 10,000 of the population, compared with 25 in England and Wales.
Let me also address the point that was made by the Scottish Police Federation, which Douglas Ross mentioned. We are investing in our police service and that is why we have invested £1.45 billion this financial year, which is an increase in the resource budget of £80 million.
I remind Douglas Ross that, as the SNP-led Scottish Government has increased police numbers, between 2010 and 2019, his party decreased police officer numbers in England by almost 19,000.
It was a very simple question. How low will Humza Yousaf let the police officer numbers fall in Scotland? They have fallen by 700 since the creation of Police Scotland. He speaks about investing. The Scottish Police Federation said:
“If the Scottish Government properly funded the police service then it wouldn’t be bleak, but they are choosing not to.”
Those are not my words but the words of the Scottish Police Federation.
At the recent Scottish Police Authority meeting, Police Scotland officers described the cuts that they need to make as “slash and burn”. Deputy Chief Officer David Page said:
“It used to be every pound is a prisoner, now it’s every penny”.
That is why Police Scotland has been forced to launch a pilot in which many crimes will not be investigated. I have previously asked the First Minister to come clean about which crimes will be overlooked, and he refused to answer. Will he now finally publish the full list of crimes that police in Scotland will not investigate?
Douglas Ross says that public services across Scotland are facing funding pressures. Of course they are, because of his party’s economic mismanagement of the public finances. That was an economic mismanagement and torpedoing of the economy that Douglas Ross demanded that we copy. Thank goodness we ignored him, much like the people of Scotland continue to ignore him, day in and day out.
On the substance of the issue in relation to Police Scotland, I make it clear once again to Douglas Ross that, under the SNP-led Scottish Government, we have more bobbies on the beat than there are in England and Wales. We have increased revenue funding for Police Scotland by an additional 6.3 per cent.
What is important to people is ensuring that their communities are safe. That is why, under the SNP-led Scottish Government, recorded crime is at one of its lowest levels in almost half a century—[Interruption.]
Members.
There has been a 41 per cent decrease in recorded crime since the SNP came into government.
I am not going to take lectures about the public finances from Douglas Ross, when his party has completely decimated the economy and public finances of this country.
That is another straightforward question that the First Minister should be able to answer but refuses to. It is not just police officer numbers that have been slashed. The First Minister just said that it is important that communities feel safe, but we learned recently that SNP budget cuts mean that the police will have to close a further 30 stations across Scotland. Understandably, that is causing a lot of concern in local communities, which want to know whether their police station is safe. Will Humza Yousaf be up front and honest with people today about policing in their local community and tell us which stations will be closed?
It is not news that Police Scotland published a document about its estate in 2019, which gave details of where, for example, it would seek to replace some of its estate that was underused. It did that because, for modern policing purposes, it can often make sense to co-locate with partner organisations in modern, well-equipped accommodation. However, what people in Scotland are interested in is whether there are more bobbies on the beat under the SNP Government, and there absolutely are. In comparison with Conservative-led England or Labour-run Wales, we have more officers per head.
People also want to know whether crime is reducing. Under the SNP Government, crime is at an historically low level compared with the past 50 years. It is 41 per cent down since we came into power in 2007. They also want to make sure that their police officers are being paid well. I am pleased to say that, because of a recent acceptance of a very fair offer to police officers, police officers of every single rank are better paid here in Scotland than they are in Conservative-led England.
I say very clearly that we will leave the operational decisions to Police Scotland, but people across Scotland should be in no doubt whatsoever that their communities are safer because of the SNP’s investment in Police Scotland.
The First Minister flipped through his folder a lot there, but he could not find an answer, which seems to be the only thing that is constant in this session. Humza Yousaf is forcing Police Scotland to close dozens of stations, but he will not say where. He is leaving it with no option but to stop investigating every crime, but he will not say which crimes. He is forcing the police to cut officer numbers to the lowest level on record, but he will not say how low. For a First Minister who loves the sound of his own voice, it seems quite stark that he is silent when it really matters. [Interruption.]
Members!
He is silent on all those questions. [Interruption.]
