Chamber and committees

The committee’s next meeting will be on 10 February, when we will consider our work programme in private. That concludes the public part of our meeting.

I will ask the first question. It is very welcome news that we are moving into a different phase of the pandemic. Although this committee is called the COVID-19 Recovery Committee, since our establishment, we have been dealing with the fluid situation of Covid and have not been able to focus on recovery. As we are moving into a different phase, is it time to stop publishing the daily figures?

That concludes our consideration of agenda item 1. I thank the Deputy First Minister and Professor Jason Leitch for their evidence.

We move on to agenda item 2, which is consideration of the motions on the made affirmative instruments that we considered under item 1. Deputy First Minister, do you wish to make any further remarks on the SSIs?

The committee will publish a report to the Parliament in due course, setting out our decision on the statutory instruments that we considered at this meeting.

I again thank the Deputy First Minister and Professor Jason Leitch for their attendance.

Agenda item 3 is consideration of a negative instrument on which the committee took evidence under agenda item 1. No motion to annul has been lodged. Do members agree that we have no recommendations to make on the regulations?

Members indicated agreement.

Good morning, and welcome to the fourth meeting in 2022 of the COVID-19 Recovery Committee.

The first item on the agenda is consideration of the latest ministerial statement on Covid-19 and subordinate legislation. I welcome the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery, John Swinney, and his supporting official, Professor Jason Leitch, who is the national clinical director. I invite the Deputy First Minister to make some remarks before we move on to questions.

Let us turn to the issue of hybrid working as we move forward. I think that we all recognise that there have been huge advantages to the flexibility of hybrid working, but, on the flipside, it can be difficult for employers and people who struggle to work from home, and there is a long-term impact on footfall in our town centres, for example. How is the Scottish Government assessing the risks and benefits of people returning to work and the long-term vision for hybrid working?

I totally agree. In South Ayrshire, we are looking at repurposing Ayr town centre to bring in residential and leisure elements as well.

We move to questions from Murdo Fraser.

Will people who have received both vaccinations abroad be able have them verified on the Scottish Covid status app, as they can in England?

I thank Jackie Baillie for bringing the debate to the chamber and the other members who have spoken for their compassionate, heartfelt contributions this evening.

As we have heard, the theme for world cancer day is “close the care gap”. It is about recognising and understanding the inequalities of cancer care that can cost lives around the world. We know that every one of us has the ability to make a difference, large or small, for the people and families who are affected by cancer. Only by working together can we reduce the global impact of cancer.

Recently, I had the privilege of meeting staff from Ayrshire Cancer Support, which is a charity in Ayrshire that works tirelessly to provide emotional support and practical help to cancer patients and their loved ones. It provides a number of free services, including hospital transport, which it provided for close to 14,000 people from Ayrshire in the year 2019-20, over 80 per cent of whom had to travel to the Beatson in Glasgow. It also offers counselling, carers groups and specialist information and support. I would like to express my gratitude and admiration for the truly outstanding work that it does.

However, the charity faces struggles, particularly involving applying for local and national funding. Previously, it was possible for charities such as Ayrshire Cancer Support to apply directly to the Scottish Government for funds. Under the new system, charities must apply through the local third sector interfaces that distribute funding. That results in the charity having to apply three separate times to eight different local authorities in Ayrshire, each with its own processes, timescales and criteria.

To add to that, Ayrshire Cancer Support does not meet the national and regional criteria to access the Scottish Government’s cancer recovery fund or pain management fund, as the charity is viewed as being too local an organisation. However, under the system for the local third sector, it fears that it is considered too large an organisation to receive funds at the local level.

If we are to have any hope of closing the cancer care gap, we have to make it easier for organisations such as Ayrshire Cancer Support to provide all the care that it does. We must help them and not hinder them. Without their work, health inequalities would rise, as patients would struggle to get to hospital for the treatment that they need. I ask the cabinet secretary to look into the funding discrepancy for charities such as Ayrshire Cancer Support.

Someone who knows how important that service is is Hayleigh Lawrie, who tragically lost her mum to cancer. Hayleigh will camp overnight at Ayr racecourse to raise funds for Ayrshire Cancer Support, which provided help with transport, mobility and counselling. I am sure that MSPs will join me in wishing Hayleigh the very best of luck with her big camp-out.

I also want to share the work my constituent Gaby Williamson, from Ayr. Gaby sadly lost her dad to oesophageal cancer in June 2020, when she was just 19 years old. Her mum, Victoria, is currently battling breast cancer. After the death of her father, Gaby found herself in a situation that would hit hard even the strongest of us, never mind a 19-year-old. Not knowing exactly how to deal with her emotions, Gaby started the blog “Let’s Blether” on Instagram, in which she could fully express her feelings and find support for other young people who found themselves in similar situations.

Realising the number of young people who struggled with grief, Gaby set up a fantastic initiative called the let’s blether box. The box contains a range of items, including practical advice and support strategies for children and parents, a journal, seeds for planting flowers in memory of a loved one, a memory jar and a lot of other things. With the backing of South Ayrshire Council, the let’s blether bereavement box has been distributed to young people in South Ayrshire who are experiencing grief or loss.

Gaby’s younger sister, Poppy, who is only 10, has started another initiative, called little blethers, to reach out to the younger community who are going through long-term grief. Gaby’s mum Victoria told me:

“We sadly live with cancer every day in our household and it comes in many different guises, whether it is physical, emotional, or financial and practical management. We also deal on the bereavement side of it on a daily basis—all of which Ayrshire Cancer Support has been a great help with, living with Cancer and the challenges it brings”.

I believe that one day we will see a world that is cancer free, but that will not happen without people, such as Gaby, Poppy and the volunteers at Ayrshire Cancer Support, who dedicate their time to go that extra mile in providing care and hope for all those who face the many struggles and hardships of cancer.

Although cancer is an awful disease, it is hard to deny that it can bring out the very best in people and draw us closer together as we fight to close the cancer care gap and see a cancer-free world.