Ferries
This week, we discovered that the CalMac ferry MV Glen Rosa will not be completed until June 2026 at the earliest and that it will enter service at least eight years late. Why will it take so long?
I make it clear that the time taken to build the Glen Rosa is unacceptable. Yesterday, the Deputy First Minister set out to Parliament many of the reasons why that is the case. The delay has, obviously, caused disruption to island communities and the Scottish Government is focusing on ensuring, through the measures that the Deputy First Minister outlined yesterday, that early progress is made on the Glen Rosa so that it can join the Glen Sannox in service at the earliest possible opportunity.
We asked John Swinney’s predecessor how high the eventual bill for the Glen Rosa and the Glen Sannox was likely to be. Three years ago, we specifically asked Nicola Sturgeon whether the cost would exceed £400 million, and she said:
“I simply do not recognise those numbers.”—[Official Report, 31 March 2022; c 13.]
Scotland’s taxpayers certainly do recognise those numbers, because they are the ones paying the bill for the Scottish National Party’s mess. This week, the BBC reported that the ferries will now cost £460 million and counting. Does John Swinney at least recognise those numbers? What will the final cost to taxpayers be?
The total forecast cost to complete the vessel has increased from £150 million to £172.5 million, with an additional risk contingency of £12.5 million. I cannot be definitive in my answer to Mr Findlay on that point because the risk contingency depends on the sequence of events that takes place during the completion of the vessel.
I make it clear to Parliament that it is unacceptable that those vessels have cost so much and that such delays have been experienced. The Government is focused on ensuring that the vessels enter service, so that we can deliver on our commitments to provide sustainable ferry services for island communities.
That is a deeply concerning answer from the First Minister, who is clearly not willing, or perhaps not able, to say how much that will end up costing taxpayers or when the boats will both be in service.
It was John Swinney who personally signed off what was a corrupt CalMac procurement process. He has never accepted blame and no one in the SNP ever has or ever will. Not a single one of them has held up their hands to islanders or to taxpayers. We have seen half a billion pounds and almost a decade wasted, so who is responsible?
I unreservedly accept my responsibility for everything that happens in the name of my Government. [Interruption.]
Members!
I am the First Minister of Scotland and I always accept my responsibilities in the exercise of Government responsibilities.
Russell Findlay mentioned engagement with island communities. I engage regularly with island communities on issues with ferry services, and my Cabinet Secretary for Transport was recently in South Uist engaging with island communities and delivering practical solutions to those affected by ferry disruptions. That is what the Government will focus on. We will accept our responsibilities and will deliver on our commitments to island communities, which is what the Government is doing.
The First Minister says that he is responsible, but he is clearly responsible in words only and not in deeds. No SNP minister has been held to account. The last thing that the islanders need is more visits from SNP politicians. They want to see ferries. We have a half-billion-pound blunder, but no SNP minister has ever been sacked.
The ferry saga symbolises so much that is wrong under the SNP. John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon shamelessly exploited Ferguson Marine and its workers for party political purposes. During election campaigns, they loved posing for the cameras at the nationalised yard. The truth is that they preferred public relations grandstanding to providing a decent ferry service for islanders. Who can forget when Sturgeon launched a ferry with painted-on windows?
John Swinney has sunk half a billion pounds—money that could have been spent on raising school standards, fixing the roads or creating more general practitioner appointments. How much better off would people be if that money had gone into our public services instead of going down the drain?
Let us always use first names and surnames.
Let us look at the Government’s commitment to ferry services. When the Government came to office in 2007, the budget for ferry services was £90 million. In the current financial year, it is five times that. [Interruption.]
Let us hear the First Minister.
That is to operate the services to our communities, which are now more extensive than when we came to office.
