Official Report 1035KB pdf
Taxation
If a Scottish Government minister misleads the Parliament and, by extension, misleads the public, should they correct the record?
The arrangements for so doing are set out clearly and will be applied where that is necessary.
That was as clear as mud.
John Swinney often talks about integrity, yet his party and his Government have none. He denied that his justice secretary had broken the ministerial code until the Scottish Conservatives proved that she had done so—not once but twice.
John Swinney shows exactly the same disregard for integrity and facts when it comes to taxation. Here are the facts: more Scottish workers pay more income tax than those elsewhere in the United Kingdom. John Swinney falsely accuses me of misleading the Parliament when I state that hard fact, and then he does not correct the record. I know that the Scottish National Party’s culture of dishonesty will never change, but does John Swinney at least agree that Scots are paying too much tax?
First, the arrangements in relation to the scrutiny of ministerial conduct have been strengthened by the arrangements that I have put in place. The system of independent advisers being able to explore and examine cases at their own volition, without reference from me, has only been provided by the actions that I have taken as First Minister to set the highest tests for accountability and scrutiny that have to be in place at all times. [Interruption.]
Let us hear the First Minister.
That is only possible because of the arrangements that I have put in place as First Minister.
On the substantive point that Russell Findlay puts to me, the independent Scottish Fiscal Commission forecasts show that most Scottish taxpayers are expected to pay less income tax this financial year—2025-26—than they would if they lived in the rest of the United Kingdom. I am happy to put that point on the record in the Parliament today.
That got one clap. He has strengthened accountability by dishing out a get-out-of-jail-free card to all his SNP pals—that is one way of doing it.
Taxes are too high in Scotland. Scots are forced, and not asked, to pay £1.7 billion extra a year through SNP income tax rises, yet they see a wasteful Government that is utterly incapable of fixing public services, which only get worse. As demonstrated once again today by the revelation that bed blocking costs the national health service up to £0.5 billion every year, the SNP’s list of costly failures is truly endless.
Struggling workers, families and businesses all deserve a break. That is why we are calling on John Swinney to reduce the crippling financial burden by cutting income tax in next week’s budget. Will he do so?
In relation to public services, recent data that came out on Tuesday demonstrates that, for the sixth month in a row, long waits in our national health service are falling. In some circumstances, they have fallen by 30 per cent since the start of the financial year, due to the plan and the resources that I have put in place. Long waits are coming down, just as I promised they would do, for patients the length and breadth of our country. The key point that I would make to Russell Findlay is that the investment that we are making in public services is delivering better outcomes for people in our country.
The delayed discharge report from Audit Scotland today demonstrates that it is necessary for us to work collaboratively with local authorities to tackle that issue. The good work on that is highlighted in the Audit Scotland report.
Of course, this Government recognised the need for that intervention in the national care service proposals, but the Conservatives and others would not support those proposals when they came to the Parliament. [Interruption.]
Thank you—let us hear one another.
The last thing that I will say to Mr Findlay about his tax cut proposals is that, yes, his proposals involve cutting tax, but they also involve cutting public spending by £1 billion—and he never answers the question about that.
When it comes to the state of the NHS in Scotland under the SNP, John Swinney’s selective statistics do not cut it. Patients know the reality. They see the reality with their own eyes.
John Swinney thinks that he can take more and more from workers and businesses and, at the same time, spend more and more on benefits. The SNP’s annual benefits bill of £7 billion is on course to reach £10 billion a year. State benefits are a vital safety net for those in need, but that bill is unaffordable, unfair and unsustainable. The only way that John Swinney can pay for it is by hiking taxes even more.
However, there is another way. We believe that workers should keep more of their hard-earned money—[Interruption.]
Let us hear Mr Findlay.
—and that that will help to increase prosperity by growing the economy.
John Swinney could cut people’s taxes by tackling the out-of-control benefits bill in the budget—but does he have the bravery to do so?
Since the start of this financial year, new out-patient waits of more than 52 weeks have fallen by 31 per cent. Since the start—[Interruption.]
First Minister, just a moment.
I am conscious of the number of members who have advised me that they would like to put questions today. Their doing so will be made far more likely if we can hear one another.
So that colleagues can hear my remarks: since the start of this financial year, new out-patient waits of more than 52 weeks have fallen by 31 per cent. Since the start of this financial year, in-patient and day-case waits of more than 52 weeks have fallen 28.6 per cent. Every single month, there are falls in the levels of those waiting lists. That is because the plans that I put in place are delivering benefits for real people in our society.
