Official Report 353KB pdf
The first item of business is general question time. As always, to accommodate as many questions as possible, I ask for concise questions and answers.
Vehicles Seized by the Police
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that vehicles seized by the police in connection with criminal or antisocial use are disposed of in a way that prevents them from re-entering circulation and being involved in further offending. (S7O-00367)
I agree that arrangements for seized vehicles should support our efforts to tackle that type of offending. I understand that Police Scotland has disposed of seized electronic transporters through an accredited recycling process in which some vehicles were auctioned, with the proceeds returned to the police.
However, I have been informed that Police Scotland took steps last week to stop such sales of seized electronic transporters and to dispose of them, so that they cannot re-enter circulation. The same approach has been applied to off-road motorcycles and quad bikes that are powered by internal combustion engines, ensuring that those vehicles are likewise prevented from returning to circulation.
The Cabinet Secretary for Justice has met Police Scotland to discuss how we can strengthen powers to seize vehicles. In addition, we will continue to urge the United Kingdom Government, which holds powers on registration and licensing of off-road vehicles, to take decisive action.
At a recent public meeting on the illegal use of off-road bikes in my constituency, concerns were raised that bikes that were seized by police were being auctioned and then reaching the communities and offenders that they had been seized from. I welcome the minister’s words on that, and I am somewhat reassured.
An organisation called Kingdom Off Road Motorcycle Club in my constituency has offered to take such bikes off the police and use them in a more productive way. Will the minister encourage more action like that and encourage the police to look further at that option?
I am grateful to Mr Barratt for his continued focus on this area, including his focus on community and partnership work. The work that he is doing on behalf of his constituents to make communities safer is a positive example to us all. I welcome any opportunity for further partnership working such as that which he has described, including with Kingdom Off Road. I would be happy to meet him to discuss any further opportunities in that area.
Front-line officers tell me that they lack two things: enough officers available for operational deployment and sufficient powers to search vehicles involved in criminality. Will the minister and the cabinet secretary demand funding in the forthcoming budget to increase the number of available operational police officers and commit to strengthening vehicle stop-and-search powers in Scotland?
I am grateful to Mr Kerr for his interest in this area. As I have said to him previously, there has been a record funding settlement for Police Scotland in the current year and there are more officers per head of population in Scotland than there are in England and Wales. Furthermore, there is a healthy pipeline of officer recruitment.
Although I am happy to discuss the details of ideas that Mr Kerr might wish to bring to the table, a lot of the things that he is looking at are operational decisions for the chief constable, and we need to be mindful of that.
Hospice Care (National Funding Framework)
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in developing a new national funding framework for hospice care. (S7O-00368)
This week marks hospice care week 2026. On Tuesday evening, I was delighted to speak at the reception that was hosted by Hospice UK and the Scottish hospice leadership group, and I know that lots of colleagues were there in support of their local hospices. It was really good to hear from hospice staff, volunteers and patients at that reception.
The Scottish National Party Government remains committed to the development of a new national framework to support more effective planning and commissioning of the palliative care that is provided by independent hospices. I met the Scottish hospice leadership group and Hospice UK just last month, and we plan to work closely with them to develop terms of reference for that work. We will engage with key partners in the statutory sector to take that work forward, recognising that integration joint boards remain legally responsible for the planning and commissioning of palliative care services, including independent hospices, to meet the needs of our local communities.
I am pleased to hear that those conversations are taking place with the sector. St Columba’s hospice in north Edinburgh provides vital compassionate care at a critical time for families, but, as it is an independent hospice, only 21 per cent of its funding comes from the Government, with the remainder being raised through fundraising and partnerships. With costs and demand rising, that is simply not sustainable.
Funding top-ups through yearly budgets are welcome but do not give the long-term financial sustainability that the sector needs. When will the minister be able to give clarity on the long-term fair funding that the sector is asking for?
As I set out, those conversations continue. We hope to get to a conclusion on the matter as soon as we can, because those services cannot wait and they need certainty. I reassure the member that we have confirmed that £9.4 million will be provided for independent hospices in our 2026-27 budget to ensure that they are supported to pay their staff in line with their national health service counterparts. I am pleased to confirm that that resource is in the process of being allocated to NHS boards for immediate onward payment to those hospices.