We have delivered the Glen Sannox into service. We have purchased the additional vessel of the Loch Frisa. We have chartered the MV Alfred and the MV Arrow to provide additional resilience. We have commissioned two new vessels for Islay, two new vessels for the Little Minch routes and seven new vessels for some of the smaller routes. We have progressed investment in key ports and harbours and we are confirming revenue funding and strategic support to the island ferry services in Scotland.
This Government will keep true to its commitments—[Interruption.]
Let us hear the First Minister.
This Government will keep true to its commitments to island communities. That is principally delivered through the fact that ferry travel to our island communities is significantly cheaper than it would have been—[Interruption.]
Members! Let us hear the First Minister.
—had the Government not introduced road equivalent tariff for our ferry services. We have made ferry services more affordable for people in our island communities. We are investing—[Interruption.]
I know that there are many members in the chamber who wish to have an opportunity to put a question. We will be able to undertake our business more effectively if members can hear one another.
The Government has invested in road equivalent tariff, we have reduced ferry fares for our island communities, we are providing specific support to island communities that have been affected by disruption and we are investing in the new vessel fleet. That is this Government delivering on its commitments to support our island communities in Scotland.
Ferries
Island communities need ferries. I think that the First Minister is missing that point.
The MV Glen Rosa ferry, which was due more than half a decade ago, has been delayed by another nine months, with costs rising by up to £35 million. With the Glen Sannox, which was launched almost seven years late, the cost of the two ships is now more than £460 million. That is nearly five times the original contract price. The fact that the new vessels do not fit at the preferred port of Ardrossan makes the matter even worse. In the same week, it has been revealed that cancellations due to repairs on the ageing CalMac fleet have risen by a staggering 531 per cent. So much for steadying the ship. Why is John Swinney unable to get a grip on this crisis?
As a consequence of decisions that I have made, for which I am very happy to be accountable, we have made investment in two new vessels—the Glen Rosa and the Glen Sannox—two additional vessels are coming for the Islay route, two new vessels are coming for the Little Minch route and seven small vessels are coming.
On CalMac sailings, statistics for the last full year show that there were 170,215 scheduled sailings on the CalMac network. Only 3.4 per cent of sailings were cancelled due to technical or other reasons; the overwhelming majority of cancellations on the route were, understandably, because of weather-related issues.
I am acutely conscious of the challenges with the island ferry network, but, despite those issues, the network performs very strongly for island communities, and the Government’s investment will help to build resilience in the years to come.
The First Minister has basically said that island communities should be angry with the weather rather than with the Scottish Government, but they are angry with the Scottish Government because it has failed them.
The Scottish National Party’s ferry fiasco is damaging lives and livelihoods on the Isle of Arran. For islanders, that means round trips of at least three hours for hospital appointments, school trips cancelled for kids at a moment’s notice and utter chaos for businesses. Let me give a few examples. Linda Johnston, the co-founder of the Auchrannie resort, told me that
“businesses are being pushed to breaking point”.
Bill Calderwood, of the Isle of Arran ferry committee, said:
“The community are at a loss at what more can be said about the continued examples of mismanagement on this project”.
Sheila Gilmore, the chief executive of VisitArran, said:
“We are going through an economic and social crisis. Arran is an amazing island with so much to offer, if only more people could get there”.
Why are John Swinney and the SNP repeatedly failing our island communities?
I understand the pressures that exist in Arran, and I have met many of the businesses and organisations that Mr Sarwar mentioned, but I will point out a number of things in response.
The principal vessel that is responsible for servicing the Arran network, the MV Caledonian Isles, required extensive repair and is expected to re-enter service on 9 June. It will be able to operate from the port of Ardrossan, which is its main and home port. In the interim, two vessels have been providing sustainable services from Troon—I accept that that is a different location from Ardrossan—the MV Glen Sannox and the MV Alfred, which, according to the information that is available to me, have been delivering appropriate and adequate capacity for the Arran route at all times. CalMac has made judgments to ensure that the route has been sustainable.