When it comes to social security investment, this Government has invested in measures such as the Scottish child payment, which means that child poverty is falling in Scotland when it is rising in other parts of the United Kingdom. In Scotland, we have child poverty levels that are at 30-year lows, as a consequence of our intervention.
I know that Mr Findlay does not care about child poverty. [Interruption.]
Members!
I know that the implications of Mr Findlay’s policies are the reduction of support for vulnerable people in our society and, as a consequence, more children would be subjected to poverty by the callous actions of the Conservative Party. Members on these benches will have none of that. We will stand beside the families of Scotland, reducing poverty and making sure that there is opportunity for all in Scotland.
Delayed Discharges (Audit Scotland Report)
Audit Scotland’s report on delayed discharges from hospital is damning and should shame John Swinney and the Scottish National Party Government. It reveals that, in the past year, more than 720,000 bed days were lost to delayed discharge. That is almost three quarters of a million clinically unnecessary days in hospital in a single year for patients who are cleared to leave but many of whom are trapped because they cannot get a care package.
Those 720,000 bed days equate to nearly 2,000 bed days lost every day. That is the real-life consequence of almost 20 years of government by John Swinney and the SNP. Is that not 720,000 more reasons why Scotland needs a new Government and new leadership?
I welcome the report from Audit Scotland, because it highlights the importance of tackling the issue of delayed discharge. That issue has been a priority for this Government and that is recognised in the Audit Scotland report.
In relation to the substance of the delayed discharge issue, Audit Scotland highlights the complexities that are involved, but it also highlights that delayed discharge affects only 3 per cent of patients in our health system, which means that 97 per cent of patients leave hospital without delay.
Complex challenges have to be addressed, which is why I welcome the observation in the Audit Scotland report that
“Scotland’s population health framework, the health and social care service renewal framework and the NHS operational improvement plan, offer an opportunity to make progress, with a common focus on prevention.”
That means that Audit Scotland recognises the arrangements that this Government has put in place to work with our partners to address the substance of the delayed discharge problem, which will be my priority in taking forward that activity.
That was a pathetic answer from a First Minister who promised to eradicate delayed discharge a decade ago, and it proves that he is out of touch and out of time. He must own the damning consequence of his 20 years in government that 720,000 bed days have been lost in one year.
The SNP’s failure to deal with delayed discharge costs taxpayers and our national health service more than £440 million a year. Hundreds of millions of pounds are wasted while waiting lists remain too long and staff feel unsupported. Audit Scotland warns that
“the system cannot function as intended”.
There is no grip from the centre, no clear accountability and no effective oversight, all of which has human consequences.
Some patients have been forced to wait for more than six months in hospital after they have been medically cleared to leave. Why is John Swinney so willing to dismiss not just the financial cost of his failure but the human cost of this SNP Government?
An important point at the heart of the Audit Scotland report is about the need for there to be the deepest level of integration between health and social care services in Scotland. The Government tried to do something about that through the work that we did on a national care service, but the Labour Party would not support us, despite having made a policy commitment to support a national care service. [Interruption.]
Let us hear one another.
What that means is that the Labour Party says one thing in one context and another thing in a different context.
What is my evidence for that? On Monday, Anas Sarwar claimed that waiting lists in Scotland “continue to rise”, but, yesterday, he admitted that waiting lists in Scotland are coming down. That change between Monday and Wednesday shows that Mr Sarwar does not understand whether waiting lists are going up or coming down. What that means is that Mr Sarwar simply makes it up as he goes along, and the people of Scotland are seeing through that.
John Swinney is not living in the real world. He thinks that Scotland’s problems have been caused by the Opposition, not by a man who has been in government for 20 years. In just four months, Scotland can get rid of this useless SNP Government.
Scotland’s NHS is not safe in John Swinney’s hands. [Interruption.]
Let us hear Mr Sarwar.
He ignores the evidence, he ignores the experts, he ignores the patients who share their heartbreaking stories and he ignores the doctors and the nurses who are on the front line. Will he ignore the damning words of Alex Neil, who was his colleague for more than 20 years and who is a former SNP health secretary? Alex Neil said:
“A friend of mine waited 3 hours for an ambulance and then 33 hours on a trolley at Ayr Hospital last week before being allocated a bed. The First Minister’s claim that the SNHS has turned a corner is rubbish. Scotland’s hospitals are in deep crisis and need urgent action NOW”.