Let us hear Mr Ross.
Let us be very clear: Humza Yousaf is a criminal’s dream. He does not want them stopped, he does not want them caught and he does not want them in jail. Why is he being so sly, sleekit and secretive about the consequences of the SNP’s cuts to Police Scotland?
I think that Douglas Ross is just jealous because nobody likes the sound of his voice. [Interruption.]
I know that the Conservatives are in their post-truth stage. The United Kingdom Government is out of ideas and will, I hope, be out of time very shortly.
Let us stick to the facts, because the facts tell us that there are more officers per head in Scotland than there are in Conservative-led England and Labour-led Wales. Crime is down under this Government. [Interruption.]
Let us hear the First Minister.
Officers are paid more fairly and are the best paid in the entire UK. I know that Douglas Ross, despite having three, four or five jobs—I have lost count, Presiding Officer—was down at the Conservative Party conference this week, or as others have rightly dubbed it, the “conspiracy party conference”, but his post-truth and his lies about the police service simply will not wash here in Scotland.
First Minister, as all members are aware, it is wholly inappropriate to suggest that another member of the Parliament has lied. I would be grateful if you might apologise.
I am happy to call it a deliberate inaccuracy, because that is clearly what it is.
First Minister, I must ask that you apologise, please.
I am happy to apologise to anybody who has been offended by the post-truths that have come from the Conservative Party and to anyone who has been offended by my remarks.
I ask that you apologise to me and to the chamber.
I am happy to apologise to the chamber for any offence, Presiding Officer.
Police Scotland
My question concerns a serious issue that is important to people right across our communities. Earlier this week, when I was in Cambuslang, I met a distressed woman who was trying to report a serious incident to the police. Her local station in Blantyre was closed, so she had travelled several miles to Cambuslang only to find that the station there was also closed. Our conversation was a heartbreaking example of what the loss of local policing means for communities. Soon, people all across Scotland will be faced with the same situation, because Police Scotland is being forced to consider closing 30 stations. When will residents be told which local police stations are closing? Will the First Minister tell us why he approves of the plans to decimate the police presence in Scotland’s communities?
I am afraid that that is just another inaccuracy. We have not approved the plans. Neither the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs nor I have seen any finalised plans for the police estate in Lanarkshire.
I go back to my earlier answer to Douglas Ross. Police Scotland’s estate strategy was published in 2019 for everyone to see. It outlined plans to replace outdated and underused properties and replace them—“replace” being the key word—with modern, fit-for-purpose spaces after consideration of a number of options, including co-location with partner organisations.
What people in Scotland—including those in Rutherglen and Hamilton West—will be interested to know is whether their communities are safer. The answer to that is that they absolutely are, as they have been since the Scottish National Party entered government. People will want to know whether there are sufficient numbers of bobbies on the beat. There are. I am pleased to say that there has been an increase in police officer numbers since the Scottish National Party took power.
Any changes to the estate will be operational matters for Police Scotland. I will continue to ensure that Police Scotland is fairly funded.
The woman who had to go to two police stations but was still unable to speak to a police officer will not feel any safer after having heard what was, frankly, a head-in-the-sand answer from the First Minister.
Last month, the SNP’s mismanagement of our police service was laid out in starker terms. Police Scotland said that it will need to lose another 600 police officers and 200 staff next year, and 2,000 staff over the next four years. That is on top of the 600 officers it has already lost. Front-line officers are being overworked, are missing out on rest days and are struggling with their mental health. That means that, in parts of Scotland, the police are piloting the approach of not investigating some crimes. The Scottish Police Federation has warned that people “may die” if further cuts go ahead. Those are its words, not mine.
Why will the First Minister not listen to police officers who are serving on the front line and trying to keep our communities safe?
We do listen to them. Both the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs and I listen to police officers regularly.
Police Scotland has already recruited almost 600 officers this year alone, which means that it has recruited just shy of 1,500 officers since the beginning of 2022. I go back to the point that I made to Douglas Ross a moment ago. We have invested in Police Scotland. That is why there are more police officers in Scotland than there are in England or in Labour-run Wales.
