Good morning. The first item of business is general question time.
EHRC Interim Update (Supreme Court Ruling on Equality Act 2010)
To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to implement any necessary measures as a consequence of the interim update from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, following the Supreme Court’s ruling on the legal definition of “woman”. (S6O-04688)
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has launched its consultation on updating its code of practice, which will run to 30 June 2025. We encourage organisations to engage with the consultation.
The Scottish Government is reviewing its policies, its guidance and the legislation impacted by the judgment through the cross-Government short-life working group to ensure that we are ready and prepared ahead of the updated code of practice being published. On 15 May, I met the United Kingdom Government to discuss the Supreme Court judgment and our work to prepare for the updated EHRC code of practice. The UK Government confirmed that it, too, is waiting for the EHRC’s updated code of practice before it issues any further guidance, to ensure consistency in this complex area of law. The EHRC has not objected to that approach from the Scottish Government.
As expected, the cabinet secretary has not provided a clear answer. It has been more than one month since the UK Supreme Court’s monumental judgment on the definition of the word “woman”, and almost a month since the EHRC published its interim update. Two weeks ago, the Scottish Parliament announced that it will be implementing what is in the update.
However, bodies that are still waiting for clarity from the Scottish Government include the Scottish Secondary Teachers Association and the national health service nursing unions. Sandie Peggie is calling for the Royal College of Nursing to take a stand, and prisons need clarity on how to handle transgender prisoners.
The cabinet secretary and the Scottish Government are dragging their heels, so I ask again: when will the Scottish Government implement the EHRC interim update? It is a simple question—what is the date?
As I have already said—but I will try once again—the Scottish Government has already begun its work to review the policies, guidance and legislation that are impacted by the decision through the cross-Government short-life working group. Decisions on the parliamentary estate are for the Scottish Parliament to take. I assure members that we have begun to undertake our work.
I am disappointed that the EHRC cancelled its meeting with Scottish ministers, when we could have gone through this in detail. As I said in my recent correspondence with the EHRC, my diary remains open for further discussions on the matter. I hope that the EHRC will take up the opportunity to speak to Scottish Government ministers soon, because I am determined to ensure that the Scottish Government does the work that people expect us to do.
Last week, I urged the Cabinet Secretary for Justice to revoke the unlawful gender self-identification policy that has put male offenders, including murderers and sexual torturers, in women’s prisons for more than a decade. Teachers are also crying out for lawful guidance to repair a decade of lobby-led ideology. Councils across the country are losing court cases. Female prisoners who are denied justice and their human rights may yet sue. An NHS Fife policy, which has now been exposed at an employment tribunal, is clearly unlawful. How much legal, financial and reputational damage will Scotland stomach before the Government stops dragging its feet?
The Scottish Government has begun its work following the Supreme Court judgment, as I have said in my answers. We have detailed, in writing to the EHRC, the decisions that we have taken on how we will move forward with implementation. As I said, the EHRC chose to cancel the meeting with Scottish Government ministers when we could have discussed that.
If the EHRC has any issues with or concerns about how we are implementing the judgment, I expect it to write back. My diary remains open for direct minister-to-EHRC discussions on the issue. We have raised the issue with it and it knows our intent. I have shared that intent and discussed it with UK Government ministers, who are doing likewise.
In the meantime, we are determined to move forward with implementation. While we await the conclusion of the code of practice consultation, we will continue the work in the Government.
FBU Survey (Maternity Leave)
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the justice secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding the reported findings from a survey by the Fire Brigades Union that there is support and a need for 52 weeks of full pay for firefighters on maternity leave. (S6O-04689)
The pay and conditions of firefighters are negotiated on a United Kingdom-wide basis through established collective bargaining procedures. The Scottish Government is not part of those negotiations, which are rightly a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service as the employer. I know that the Minister for Victims and Community Safety discussed maternity leave when she met Scottish Fire Brigades Union officials on 15 May.
The FBU’s “Fight for 52” maternity survey report makes for stark reading. Firefighters are not able to decontaminate properly before going home to breastfeed or must stop breastfeeding early or not breastfeed at all, because there are no safe ways to continue doing so after returning to work. Women firefighters in Scotland also get paid more than £16,000 less in maternity pay than those in many services south of the border. Will the cabinet secretary commit to putting in place 52 weeks of full pay for firefighters on maternity leave as part of the SFRS’s strategic service review programme?
Maternity pay, like firefighter pay and terms and conditions, is negotiated on a UK-wide basis under well-established procedures for collective bargaining, which I know that the FBU and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service remain committed to.
