Official Report 1177KB pdf
“A Fresh Start with Independence”
Yesterday, John Swinney launched yet another taxpayer-funded paper on independence. He has called it a fresh start. [Interruption.]
Let us hear Mr Findlay.
They will not be clapping in a minute.
The same John Swinney has dreamed about breaking up the United Kingdom for almost 50 years. He was at the forefront of the free by 93 campaign. He first became leader of the Scottish National Party at the turn of the millennium. In 2014, he played a crucial role in the—losing—yes campaign. Thank you, John. Last year, he became SNP leader again. He really thinks that it is plausible to describe his latest independence paper as a fresh start. Is John Swinney having a laugh?
Use full names at all times, please.
Before I respond to Mr Findlay, I want to take a moment to welcome the news that Israel and Hamas have agreed the first phase of a peace plan for Gaza. I call for all sides to abide by the terms of the agreement, for the release of all hostages and for the immediate entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. I know that, after more than two years of devastating brutality and loss of life, this will be a moment of relief for many here, in Scotland, and around the world. I reiterate my call that Palestinians and Israelis must be able to live safely side by side, based on a two-state solution. I dearly hope that this is the first step towards that outcome, and I express my thanks to all the mediators who have worked so hard to create this moment and this opportunity for peace. [Applause.]
In relation to Mr Findlay’s substantive question, I am deadly serious about the argument for Scottish independence. As a country, we have exercised self-government since 1999, with the establishment of this Parliament. A number of significant benefits have been achieved for the people of Scotland. Some of those, such as the ban on smoking in public places and the introduction of free personal care, were delivered by the previous Government and some of them were delivered by my Government—including the abolition of tuition fees, minimum unit pricing for alcohol and the introduction of the Scottish child payment.
We are at a moment now, in Scotland, when the rightward drift of the United Kingdom and the stagnation of living standards in our country demonstrate a need to re-examine the argument. That is why independence is the fresh start that Scotland needs.
The fact that he says that he is deadly serious is actually even more worrying than if he had just been having a laugh. John Swinney cannot offer a fresh start, because he has been in the SNP Government for almost 20 years. He was Nicola Sturgeon’s and Alex Salmond’s right-hand man. He was up to his neck in every SNP scandal: ferries, gender self-identification, Scottish Qualifications Authority exams, named persons and many more. He ran down Scotland’s economy and then he ran down Scotland’s education system.
A new survey shows that public trust in the Scottish Government is at an all-time low—and it is a Scottish Government survey. Does John Swinney accept that that is a damning judgment of his dismal record?
What my Government is focused on is improving the lives of people in Scotland. That is why we are keeping prescriptions free in Scotland while they are nearly £10 under Labour in England; it is why we are protecting free tuition in Scotland while fees are rising south of the border; it is why we have expanded free early learning and childcare, extended free school meals, introduced the Scottish child payment and abolished—for good—peak rail fares on our railways. We are interested in providing practical support to improve the lives of people in Scotland, and we will continue to do that.
I notice that, in the survey that Mr Findlay is talking about, there is also a question on independence. It indicates that support for independence is at 47 per cent—up from 27 per cent in 1999. [Interruption.]
Thank you, members.
I can see the direction of travel in Scotland—it is going towards independence.
Nicola Sturgeon’s book should be in the fiction section, but John Swinney’s paper should really be in the fantasy section. It is not just harmless fantasy but dangerous dishonesty. This graph here, from his paper, says that Scotland’s gross domestic product has grown faster than that of the rest of the UK when the opposite is true.
Serious and credible experts have demolished the Government’s 90-page exercise in wishful thinking. Leading economist Professor Ronald MacDonald said that John Swinney’s plans were “totally shambolic” and that they would have “a devastating effect”. He expressed astonishment at the “total ignorance” of the SNP’s currency position. Damningly, he said that all of that would impact on public sector wages, pensions, mortgages and borrowing costs for homes and businesses. [Interruption.]