We also invest in our police officers to ensure that they are paid fairly. That is why they remain the best paid in the entire United Kingdom in every comparable rank—certainly in comparison with those in England and Wales.
We will continue to invest in our police service. Of course, determining how many officers the service will have in each role is an operational decision for the chief constable. As First Minister, I will ensure that the Government that I lead continues to invest significantly in police officers and in Police Scotland right across the board.
The First Minister might not choose to believe the police, but I believe them when they say that they are worried about their resources and the loss of staff. The first duty of any Government is to keep its citizens safe. When the police tell the First Minister that communities will be put at risk, he should listen to them.
The current situation is the direct result of 16 years of SNP incompetence and mismanagement. When Humza Yousaf was Cabinet Secretary for Justice, the police were “stretched to breaking point”. Those were the words of the SNP member whom some members sitting behind the First Minister wish they had elected as their leader.
As is the case with our national health service and every other Scottish institution, our police service is weaker after 16 years of SNP failure. We can see it, the people sitting behind the First Minister can see it and the people of Scotland can see it, so why can the First Minister not see that it is time for change?
I tell you what, Presiding Officer, the back benchers behind Anas Sarwar certainly did not seem to believe it.
When it comes to the facts, since the SNP has been in government, recorded crime has been at one of its lowest levels in almost 50 years—it is down 41 per cent. Since the SNP assumed office, there has been a 53 per cent fall in cases of robbery, a 71 per cent fall in cases of house breaking, a 65 per cent fall in cases of theft of a motor vehicle and a 70 per cent fall in cases of vandalism. There has been a significant reduction in crime across a number of crime types.
The situation around the funding of our public services has, of course, been difficult not because of the SNP but because of the Conservatives’ complete and utter economic mismanagement. The difference between Anas Sarwar and me is that I want to ensure that we have the power over our finances while he wants to keep that power in the hands of the Conservatives.
Climage Emergency Measures (Poverty)
To ask the First Minister how the measures in place to tackle the climate emergency will also help to address poverty. (S6F-02429)
A fair and just transition to net zero means aligning our climate action to address existing poverty and inequality across Scotland. A truly just transition to heat decarbonisation can help to reduce fuel poverty, through measures such as tackling poor energy efficiency, which is why we are investing £1.8 billion in the heat transition over the course of this session of Parliament.
In addition, our on-going support for public transport—especially our work to expand concessionary travel to under-22s and our pilot in removing peak fares, which just launched—demonstrates that we are already taking very serious action to both alleviate poverty and cut emissions.
Fairness and equity will be key considerations in the development of our just transition plans. We are working with the Poverty Alliance and people with lived experience of discrimination, poverty and wider inequality to co-design those plans.
Globally, we have just had the hottest July on record, then the hottest August and the hottest September. According to climate scientists, those temperatures are “gobsmackingly bananas”—a bit like this week’s Tory party conference, perhaps.
Scottish Greens know that the systemic causes of the climate emergency cause poverty and inequality, too. In this challenge poverty week, can the First Minister confirm that the work that we do to shift from a carbon economy to a renewables economy, through policies such as free bus travel for under-22s and the ending of peak rail fares, is all vital to the twin missions of tackling the climate emergency and tackling poverty, and that such policies are instrumental in building the clean, green, equal and caring economy that we all so desperately need?
I agree whole-heartedly with Maggie Chapman. Anybody who pays attention to the science—which, I think, covers most of us in the chamber—will know that climate injustice and the climate catastrophe do not impact us equally. The climate catastrophe impacts people who are poorer, the most vulnerable and those who live in areas of higher deprivation more greatly than it impacts others. It is therefore important that we have a just—I emphasise “just”—transition to a low-carbon economy, which is vital in delivering both our environmental obligations and our social and economic objectives.
As I have said, we are clearly demonstrating that commitment through policies such as the £1.8 billion investment in heat transition and the expansion of free bus travel, and we will continue to ensure that we make progress in meeting our obligations for the planet and, importantly, for the people of Scotland.