The Cabinet Secretary for Transport made it clear that the Government is engaged in active discussions about acquiring the Ardrossan port in order for us to undertake the necessary improvements and strengthening of the port, which have not taken place to date because it is in private ownership.
The Government is delivering a sustained ferry service to the island of Arran, which is providing adequate capacity, and the Government will continue its investment programme, which will be strengthened by the arrival of the Glen Rosa and the other steps that I mentioned in relation to Ardrossan.
The fact is that the SNP is addicted to wasting people’s money. A prison that was supposed to cost £100 million is now costing £1 billion—and that amount is rising—millions and millions of pounds of public money have been wasted on legal fees to defend the incompetence of the SNP Government, and we are rapidly approaching half a billion pounds of public money having been spent on two delayed ferries. Today, I can reveal that more than £500 million has been spent on fixing the ageing ferry fleet, while overbudget vessels lay unfinished.
This is now a £1 billion SNP ferry fiasco, made by the SNP but paid for by working Scots. Is it not the case that John Swinney and the SNP cannot be trusted with the public’s money?
The Government has applied consistent stewardship of the public finances, which has resulted in our delivering balanced budgets for every year of the Government’s term in office, despite the enormous pressures that exist on public finances.
Mr Sarwar talked about the construction costs for prisons. I wonder whether he has looked at any data on the impact on capital costs of the energy price increases after the invasion of Ukraine. Those costs are affecting every capital project in the whole of the United Kingdom, as a consequence of those factors. That is not to mention the fact that the Barlinnie project that he cited is a larger and more extensive project than was originally conceived.
In relation to ferry services, as I indicated to Russell Findlay, the Government has invested in the ferry network to do two things: to ensure that we can acquire new capacity for the years to come—those vessels will be delivered on to the network—and to make it more affordable for people in island communities to utilise ferry services.
I say to Mr Sarwar that the Government will, at all times, invest in our ferry network, invest in our island communities and apply the stringent controls to public finances that have resulted in the Government being re-elected several times—and we intend to be re-elected again in 2026.
Social Care (Availability of Care Homes)
There is a crisis in social care in Scotland. Research by my colleague Angus MacDonald, MP, shows that, in the past decade, the number of care homes for older people in the Highlands fell by a fifth. At the same time, the older population in that part of the country is surging.
Duncan lived in Acharacle in the west Highlands, but, when he needed a care home, the nearest that was available was in Fort Augustus, because the care home that was local to him had closed. That is the equivalent of placing an Edinburgh resident in a care home in Dumfries. The travel time meant that his wife, Nino, was robbed of precious hours with her dying husband every day—time that she can never get back. Does the First Minister think that that is acceptable?
It is essential that we have effective social care services in all our communities in Scotland, no matter the geography. The experience of the couple in Acharacle that Alex Cole-Hamilton cited is concerning. Of course I want people to have access to local care services. We work closely on joint work between the health service and local authorities to support the delivery of care in all our communities, which is the subject of focused work that is being done to ensure that care home provision and social care services are available in all communities around the country.
It is not just people such as Nino who are being denied precious time with their loved ones, because, on any given night, 2,000 Scots are stuck in hospital in this country. They are well enough to leave but they cannot. Why? It is because there is no care home place to receive them or care package to help them to go home. That means that hospitals are overwhelmed, people are not getting operations and ambulances are stacking up outside our accident and emergency departments.
Will the First Minister commit to building new care homes in areas such as the west Highlands, delivering key worker housing and boosting salaries to make social care a profession of choice—and to doing those things with urgency?
I agree with a lot of what Alex Cole-Hamilton has said, because there is a link between hospital capacity, social care capacity and ambulance demand. They are interlinked, so the Government takes a whole-system approach—that is how the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care and I take those issues forward in our dialogue with the health service.
The level of delayed discharges is falling—it has come down from its peak by just short of 200 places. It is still far too high, but it is coming down because of the investment that the Government’s budget, which Mr Cole-Hamilton supported, is putting into health and social care at a community level. The Government has intervened to support the acquisition by the public sector of care homes—one in Fort William and one in Mallaig.
