Chamber and committees

At what point? Will that be after it is a done deal?

Good afternoon, secretary of state. We have talked a lot about the specific methodology that was used for the levelling up fund. You mention the use of objective criteria. Despite that, we have ended up in a position in which, as you said, the failure to integrate connectivity data from Scotland has contributed to Orkney, Shetland and the Highlands being placed alongside areas such as the City of London in the category of areas that are least likely to benefit from the fund. How confident are you in the methodology that was adopted?

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and all its variants has caused significant damage to people and families throughout Scotland, and we know that ME/CFS can be triggered by infection in patients, although susceptibility may have a genetic element. Does the minister therefore agree that access to care and specialist support is essential for those who are currently diagnosed? What work is being undertaken to identify any lasting effects from Covid infections that may lead to the development of ME/CFS?

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to ensure access to care and support planning by a specialist team for people with ME and chronic fatigue syndrome, as recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (S6O-00786)

I apologise, Presiding Officer—I had a supplementary to an earlier question.

The condemnation of Russia’s declaration of war on Ukraine must be absolute and the reaction must be exceptional. The UK’s pitiful action thus far in the sanctioning of three individuals and five banks was simply waving a green flag to Putin. He will not care about sanctions unless they are so strong as to imperil the Russian economy, including the entirety of his inner-circle oligarchs and their involvement in international corruption and money laundering. Action such as that will require us to be willing to accept some costs.

Further Russian aggression will see countless innocent people, including women and children, killed, maimed, left homeless and destitute, with their future in tatters.

As declared in my entry in the register of interests, I am a director of the REVIVE Campaign, which advocates for the victims of conflict and explosive weapons. For some time now, we have been deeply concerned about Ukraine and her people. Parts of Ukraine still remain heavily contaminated with landmines and unexploded ordnance from previous conflicts.

The fog of war will make it even more difficult for those of us working in the humanitarian space to have an accurate picture of where the victims are and the extent of harm. Of course, it is always the innocent who suffer most in conflicts.

However, UK action thus far has hardly reached the level of feeble. In January 2017, David Leask in The Herald reported on an accusation by Ukraine’s anti-corruption bureau that a Scottish limited partnership was at the heart of a major arms scandal. That was part of Ukraine’s crackdown on corruption. Calls from the then SNP MP, Roger Mullin, for the security minister, Ben Wallace, to launch a detailed investigation fell on deaf ears. The UK Government still has no equivalent of Ukraine’s anti-corruption bureau and has never launched a major crackdown on corruption and money laundering.

In earlier debates, I have stated that £190 billion of financial crime plus £100 billion of money laundering occurs every year in the UK. Presiding Officer, I was wrong to quote the figure of £290 billion—I have underestimated the amount of money laundering. The UK’s National Crime Agency has stated that, because of the presence of the City of London’s financial sector,

“there is a realistic possibility”

that it is

“annually in the hundreds of billions of pounds”.

Money laundering on a gigantic scale, a significant proportion of which will involve Russian institutions and oligarchs, has been met with indifference for years. An economic crime bill has been talked about and then dropped—I will watch to see whether it will now proceed.

Mention has been made of the case of the Russian laundromat scandal, in which 113 Scottish limited partnerships were at the heart of over $20 billion that was being laundered from Russian banks. That is a direct stain on our international brand. One of those involved was Igor Putin, Vladimir Putin’s cousin.

The UK Government should have closed down massive corruption and money laundering long before now. The oligarchs and corrupt institutions have been given a free pass. Real and substantive action must now be taken. We will not be standing with the Ukrainian people if we do not act decisively now.

Experience tells us that significant public health issues remain prevalent after a pandemic has ended. For example, the incidence of strokes and heart attacks increases after every flu season, infection of the brain can occur in patients with measles, and I have a friend who still suffers from post-polio syndrome 65 years after their illness. Given that, does the First Minister share my concern that the potential removal of wider infrastructure by the UK Government will impact on important data gathering and might ultimately condemn more citizens to the longer-term consequences of Covid-19?

I would be delighted to.

To ask the First Minister what discussions the Scottish Government has had with professional footballing authorities regarding the protection of women and girls within football. (S6F-00794)

Now that Raith Rovers has withdrawn its offer to David Goodwillie, the immediate media storm has died down, but an issue remains in a footballing environment in which two clubs felt it appropriate to offer a job to a proven rapist, despite there having been no apology or contrition. Furthermore, claims have been made that no payment was ever made to the victim, Denise Clair.

First, given the leadership role that footballers have in our society, does the First Minister support the concept—floated by Val McDermid—of an independent regulator that could, for example, undertake a fit and proper person test for footballers? Secondly, what steps can the Scottish Government take to support a change in the misogynistic culture of football, in which scoring goals is awarded a higher priority than the safety of women?