Decarbonisation of our housing stock is critical to Scotland meeting its ambitious net zero targets, but residents are rightly concerned about the cost of installing new heating systems, which will far outweigh any Government grant support that is available. They are also often unsure about the range and applicability of the various technologies on offer. Does the First Minister agree that the most cost-effective way to decarbonise much of our existing housing stock might be through accelerating the deployment of district heating solutions, centralising much of the investment and technology choices and making the process of decarbonisation much easier and cheaper for home owners?
Ivan McKee is absolutely right. Heat networks will play an important role in changing how we heat our buildings; they could grow to meet anywhere between 17 and 32 per cent of our heat demand.
It is also fair to say that it will be important for us to attract private investment for our decarbonisation journey. That it happening world-wide. Over the Atlantic, there is the Inflation Reduction Act and, to the east, in Europe, there is the green deal industrial plan. Unfortunately, we have the United Kingdom Government sitting on its hands, not taking action and not helping us to attract private investment. We continue to demand that we have full financial powers so that we can attract that investment to Scotland to help us in our journey to net zero.
With an all-day bus ticket in Glasgow costing £5, I agree that free bus travel is an environmental and social good. For people who are seeking asylum in Scotland, who receive just £6 a day from the Home Office, public transport is simply not an affordable option. During challenge poverty week, civil society organisations are calling for free bus travel to be extended to people who are seeking asylum. Will the First Minister confirm that his Government will deliver that?
The Government is certainly considering that. We will seek to do anything that we can do within our powers to make the lives of asylum seekers easier. Paul Sweeney knows well that we do not have those powers in our hands and that they still lie in the hands of an inhumane Conservative Government.
Yesterday, I met an asylum seeker who has been in the asylum system for 12 years—12 years—without the right to work. That is an absolute disgrace, and I know that Paul Sweeney agrees with me on that.
Yes, I will consider the proposals to see whether we can extend concessionary bus travel. There are real limitations on our budget, but we will consider it.
Creative Scotland
To ask the First Minister what support the Scottish Government is providing to Creative Scotland. (S6F-02433)
The Scottish Government provides significant funding to Creative Scotland each year, and it will continue to do so. In the financial year 2023-24, that included £27 million to support Creative Scotland’s regularly funded organisations, £5.77 million for Creative Scotland’s operating costs, £9.5 million for the youth music initiative, £7.25 million for Screen Scotland and £2.5 million for festivals.
There are considerable challenges in the arts and culture sector. The sector and the Scottish Government are struggling to operate in a post-pandemic, post-Brexit, high-inflation and constrained-budget environment that is not of Scotland’s making. Nevertheless, the scale of funding for the arts and culture sector is comparatively low at around 0.1 per cent of our overall budget.
The Scottish Government has set out its stall in creating a wellbeing economy, and the arts and culture sector is one of the primary contributors to that ambition. Will the First Minister and his cabinet secretary redouble their efforts to make sure that the sector is supported by whatever means possible during what will undoubtedly be further challenges in the years ahead?
Yes, I can do that. Michelle Thomson makes some important points in her question. Culture and the arts are important for the economic contribution that they make to this country, but they are also important for other reasons. They can and will be part of the wellbeing economy. When we think about social prescribing in the health space, we know that they can be exceptionally important. Culture and the arts are also intrinsically important for their own sake and for the joy that they bring to the people of this country—and, as we have seen over the summer, in particular, to people right across the world.
We will ask Creative Scotland, as we ask other public bodies, to help and assist, and if that means using its reserves, we will ask it to do that. However, I can give an absolute commitment that, even when our finances are constrained, we will look to support our culture and arts, as we have done over the years, because they are so valuable to us all in Scotland and to the rest of the world.
Last week’s decision to reinstate a cut of £6.6 million to Creative Scotland’s budget not only represents the complete reversal of a commitment that the SNP made in February but has caused irreparable damage to the trust that was placed in the Government by those who work in culture and the arts. Lori Anderson of Culture Counts has described it as
“beyond disappointing … a massive knock in confidence for the sector”.—[Official Report, Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee, 28 September 2023; c 30.]
