Chamber and committees

Thank you very much.

I welcome the minister to her new role; I have no doubt that she will be cracking in it. I also welcome the opportunity to participate in this very important debate, and I congratulate my friend and colleague Emma Harper on securing it.

I thank Alan Johnstone, who is one of Emma Harper’s constituents, for the tremendous work that he has done to raise awareness of brain tumours and to fundraise for research into, and development of, treatment for them.

As members have indicated, brain tumours are the largest killer by cancer of children and adults under the age of 40 in the UK. Brain tumours reduce life expectancy by an average of 20 years. That is the highest figure for any cancer that we currently know of. I want all those with a brain tumour to have the best possible chance of survival, so I am pleased to support wear a hat day and the calls from the Brain Tumour Charity that my colleague Emma Harper has outlined.

One in six respondents to the Brain Tumour Charity’s improving brain tumour care survey last year had to wait more than six months to get a diagnosis after first seeing a healthcare professional about their symptoms, and one in 10 waited for over a year to be diagnosed. Although I acknowledge some of the reasons for that—not least the huge challenges that are still being felt in our NHS due to the pandemic—we need to see early diagnosis and earlier access to treatment. People who display symptoms of a brain tumour should receive a definitive diagnosis as quickly as possible after first visiting a healthcare professional about their symptoms. Unfortunately, there will always be folk who will go through accident and emergency to get a diagnosis because there will always be folk whose very first symptom is a seizure or something major that requires emergency treatment. However, many things can be done to help to drive down diagnosis times for the majority of folk who will experience the symptoms of a brain tumour in the future.

Simply put, the main benefit of a faster diagnosis is that treatment, care and support can be provided to folk at the earliest opportunity, which could lead to their living better lives after their diagnosis. I would therefore welcome an update from the minister on the Scottish Government’s commitment to improve the time that it takes for brain tumour diagnosis, when the fast-track cancer diagnosis centre in NHS Grampian will be fully operational, and when it will report on its effectiveness.

Brain tumours have a very real human impact. I want to discuss the experience of Suzanne Davies, who is one of my constituents. Suzanne received her diagnosis of a glioblastoma—I apologise if I did not pronounce that properly—brain tumour in 2014. She now works with? Brain Tumour Research,?after defying the odds of survival, to raise awareness of the disease. She is a mum to two teenagers, who were just four and seven when she received her diagnosis.

After initially visiting her doctor due to suffering from headaches and speech issues and being told that they could be down to her hay fever or stress, Suzanne visited another GP, who sent her to ?Aberdeen royal infirmary. It gave her a CT scan and found a tumour the size of a golf ball. She underwent an awake craniotomy, and the operating team successfully removed 95 per cent of the tumour. She then underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy. She now has an MRI scan every six months. The most recent scan, in December last year, was stable. In February this year, Suzanne walked 10,000 steps each day to raise funds for brain tumour research. She raised a total of £706; the original target was just £500. I thank Suzanne for all her efforts, and I wish her every success for the future.

I again welcome this debate, and I thank Emma Harper for bringing it to the chamber.

Following the United Kingdom budget, Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts show that a typical household’s energy bills are expected to remain in excess of £2,000 until at least the winter of 2024-25 and possibly beyond that. Will the First Minister take the opportunity to urge the UK Government to reverse the incomprehensible decision to scrap the £400 energy bill support scheme, which leaves many families in my constituency and across Scotland hundreds of pounds worse off?

If Scotland is to meet our net zero ambitions, it is essential that we promote skills development in alignment with the fastest growing industries of the north-east. However, after another long, drawn-out announcement from the United Kingdom Government this morning, the Tory Government failed to give any credible detail on when the Acorn project will be given the green light to progress. Does the cabinet secretary think that Westminster Governments will ever stop treating Scotland’s energy as a cash cow for the UK Treasury? [Interruption.] Will the UK Government ever harness the skills here to deliver a just transition?

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of the learning for sustainability action plan in educational settings in the north-east. (S6O-02093)

To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the potential impact of the anticipated 1 April rise in energy bills on household finances in Scotland. (S6F-01996)

Shall I ask my other question now, or wait?

I, too, have been contacted by small convenience stores. One of the questions that they have raised with me—I actually understood this point, because I am a former grocery stock controller—was about point-of-sale labels. They say that they are still trying to find out what those labels have to say. I am talking about the shelf labels with the DRS information on them. The stores have asked whether, if something costs £1, the labels have to say that it is £1 plus 20p for the DRS or whether the labels have to say that it is £1.20, which includes the DRS.

Stores are still trying to get confirmation on that. I know that people in the outside world will think that that is a simple thing, but those stores have systems and programmes behind the scenes, and they need the information now so that they can be ready for 16 August. Can you give some clarity today?

If you cannot give that advice, who can I say that those stores need to contact for advice so that they can start getting their systems in place?

I am confused, because what you have just said suggests to me that retailers should know what to put on the label, but they tell me that they do not know what to put on the label. Do they need to list the 20p cost separately or together with the price? To me, that is a simple question.