There is another dimension to this matter, which Mr Cole-Hamilton and I might agree on—namely, the prevailing attitude about care staff in our country. On Monday, the message from the Prime Minister was catastrophic for the care sector in Scotland. I have never heard anything so damaging for the delivery of care in our communities. Mr Cole-Hamilton is absolutely entitled to put those questions to me, but the Prime Minister’s irresponsible statements on Monday will have huge implications for the delivery of social care here. If members want to dismiss what I am saying, perhaps they will take seriously what Dr Donald Macaskill, the chief executive of Scottish Care, said when he suggested that our ability to deliver social care in this country has been directly damaged by the actions, language and rhetoric of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. That is a disgrace.
Disability Benefits (Reductions)
To ask the First Minister, regarding any implications for its work to tackle poverty, what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the Department for Work and Pensions’ forecasts reportedly indicating that the United Kingdom Government’s planned reductions to disability benefits will impact 700,000 families that are already in poverty. (S6F-04087)
I remain deeply concerned about the effects of the reforms on people across Scotland, particularly those with disabilities or long-term conditions. The UK Government’s own analysis shows that the reforms will push a further 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, into relative poverty by the end of the decade. We will see 3.2 million families lose out because of planned changes to the universal credit health element.
The Scottish Government is taking concrete action to support disabled people in Scotland. For example, since January, we have provided support to 430,000 people through our adult disability payment and, following the national roll-out of pension-age disability payments, we are now providing support to disabled people of all ages.
The Scottish Labour Party has been shamefully silent about the UK Government’s cuts to disability benefits, despite their damaging impact. That is on top of its failure to oppose the Labour UK Government’s cuts to winter fuel payments and the maintenance of Westminster’s cruel two-child cap and its failure to back fair compensation for the WASPI women—women against state pension inequality. While Scottish Labour sits on its hands and watches the UK Government push more people into poverty, will the First Minister advise what steps the Scottish National Party Government is taking here to support households that have been affected by the worst aspects of Westminster austerity?
The Scottish Government has intervened on several of those issues. We have taken steps to restore winter fuel payments to pensioners in Scotland. We have made provision for that in our budget, which takes direct account of the cuts that the incoming Labour UK Government made as one of its first acts. We have also invested in providing the Scottish child payment, which is keeping thousands of children here out of poverty. Our budget also included provision for steps to remove the two-child cap, which I would have expected the Labour UK Government to remove, but it has not done so. I assure my colleague Collette Stevenson that the Scottish Government will do all that we can to eradicate poverty, but our challenge is all the greater because of the actions of the Labour UK Government.
The first principle underlying the adult disability payment is to help people to get employment and stay in it; it was never intended to be an income replacement benefit. Does the First Minister agree that the proposed reductions to that benefit, whereby people who require help to wash, dress and prepare meals will no longer qualify, will risk their ability to maintain employment and so go against the benefit’s fundamental principle?
I agree with Mr Balfour on that point. The structure of that payment is designed to support people to make as much of a contribution to wider society, particularly through employment, as they can. However, if the proposals that Mr Balfour mentions are enacted, the practical issues that he legitimately raises will impede individuals’ doing that. Not only is such an approach damaging and short sighted; it will undermine individuals’ ability to make an economic contribution in the long term. That is but one of the many aspects of its folly. I am very happy to endorse the points that Mr Balfour makes.
NHS 24 (Performance)
To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is taking to address the performance of NHS 24, in light of reports that nearly one in five calls to the service went unanswered last year. (S6F-04075)
NHS 24 continues to strive to improve its call-handling times. However, I apologise to anyone who has experienced an extended wait.