He is right—John Swinney is talking rubbish, is he not?
I come back to the information that I set out to Mr Findlay a moment ago. The plans to tackle long waits in Scotland that I set out in the first budget under my leadership as First Minister have resulted in a 31 per cent reduction in new out-patient waits and a 28.6 per cent reduction in in-patient and day-case waits. Sustained progress has been made over a six-month period. That says to me that the national health service is making the recovery that it needs to make from the Covid pandemic that affected us all.
Mr Sarwar is very good at dishing out advice. Eighteen months ago, he advised the people of Scotland to elect Labour members of Parliament. Yesterday, he described those Labour MPs as “idiotic”. That tells us all that we need to know. Anas Sarwar is not living in the real world, and telling the people of this country to vote Labour 18 months ago has proved to be a disaster, because he is now describing those Labour MPs as idiots. The people of Scotland are now realising that Anas Sarwar offers nothing in new leadership to Scotland and that the SNP will get on with delivering for the people of Scotland. [Interruption.]
Let us hear one another.
That is what we are doing just now.
I appreciate that we do not work in a library, but we have to treat one another with some more courtesy and respect. I want those who are gathered here to hear what is being said by those who have been called to speak.
Delayed Discharge
The First Minister is playing down the problem of delayed discharge, but he should tell that to everyone who is waiting for an ambulance or in a corridor or who has had their operation cancelled this morning, because our hospitals are full.
In November 2024, 62-year-old Margaret MacGill was rushed to hospital. She had become paralysed from the waist down with cauda equina, which is a rare spinal condition. It is thought that it was caused by lifting her disabled son and the patients in her care as an auxiliary nurse and then as a social care worker. Margaret has been in hospital—first in Raigmore and now in Wick—for more than 400 days. The family home was adapted and ready for her last April. Ramps were installed, doors were widened and a whole extension was built. What is missing are the carers and the staff that she needs to drop by to help her, so Margaret is still in hospital.
Margaret’s husband, Cathal, told me this morning that she is a positive and vibrant woman, but she is struggling. She just wants to get out of hospital. First Minister, what will it take to get Margaret home?
I am sorry to hear the circumstances that Mrs MacGill is experiencing, but some of the steps that Mr Cole-Hamilton has outlined are positive, with the adaptations that have been put in place in the family home to enable Mrs MacGill to go home. Practical steps are being taken in the right direction, but the challenge is the availability of carers.
I acknowledge that that is a difficulty in many areas of Scotland, but it is especially acute in rural areas, where the working-age population is not as large as we would want it to be. That is why Mr Cole-Hamilton and I probably agree that we have to take a constructive approach to migration to boost our rural population.
I know that there is a very active focus on meeting the challenges of social care in the Highlands. I am happy to receive details about Mrs MacGill’s case and to identify what further steps can be taken to assist in that respect.
The adaptations in Margaret’s home are of no use to her for every day that she remains stuck in hospital. The brutal irony of the story is that Margaret was a care worker and, throughout her career, she offered support that is now unavailable to her. She should have been home within 14 weeks, but she has been in hospital for 14 months. That is happening the length and breadth of the country. Scotland deserves better than this. That is why my party has made care a priority in our discussions about the Scottish budget.
It has now been 10 years since Shona Robison, the then health secretary, promised to get rid of delayed discharge altogether, but 2,000 people are marooned in hospital every day. It is a care bottleneck that means cancelled surgeries, endless waits in accident and emergency and ambulances stacking up outside hospitals.
This morning, we learned that that costs the NHS at least £1.2 million a day, but the cost to Margaret and people such as her is incalculable. When will the penny finally drop for the SNP that it cannot fix the crisis in our NHS until it has fixed care?
That has been reflected in the budget decisions that we have taken to expand support for social care in the budget for the current financial year that Mr Cole-Hamilton supported after negotiation. I welcomed that negotiation because the Government does not have a majority and we must work with others to agree the financial provisions. That dialogue is essential to ensure that social care can be adequately funded.
The Audit Scotland report highlights some of the complexity of cases such as the one that Mr Cole-Hamilton put to me. It also highlights the challenges of recruitment, particularly in remote and rural areas, which I am not at all disputing. That is why I have taken steps to make it more practical and possible for people to come to this country to work in our care service. Those people have been abandoned by the changes to care arrangements in the immigration rules that the United Kingdom Government has made, whereas I have taken steps to ensure that more of those individuals can work in our care service. I give Mr Cole-Hamilton the assurance that, where there are practical and pragmatic steps that we can take to do that, we will do exactly that.