The member has raised an important matter. The health and wellbeing of staff, along with their terms and conditions, are crucial matters for the employer. I am very much aware of the calls that the FBU made on 7 May. For information, the SFRS’s maternity leave is currently 26 weeks on full pay and 13 weeks on statutory maternity pay, and there are some other flexibilities. I should say that the SFRS went beyond the collective agreement by extending it to support staff.
The issue is obviously very live for the FBU. It is important to say that there are particular operational procedures for pregnant and breastfeeding firefighters, particularly as they cannot participate in operational duties because of risks of contamination.
Health and Social Care Workers
To ask the Scottish Government to what extent it considers workers in the health and social care sector to be skilled. (S6O-04690)
The Scottish Government greatly values all in our health and social care sector and recognises that they all have the skills that are required to undertake their individual roles in the workforce. Their knowledge, compassion and dedication are essential to delivering safe and effective care, and their contribution is vital to our public services.
I agree with the Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland and I reject the notion that our social care staff in particular are low-skilled workers. That term is demeaning and disrespectful, given that they provide critical and complex care to some of the most vulnerable people in Scotland.
I absolutely echo the sentiment that the minister has expressed regarding the quite demeaning and utterly disrespectful characterisation by the Prime Minister of social care work as being low skilled. Nigel Farage’s Labour Party policy of ending skilled visa routes for social care workers is short-sighted and irresponsible and will have a disproportionate impact on Scotland, where social care vacancies are rising and we face distinct demographic challenges. To that end, what further representation will the Scottish Government make to the United Kingdom Government regarding the development of a separate pathway for overseas workers to move to Scotland and contribute to our society?
A key strand of the Scottish Government’s migration strategy is to engage with the UK Government and to highlight the urgent need for an immigration system that meets Scotland’s demographic and economic needs. The Scottish Government issued comprehensive, evidence-based proposals to the Home Office during the development of its immigration white paper, including proposals for tailored migration routes to Scotland, such as a rural visa pilot and a Scottish graduate visa. None of those proposals was included in the white paper. We continue to engage with stakeholders and will ensure that their requirements are reflected in on-going engagement with the UK Government.
I declare my interest as a practising general practitioner in the national health service. During last week’s ministerial statement on the care sector, I made the point that we should be training more people here to work in our care sector rather than relying on immigration. The minister, Maree Todd, responded:
“To suggest that there are in the villages and communities that I represent young people who are fit, healthy and able to train in the skilled jobs that social care requires is a very challenging point to make.”—[Official Report, 14 May 2025; c 27.]
I found that response to show a shocking attitude from the minister and to be a disservice to young people, who, I believe, are capable and smart enough to be trained, despite what the minister thinks. I ask again why the Government is not willing to look at training some of our 125,000 unemployed Scots, who are desperate for jobs in our care sector.
I make the point again that Sandesh Gulhane has just illustrated—that he has absolutely no understanding of the rural communities that I represent nor of the challenges that we face with respect to our demography. All over Scotland, the population is growing only because of immigration but, if we look closely at the rural areas in the Highlands, the challenge is immense. I am surrounded by schools that are closing. The ageing demographic is hitting us hard and it is hitting us first.
It is simply outrageous for Dr Gulhane to suggest that there are lots and lots of young people in the communities that I represent who are hanging around unemployed and doing nothing. It is also outrageous for him to suggest that anyone—just anyone—can be trained to work in social care. That is completely untrue. If he were to engage with the social care sector, he would understand that better.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its work to support faith and belief communities, what plans it has to join the Buddhist community in Scotland in celebrating the 90th birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama on 6 July. (S6O-04691)
The Scottish Government greatly values the rich contributions of all faith and belief communities in Scotland, including the Buddhist community. On the significant occasion of the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday, and on behalf of the Scottish Government, I offer my warmest greetings and best wishes to the Dalai Lama and the Buddhist community in Scotland. I acknowledge their role in promoting peace, compassion and cultural diversity throughout the country.
I am very grateful to the minister for her remarks on behalf of the Government, and I know that the Buddhist community will be as well.
The most important issue for Buddhists across Scotland and the world who are celebrating the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday is the matter of his reincarnation. When the Panchen Lama died, 30 years ago this month, the Chinese Government immediately kidnapped the six-year-old boy who had been chosen as his successor and the boy’s family. It then installed its own false Panchen Lama in his place. Buddhists fear that the Chinese Government will attempt the same with the next Dalai Lama. The Scottish Government enjoys positive relations with the leaders of many faith groups, and His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama has made a number of visits to Scotland. Does the minister agree that it is for Tibetan Buddhists to choose the 15th Dalai Lama, in line with their traditions and teachings, and that the Scottish Government would recognise only a Dalai Lama who was appointed on those terms?
I thank Ross Greer for bringing those issues to the chamber. I am aware that he travelled to India in April and met the Dalai Lama. The Scottish Government supports the principles of religious freedom and human rights. It believes that the Tibetan Buddhist community should have the right to choose the next Dalai Lama without external interference.