Let us hear Mr Findlay.
John Swinney’s paper offers no solutions. It does nothing to help people’s lives here and now. It is an outrage that it was produced by Scottish civil servants. Will John Swinney stop wasting taxpayers’ money on such nonsense?
Under the SNP Government, GDP per person has grown by 10.3 per cent in Scotland compared with 6.1 per cent in the UK, while productivity has grown at an average rate of 1.1 per cent per year in Scotland compared with the UK average of 0.4 per cent. That demonstrates that the point that Mr Findlay has put to Parliament is not correct. [Interruption.]
Let us hear the First Minister.
The issue that Mr Findlay must address is that the arguments that he puts forward for preserving the status quo are now completely and utterly threadbare. Labour and Tory politicians said that staying in the United Kingdom would lower our bills, but the opposite has been the case. They promised financial security but gave us the Liz Truss mini-budget. They assured us that voting no was the surest way for Scotland to remain in the European Union, but Scotland has been taken out of the EU against our will. The arguments against Scottish independence have collapsed since 2014, and Scotland is on a pathway to independence.
John Swinney’s graph on GDP is wrong, just as the stats that he gave last week on income tax were wrong. If he ever got his way, it would mean extreme tax rises and severe spending cuts for Scotland. Mortgages would go up, pensions would be put at risk and there would be a hard border with England. Scotland would be divided and would be smaller and weaker.
Despite all of that, John Swinney keeps obsessing about independence, which would make Scots poorer. It is no wonder that public trust in the SNP is at an all-time low. [Interruption.]
Let us hear one another.
John Swinney is not a fresh start. He is a tired nationalist with a dismal record. He is not focused on building a strong economy for the future. He is wasting time and taxpayers’ money on the same old arguments of the past. For the sake of Scotland, is he ever going to give up on his independence obsession and move on?
It is pretty clear to any member of the public watching this exchange that the more Russell Findlay gets personally insulting to his political rivals—[Interruption.]
Let us all hear one another.
—the weaker his arguments become. What I have marshalled and put in front of Parliament today is the evidence. Living standards in Scotland are stagnating, and they have stagnated for 15 years. [Interruption.]
It is becoming increasingly difficult to hear one another. I ask members who have not been called to speak to please resist the temptation to do so. I am sure that the people who are gathered in the gallery would wish to hear contributions.
Living standards in Scotland, as part of the United Kingdom, have ground to a halt. Brexit has been a disaster. The implications of the Liz Truss mini-budget have wreaked economic difficulty and havoc on the people of the UK, and Scotland has been saddled with that, despite the promises of lower prices, lower bills and access to the European Union that were made by the no campaign in 2014.
I am very proud to lead a campaign that is about focusing on improving living standards in Scotland and transforming the lives of the people of Scotland, and we will do that through independence.
Drug Deaths
I, too, welcome the agreement on a Gaza ceasefire, the end of the bloodshed and the release of hostages. The ceasefire must be real and it needs to last. However, it must also be backed up by an urgent surge in delivery of aid into Gaza and a meaningful pathway towards an end to the illegal occupation and a lasting peace in which every life—whether it be Palestinian or Israeli—is treated as equal.
Today, members will vote on the Right to Addiction Recovery (Scotland) Bill at stage 1. Scottish Labour will support the bill. Six years ago, the Scottish National Party declared a drug deaths emergency. However, six years on, lives are still being lost, families are still grieving and a generation has been failed. In the first six months of this year alone, 607 people died from suspected drug overdoses—that is one life lost every seven hours.
When it comes to recovery, the picture is just as bleak. The SNP has not delivered the promised rehabilitation beds. Even more shamefully, 77 per cent of areas report being unable to access rehab spaces because they do not have the money that they need from the SNP Government. Rehab beds are lying empty in the middle of a drug deaths emergency. Six years into this emergency, why are beds being left empty, and why are Scots not getting the treatment that they need if they are to recover?