Fuel Poverty
To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to support those affected by fuel poverty, in light of the recent rise in energy prices and their potential impact on the cost of living for households in Scotland. (S6F-04571)
The Scottish Government delivers the strongest package of winter heating support available anywhere in the United Kingdom. We continue to use the powers available to us to raise incomes and improve energy efficiency, including increasing funding for warmer homes Scotland, investing more than £196 million in winter heating benefits and providing a further £1 million this year to expand energy bill debt advice services.
However, the main levers for addressing fuel poverty, such as energy pricing and market reform, are reserved. We have repeatedly called on the UK Government to introduce targeted bill discounts to reduce the number of households in fuel poverty by around 135,000.
I commend the measures that the First Minister outlined and am proud that, at a time when people are struggling, this Scottish National Party Government is providing a stronger package of winter support than is available anywhere else in the UK. The Labour Party promised to cut energy bills by £300, but households are almost £200 worse off. Any Scottish politician worth their salt should be demanding better for Scotland. While the UK Government continues to deliver nothing but broken promises, does the First Minister agree that it is only through independence that we can prioritise Scotland’s interests and actually reduce energy bills?
Karen Adam makes the strong point that although the people of Scotland were promised a reduction in their fuel bills by the Labour Government, their fuel bills have gone up. That is another broken promise from the Labour Government.
Ms Adam is also right that, in Scotland, an energy-rich country, her constituents and others are facing fuel poverty because the energy wealth of Scotland is not being deployed to benefit the people of Scotland. The only way that that can happen is with independence, and this party is going to deliver that.
I call Audrey Nicoll for a brief supplementary question.
This week’s severe weather has seen the UK’s power demand reach a seven-year high as households struggle to keep warm through the winter storms. In energy-rich Scotland, that power demand sits alongside skyrocketing energy bills as families pay through the nose to heat their homes. Does the First Minister agree that the sooner Scotland’s energy is in the hands of Scotland’s people, the better that will be for lower bills, economic growth and meaningful community ownership? [Interruption.]
I hope that the First Minister heard that question. I ask those who are shouting from their seats to cease.
Audrey Nicoll makes the very important point that we live in an energy-rich country but that we also live in a country with a high level of fuel poverty, as a result of the decisions of the United Kingdom energy market. Audrey Nicoll is absolutely right: the sooner those issues are in the hands of the people of Scotland so that we can make the energy wealth of Scotland work for the benefit of the people of Scotland, the better.
Domestic Abuse Crimes
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to Police Scotland figures showing a 10 per cent increase in reported domestic abuse crimes over the past 12 months. (S6F-04560)
Domestic abuse is abhorrent and we must end it. Multiple factors lie behind the statistic, including a greater willingness of victims to report crimes, the justice system taking them seriously and the pursuit of action against the perpetrators—in most cases, men. Our equally safe strategy sets out preventative actions to prevent such violence from occurring in the first place. Our annual funding of £21.6 million supports projects such as equally safe at school and mentors in violence prevention, as well as building the capability and capacity of services to do their vital work to support survivors.
I thank the First Minister for that response, but let us be clear here. Last year, 66,000 domestic abuse incidents were recorded in Scotland—that is one every eight minutes. This is not a one-off spike. Incidents rose last year and again this year, and this is just the tip of the iceberg, with many cases—sadly—going unreported. Behind every figure is a real-life example of a person—primarily a woman—whose life has been shattered. Survivors are sick of the same old excuses and they need real action now. Will the First Minister back my Prevention of Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill, which would give the authorities powers to intervene early and to prevent abuse from happening in the first place?
I believe that this Government has taken very significant action to ensure that the perpetrators of domestic violence are brought to justice. The increase in the number of crimes that are being reported and the number of prosecutions that are being successfully achieved is testament to the fact that the prevention of domestic abuse and the pursuit of those who perpetrate that heinous crime are taken deadly seriously within the Government, and the data demonstrates how that is being taken forward. I am at one with Pam Gosal in the determination to make sure that we tackle domestic violence.
I say all of that because of what I am about to say. The Government has carefully considered the bill that Pam Gosal has introduced. We have concerns about how the proposals in the bill would work in practice and we do not believe that they are able to be supported because of their nature and the fact that they would not provide any additional emphasis or effectiveness in the domestic abuse arrangements.
