Chamber and committees

Joining us virtually are Álfrún Tryggvadóttir—I apologise if I have mispronounced her name—from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and Mairi Spowage from the Fraser of Allander Institute. I ask them to introduce themselves.

I thank my colleague Clare Adamson for bringing this important debate to the chamber and for highlighting some important points in her speech. It is so important that people understand the importance of gas safety and the dangers of gas, which can cause death and serious injury.

Worryingly, figures from research by the Gas Safe Register show gas safety being at the bottom of the list of priorities for home owners. Only 12 per cent of home buyers would have a new boiler fitted, whereas 27 per cent would prioritise redecorating the home first.

Unfortunately, I have a community in my constituency that has been devastated by a gas explosion and which knows only too well the devastating consequences. Last year, at around 7 pm on Monday 18 October, a major gas explosion devastated the Kincaidston community in my Ayr constituency. The explosion was heard miles away in neighbouring towns. I remember vividly my windows rattling and hearing a big bang, which I dismissed as my children perhaps jumping off a bed upstairs. Shortly afterwards, an image of devastation, panic and chaos appeared on social media.

Fire, police and ambulance services were all redeployed at pace to assist at the scene. Sometimes, one does not appreciate the emergency services until one sees them in action in a national emergency such as the one that occurred on that night. I want to offer my thanks and gratitude to all the members of the emergency services who worked relentlessly that night and in the days after that awful event.

In the moments after the blast, there was confusion, panic and fear. Hundreds of people were evacuated, four houses were destroyed, windows were shattered, cars were destroyed and the community was in panic. Rather than what you would expect in a quiet neighbourhood in Ayr on a Monday night, it was comparable to a war scene. For many hours, nobody knew what had happened or how many people had been injured. The local community centre opened its doors and members of the Kincaidston community pulled together in an effort to make some sense of what had just happened and to support one another. Because of the devastation, it took days to confirm that, thankfully, there had been no deaths, although, unfortunately, a family of four were hospitalised that evening.

In the following days, not only the community of Kincaidston but the whole of Ayr pulled together. Individuals donated food supplies, and local businesses made sure that people who had been affected had essential supplies and a safe place to sleep while they waited for the all-clear to return to their homes.

One year on, the people of Kincaidston are still haunted and recovering from that night. As time went on, the community demanded answers. Why did the explosion happen? What could be done to prevent such an event from happening again in the future? A recent Health and Safety Executive report revealed that the explosion was caused by corroded pipes running through the estate, which had been laid down by the predecessor to SGN. Before the report was published, SGN prioritised replacing all the old lead gas pipework that was laid in the area in the 1970s with new, safer plastic pipes. I ask that lessons be learned from the gas explosion in Kincaidston. We need to prioritise replacement of the old lead pipes with the new, safer plastic pipes as a matter of urgency throughout our communities.

I raise the incident in Kincaidston because it shows that gas is something to be treated with respect and with caution. Failure to do that could result in life-changing consequences. We go to turn on our heating or hot water without thinking about it. The problem is that we often do not realise how dangerous gas can be until it is too late.

Although the Kincaidston explosion was unrelated to the residents’ activities, we can still take important lessons from that night. I echo the statements that have already been made. If someone smells gas, they should shut off the gas emergency control valve, open the doors and windows to let fresh air in, extinguish all naked flames and not smoke. They should not operate electrical switches, even to turn them off, and should call the gas emergency number, which is 0800 111999. I urge people to write that number down, save it on their phones and share it with family and friends. It is an emergency number that we should all remember.

We can also take important and easy steps to prevent gas leaks. We should have our gas appliances serviced and safety checked every year using a Gas Safe registered engineer. It is a small thing to do, but it will provide peace of mind and might save our lives.

The news broke of deep concern about the Queen’s health as we all sat in the chamber for First Minister’s question time on Thursday 8 September. Parliamentary business continued throughout the rest of the day, although there was a quiet and sombre atmosphere of concern as we watched journalists don black ties and as TV stations changed to rolling news.