Hospice organisations are essential in allowing people and their families to focus on living right to the end. Does the minister agree that reliable, long-term and sustainable funding for the hospice sector not only enables staff and services to fully deliver their life-changing work but frees up NHS capacity, which provides vital savings, and enables family carers to continue to work and live their own lives, thereby contributing to the local economy generally?
I very much agree with those statements. Hospices provide vital support. It was good to hear at the reception the other night the difference that that makes to families, not just when their loved one is going through hospice care but through the support that they receive from hospices even after their loved one has passed away. Hospices make an incredible difference.
I attended the Kilbride hospice annual general meeting last week. It was great to hear from the minister about some of the support that will be offered to that hospice.
Children’s Hospices Across Scotland, which recently celebrated its 21birthday, supported 126 children across Scotland last year. Will the minister join me in wishing CHAS a happy birthday, and will she set out what support the Government is giving to ensure that it can continue to deliver its vital services?
I commend Kilbride hospice for the work that it does in Mr Kerr’s constituency.
CHAS works throughout Scotland to support young people and their families. I was delighted to meet the charity twice in September, and I wish it a happy birthday.
We are committed to supporting, and working in partnership with, CHAS as we deliver our five-year palliative care strategy. In 2025-26, we facilitated through health boards additional funding for CHAS, which totalled £2.6 million on top of the £7 million that it receives annually. Funding to ensure that its hospice staff are paid in line with their NHS counterparts has also been forthcoming. That has brought CHAS’s total funding to more than £10 million.
Hospice care sits within a wider ecosystem of palliative care. Marie Curie estimates that one Scot in three who dies has unmet palliative care needs. How will the Scottish Government ensure that palliative care is available to all who need it, particularly those in areas of socioeconomic deprivation?
Through the negotiations that we are undertaking, we hope to make hospice care available to all who need it. It is important to put on the record that not all care that hospices provide takes place in hospice buildings. A huge amount of care goes on in our communities. That work is at the forefront of that care, given how important it can be to people. Many people do not want to be in a hospice, as nice and as good an environment as that can be, and prefer to be in their homes, which is possible increasingly often due to the support that hospices have had.
The member who was to ask question 3 was not here for the start of this item of business. Therefore, we move to question 4.
National Treatment Centre
To ask the Scottish Government when the national treatment centre at Perth royal infirmary, which it committed to in 2021, will open. (S7O-00370)
The Scottish Government’s infrastructure delivery pipeline sets out the infrastructure projects and programmes that the Scottish Government will fund over the next four financial years. The Government is working with all health boards to develop a whole-system infrastructure plan to identify investment priorities across NHS Scotland. Projects that had begun the business case process but were then paused, such as the remaining national treatment centres, will be considered as part of that work.
As the cabinet secretary knows, a new national treatment centre at Perth royal infirmary was promised in 2021. It was due to open for patients in 2023, but not one penny has been committed and not one brick has been laid. That promise has been broken.
Now Perth residents read in the local press that there has been discussion in NHS Tayside about closing the emergency department at Perth royal infirmary, either in whole or in part, and moving that resource to Ninewells hospital. Can the cabinet secretary provide a cast-iron guarantee that that will not happen?
I well understand why Mr Fraser is an advocate for national treatment centres. They work, they are very productive and they are effective at reducing waiting lists. I reassure him that the remaining national treatment centres will be considered as part of that whole-system infrastructure planning.
I remind Mr Fraser about the financial context in relation to the real-terms cuts to the block grant by the previous United Kingdom Government and the real-terms reduction in capital funding under the current UK Government.
I will write to Mr Fraser with full details on his point about emergency departments. It is an important issue, because any such move would be a significant service delivery change. National health service boards, through their functions and authorities, have to consider how best to facilitate the right care at the right time, but it is worth putting on the record that there needs to be much further engagement on and exploration of those matters.