We have arrangements in place that allow multi-agency public protection arrangements and the disclosure scheme for domestic abuse in Scotland, which gives people the right to ask about the background of their partner and gives Police Scotland the power to tell people that they may be at risk, even where that information has not been asked for. Those are the very strong arrangements that we already have in place, and—regrettably—we do not believe that Pam Gosal’s bill would add to the effectiveness of those provisions. However, I reiterate our absolute determination to do all that we can to tackle domestic abuse as a heinous crime in our society.
Bus Fare Cap
To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on the roll-out of the £2 bus fare cap pilot agreed as part of the 2025-26 budget negotiations. (S6F-04564)
Following an expression of interest process with our regional transport partnerships, I am pleased to confirm that we will work jointly with the Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership and the Shetland Transport Partnership—ZetTrans—to deliver the bus fare cap pilot. The initiative aims to make bus travel more affordable, improve access for low-income communities and support sustainable travel for people in Highland, Moray, Argyll and Bute, the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland. We look forward to progressing the phased launch of the pilot later this month, subject to finalising its design and operation.
I am delighted that my Highlands and Islands region will be the first to benefit from the new approach to affordable buses that was proposed and delivered by the Scottish Greens. Will the First Minister outline how the scheme will be promoted and supported to maximise uptake in those areas and how it will contribute to reducing car dependency and cutting transport emissions as part of Scotland’s climate commitments?
The bus fare cap pilot is one of a range of measures that the Government is taking to address poverty and support households, and to enable individuals to have a credible and affordable choice of utilising public transport. The pilot represents a significant milestone. It enables us to work with our partners to promote the approach as a means of making bus travel more affordable, improving access for low-income communities and supporting sustainable travel for people across the HITRANS and ZetTrans areas.
We will learn important lessons from the application of the pilot, which is the product of good, constructive, cross-party working between the Government and the Scottish Green Party in relation to the budget, and I am delighted to commend it today.
Queen Elizabeth University Hospital
To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking following reports that the Queen Elizabeth university hospital released the wrong body for cremation. (S6F-04559)
I am deeply concerned by this situation, and I extend my sympathies to the families that are affected. The arrangements and requirements for caring for the deceased require dignity and respect, and that the correct procedures are followed at all times. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and the inspector of burial, cremation and funeral directors are investigating the circumstances of the case. I expect to see the outcome of that investigation shortly.
The First Minister was told of the tragic circumstances at the Queen Elizabeth university hospital, where the wrong remains were sent for cremation, and of the devastation that that has caused for two families. However, it is not the first incident of that nature at the hospital, and it was unfortunately not the last, with the body of a 96-year-old grandmother also sent to the wrong funeral directors. Will the First Minister publish the investigation report by the inspector of burial, cremation and funeral directors? Can he advise whether the inspector’s powers extend to hospital morgues, and, if not, whether he agrees that the incident should be reported to the police?
The Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act was passed in 2016, so why has the First Minister’s Government been so slow to deliver change—taking nine years to create regulations? Does the First Minister consider that that delay has let down people who are caught up in the funeral parlour ashes scandal, which I brought to light in 2024, and that now it is letting down those who do not have their loved ones’ remains because of shocking national health service blunders?
The implementation of the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016 is being taken forward, and most of the provisions are in place. Indeed, there is also further recruitment of individuals as part of the implementation process.
I will explore the questions about publication of the inspector’s reports in relation to this particular case. It will be good if that is possible, but I have to confirm whether there are details that would be difficult to put into the public domain. However, it is important to do so to address the issues of public confidence that Jackie Baillie put to me, the importance of which I recognise. I will therefore explore that and write to Jackie Baillie on it. It is important that there is public confidence about such arrangements. The principles of dignity and respect must be applied.
I once again express my sympathy to the families that have been affected by that terrible experience.
I declare an interest as a practising NHS general practitioner.
A few weeks ago, the Queen Elizabeth university hospital in Glasgow released the wrong body, which was cremated, denying two families a goodbye, but this is not an isolated incident.
The body of 56-year-old William Paterson was released to the wrong funeral director. A mum was left in a mortuary for six weeks, with staff telling the family that she had been forgotten. Ninety-six-year-old Agnes Lane’s remains were released to the wrong funeral firm. At a time when families should be grieving, mistakes such as those are unacceptable. They cause significant distress.