Calls to NHS 24 can be recorded as unanswered for a variety of reasons, not all of which are related to waiting times. Callers are offered a range of options, including signposting to NHS Inform for self-care advice or to other services that might be more clinically appropriate to meet their needs.
NHS 24’s workforce has increased by almost 50 per cent since 2014, with a record number of call handlers and clinical advisers in place, and we have increased NHS 24’s budget to a record £118.3 million this year.
I declare an interest as a practising national health service general practitioner.
First Minister, I have worked in out-of-hours services. The staff are working flat out, and the patients I saw were distressed and desperate for help. However, last year, more than 300,000 calls to NHS 24 were abandoned, with one person left waiting more than four hours just to get through. Those are not just statistics; they are real people left without urgent health advice when they need it most. No manager has been held accountable for that debacle, yet the Scottish Government is spending £118.3 million on NHS 24 this year.
First Minister, stop talking about money and start talking about outcomes. For that level of spending, the public deserve much better. Will the First Minister guarantee that, next year, we will see significant improvements for desperate patients?
Always speak through the chair.
I repeat a point that I made earlier, which is that calls can be abandoned for a variety of reasons, not all of which are related to waiting times. The message menu that members of the public hear includes a range of signposting options that encourage people to seek advice elsewhere, particularly when the service is under pressure. Dr Gulhane will be familiar with those options from his professional background. He will also know that not all callers need to get through to NHS 24, as some might be able to get advice from NHS Inform that addresses their concerns.
Having spent time with NHS call handlers, as the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care has done, and having listened to the professional advice that they give, I would say two things. First, I commend the quality and strength of the advice available through the telephone service, which is of a high clinical level. Secondly, I believe that the signposting to face-to-face services is undertaken very effectively.
I am concerned about the data that Dr Gulhane refers to, because I cannot quite understand how a call could be waiting for four hours to be answered. I will interrogate that data further, as the extremity of that situation causes me concern, and I will look more closely at the long waits that Dr Gulhane raises.
On the whole, I believe that NHS 24 serves us well. However, I acknowledge that, during periods of high demand, people might wait longer than they would wish.
Can the First Minister outline how the Scottish Government is working to implement the recommendations in its report on the redesign of urgent care, which was published in January? Specifically, is the Government targeting current staffing levels at NHS 24?
A key issue—which relates to Dr Gulhane’s question—is that of capacity. Over time, the Government has been expanding capacity in NHS 24. As a consequence of the redesign of urgent care, we invested an additional £4 million to enable NHS 24 to recruit more staff and reduce call waiting times. That investment also supports public awareness about when to contact 111 and how to access other services.
The First Minister will know that, when NHS 24 triages a call, the caller can be phoned back by a nurse or doctor—often more than once. The caller is then triaged again by the health board, and it can take hours before they are seen. Thomas Rodger, who was 27 years old and from Falkirk, phoned NHS 24 several times before dying in hospital because he was struggling to breathe. Will the First Minister publish data on the time from the initial call to the point of treatment?
I will explore that point. However, it might be difficult to provide a complete picture other than in an individual case. I understand that, in the case that Jackie Baillie raises, that would undoubtedly be possible. I stress that I am not a clinician, but, from what Jackie Baillie said about that case, it sounds like a call that should have gone directly to the Scottish Ambulance Service, because, if someone has difficulty breathing, that raises some pretty acute issues. I simply offer that as an observation, and I am very sorry to hear the circumstances that Jackie Baillie puts to me.
We could consider Jackie Baillie’s suggestion in relation to individual cases, as there would be merit in exploring the journey that individuals have to go through, and it would be possible to do so. Many of us will have had the experience of having to tell our story multiple times. If that process can be made smoother, we should absolutely aim to do so. However, at a systemic level, it would be difficult to collect or assemble the kind of data that Jackie Baillie is asking for.