I recognise both the importance of drugs support for individuals and the need to deliver on the commitments that we made as part of the programme for government.
On the specific issue that Mr Sarwar raises, we made a commitment to establish 1,000 publicly funded residential rehabilitation placements per year by 2025-26. The most recent Public Health Scotland publication shows that there were 984 confirmed records of individuals having started such placements in 2022-23. We have made £38 million available to eight projects across Scotland to provide additional residential rehabilitation beds. The latest published figures report a rise in capacity of 88 beds, giving a total of 513 in September 2024, and there has been further expansion since then.
I assure Mr Sarwar, first, of the importance of that endeavour and, secondly, of the practical steps that have been taken to implement the commitments that we have given, and that we will continue to implement.
The promises have not been fulfilled, and the families who have been left behind deserve justice, not excuses. Shamefully, new figures show that, in the past three years, 573 charges of drug dealing had to be dropped because the cases were time barred before reaching court. Hundreds of people who were accused of drug dealing simply walked free. They evaded justice not because they were found innocent but because of the Government’s incompetence. People selling poison to their communities are being given the green light to destroy lives because John Swinney and his tired Government cannot run a court system that sends drug dealers to prison. I reiterate that 573 drug-dealing charges have simply been dropped. Can John Swinney understand why people will be so angry when they learn that, despite one life being lost to drugs every seven hours in Scotland, hundreds of drug dealers are walking free?
The issues with the court service are an effect of the situation that developed during the Covid pandemic, when a backlog of cases had to be addressed. The court service worked—and is still working—incredibly hard to erode the backlog that we have been wrestling with, and significant work has been undertaken.
I will look at other data. As the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs reported to Parliament last Thursday, our prisons are incredibly congested, in many cases with individuals who have been convicted and sentenced for long periods of time as a consequence of their drug-related activities. Our prison system and the Scottish Prison Service are wrestling admirably with the congestion that is caused by the many people involved in the organised crime that underpins the drug issues.
I know that the Crown and the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service are working incredibly hard, and in an incredibly focused way, to ensure that those who perpetrate illegal drug activity in our society are brought to justice, and that many of them are.
There is no justification—none—for hundreds of drug dealers walking free because of the incompetence of this Scottish National Party Government. There is no justification at all.
This Government has lost control: 607 lives have been lost in just six months, which is one every seven hours; 573 drug supply charges have gone unpunished; and there is still not enough access to treatment or residential rehab for those who want to recover. The truth is that John Swinney’s approach is failing both victims and communities. Dealers slip through the cracks, people die while they wait for help, and families lose loved ones and are left without hope.
It has been six years since the Government declared an emergency, but Scotland still leads Europe on the figures for drug deaths. John Swinney has abandoned both justice and recovery. Is it not the case that we will never get to grips with Scotland’s drug deaths emergency while he and the SNP stay in charge?
The Government has taken a focused approach, over a number of years, to addressing the issue of drugs in our society, and a number of significant steps have been taken.
I have put on the record the issues concerning the expansion of rehabilitation placements, and the fact that the progress that we committed to is being achieved.
We have supported the delivery of the first safer consumption room. Based on the evidence that is available to us, we know that the Thistle has saved lives as a consequence of that intervention. We have expanded the roll-out of naloxone, which is resulting in a significant reduction of death and injury to individuals who use drugs. I recognise that the level of drug deaths is far, far too high. In the past year, we have seen a 13 per cent decrease in the number of such deaths in Scotland, but we must maintain absolute vigilance and focus to ensure that we continue to make progress.
Finally, on the issue of criminal justice, our prison system is absolutely full of individuals, many of whom have been imprisoned because of their drug-related activity, so it is quite simply wrong for Mr Sarwar to suggest that people are not being brought to justice for their criminal activity. [Interruption.]