With that catalogue of significant never events, what steps are being taken to hold senior management to account? They always seem to escape scot free.
The Government has in place a range of measures to tackle those issues. Guidance is in place that requires robust checking before any body is released from a hospital mortuary to an undertaker.
We also have the inspector of burial, cremation and funeral directors, who is appointed by Scottish ministers, and along with that we have a statutory funeral director code of practice that regulates many of those issues.
I assure Dr Gulhane that arrangements are in place to ensure that the highest standards are applied and that accuracy is implicit in all of the actions that are taken forward. I give Parliament the commitment that where we can publish information on that, we will.
We move to constituency and general supplementary questions. Concise questions and responses will enable more opportunities.
Supreme Court Ruling
Late yesterday, the Scottish edition of The Times reported that the Scottish Government has written to the United Kingdom Government’s Advocate General for Scotland to inform her that, should its other legal arguments against the ruling of the Supreme Court in favour of For Women Scotland fail, it wishes a further remedy to be explored in the form of a declaration of incompatibility on human rights grounds. At the same time, the First Minister and others in Cabinet have made multiple statements in this chamber that they fully accept the Supreme Court ruling and are working to implement it.
I am confused. I am not asking for comment on any legal action, but I am asking how the statements made in the chamber are compatible with the actions taken in secret by the Scottish Government.
In this respect, live legal proceedings are under way, and elements of my comments will be restricted because of that fact.
What the Government is doing is exactly what we told Parliament we were doing, which is taking forward the steps to ensure that we have the correct guidance arrangements in place to deal with the implications of the Supreme Court ruling. That is the work that the Government is undertaking—and is always undertaking—in this respect.
Crosshouse Hospital (Accident and Emergency)
Earlier this week, reports revealed that the A and E department at Crosshouse hospital in NHS Ayrshire and Arran exceeded capacity by 50 per cent this December. Staff had no choice but to care for and treat patients in corridors. To be clear, this is not just a winter issue—Crosshouse A and E exceeded capacity during seven months of last year. What progress has been made in capturing data on corridor care at both a national and local level, so that we might finally understand the true scale of that risk to staff and patients?
In collaboration with health boards around the country, we are undertaking work to ensure that we have in place sustainable arrangements in accident and emergency. That is also part of a whole-system approach, which involves the role of the Scottish Ambulance Service and NHS 24. When ambulances are called to homes, businesses or other locations, if patients can be sustainably supported in another situation, an increasing proportion of them are being supported there by the Scottish Ambulance Service, in order to avoid individuals being transported to hospitals. Obviously, a range of other sources of advice are available to ensure that individuals’ health needs are met.
During the Christmas break, I visited the accident and emergency department at Glasgow royal infirmary. Yes, it was operating under pressure, but it was operating in a sustainable fashion on the occasion that I was there. In other circumstances around the country, there has been stress and challenge in the A and E system and in other areas where there has been sustainable handling of the cases with which we are wrestling.
I assure Carol Mochan that we are working to ensure that there is a sustainable availability of services across the country. That work will be focused on Crosshouse hospital as much as anywhere else in the country.
STV Journalists (Strike)
Yesterday, journalists at STV took strike action, protesting against job cuts that would lead to the end of a separate news bulletin coming from the north of Scotland. I commend and support them for taking a stand and defending local journalism. Is there any pressure that the Government can put on STV and Ofcom to help to maintain a dedicated news service for the north-east of Scotland?
I agree entirely with Mr Lumsden about the importance of the distinctive and substantive news output from STV North. Some amended proposals have been brought forward, but I stress the word “substantive”. The alternative proposals that have emerged will lead to the erosion of substantive news output from STV North.
Yesterday, the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture provided an update to Richard Leonard on his meetings with the National Union of Journalists, STV and Ofcom. The Government has made representations to Ofcom and we have been in dialogue with STV. I reaffirm the position, which we have taken all along, that a distinctive and substantive news output from STV North is what is required and what the journalists of that organisation deserve, because they do an outstanding job of reflecting those issues.
The weather circumstances of the past few days have made that point powerfully. The circumstances in the north of Scotland have been more acutely challenging than those in the rest of the country, and that has been reflected in the distinctive and substantive news coverage from STV North. The events of recent days make Mr Lumsden’s point.