United Kingdom-United States of America Trade Deal (Implications for Businesses)
To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the recently announced UK-USA trade deal and its potential implications for businesses in Scotland. (S6F-04082)
The Scottish Government will consider the full details of the trade deal and all of its implications for Scotland when those details are clear. We understand that only general terms have been agreed, with much detail requiring further negotiation.
I wonder whether the First Minister agrees that a so-called deal that fails to engage with the Scottish Government, fails to take account of Scotland’s salmon and whisky industries, fails to protect our beef sector and lands us with 10 per cent tariffs across the board is accurately described by the Nobel laureate Professor Joe Stiglitz as
“not worth the paper that it is written on.”
The issues that Michelle Thomson raises are absolutely material to consideration of the UK-USA trade deal. It is a source of enormous disappointment and frustration to the Scottish Government, because of the effect that the trade deal will have on Scottish business, that we were not engaged in its formulation prior to its agreement by the United Kingdom Government. Indeed, I personally found the process deeply unsatisfactory—the Deputy First Minister has communicated that to the UK Government. That view is held not just by me but by my counterparts in Wales and Northern Ireland. There is a lot yet to be done on the trade deal to ensure that key industries such as salmon and whisky are protected.
As Michelle Thomson will know, the Scottish Government has taken steps to intervene to support the Scottish company base, with the explanation in the programme for government last week of further support for exporters, on which the Government will follow through.
I am not surprised by the question, because I understand that the Scottish National Party has never supported a single trade deal in the UK Parliament, whether negotiated by the UK Government or by Brussels. Trade deals offer great opportunity, but surely it is important that we protect UK food, welfare and environmental standards. NFU Scotland is right to say that the deal raises a number of important questions for Scotland’s farmers. In contrast to the SNP’s flawed domestic agriculture policy, is the First Minister able to give any reassurances on the work that his Government is doing to protect Scotland’s vital agriculture industry as the talks progress?
We work very closely with NFU Scotland and the agriculture sector. As the member of the Scottish Parliament for Perthshire North, which involves extensive agricultural interests, I spend a lot of my time engaging with the agriculture industry. If Mr Eagle is worried about that, let me assure him that the Government is very much engaged on those issues.
When it comes to the protection and promotion of the agriculture sector, I venture to suggest that the farming sector feels better supported in Scotland than it is in the rest of the United Kingdom and that this Government’s approach to the sector is more sympathetic to its needs and interests. That will, of course, be the case during my leadership of the Scottish Government. The issues that Mr Eagle raises about the trade deal are vital and material in relation to the farming industry, and we will do all that we can to address those issues with the UK Government.
On Mr Eagle’s point about trade engagement, one of the trade arrangements that I have always been very supportive of, and that I am keen for us to have more of, is a good trading relationship with the European Union. That relationship was shattered by the stupidity of Brexit and the actions of the Conservative Government, and I want to get us back into those arrangements as quickly as I possibly can.
We move to constituency and general supplementary questions.
Nature Restoration Fund
It is welcome that the Scottish Government’s nature restoration fund has now invested more than £65 million in hundreds of projects that are helping Scotland’s species, woodlands, rivers and seas back on the road to recovery. How will the extension of the fund, which was announced in the First Minister’s programme for government, build on that work and help to tackle the nature crisis?
Around 250 projects are benefiting from the nature restoration fund so far. We are extending the fund, which will provide essential investment for the steps that we are taking to halt biodiversity loss in Scotland’s species, woodlands, rivers and seas, and to encourage them back on the road to recovery.
UHI Perth
Yesterday, we learned that the principal of UHI Perth had stepped down with immediate effect. That follows on from concerns about management decisions taken at the college, the collapse of the long-established subsidiary company Air Service Training (Engineering) Ltd and funding challenges caused by Scottish National Party budget choices, leaving the college with a £2 million deficit. What action will the Scottish Government now take to provide assurance to staff and students that their futures are secure?
