Chamber and committees

To ask the Scottish Government what its latest engagement has been with the United Kingdom Government regarding programmes to deliver a replacement for European Union structural funding. (S6O-01063)

The Scottish Government previously made decisions about how best to spend EU structural funds based on local priorities. Now, a UK Tory Government, which Scotland did not vote for, is cutting Scotland’s elected Government out of the decision-making process. Does the minister agree that that Tory UK Government poses a fundamental threat to devolution?

We have the strategic emissions reduction goals. Will what is being put in place affect whether they are met?

Earlier, Neil Lawrence said that consumers choose to self-disconnect, but I am afraid that I have to disagree—there is no choice when they get to that stage.

Households with pre-payment meters, which are normally our most vulnerable, pay more than households with direct debits. They pay a premium for their energy. We have touched on that in other committee evidence sessions. There is little to protect our most vulnerable in households with pre-payment meters. Are there any protection methods in the system? What more should be done to protect our most vulnerable? They are paying the highest tariffs.

We also hear that pre-payment meters are left in houses when people move out and that, when new tenants move in, they are automatically put on to the higher tariff. We have heard that it is up to the tenant, not the landlord or supplier, to get the meter taken out. Some folk cannot afford to take out the meter, so they are left with higher payments. Can anything be done about that? I am not sure whether you will be able to answer that, but it would be interesting to hear from you.

Will the measures that you have outlined be enough to ensure that the situation does not have a huge impact on achievement of the reduction goals that have been put in place? To balance out the position, will one aspect have to suffer rather than the other?

Good morning, gentlemen. I will follow what the deputy convener said about the cost of living crisis. I am interested in your thoughts on how that should be tackled in the short to medium term, without compromising the strategic emissions reduction goals. Maybe I will start with Mr Kenward—or would it be better to hear from Mr Lawrence?

The convener mentioned the £2.8 billion that has been added to consumer bills, on top of the increase in wholesale costs. Do you think that that is the best way to recover the costs? Were any other options considered? Do you think that other options should have been considered?

I congratulate my friend and colleague Audrey Nicoll on securing this evening’s debate and I thank her for advocating on behalf of the global midwife community and for highlighting the significant progress that has been made over the past 100 years in the fields of neonatal and maternal health. The debate gives us all the opportunity to recognise the crucial contribution that midwives make. We can all agree that our midwives are highly educated and skilled in ensuring that women and babies have safe and effective maternity care, and that babies receive the best possible start in life.

Although many people accurately picture midwives as supporting women in childbirth, they contribute far more, including antenatal and postnatal care, family planning services and breast and cervical cancer screenings. With counselling and information, they can also help to prevent female genital mutilation, support gender-based violence survivors and provide reproductive health services to adolescents.

It is not unusual for midwives to play the role of surrogate mother or partner for those who do not have close family nearby. That role has been particularly valuable throughout the on-going pandemic, during which expecting and new mums have faced the additional challenge of going through pregnancy without the usual support network that would ideally be available to all.

In my view, midwives, maternity support workers and student midwives have been the unsung heroes of the pandemic, putting their health at risk to provide excellent care to women and their families. Their impact on the mental and physical wellbeing of new and expecting mothers is impossible to quantify but, to say the least, we would be hard pressed to find a mother who is not thankful for the presence of their midwife, especially in the past two years.

When I had my daughter 32 years ago, the trainee midwife who looked after me at the time urged me to convince her supervisors to allow her to stay on after her shift had ended, just so that she could see the birth of my daughter through to the end. She was with me the whole time, and I was truly grateful for the kindness and support. That is just my personal experience but, even after all these years, that one act of kindness has always stayed with me. She could have just gone home after her shift finished, but instead she stayed. I know from countless other stories from parents that that is indeed business as usual, with midwives regularly going above and beyond their call of duty out of the goodness of their hearts.

Sadly, as recent headlines suggest, misogyny remains an ever-present issue that plagues our society. Thankfully, issues that specifically affect women are increasingly being given the attention that they deserve, but historically they have been denied. Globally, over the past 100 years, midwives have been on the front lines against misogyny, faced with the challenge of caring for and supporting mothers in societies that have often undervalued both midwives and women in general.

Fortunately, the midwifery profession is beginning to receive the praise and support that it deserves, partly because of the increased recognition of national health service staff as a result of the pandemic and just maybe through television shows such as “Call the Midwife”. Perhaps that has contributed to the 4.2 per cent annual increase in the number of midwives in Scotland.

However, with over 6,500 midwifery and nursing vacancies left to fill, which is a record high in Scotland, it is important that we all fully support international day of the midwife on 5 May, to show all potential and current midwives that they are valued, respected and needed. The absolute minimum that those in the midwifery community deserve is a day to recognise their contributions to Scotland and the rest of the world. Therefore, to all midwives out there, I say, “Happy international midwife day—you have more than earned it.”

Thank you. There were some points in your answer that I had not even thought of.