Chamber and committees

I would appreciate it if the committee were to get that information, if that is at all possible.

Dan, would you like to add something?

Thank you. I will just hand back to the convener, as time is short.

The rising cost of living affects all our constituents. We have talked time and again about the risk of putting people in the position of having to choose between heating and eating. For a large number of our constituents, that has, or very shortly will, become the stark reality. One in seven UK adults are already behind on at least one household bill. Rising energy costs and the spiralling cost of food are pushing more people to have to make the decision: do I heat or do I eat?

Our Scottish Government can go only so far with the limited powers and the funds that it has while fighting against the tide of disgraceful decisions at Westminster that continue to have devastating effects on thousands of people across Scotland. The spare room subsidy, which the Liberal Democrats supported the Tories to push through Westminster in 2013, is one of them. That alone costs tenants who are affected by the bedroom tax between £14 and £25 a week. The removal of the £20 uplift in universal credit, reducing household incomes by £1,040 a year, is another. Over the past six months, food insecurity levels have risen to their highest yet, affecting 5.7 million adults. One in six people who receive universal credit needed to visit a food bank at least once since the start of December, and almost 2 million people currently go without food.

However, the UK Government has rejected calls to uplift benefits, providing no security to people who are struggling to buy the bare essentials. Food insecurity in households in receipt of universal credit was 37 per cent lower when the uplift was in place compared with before the pandemic. That points to the critical role that the £20 uplift had in protecting families from food insecurity.

The UK Government should have used its spring statement to follow Scotland’s lead by matching the 6 per cent uprate of social security and increased all bands of the minimum wage to match the real living wage to ensure that we protect the people on the lowest incomes throughout the country. However, once again, no support was forthcoming from the chancellor. There was also the devastating 54 per cent rise in the energy cap, but the UK Government failed to make changes to VAT on household energy bills, which would at least have provided some short-term relief to households.

Where it can, the Scottish Government has taken significant actions to mitigate the pressures of the cost of living crisis. It has doubled the Scottish child payment to £20, with a further increase to come in 2022. It has uprated Scottish benefits by 6 per cent, which puts money in the pockets of people who are most in need. There have also been other interventions: the introduction of 1,140 hours of free childcare, the eligibility for which has been extended; free bus travel for under-22s; and £1.8 billion being committed to accelerate the deployment of heat and energy efficiency measures. We continue to have free prescription charges, free eye examinations, free tuition and increases to school clothing grants. Almost £6 billion has been invested to support low-income households in Scotland over the past three years.

As we rebuild from the pandemic and face the cost of living crisis, we have an opportunity to make Scotland a more equal and inclusive society. However, Scotland does not hold all the powers that it requires to achieve that. It will come only with independence. The UK Government has shown time and again that it is unwilling to support the poorest in our society and does not have the same priorities as the Scottish Government in relation to supporting all our citizens. That only reaffirms the need for Scotland’s future to be in Scotland’s hands.

Does the minister agree that small changes can help, too? Tonight, I have heard members speaking about the Scottish football team and the Scottish women’s football team. We should call it the Scottish men’s football team and the Scottish women’s football team to make it more equal. Small changes like that are a beginning, although definitely not the end.

I have to disagree with my colleague Siobhian Brown, because my daughter is vice-captain of Westdyke Ladies Football Club. I do not think that I could let that one slide, I am afraid.

Dr Hannon, do you have anything to add? You mentioned a further rise to the price cap happening in the autumn. What will the impact of that be, and should any other measures be put in place?

I realise that we are running out of time, so I will keep my questions brief. We heard earlier, I think from Dr Lowes, about what support folk should be offered as the price increase hits them. How significant will the impact of the increase in the cost of energy be on fuel poverty? How will the support that has been announced by the UK and Scottish Governments help, and could anything else be done?

Thank you. As I said, I am trying to keep it brief, so I will just ask if Tim Lord has anything to add in relation to any of my questions.

It is very welcome that the voices of families and service users in Moray have been listened to throughout the process. Will the cabinet secretary set out how continued stakeholder engagement will be delivered as the service is developed?

Please accept my apologies for not being in the chamber this evening, Presiding Officer. I thank my colleague Marie McNair for bringing this important subject to the chamber for a members’ business debate.

Ovarian cancer is not my friend. I first met it back in August 1977 when I was nine years old. I did not know what it was at the time, but I knew that it was not good. Mam and Dad sat me down to tell me that I would need to go and live with my granny and granda for three weeks while mam went into hospital to get a small black spot removed from her belly. I know now that the explanation was not very factual but, at nine years old, it was good enough for me to get a grasp of.

Mam had her operation on 16 August 1977, the day that Elvis Presley died. My sister still remembers this, as Mam was a huge fan of his and it has always stuck in her mind. I came home after Mam got home from hospital to find Mam and Dad’s bed in the living room, and could not work out why. I thought, “Mam was getting better, wasn’t she?” After all, she had had the operation she needed. Eight weeks after her operation and 17 days after my 10th birthday, my mam passed away, aged just 34 years, from ovarian cancer. So, no, ovarian cancer is not my friend.

What do I know about it now? Well, I know that ovarian cancer is one of the most lethal of female cancers. I know that it is most often diagnosed at a late stage. The symptoms are commonly experienced as a result of other conditions, but people should let their doctor know how often they are experiencing symptoms, as that is an important step in helping the doctor to know when they should consider ovarian cancer as a possible cause. I know that, when it is detected at an early stage—when the cancer remains confined to the ovary—up to 90 per cent of those diagnosed are likely to survive for more than five years. That compares to 17 per cent surviving for five or more years when the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.

I also know that there is still no routine simple screening test to accurately detect ovarian cancer. Contrary to popular belief, cervical screening will not detect ovarian cancer. Although cervical screening is effective in early detection of cervical cancer, it is not a test for ovarian cancer. There have been no advances made in the last 40 years in the diagnosis or treatment of this silent cancer, and it is time that it got as much publicity as other cancers. That is why I am telling my, but more importantly, my mam’s story tonight.

We need a consistent approach to testing. Why does it have to rely on doctors taking the decision on whether someone fits the bill for testing? My sister used to get a CA-125 blood test done routinely, but I never have. Why? We both come from the same mother, but we have different doctors and different health authorities. I urge the minister to look into that as a matter of urgency.

I started my speech by saying that ovarian cancer is not my friend, and I am determined not to allow it to have the last say in my speech tonight. I dedicate this to my mam, Elizabeth May Dunbar, née Watt, wife to Jimmy and mam to Elaine, Andrew and Jacqueline, born 10 May 1943 and died 19 October 1977, aged just 34 years. You may be gone, Mam, but you are definitely not forgotten.