First, I thank Dr Margaret Cook for her service as principal of UHI Perth, and I wish her well for the future. The college is a self-governing and autonomous institution that is part of the University of the Highlands and Islands. It is responsible for its own decisions within the funding envelopes that the Scottish Government provides. The Government, of course, supports substantially the college sector in Scotland. Decisions on distribution of funds are made on the Government’s behalf by the Scottish Funding Council, in accordance with legislation.
The Government strongly supports the college sector. I look forward to the leadership of UHI Perth taking forward the strengthened measures that are required to ensure the future of the institution, which plays a significant part in the education of my constituents and has a formidable footprint in the local economy in Perthshire.
Childhood Cancer Diagnosis (Financial Support)
My constituent Ryan Thomas Quinn is in the Parliament today. His friend Aaron Murphy died tragically young, and Ryan is raising awareness of the considerable financial costs for families affected by childhood cancer diagnosis, many of whom are forced to borrow money to cope.
I recognise that, under special rules for terminal illness, fast-track access to disability payments is in place, and I welcome the guidance for doctors and nurses on ensuring access to those benefits. Could something similar be offered to those affected by childhood cancer? How can we ensure that families are able to quickly access all routes of funding and support following a childhood cancer diagnosis?
I am sympathetic to the point that Claire Baker makes, and I welcome Ryan to Parliament. I know that the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care and the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice are meeting him this afternoon, which was no doubt arranged by Claire Baker. I welcome that engagement.
I commit to the Government engaging on the issue. Claire Baker makes a reasonable point about supporting families with children who are affected by a cancer diagnosis, which is a tragic and traumatising experience to have. I commit my ministers to addressing the issue.
While I am on my feet, I might say that, several years ago, Perth high school, which educates children in my constituency, lost a child to teenage cancer. A couple of weeks ago, around 400 of the young people ran in the Perth park run to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust, which they do every year in memory of the young person who they lost. That is an indication of the absolute solidarity of young people on this tragic issue, and I compliment them on their activities in that respect. [Applause.]
Wave Energy (Orkney)
I welcome yesterday’s announcement at the All-Energy conference that Orkney will be the site of the UK’s largest wave energy project, demonstrating Scotland’s massive potential in wave and tidal stream generation. Will the First Minister provide more details on that initiative, and does he agree that we must continue to build momentum to ensure that Scotland can become a world leader in renewables?
I am delighted to welcome the news, which Emma Roddick has commented on, that CorPower Ocean will site its 5 megawatt array at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney. The project is scheduled to deploy in 2029 and will see components manufactured locally, creating skilled jobs and supporting the local supply chain. This is another indication of our communities’ outlook and willingness to embrace renewables. It is a huge fillip to the magnificent activity that has been going on at EMEC in Orkney for many years.
I assure Emma Roddick that the Government will ensure that there is wide awareness of the significance of a project of this nature in strengthening our agenda on renewables, which is a huge strength for Scotland.
Accessible Housing (Clackmannan)
Plans to build affordable homes for disabled residents in Clackmannan have been delayed while costs are recalculated. The council previously laid proposals to construct bungalows on a site in the town, but those proposals have now been reduced. Given the urgent requirements for more accessible housing in my region, what assurances can the Scottish Government give that it will do all that it can to maximise the availability for that much-needed development to progress?
I will say two things to Mr Stewart in that respect. First, our planning hub is looking practically at a number of sites that have stalled or have some difficulty. We all know that issues can emerge in the system, and our planning hub is looking at those particular developments. If Mr Stewart writes to me, I will make sure that the relevant minister takes that forward.
My second point is on the question of construction costs, which I referred to earlier in my answer to Mr Sarwar. One of the problems with a number of developments is that the cost of construction materials increased substantially during 2021-22. The annual average growth rate in construction costs was 5 per cent in the four-year period between 2017 and 2020. In 2021-22, it was 24 per cent—nearly five times as much. Those are some of the practical cost issues that are being wrestled with.