What does the First Minister say to her and to the thousands of people who are working in the creative sector who feel completely let down by the mixed messages and broken promises of his Government?
It is astonishing for Donald Cameron to talk about broken promises 24 hours after his Government scrapped the high speed 2 railway line. When he stands up to ask us about the difficult financial circumstances in which we find ourselves, does he never reflect on who the architects of those have been? His party has been the architect, through its decimation of the public finances, and, of course, it was his party leader, Douglas Ross, who demanded that we follow suit. Thank goodness we did not. If we had done, we would have been facing far more severe financial pressure than we currently are.
Let me make it absolutely clear—I will be unequivocal—that every single regularly funded organisation will continue to receive the funding that it was expecting this financial year. There will be no detriment to them, because we have asked Creative Scotland to use a portion of its reserves of £17 million to help us with the financial challenge. Subject to parliamentary approval, we will seek to restore that in the next financial year.
The First Minister and Angus Robertson, the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, have claimed that a £6.6 million cut to Creative Scotland will have no detriment to cultural organisations this year, yet it is quite obviously the case that it will have a detriment of £6.6 million to the sector in the future. The Scottish Government promised in February to provide that essential funding, but it has now broken that promise.
The cabinet secretary has given a gold-plated assurance that funding of £6.6 million will be given to Creative Scotland next year. What on earth is that assurance worth when the previous Government assurance turned out to be worth absolutely nothing? How does the cut match with the First Minister’s words last month, when he said that the Government “values the role” of the culture sector?
Neil Bibby really should have thought about revising his question after I answered that very point in response to Donald Cameron. Let me explain it to Neil Bibby once again. Every single regularly funded organisation will receive the funding that it was expecting this financial year. There will be no detriment to those organisations, because Creative Scotland, which has reserves of around £17 million, is being asked to use a portion of those reserves to ensure that there is no detriment. Subject to parliamentary approval—[Interruption.]
Let us hear the First Minister.
—and, I hope, Neil Bibby’s approval, when it comes to next year’s budget, we will ensure that we restore the £6.6 million to Creative Scotland’s reserves.
Crime and Antisocial Behaviour (Retail Premises)
To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government will take to tackle the reported rising rates of crime and antisocial behaviour at retail premises. (S6F-02441)
Although the latest recorded crime data for shoplifting shows an increase, the levels remain below pre-pandemic levels. However, I absolutely recognise the disruption and harm that it has caused to businesses in terms of theft and antisocial behaviour. Police Scotland and partners are taking action to tackle and reduce it.
The Scottish Government fully supports the innovative Scottish partnership against acquisitive crime, which is led by Police Scotland and includes a number of other organisations, including retailers. Anyone who is affected by such an incident should report it to Police Scotland, which remains absolutely focused on keeping our communities safe from harm.
I have met various retailers in my area who have all discussed the challenges that they are facing with the rise in crime and antisocial behaviour. That has escalated significantly over the past year and, in their words, is out of control. Police numbers are falling, police funding is stretched and the Government’s approach to justice is not working. What action will the First Minister take to protect retail workers?
As I have said to Douglas Ross and Anas Sarwar, police officer numbers have increased since the Scottish National Party came into government, recorded crime has reduced—in fact, it is at one of its lowest levels in almost 50 years—and we have more police officers per head in Scotland than there are in England and Wales. We will continue to invest in our police service.
It is worth noting that, over the past 10 years, from 2013-14 to 2022-23, there has been a 3 per cent increase in shoplifting. I was very interested in the comments that were made in an interview by Dr Sinéad Furey, who is a senior lecturer in consumer management and food innovation at Ulster University. She said:
“We have seen this before in previous times of austerity or economic downturn. The return of ‘stealing to eat’ instead of being able to ‘afford to eat’ is yet more proof that we need effective policy solutions that put sufficient income in people’s hands in a dignified way so that poverty and resorting to crime do not become a mainstream means of securing the most basic essentials of living.”
That quote is not from me but from a professor and an academic. The Conservatives would do well to listen to that.