Cardiology Waiting Times (Impact on Patient Care and Outcomes)
I declare an interest as an employee of the national health service.To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of cardiology waiting times on unscheduled care and patient outcomes, including any action it can take to reduce diagnostic and treatment delays and avoidable hospital admissions. (S7O-00371)
Timely access to cardiology services is important for improving patient outcomes and reducing pressure on urgent and unscheduled care services. We very much recognise that delays in diagnosis or treatment can result in some patients experiencing deterioration in their condition and might increase the likelihood of an avoidable hospital admission.
That is why we are investing in planned care, diagnostics and treatment capacity across NHS Scotland. This year, we have invested £100 million through the NHS Scotland operational improvement plan, alongside a further £90 million package that is targeted at reducing the longest waits and increasing planned care capacity.
I welcomed the initiative that the Scottish Government showed in its heart disease action plan for 2021 to 2026, but the stark reality is that, today, more than 24,000 Scots are trapped on cardiology out-patient lists, with a further 26,000 waiting for a vital echocardiogram.
Given the direct link between diagnostic delays and the crisis in unscheduled care, what plans does the Government have for a successor national cardiology transformation plan to build on the current framework? Will the cabinet secretary commit to producing such a plan?
I would wish to keep the Parliament informed of all plans as we move forward in this important area, given that cardiovascular and respiratory conditions are a leading cause of ill health in this country.
Mr Currie is quite right to point to the fact that cardiology services across Scotland continue to experience significant demand. However, more recent data indicates that more patients are being removed from NHS Scotland out-patient waiting lists than are being added, and that timely access to diagnostic investigations remains a key component of cardiology pathways. Waiting lists for the eight key diagnostic tests are at their lowest level since 2021. I point to the Scottish Government’s important work with the British Society of Echocardiography to pilot science-led clinics at two sites in Scotland. I will be happy to keep Mr Currie fully informed of our work.
Last week, I made a 190-mile round trip from home to Raigmore hospital for an angiogram. For many Highland patients, the wait for diagnosis and treatment is compounded by even longer journeys, often by public transport. What action will the Government take to expand access to cardiac diagnostics closer to home, in NHS Highland and across Scotland?
Mr Baxter makes a fair and reasonable point. That is why the Government’s support of mobile MRI and CT scanners is important. As part of our community first approach, we need to shift more testing and diagnostic work into communities. That will benefit all of Scotland, not least the communities that Mr Baxter represents.
Premium Night Bus Services (Glasgow)
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions Transport Scotland has had with bus operators regarding night services that are categorised as “premium”, including what consideration has been given to adapting the £2 bus fare cap to help ensure that people requiring access to evening services in Glasgow have access to safe and affordable travel. (S7O-00372)
Night bus services in Scotland provide essential late-night mobility, which supports local economies, enhances personal safety and improves access to shift work and social activities.
Only a small number of services are excluded from the £2 fare cap and our national concessionary travel schemes. Those include tour buses and premium-fare night buses. Commercial bus operators are responsible for setting their own fares and deciding whether a service will operate at a premium fare. I confirm, however, that the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport has asked Transport Scotland to engage with bus operators on the issue and on the £2 bus fare cap that has been delivered by the Government.
I welcome the speedy change to business after my question was published last Wednesday, as McGill’s U-turned on the Friday.
Free bus travel for under-22s and disabled people in Scotland is still exclusive of night services, despite the Government’s claim earlier this year that disabled people can travel free. Many under-22s work in hospitality, and young women need safe transport home after a night out. Will the Scottish Government commit to free night bus travel for under-22s and disabled people, so that safe transport is accessible to all who need it and is not seen as a premium service?
Given the influence that Holly Bruce seems to wield with bus operators in Scotland, perhaps the issue will be addressed by the end of today’s session.
In all seriousness, she makes important points and I am happy to take them away and have dialogue with the cabinet secretary on those matters.
Glasgow’s night bus network has contracted continuously in recent years, from a seven-day service down to operating only on Friday and Saturday nights. Late-running buses are regularly cancelled due to poor fleet maintenance, and even when workers manage to finish their shifts early to catch the last bus, cancellations mean that they often find themselves stranded without an appropriate and affordable way home. Can the minister confirm that the franchising frameworks proposed in the better buses legislation will ensure that high standards of fleet maintenance and availability are explicitly included in the specifications for potential franchisees, with penalties for cancellations?