If Mr Stewart wants to send me details of that situation, I will certainly explore what can be done through the planning hub to support his constituents.
British Horse Society “Dead Slow” Campaign
As the welcome summer months approach, we enter the season of gala days and common ridings across the Borders, Midlothian and throughout rural Scotland. The British Horse Society has launched a “Dead Slow” campaign, which is aimed at motorists, in order to prevent injuries and even deaths for riders and horses.
Will the First Minister encourage drivers—particularly city drivers—to remind themselves of their obligations under the highway code on how to drive when there are horses on the roads in rural areas? I declare an interest as convener of the cross-party group on animal welfare.
Horse riders are recognised as vulnerable road users, and we work with partners such as the British Horse Society to improve safety. A vulnerable road users working group, which includes the British Horse Society, met on 1 May.
We very much support the activities that Christine Grahame referred to. Common ridings are a critical part of the identity of the Scottish Borders, and gala days around the community are important celebrations of local activity. In our awareness campaigns, we will urge all drivers, particularly those who are unfamiliar with rural roads, to follow the highway code by passing horses at no more than 10mph and giving at least 2m of space for horses as they pass.
Glasgow’s Pride (Political Party Participation)
This week, Glasgow’s Pride announced that, in line with major pride events in England, political parties are no longer welcome to participate. That never happened even in the worst days of political homophobia in the 1980s and 1990s. It is a direct result of political attacks on the rights of LGBTQ+ people, especially in relation to transphobia.
Does the First Minister acknowledge that the political landscape as a whole has betrayed the trust of our community? Does he understand that there are Scottish Government employees who are currently living in fear that their workplaces will be subject to segregation policies, as has already happened in Parliament? What does the First Minister intend to do to begin restoring the trust that has been lost?
I recognise and sympathise with the point that Mr Harvie has made. As I have said consistently since the Supreme Court judgment, I am concerned by how individuals, particularly those in the trans community, are feeling as a consequence of the climate that we are in. I am very struck by the fact that the climate of the discourse on this issue is absolutely unacceptable.
Let me, from this podium, make it clear—as I made it clear in the programme for government announcement—that my Government is absolutely resolute in our support for the LGBTQI+ community, and that we will take actions that will be aimed at protecting the rights of all, because the rights of all must be protected in our society. That is the solemn commitment that I give to the community and to the Parliament today.
Ninewells Hospital (Maternity Services)
This morning, Healthcare Improvement Scotland published the report of its unannounced inspection of maternity services at Ninewells hospital in Dundee. The report contains shocking details, including delays to the induction of labour of up to three days, vital equipment such as fetal heartbeat monitors being damaged and not replaced, and a rapid fall in the number of experienced midwives. Despite hard-working staff providing “compassionate and responsive care”, the state of the service was so bad in January that the HIS made a second visit in February and said that it was
“not assured that sufficient progress or improvement had been made”.
The situation is hugely worrying for families and especially for expectant mothers across Dundee and Angus. What will the First Minister’s Government do to ensure that necessary improvements to maternity services happen?
First, it is important that inspections of that type take place so that we can challenge unacceptable practice. Therefore, I am grateful to Healthcare Improvement Scotland for the thoroughness of the work that it has undertaken. Secondly, although I understand the legitimate points that Mr Marra has made, strengths in the service were also identified, which Mr Marra acknowledged in his question. That should be recognised, but it should not be an excuse for not addressing unacceptable practice. My third point is that it is essential that the NHS Tayside leadership takes forward those issues with urgency. That will be communicated firmly to the leadership—it probably already has been—by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care.
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. When I asked my question, I should have said that I am in receipt of adult disability payment. I apologise for not declaring that.
Thank you, Mr Balfour. That is on the record.
That concludes First Minister’s question time. The next item of business is a members’ business debate. There will be a short suspension to allow those who are leaving the gallery and the chamber to do so before the next item of business begins.
12:47 Meeting suspended.Previous
General Question Time