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (Impact of Operational Changes)
To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of any impact of operational changes in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service on response times to recent incidents, including the fires at the Ayr Station hotel and Kitty’s nightclub in Kirkcaldy. (S6F-02428)
As I said last week, I want to thank our emergency services and partners for their responses to those incidents, which were rightly operational matters for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. Both fires took place in derelict buildings. There was no risk to life, there were no casualties, thankfully, and they were not rescue situations. At Ayr Station hotel, the SFRS deployed 15 appliances at the peak of the fire. A decision was made not to tackle the blaze internally, due to the building’s structure and to ensure that firefighters were not placed at risk.
The SFRS has confirmed that the recent operational changes did not impact on the outcome of the Ayr Station hotel incident, and the Kirkcaldy fire occurred before any of the operational changes came into effect.
I associate myself with the First Minister’s tribute to our firefighters. He will be aware that the appliance at Kirkcaldy was taken out of operation at midnight later on the day of the fire.
Is the First Minister aware of the serious concerns that the Fire Brigades Union has raised about the impact of the withdrawal last month of 10 appliances, which included the withdrawal of a specialist appliance at Ayr, which the FBU says meant that local firefighters had to wait for an appliance to arrive from Castlemilk, given that the Kilmarnock one had broken down? Will he meet FBU Scotland to discuss its concerns about the impact of budget cuts on public safety?
The cabinet secretary regularly meets the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, and I am sure that she would be pleased and happy to meet the FBU, for which we have the utmost respect and with which we have regular engagement, to address some of the points that Katy Clark made.
Let me address the point about funding. Despite the fact that we face very difficult financial circumstances—that has been well rehearsed in the chamber—we are providing the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service with more than £368 million this year, which is an increase of £14.4 million compared with last year. We are also continuing to invest in firefighters up and down the country. As of March 2022, in Scotland there were 11.3 firefighters per 10,000 of the population. That is in stark contrast to the position in England and Wales, where there were, respectively, 6.1 and 8.4 firefighters per 10,000 of the population.
We will continue to invest in the fire service and in our brave firefighters for the exceptional work that they do. We will also continue to make sure that dialogue continues with the fire service and the Fire Brigades Union when that needs to happen, because, collectively, we all want to ensure that we have a fire service that is well resourced and well equipped.
Will the First Minister outline what more can be done to take action against private owners who leave buildings derelict and at risk of antisocial behaviour, including fire raising, which has a significant impact on our councils and public services?
Audrey Nicoll raises a very important point indeed. Derelict buildings are a blight on our communities and, as we have seen, they can pose a risk to the wider public. The best solution is, of course, for owners to maintain their properties or to dispose of them so that they are not a drain on our public services.
The control of dangerous buildings is primarily the responsibility of local authorities. Under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003, a council can serve a notice on the owner to require them to carry out the necessary work, or it can secure the site and carry out the work itself to make the building safe, right up to demolition.
The police, local authorities and the SFRS all work together to minimise the risks that are posed by derelict buildings. The public can also play a part by reporting to Police Scotland, the SFRS or their local council any concerns that they have about derelict buildings that do not seem secure.
We move to general and constituency supplementaries.
Chest, Heart and Stroke Conditions (Support)
I am sure that the First Minister will have seen the “No Life Half Lived” report from Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, which makes a number of recommendations to enable the one in five people in Scotland who live with chest, heart and stroke conditions, including in my South Scotland region, to access to rehabilitation and support. For transparency, I co-convene a number of health-related cross-party groups, including the cross-party group on lung health. Will the First Minister outline how the recommendations in the report align with the Scottish Government’s stroke improvement plan?
I have read and welcome Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland’s report, which rightly challenges the Government on where we can and should go further. We, and the cabinet secretary, will continue to engage with Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland in relation to the report.
We are committed to ensuring that people who live with chest, heart and stroke conditions receive the best possible care. We have a stroke improvement plan that requires national health service boards to demonstrate provision of stroke rehabilitation in a variety of settings and with a range of intensities. The plan also says that boards must demonstrate a clear pathway for patients to engage with stroke rehabilitation services and must offer a formal six-month review to everyone who has had a stroke.