Paul Sweeney raises several important points about dialogue and engagement in relation to the work that we are undertaking on better buses legislation. All those matters can be considered as part of that process. He has put them on the record.
Child Contact (Grandparents)
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to commence the remaining provisions of the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 relating to child contact cases, including those that can address delays affecting grandparents seeking to maintain contact with their grandchildren. (S7O-00373)
The Scottish Government remains absolutely committed to implementing the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 in full. The legislation is ambitious, and implementing it involves a variety of detailed implementation tasks, each with its own set of challenges and interdependencies.
The act does not create any specific rights for grandparents. However, many of its provisions are designed to improve the handling of child contact cases in general, which may include cases in which grandparents seek contact with their grandchildren. For example, the act adds additional factors that require courts, when they are considering the effect of an order, to consider the involvement of parents in the child’s upbringing and the child’s important relationships with other people. Those could, of course, include relationships with grandparents. We intend to include those in the next set of commencement regulations, which we are planning in the next 12 months.
One of my constituents has not seen her grandchildren for almost three years due to a communication breakdown with her daughter. Previous attempts at mediation have been unsuccessful. Given that sections 23 and 24 of the act are still being piloted, what practical difference will the reforms make for grandparents in such situations?
I appreciate the impact that prolonged family disputes can have on grandparents and children alike.
Sections 23 and 24 of the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 are not yet in force, and they only mandate that ministers carry out a pilot of compulsory information sessions about the availability of alternatives and set up a scheme to pay for alternative dispute resolution procedures where individuals elect to use them. Mediation and other forms of resolution outside court can play a valuable role in helping to resolve family disputes where it is safe and appropriate to do so. However, it is a basic principle that such processes must be entered into voluntarily by all parties.
Defence Technical Excellence Colleges
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will match the United Kingdom Government’s £10 million commitment for defence technical excellence colleges, to create the possibility of two such hubs in Scotland to support skills and economic development. (S7O-00374)
In principle, yes. Defence technical excellence colleges could be an interesting model for other colleges in other specialisations in other places and for joint work in other areas. However, it is difficult to consider such possibilities without any information on that having been provided by the UK Government.
Stephen Flynn and I have written to the United Kingdom Government requesting a meeting to discuss the DTEC proposal further, and I have committed to it, but we require further details so that we can find a mutually acceptable way forward that supports Scotland’s skills and economic development priorities. The information currently available, which has been given to us, is insufficient to make that commitment, and I am not going to sign a blank cheque.
I thank the minister for the warm signal of a direction of travel. Forth Valley College’s Alloa campus faces an uncertain future, and the commitment could provide financial stability for Fife College and Forth Valley College through a DTEC hub, ensuring that young people get good skills and jobs close to home. Does the minister recognise that we risk falling behind DTEC hubs elsewhere in the UK if we do not get this sorted with some urgency?
I am glad to hear that the member and I are in an obvious furious agreement on this. I want to see the DTECs move forward. I will meet the Secretary of State for Defence any time, any place, anywhere to thrash out the details. The Alloa campus of Forth Valley College is close to my heart, and this could be an important part in its recovery. I will keep in touch with the member on that.
I believe that the location of those programmes is as important as the amount of money that is committed to them. For instance, I welcome the £59 million investment as part of the Fife industrial innovation investment programme—known as Fife i3—which aims to revitalise the many post-industrial areas of central and southern Fife. Can the minister assure Parliament that the areas that have been deprived of opportunities for many years will be the primary beneficiaries of such programmes?
I can give general assurance, but the whole point of the DTECs is that they are a network of colleges focused on one area but involving lots of other places. That is the point; that is why they are innovative. However, the member made a fair point, and I agree with the sentiment.
Measles (NHS Grampian)
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of NHS Grampian’s preparedness to respond to any further cases of measles. (S7O-00375)
National health service boards are responsible for ensuring that appropriate arrangements are in place to respond to infectious diseases, including measles. We work closely with Public Health Scotland and NHS boards to monitor measles activity across Scotland. Established local and national public health arrangements are in place for the management of suspected and confirmed measles cases.