Malnutrition and Dehydration
To ask the Scottish Government what recent action it has taken to improve the prevention and monitoring of malnutrition and dehydration. (S6O-04692)
The Scottish Government is committed to preventing malnutrition and dehydration, and we have established a working group to develop recommendations for prevention, early detection and early intervention. We will shortly publish a 10-year population health framework, which, alongside recommendations from the malnutrition working group, will inform a new diet and healthy weight implementation plan. The Scottish Government is also supporting Health Improvement Scotland to review the 2014 food, fluid and nutritional care standards, which aim to ensure that everyone receiving care gets safe, effective and person-centred nutritional care.
Malnutrition is believed to be on the increase across Scotland, particularly in our vulnerable communities. As well as that being totally unacceptable, it places significant pressures and costs on our healthcare system. Many families, including in my South Scotland region, face high costs, poor food availability and significant inequalities, all of which limit their access to nutritious foods.
The cabinet secretary referred to the malnutrition short-life working group. It was commissioned to recommend a framework for the prevention of malnutrition and dehydration more than two years ago, but we have had no detail to date. When will the framework be published?
As I said in response to Carol Mochan’s first question, we will be developing a diet and healthy weight implementation plan, which will be informed by the working group and by the population health framework, which is coming imminently.
There is a significant amount of work going on to support people in communities to prevent the issues that Carol Mochan has rightly raised as being of concern at the moment. That includes work on our five family payments: the Scottish child payment, best start foods and the three best start grants, which, together, could be worth more than £10,000 by the time an eligible child turns six. We also have healthy start vitamins, which contain vitamin D and are provided free to all pregnant women throughout their pregnancies.
We are taking a number of steps to address the poverty-related drivers of poor nutrition and malnutrition that Carol Mochan speaks of, as well as responding with the framework, which will come imminently.
Immigration (Care Sector)
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide further details of its initial assessment of the potential impact of the United Kingdom Government’s immigration plans on Scotland’s care sector. (S6O-04693)
Our initial assessment is damning. Plans to end the international recruitment of care workers are short-sighted and will be devastating for the care sector in Scotland, which relies on international talent, particularly in rural and island communities. The number of health and care worker visa applications has already fallen since the 2023 restrictions on bringing dependants, and Labour now wants to reduce that number further.
Workers from overseas have filled and will continue to fill vital roles in the sector. The UK Government’s immigration white paper completely fails to account for Scotland’s distinct demographic needs, demonstrating why Scotland needs a tailored approach to migration.
The chief executive of Scottish Care, Donald Macaskill, has described the move as
“deeply concerning and disturbing for the Scottish care sector.”
He is right. The UK Government’s efforts to go to the right of Farage on immigration policy will be extremely damaging to the care sector. Does the minister agree that this is further evidence that Scotland needs the full powers of independence, to maximise the capacity and skills of our social care workforce?
I agree whole-heartedly. Scottish Care estimates that there are 15,000 to 20,000 international care workers in Scotland. The UK Government’s plans to end the recruitment of care workers are short-sighted and will be devastating for the care sector in Scotland, which relies on international talent—in particular, as I have emphasised, in rural and island communities. Migrants make a huge contribution to Scotland. We need a migration system that meets Scotland’s distinct needs, yet the white paper completely fails to account for them.
Dental Practices (Support)
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to support dental practices. (S6O-04694)
Our significant investment in national health service dental payment reform in November 2023 provided the sector with a stable platform from which to move forward. Official statistics show that NHS dental practices and dental services are performing well under the new system, with more than 4.1 million courses of treatment delivered to patients in 2024.
We have been clear that payment reform must be only the first step in ensuring the sustainability of our dental services, which is why our programme for government sets out a number of actions to improve the NHS dental workforce now and in the future.
The Scottish National Party promised to abolish NHS dental charges. However, patients in Ayrshire cannot register with NHS practices and are being forced to go private. I contacted 24 dental practices in the area, and not a single one is currently accepting new NHS patients.
What is the point of having free dental care if people cannot access it? What is the minister doing to fix that? Has the Government increased the number of funded university places for dentistry? What concrete steps is the Government taking to ensure that patients can access the free, high-quality NHS dentistry that they were promised?
The programme for government sets out key actions to improve the NHS dental workforce, backed by £3 million of funding in 2025-26. We will expand domestic dental student numbers by 7 per cent from September 2025, supporting our annual dental workforce pipeline. We also plan to launch an innovative new training package that will support international dentists to join the NHS Scotland workforce, and we will work with NHS boards to refine the financial incentives to support dentists to move to work in more rural areas—those “golden hellos” that we have mentioned several times in the chamber.