I was driving home from Parliament on Thursday evening when the official sad news of the death of Her Majesty the Queen was announced at 6.30. That will be one of those times that people never forget where they were, who they were with and what they were doing. It was a moment in history. The late Queen had always been a constant in our lives, and it was the end of an era.

It is right that we reflect on and celebrate the Queen’s exceptional public service over her reign of 70 years, not only in Scotland but around the world, where she touched many hearts. I will pay tribute, on behalf of my constituents, to times when the Queen visited my corner of the world—Ayr, Prestwick and Troon—and left lasting memories for many.

On 3 July 1956, the Queen arrived by train at Troon station. She visited many locations across Ayrshire and met dignitaries at the county buildings and on the Low Green in Ayr. On 27 March 1991, the Queen and Prince Philip attended an event that was hosted by Jackie Stewart at British Aerospace at Prestwick, when the Jetstream 41 was rolled out. It was the first plane to be designed and built in Scotland. As we know, that was the beginning of great things for Prestwick airport and its surrounding area, which is now a global leader in the aerospace industry and aerospace technology.

On 5 July 1995, the Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, visited Burns cottage in Alloway and opened the Tam o’ Shanter Experience, before inspecting a guard of honour by the Ayrshire yeomanry. The Queen then attended a civic lunch that was held at Ayr town hall.

The Queen’s love of horse-racing is renowned. Only months ago, as we celebrated the platinum jubilee, several trees were planted at Ayr racecourse to mark the event. As those trees grow, they will serve as a reminder and a symbol of the Queen’s legacy, which will continue way after her death.

The Queen had a deep and genuine affection for Scotland and her Scottish roots; in fact, her bloodline can be traced back to an Ayrshire woman of tremendous strength and determination—Marjorie, Countess of Carrick. She was the mother of Robert the Bruce, who held his Parliament in Ayr in 1315. The Queen’s deep love, affection and respect for Scotland have been evident in the major role that the Queen wanted Scotland to play in the mourning period, as we have seen in the past two weeks.

On her 21st birthday, Her Majesty vowed that her life would be dedicated to serving the nation and the Commonwealth, and she kept that promise to the very end. Hers was a life dedicated to public service over 70 years, showing unwavering strength, dignity, respect and grace at all times—qualities that we should all reflect on, and the likes of which we may never see again. May you now rest in peace.

Thank you. We are out of time for this part of the meeting, so I thank all the witnesses for their evidence today and for giving us their time. If witnesses would like to raise any further evidence with the committee, they can do so in writing, and the clerks will be happy to liaise with them on how to do that.

Absolutely—that is a valid point.

Okay. We will have the Deputy First Minister with us on 29 September, so members can raise the matter then if they feel that we need to take evidence on the regulations.

Do members agree that we are content and have no recommendation to make on the regulations?

Members indicated agreement.

We have just enough time for a very brief question from Brian Whittle.

Welcome, everybody. We turn to questions. I will ask the first one. What particular areas of Covid-19 spend would you prioritise at the moment? We will start with Dr Phin.

We have a large panel this morning. Does anybody want to add to that?

Good morning and welcome to the 19th meeting in 2022 of the COVID-19 Recovery Committee. The committee has agreed to focus its pre-budget scrutiny on how the Scottish Government plans to fund its Covid recovery strategy and the on-going costs that are associated with the pandemic, as set out in the Covid-19 strategic framework.

Today, we will focus on the strategic framework. I welcome our witnesses: Richard Robinson, who is a senior manager at Audit Scotland; Mary Morgan, who is chief executive, and Carolyn Low, who is director of finance, at NHS National Services Scotland; Dr Nick Phin, who is the organisational lead for strategic engagement and policy at Public Health Scotland; and Dr Graham Foster, who is director of public health at NHS Forth Valley and chair of the Scottish Directors of Public Health Group. Thank you for giving us your time this morning.

Each member will have approximately 15 minutes to ask questions. We should be okay for time, but if time runs on too much, I apologise in advance for having to interrupt members or witnesses in the interests of brevity. I ask the witnesses to briefly introduce themselves and their organisations.