Mr Sarwar!
That will remain the focused priority of the Scottish Government.
Renewable Energy (Community Benefit)
I entirely associate myself with the First Minister’s remarks about progress towards peace in the Middle East.
I also take a moment to offer the sincere thanks of the Scottish Liberal Democrats for the life and work of Sir Menzies Campbell, who was lost to us last week. Ming was a titan of British politics who commanded respect in the Parliament in which he served and in homes across this country. He was a mentor and friend to many in my party and we miss him. I offer condolences to his family at this difficult time. [Applause.]
When companies generate renewable energy, they are expected to give money back to the local community, but the amount of cash that we are talking about is pitiful, because the rules have not changed in more than a decade. All the while, people are still shivering in the shadow of turbines, unable to heat their homes. Will the Scottish Government listen to the Liberal Democrats, to Highland Council and to Shetland Islands Council and will it change those rules to cut energy bills for local people?
First, I thank Mr Cole-Hamilton for his words, as I thanked Mr Sarwar for his, on the situation in Gaza. I also associate myself with his remarks about Menzies Campbell, Lord Campbell of Pittenweem. I was warmly and fondly welcomed into the House of Commons by Ming Campbell in 1997 and I enjoyed far too many uproariously funny conversations with Ming and his late wife, Elspeth, who were always wonderful company. I convey to the Liberal Democrats, as I have conveyed privately, my appreciation and sympathy as they wrestle with the loss of a giant of the Liberal Democrat movement.
On the substantive question on renewable energy, I have a lot of sympathy with Mr Cole-Hamilton’s point. The issue of community benefits arising out of wind farm developments is regulated by the United Kingdom Government, and we have been pressing for some time to mandate community benefits from mature onshore renewables technologies and to create greater benefit for communities, particularly in relation to the reduction of fuel bills. I am sympathetic to his point, but it is an issue that the Government has pressed the UK Government on, and we will continue to do so.
The First Minister cannot dodge this entirely. Some of it lies with his Government, too. Yesterday, I was in north Edinburgh with Ed Davey and Councillor Sanne Dijkstra-Downie and we met Edinburgh College apprentices who are being trained for good green jobs installing home insulation, solar panels and heat pumps. Those technologies are ready to go and they are at the heart of Liberal Democrats’ realistic plan to halve household energy bills by 2035.
John Swinney’s own independent advisers now say that his Government is extremely unlikely to meet its fuel poverty target. They found people catching hypothermia in their own homes, missing meals to top up the meter and burning their own floorboards as fuel. The Scottish Government’s consultation on the amount that energy companies give back closed six months ago, but nothing has changed. Under Liberal Democrat proposals, there are millions of pounds out there that could warm homes across Scotland. When will the First Minister change those rules?
The existing arrangements, which are specified by the United Kingdom Government, are non-mandatory. As a consequence, there is a limit. It is one of the examples of the constitutional point that I make. I am very sympathetic to the member’s point, but I cannot exercise powers that I am not legally entitled to exercise. That is one of the limitations of the constitutional arrangements.
I am absolutely with Mr Cole-Hamilton in wanting to use the energy wealth of Scotland, which is absolutely beyond dispute—we all agree about that—and I am absolutely with him on the desire to eradicate fuel poverty.
In the summer, I spent some time on the island of Yell in Shetland, where I saw an excellent example of a community wind farm that is creating real benefit in the locality and is owned by the community. Such models can be delivered where there is community ownership, and the Scottish Government enabled that development to be undertaken on Yell. I then went to the main island in Shetland and saw a colossal wind farm—the Viking Energy project—that is not delivering the right level of benefit to the community, nor is it eradicating fuel poverty. People in Shetland are living cheek by jowl with one of the largest wind farms in Europe while paying the highest fuel bills and living in fuel poverty.