I will end where I started, by saying that I welcome the report and will continue to engage with Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland to see how we can continue improving the patient experience.
NHS Fife (Gynaecological Treatment Waiting Times)
Endometriosis Fife has advised me that the situation regarding waiting times for gynaecological services in NHS Fife is appalling. Patients referred with conditions such as endometriosis are having to wait for more than 63 weeks for treatment, which is a wait of one year and three months, rather than the three months promised by this Government. What is the Scottish Government doing right now to address those appalling waiting times for my constituents?
Roz McCall is right to raise the issue and I will ensure that the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care looks into the specific matter raised by Endometriosis Fife in relation to that particular health board.
We have a women’s health plan and have ambitious plans to reduce the far-too-long time taken for diagnosis for women suffering from endometriosis and other such conditions. I will ask the cabinet secretary for health to write to Roz McCall about the specifics of the issue in Fife to see what more we can do, so that women in particular do not have to wait long for access to diagnosis, let alone access to treatment thereafter.
University Hospital Wishaw (Neonatal Intensive Care)
Does the First Minister support the downgrading of the neonatal intensive care unit at University hospital Wishaw, or does he agree with experienced midwife Elsie Sneddon that
“this would not just be a disaster for Lanarkshire, but a disaster for Scotland.”
I tend to believe the experts, the clinicians and those in the third sector who have worked with young babies who often need that care. We believe, and clinicians certainly believe, that the model that is being put in place will ensure the best possible care for the sickest babies. I would be more than happy to have the cabinet secretary write to Richard Leonard to furnish him with the detail, but, as I say, we are, rightly, being led by the expert voice of clinicians and by many of those in the third sector who also support the changes.
Rail Fares (Net Zero Targets)
The pilot of the removal of peak rail fares is another example of the Scottish Government’s commitment to the role of sustainable transport, such as rail travel, in achieving our net zero targets. What might that initiative mean for emissions reduction?
It could be absolutely significant. As I said in my response to Maggie Chapman’s question, we hope to have more people using our rail services and I am delighted that there has been such a positive response to the Government’s funding of ScotRail for a six-month pilot to abolish peak fares. The move has been welcomed this week by many people who have been using our railways. Part of the evaluation of the pilot will be to calculate the savings in CO2 emissions that are generated by removing car journeys from Scotland’s roads.
There is a stark contrast between two Governments. In Scotland, we have a Government that is cutting rail fares, while the United Kingdom Conservative Government is cutting railway lines.
Aberdeen Hospital Projects (Delays)
Further design faults have again delayed completion of the Baird family hospital and the Anchor centre in Aberdeen. Those projects are now three years late and almost £100 million over budget, with costs expected to rise further. Has the First Minister met NHS Grampian to discuss those deeply concerning delays? What financial support will the Scottish Government provide to the health board to ensure that those much-needed projects can go ahead?
Tess White is right to raise the challenges around those two projects. The entire purpose of setting up NHS Scotland assure was to help to assure us all that the capital projects that were being undertaken were meeting the high standards that we would all expect for all our capital projects, particularly for NHS projects such as the Anchor centre and the Baird family hospital.
NHS Scotland assure is doing its job. As Tess White rightly says, concerns and issues have been raised and need to be rectified. The cabinet secretary and the Government will remain close to the health board, and I am more than happy to ensure that Tess White is kept up to date on those discussions.
College Sector Pay Negotiations (Compulsory Redundancies)
Yesterday, Educational Institute of Scotland members attended the Scottish Parliament with a letter for the First Minister. It read:
“Compulsory redundancies are already a reality in Scotland’s college sector ... To continue to allow the abandonment of the Scottish Government’s own ‘no public sector redundancy’ policy in the Further Education sector is nothing short of a betrayal of hard-working staff.”
Will the First Minister accept that compulsory redundancies are now a reality on his watch and, in challenge poverty week, can he explain how treating the college sector with such disdain is compatible with supporting it to continue being a route out of poverty for people living in our most vulnerable communities?