In relation to the cases that were identified in Grampian earlier this year, appropriate public health actions were undertaken, including contact tracing and follow-up of identified contacts.
The post-incident debrief that NHS Grampian carried out in March identified various risks and learning outcomes from the measles cases. In August, I asked the Government to convene a dedicated north-east measles preparedness meeting to ensure that those outcomes were implemented but, regrettably, the minister refused, while acknowledging a lack of data. Will the minister tell us whether every single one of the learning outcomes in the debrief has been implemented? If not, or if she cannot, will she reconsider her refusal to convene the meeting that I suggested?
I am more than happy to look into the issue that the member raises and to get back to him in writing. The Scottish Government did not undertake a separate formal assessment of NHS Grampian’s preparedness, because assurance is provided through established national health service and public health governance arrangements. NHS Grampian responded through well-established local and national procedures, working closely with Public Health Scotland.
Appropriate public health measures, including contact tracing and the following up of contacts, were undertaken in line with national guidance and, crucially, there has been no evidence of any sustained community transmission associated with those cases, while numbers of measles cases across Scotland remain low. That demonstrates the value of the surveillance and response arrangements that are already in place.
Better Buses Legislation
To ask the Scottish Government what decisions it has made regarding the timing and content of its proposed better buses legislation. (S7O-00376)
Our prospective better buses legislation aims to help enhance the delivery of bus services across Scotland. We are keen to ensure that future legislative provision supports timely and effective interventions. There is a range of approaches that could achieve that, including primary and secondary legislation, and work is ongoing to consider the most appropriate measures.
The Scottish Government welcomes engagement with members from across Parliament on the matter. Over the coming months, we will undertake further engagement and discussion regarding potential options before decisions on next steps are taken.
The commitment to better buses legislation was made at the start of September in the programme for government, but, barely a week later, the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport told Parliament that he did not have the first clue whether there would be one bill, multiple bills or no bills, nor what would be in them.
I suggest to the minister that he could go back to his office today and instruct his officials to start drafting legislative clauses to speed up franchising by removing the panel stage; to put duties on ministers to financially support the use of those franchising powers; and to give a statutory basis for the bus fare cap and to a timetable. If the cabinet secretary has not made up his mind, will the minister just go ahead and instruct the drafting of that legislation?
We would not want to be pre-emptive before having a full opportunity to consider all of Mr Harvie’s views and those of members from across the chamber.
I very much welcome his contribution. On his point about a legislative basis for the cap and review of the panel, those things can be considered as part of the process. I know that, like me, the cabinet secretary welcomes the views of Mr Harvie and other members as we proceed with the engagement process.
Private bus operators were invited to the Scottish Government’s first round-table meeting on the better buses bill, but trade unions were excluded. Will the minister confirm that trade unions will be involved in those discussions and that the interests of passengers and workers, rather than those of private bus operators, will shape the content of the bill?
I am happy to do so. The round-table meeting that took place in late August was just the first in a process of engagement, and I am happy to confirm to the member that the cabinet secretary has written to trade unions to offer a meeting to ensure that they are fully engaged in the process.
The powers for bus franchising have existed in Scotland for seven years but we still do not have a franchised bus service in operation, and the Government’s plans for better buses legislation are pretty vague. Can the minister confirm when that legislation will be introduced and whether it will make franchising easier and quicker so that communities such as those in Twechar, Lennoxtown and Torrance in my constituency can have a better and more reliable service?
I do not want to repeat the points that I made earlier, but I make it absolutely clear to the member that reviewing the franchising model is part of the process and that that process includes potential amendments to the model. I hope that that reassures the member that there will be an opportunity to address the issues that he raises as part of that process.
Can the minister elaborate on any Scottish Government plans for the role of councils in any new legislation concerning bus services?
The member will be aware of the statutory duties that are placed on local authorities by the Transport Act 1985. We are working on a wider programme of public service reform so, whether through the better buses legislation or that wider PSR process, there is an opportunity for members and wider society to feed into our deliberations.