The powers to arrest that do not rest in this Parliament. They rest with the UK Government. I am determined—and I am very keen to work with Mr Cole-Hamilton—to get those powers here so that we can do something about it for the people of Shetland and the people of west Edinburgh.
Two-child Benefit Cap (Proposed Replacement)
To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of any implications for its work to mitigate the two-child benefit cap of the United Kingdom Government’s reported proposals to replace the cap with a tapered system. (S6F-04378)
I have seen the press speculation to which Ms Adamson refers. It is important that the UK Government lets us know as soon as possible about any plans that it might have because, as Ms Adamson will know, the Scottish Government is pressing ahead with our measures to abolish the two-child limit, which should have been undertaken as one of the first acts of the Labour Government. The Scottish Fiscal Commission estimates that 43,000 children in Scotland will benefit from the Scottish Government’s two-child limit payment, and Scottish Government modelling shows that 20,000 children will be kept out of relative poverty as a result.
In hearing the murmurings, I was not surprised to find out that Labour is now back-pedalling on its plans. With a record 4.5 million children living in poverty under the Labour Government, plans to introduce a tapered system are nowhere near good enough. Will the First Minister join me in calling for the UK Government to reconsider that short-sighted proposal and instead follow the Scottish Government’s lead, dump the cap and dump the so-called rape clause?
I very much associate myself with the comments that Clare Adamson made. The Scottish Government is taking measures that are resulting in a reduction in child poverty in Scotland, but all the estimates show that, as a consequence of the actions of the Labour Government, particularly in welfare reform, there is likely to be a rise in child poverty across the rest of the UK, and, of course, across the rest of the UK, the level of child poverty is already rising.
I make the plea today—and I have made it on many other occasions—for the Labour Government to recognise the absolute imperative of eradicating child poverty, take the measures to lift the two-child cap and enable the Scottish Government to use the resources that we are using on that to mitigate another Westminster decision that is bad for Scotland.
Mental Health Budget
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reports that the mental health budget has been reduced in the 2025-26 autumn budget revision. (S6F-04374)
The budget remains as originally published at £270.5 million.
I thank the First Minister for that answer, but the situation speaks to a wider problem across health and social care, namely that it is verging on impossible to follow the path from a Scottish Government spending commitment to the front-line support that it is intended to provide. Audit Scotland and the Fraser of Allander Institute have repeatedly warned that the complex and convoluted methods that are used by the Scottish Government are barriers to effective public scrutiny, and now organisations that are directly impacted by that funding are seemingly unable to determine how or even if the money that was promised will reach them.
As Scotland’s Mental Health Partnership has said, transparency is essential. The First Minister might be able to explain where those tens of millions of pounds of public money are when he has a briefing note in front of him, but how does he expect the public, the organisations that rely on it and those who scrutinise the Government to do the same?
I think that transparency and clarity were in my original answer; the budget remains as originally published at £270.5 million. I understand the importance of the issue and the significance that Mr Whittle attaches to all of that, but I simply make the observation that it is interesting that Mr Whittle is interested in the budget of £270.5 million for mental health support, but he was not interested enough to vote for the budget when it came to Parliament. It is all very well to come here and complain about budgets, but people have got to vote for them for them to be spent in the community in the first place.
Dr Pavan Srireddy, the vice-chairman of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, has described the autism and ADHD waiting time scandal as “a public health emergency”. Will the Scottish Government fulfil its commitment to spend 10 per cent of the national health service budget on mental health by the end of this parliamentary session, so that those who are trapped on waiting lists will have some reassurance that they will get the support that they need?
The Government is on track to fulfil that commitment.
Economy (International Investment)
To ask the First Minister, following Scotland’s global investment summit 2025, whether he will provide an update on the Scottish Government’s work to attract international investment into Scotland’s economy. (S6F-04377)
Scotland is a nation that is extremely attractive to investors due to our skilled workforce, world-leading universities, a strong presence in the skilled workforce in sectors such as energy and a supportive business environment. That is why we have been ranked as the top destination for foreign direct investment outside of London and the south-east for the past 10 consecutive years. That work is led by the Deputy First Minister, who was actively engaged—as I have been—in the global investment summit that took place in Edinburgh this week.