The Government will respond to the EIS and other trade unions more formally, but we have been clear that those discussions are taking place between the employer, the colleges and trade unions. In any discussion that the Minister for Higher and Further Education has had on the matter—he has communicated this face to face and in writing—he has made it abundantly clear that the guiding light should be our fair work principles. Those principles are important to me as First Minister and to the entire Government. I urge college principals and those who are negotiating on behalf of the employer to make sure that they do everything that they can to ensure that they are guided by those fair work principles.
National Islands Plan
Orkney Islands Council has called for the Scottish Government’s national islands plan to be scrapped after “little or no progress” has been made on its 13 objectives, notably on inconsistencies in island authority funding and the improvement of lifeline transport links.
Does the First Minister accept that a more tightly focused plan would offer more chance of objectives being met, rather than the Scottish Government continuing to overpromise and underdeliver for Orkney and other island communities?
We have invested significantly in our island communities, and I am always happy to speak to the leader of Orkney Islands Council—in fact, we engaged in conversation at the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities conference just last week.
I do not think that there is merit in scrapping the national islands plan. We have to ensure that we as the Scottish Government make good on the commitments that are in the plan, and we are absolutely committed to doing that. I will give Liam McArthur an example. In my previous conversation with the leader of Orkney Islands Council, I reaffirmed the fact that the Government is very open, in the spirit of the Verity house agreement, to considering models such as a single island authority. Let us have that conversation about the art of the possible. The Government has made significant commitments on the funding and assisting of funding to interisland ferries. We will continue those discussions and that engagement, not only with Orkney Islands Council but with all our island local authorities.
High Speed 2 Cancellation (Impact on Scotland)
The First Minister is obviously aware of the cancellation of high speed 2, or a large part of it, by the Conservatives, who are clearly interested only in London and the south-east of England. Will that have any impact on Scotland—for example, on our climate targets and the fact that it will be more difficult to take rail travel through and to England?
That will undoubtedly be the case. The Scottish Government has always strongly supported a high-speed rail programme that benefits Scotland, and it is clear that the latest United Kingdom Government decision and latest broken promise will negatively impact on Scotland’s ambitions for net zero, our economy, and enhancing our rail capacity and, indeed, our connectivity.
We need to take time to fully understand the implications of the impact of the cancellation of the HS2 project and to consider the significant impact that it will have on our economy and, importantly, on our climate change targets. It goes without saying that long-distance rail travel in the UK will now continue to struggle to compete with domestic air travel. That will not help us to deliver on the important climate change targets that we must achieve.
I reflect on the fact that, in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Prime Minister put up a map and said that he will be investing in the north. That map excluded Scotland almost entirely. It managed to go up to Stranraer, but it excluded the rest of Scotland. Forget investing in Scotland—the Tories cannot even find Scotland on the map.
Winchburgh (Rail Station)
On the subject of rail travel, I have been made aware that ScotRail has made provision in its timetable to allow trains between Edinburgh and Dunblane to stop at Winchburgh. When will Winchburgh get its station?
We have an excellent record in investing in rail infrastructure.
It is remarkably brave—some might use a different word—of Sue Webber to stand up here to talk about rail investment 24 hours after the Prime Minister scrapped high speed 2. I will ensure that the member gets the detail on our rail infrastructure.
As I have said, it is a tale of two Governments. This week, we have invested in cutting rail fares, while the Conservatives have cut railway lines up and down the country.
That concludes First Minister’s question time—
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I did not raise a point of order during First Minister’s question time, because I understand that it is the convention of the Parliament not to do so. During your exchanges with the First Minister, when he was asked to apologise to you and the member whom he falsely accused of lying, he did neither. What steps will be taken to tackle the First Minister’s wilful disrespect of your office and of the Parliament?
I dealt with that matter at the time, Mr Kerr.
We will move on to members’ business, which is a debate in the name of John Swinney. There will be a short suspension to allow those leaving the chamber and the public gallery to do so before the debate begins.
12:47 Meeting suspended.12:48 On resuming—
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