STV Journalists (Strike)
As we have just heard, this week, STV journalists and production workers have been on strike in response to the proposed cuts to STV North in Aberdeen. I know that the First Minister is aware of the vital role that local news plays in keeping communities informed. Does he agree that we must protect local journalism and demand that STV thinks again, negotiates with its workforce and resolves the dispute to benefit the workers and the communities that they serve in the north-east of Scotland?
In the light of these exchanges, I will make sure that renewed representations are made by the Government to STV and Ofcom. For all the reasons that I have put on the record today to Douglas Lumsden, which I reiterate to my colleague Jackie Dunbar, it is important that we protect substantive and distinctive news coverage from STV North. That is an important commitment to public service broadcasting in Scotland.
Extreme Weather
On Tuesday, I asked the First Minister what help could be given to the north and north-east during this period of extreme weather, in the face of severe council budget challenges. Since then, the situation has worsened, with further falls overnight and ice everywhere.
Tim Eagle MSP has suggested that the Government co-ordinates resource sharing between councils and Andrew Bowie MP has suggested calling out the military. Is the First Minister sympathetic to those solutions? In any event, what further support can the Government offer to help the people of the north and north-east during this extreme weather?
As I acknowledged on Tuesday, I recognise the severity of the issues that are being wrestled with principally in the north-east but also in the Highlands, the northern isles and the Western Isles. We have had at some times an amber warning in place on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday in those areas, so the situation has been very acute.
The dialogue that has taken place with local resilience partnerships has resulted in the making available of snow-clearing equipment by Amey, the trunk roads network company, to Aberdeenshire Council. A mutual aid arrangement has been put in place, and other local authorities have been part of putting in place mutual aid, because of the severity of the conditions in the north-east.
No agency has requested additional support from either the Scottish Government or the Ministry of Defence beyond those arrangements, but we are in constant contact with the resilience partnerships in the north-east. We had an extensive follow-up discussion on Tuesday evening, specifically with Aberdeenshire Council, on behalf of the resilience partnership, and we have been working closely with local authorities and health boards. I assure Mr Kerr that we are in active dialogue to identify whether any additional practical assistance can be offered.
We are now in a period in which there is a relaxation of the intensity of the weather, so the ability to apply measures to recover the situation is a greater opportunity in the absence of amber warnings, and that will be the priority for the next few days.
Wick John O’Groats Airport (US Military Operations)
The First Minister has said that he cannot see how international law has been respected by the United States in its military intervention in Venezuela, and has said that the
“international community must now ensure that de-escalation, diplomacy and democracy”
follow. Although defence is a matter that is reserved to the United Kingdom Government, Wick John O’Groats airport is owned by the Scottish Government, so reports that it is being used to support US military operations in relation to Venezuela are alarming. Was the First Minister made aware of the intention to use the airport to support yesterday’s action? Given his expressed views, what assurance can he give to my constituents in the north-east that their Scottish Government-owned infrastructure is not being used as a staging post to violate international law?
I think that we have to be really careful about the different issues that are at stake. I reaffirm the comments that I made at the start of the week about the situation in Venezuela, which are a matter of public record. I believe in the international rules-based system. Having listened carefully to what has been said by the United States Administration, I cannot see how international law has been respected in that case.
That is one circumstance. There is another circumstance, which is the incident involving the tanker. I and the Government have no knowledge as to whether aircraft that landed at Wick airport on the morning of 7 January—yesterday—were involved in that initiative. We have no knowledge as to whether that is the case. I can tell the Parliament for transparency that Wick airport is regularly used by aircraft to refuel to enable them to make journeys across the Atlantic and into the Arctic areas. That has been a long-standing activity. Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd does not scrutinise the basis on which any requests for landing are made in those circumstances. I stress that the Government and Highlands and Islands Airports do not have any knowledge of whether the aircraft that landed yesterday were used in the US-UK operation against the Russian tanker.
I conclude by saying two things. First, the matter is reserved to the United Kingdom Government and, secondly, where sanctions are applied and if they are applied to Russia, I am a firm supporter of those sanctions being enforced. There is no point in applying sanctions to Governments that ignore international law, undermine the rule of law and invade independent countries in the way that Russia has invaded Ukraine, without taking action when those sanctions are applied. I am happy to set out the Scottish Government’s position on that point of principle.
That concludes First Minister’s question time. The next item of business is a members’ business debate in the name of Claire Baker. There will be a short suspension to allow people to leave the chamber and the public gallery.
12:47 Meeting suspended.