Scotland’s record in attracting direct foreign investment has been consistently good. Last year alone, Scotland attracted 135 projects and it is ranked the sixth most attractive location in the top 10 locations in Europe for foreign direct investment.
However, the First Minister will recognise that making sure that we attract energy manufacturing capacity to Scotland to support us in the building out of our renewables is critical to delivering a just transition. What specific action is being taken to ensure that we attract that type of investment to create the jobs that we are looking for in the Scottish economy?
A number of steps have been taken, particularly in relation to strengthening the scoping and consenting arrangements for offshore renewables projects. The Government is focused on taking those decisions. We work closely with the United Kingdom Government and press the argument, particularly with GB Energy and those responsible for the national grid, that there should be connectivity for those projects, so that the supply chain can have confidence in its investment decisions.
A number of developments that have taken their course—at Ardersier, and Sumitomo at Nigg—are strong indications of good foundations for the supply chain. However, we need every step of the journey to be undertaken to give us confidence in attracting investment. The Scottish Government is focused on making sure that that is the case.
In a week when John Swinney released yet another taxpayer-funded fantasy pamphlet on independence, the City of London Corporation stood shoulder to shoulder with Scotland to unlock new opportunities for growth. However, two areas where the SNP Government has effectively scuppered future inward investment are nuclear energy and oil and gas exploration, both of which are vital to our energy security and economic security. Now that John Swinney has been freed from the shackles of the extremist Greens, why does he not do the right thing by the Scottish economy and commit fully to drilling the North Sea and ending his Government’s student union politics on nuclear energy in Scotland?
We all make our policy choices. On nuclear, I have made the policy choice to ensure that we develop Scotland’s natural and sustainable sources of energy, because that is better for our people and our planet. I am proud to defend that in Parliament today.
Secondly, it is the shiniest of brass necks imaginable for Craig Hoy to indicate that there is an issue with oil and gas activity, because the Conservative Government that he supported presided over the punitive tax regime of the energy profits levy, which is recognised by every commentator to be the biggest impediment to the security of the North Sea oil and gas sector. Mr Hoy should face up to the realities of the dreadful decisions made by the last Conservative Government.
We move to constituency and general supplementary questions.
National Health Service (Migrant Nursing Staff)
The general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing has said:
“Health and care services would cease to function without migrant nursing staff.”
Does the First Minister agree with that statement, and will he outline what assessment his Government has made of the impact of the Labour Government’s new immigration rules on vital essential workers in Scotland’s national health service?
The general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing has given a siren warning to all of us about the welcome that has to be extended to staff from other countries to come and work in our national health service.
In the year ending June 2025, the number of health and care worker visas issued to nursing professionals fell by 80 per cent. That will have a damaging effect on the operation of our national health service. We all know that there are challenges in relation to the size of our working-age population and a need for an appropriate skilled worker visa route that works in the interests of the national health service. That is one of the reasons why, if we have control of those issues in Scotland, it will be better for the people of Scotland.
National Health Service (Electric Shock Treatment)
A recent report has uncovered that NHS patients in my region and across Scotland were forced to receive electric shock treatment against their will almost 1,100 times last year. In around 2,000 cases out of 4,000, that outdated procedure was performed on people who, because of their mental state, were deemed incapable of giving consent. How will the Scottish Government act to ensure that vulnerable patients are protected from receiving that ethically unacceptable procedure?
If Mr Stewart writes to me, I will explore that in more detail. The issue merits a deeper answer than I can offer him at this stage. My first reaction would be that such judgments have to be made on the basis of clinical opinion, but Mr Stewart raises a wider and more significant issue, which I would rather have the opportunity to explore. If he would care to write to me, I will give him a substantive response.
The Promise
The report “Improving care experience: Delivering The Promise”, by the Accounts Commission and the Auditor General, which was published yesterday, concluded that, from the outset, there was no assessment of what resources and skills were needed to deliver the Promise by 2030, or of how success would be defined or measured. Who should take responsibility for that failure?
As Mr Whitfield knows, I take responsibility for everything here. I am the First Minister of Scotland—I do not dodge that for a moment. We gave a commitment as a Government to honour the Promise. As for the definition of success, I am a wee bit mystified by that point in the Audit Scotland report. It is pretty clear what the Promise has to achieve by 2030, and we are making progress in that respect.
I understand Mr Whitfield’s interest in the question, but substantive progress has been made. For example, we have taken action to ensure that no young people under 18 are admitted to young offenders institutes, and we have fewer children in Scotland growing up in care since 2020—a reduction of 18.1 per cent. Incidents of physical restraint and seclusion are declining in children’s residential accommodation, and more people with care experience are going on to positive destinations nine months after leaving school.
I acknowledge that there is more work to be done. The work has been taken forward very effectively by the minister responsible, Natalie Don-Innes, who has my full support. We have legislation on the issue, which Parliament can scrutinise, and that will be dealt with by Parliament before the close of the parliamentary session.
Employer National Insurance Contributions
The latest Scottish Chambers of Commerce quarterly economic indicator survey, which was published this morning, shows that seven out of 10 Scottish firms continue to struggle with higher employment costs and have concerns about further potential adverse policies from the United Kingdom Labour Government. Has the Scottish Government had the chance to assess the impact of the increase in employer national insurance contributions on employers in Scotland—a tax on Scottish businesses—and if so, what are its findings?
That is a serious issue, because the increase in employer national insurance contributions has reduced competitiveness and opportunities for growth in the Scottish economy. The Government’s analysis shows that the changes could cost employers in Scotland more than £1.7 billion, and the cost to public services is of the order of more than £500 million. That indicates that a significant burden is being carried by business in Scotland, which, as a consequence, is an inhibitor of growth. It is beyond me why a Government that apparently supports economic growth is taking such a measure. It is another example of why we should take decisions here in Scotland on our behalf that are in the interests of the Scottish people and the Scottish economy.
NHS Grampian
NHS Grampian has plunged into further financial crisis, with the board’s financial director saying that it is struggling to “keep afloat”. This morning, a diagnostic report from KPMG said that expenditure has risen by £153 million—a 33 per cent increase. NHS Grampian already has the lowest bed base in Scotland. The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care has failed to get a grip. The strain is intolerable for staff and patients. Will the First Minister please meet the board, which this morning put out a Facebook post saying that it has a “path to improvement”? I do not think that it does. Will he meet the board urgently to discuss its financial crisis in advance of winter?
The Government has taken measures in relation to NHS Grampian, and the board is under a significant level of additional scrutiny as a consequence of the issues that Tess White puts to me. I know that the cabinet secretary is meeting the board on Monday. I will wait to get a read-out of the report that Tess White mentioned. I am very happy to engage. I discuss the performance of the national health service with my officials on a weekly basis, and I will reflect on the points that she puts to me.
I assure Tess White that the issues that are important for the delivery of healthcare to the communities in the north-east of Scotland are being properly and effectively scrutinised and delivered, and I will ask the cabinet secretary to write to her with an update on those issues.
Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (Board Membership)
The First Minister will be aware that the only islander on the board of Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd has not had his membership renewed. That is a snub to our island communities, which are left yet again with no islander on the board. What will the First Minister do to increase the number of islanders on the board and ensure that islanders are represented on boards that are crucial to island communities’ survival?
As Rhoda Grant will appreciate, the process of appointing members to boards is overseen by ethical standards advisers and it must take its course. However, she makes a substantial point about the necessity for island opinion and experience to inform the decisions of bodies that are acting on issues that significantly impact island communities. Regardless of board appointments, I would expect CMAL, Caledonian MacBrayne, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Crown Estate, NatureScot and all the other bodies that have a locus in relation to the issues and experience of islanders to go to absolute lengths to ensure that they can hear islanders’ opinions, listen to them and address the issues that they raise. Those issues are legitimate and boards must take them seriously. Although board membership cannot reflect Rhoda Grant’s legitimate aspiration in all circumstances, boards must listen to islanders and act on their behalf. I will ensure that that is the case.
Right to Protest (Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021)
We all support the right to protest, assemble, march, and so on, yet the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 makes it an offence to stir up hatred. Does the First Minister think that we have, or can achieve, the right balance? Some groups, such as Catholic and Irish people, feel threatened by the repeated Orange marches in Glasgow, and Jewish people feel threatened by the repeated pro-Palestinian protests.
That is a sensitive issue and I have to be careful, because we are in territory in which Police Scotland has to make careful judgments about a variety of long-standing circumstances in Scottish society. Some of the issues are easier to handle than others.
Fundamentally, I believe that we have to recognise the right to peaceful, respectful public assembly and freedom of expression. We all enjoy that right and are committed to upholding it. However, the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression should never be used to carry out or justify any form of hateful, violent, intimidating or otherwise criminal behaviour. Any form of hate crime is completely and utterly unacceptable. The 2021 act includes rigorous safeguards on free speech, which we respect everybody’s right to.
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Policies (Israel)
Just two weeks ago, our capital city and my home town, Edinburgh, backed Scottish Green councillors’ calls to ensure that no public money is being used to bankroll Israel’s genocide. That comes more than a month after our Parliament voted to back our calls for boycott, divestment and sanctions against the genocidal Israeli regime.
What additional legislative changes will the Scottish Government pursue to enable local authorities such as the City of Edinburgh Council to legally adopt the BDS policies that the Parliament has agreed to support?
In my statement on 3 September, I set out to the Parliament the actions that are within the Parliament’s competence and responsibility to take forward. The Government will pursue that agenda to ensure that we fulfil the commitments that I gave to the Parliament.
Independence (Living Standards and Energy Bills)
As we have heard, this week, the Scottish Government published “A Fresh Start with Independence”. At a time when many of my constituents are struggling to heat their homes and pay for their food shopping due to Westminster inaction—and bearing in mind that the promise to reduce energy bills by £300 has turned into an increase of £200—will the First Minister outline his Government’s findings on the impact that independence would have on living standards and energy bills?
The Government’s paper that was published yesterday makes clear that there are opportunities to improve the living standards of people in Scotland by exercising the powers that would come with independence. In 2014, we were promised lower bills, financial security and European Union membership, but all those promises have turned to dust. This is the time for Scotland to have a fresh start with independence.
Integration Joint Boards
Families of residents at a sheltered housing complex in Falkirk are deeply concerned about plans to outsource care services to an external provider. The proposals, which would remove the round-the-clock care service at Tygetshaugh Court, form part of an effort to address the £21 million budget shortfall. Families were not properly consulted, and local councillors have expressed frustration about their lack of influence over decisions that are made by the integration joint board. Should decisions that directly impact local communities be made by councillors or by an IJB in which the majority are unelected?
The arrangements for IJBs were put in place by statute that was considered by Parliament. It is the responsibility of the IJBs to take those decisions, and there will be members of any relevant local authorities on those boards. However, there should also be appropriate and adequate consultation with people who are affected by service changes. That is an implicit part of all the approaches that are taken to any service changes that take place, and I encourage that to be the case in this circumstance.
That concludes First Minister’s question time.
The next item of business is a members’ business debate in the name of Clare Adamson, and there will now be a short suspension to allow those leaving the chamber and the public gallery to do so.
12:45 Meeting suspended.Previous
General Question Time