Chamber and committees

What are some of the issues that are encountered when organising the witnessing of a named person nomination? Does any of them predate the pandemic?

Thank you. We turn to questions, and I will begin. Some of the previous witnesses in our inquiry have said that, at this stage, it is still very difficult to draw any conclusions on excess deaths and that we might have to wait a considerable time to do that. However, the consultation response from Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland says that, in the past year, there have been

“1,389 more ... deaths at home from heart disease and stroke and 679 fewer in hospital”.

That could be due to people’s reluctance to visit a general practitioner. The response states:

“Latest data shows 25% of people saying they would avoid contacting their GP at the moment.”

Those statistics are very worrying. Lawrence, would you like to comment further?

It was not long ago that Glasgow showed the world some Scottish hospitality as leaders gathered to address the climate crisis. As we have heard, COP26 provided an opportunity to make real, positive changes in global policies to keep the goal of 1.5 alive.

The Glasgow climate pact did not go as far as many countries had hoped it would, and it was disappointing that there was watering down in the last moments of the summit. I am sure that we can agree that some progress was made, but there is so much more to do. It is imperative that we continue to work at an international level to find solutions with other countries around the globe to achieve a green transition from the pandemic.

That is not an easy task. We must all step up, rise to the challenge and do our bit, no matter how small. Every bit helps us on this journey. All elected members in the Parliament have a responsibility to decide which path Scotland will take in our role against climate change.

We already have so much to celebrate. Renewable energy makes up 97.4 per cent of our energy source. My constituency, Ayr, has played an integral part in meeting that demand. I recently visited the port of Ayr to see first hand the work that is done there and the plans for the future of the port as we move to net zero. Many of Scotland’s wind-turbine blades currently come through the port before being assembled elsewhere in Scotland. A few weeks ago, just up the road in Troon, I was joined by the Minister for Environment and Land Reform on a visit to Glennon Brothers timber company—another business in my constituency that is thriving. It produces timber sustainably from Scottish spruce to make Scottish homes, and it uses the by-products of that process to generate all its own heat and energy. Furthermore, the timberlink service, which is supported by the Scottish Government, led to 52,500 tonnes of timber being shipped directly into Troon harbour in 2021, taking the equivalent of 2,100 lorry movements off the road. We need to use our ports, and the fantastic timberlink initiative, more, and remove more lorries from our roads.

It is clear that climate-friendly policies can be business-friendly policies—the two are not opposed to each other. While we should recognise the work that has already been done, we must not be complacent. There is still a long journey ahead and we need to be ambitious in order to preserve Scotland’s beauty, and our planet, for future generations.

Members may have watched the recent BBC “Panorama” documentary that showed the extent of illegal waste dumping in Scotland. It was shocking, to say the least. Those illegal practices by criminals have a massive effect on our environment and communities, and on taxpayers. I am pleased to hear that the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans is well aware of that and is ensuring that those criminals are held accountable for their actions.

However, we need to work on the recycling process in Scotland. Many everyday household items are put into recycling bins, in the well-intentioned belief that they are recyclable. However, most people are not aware that items such as crisp packets, medicine blister packs, contact-lens containers, bread bags, sweetie, biscuit and snack wrappings, toothpaste tubes and milk-bottle tops, to name but a few things, cannot be recycled. That is because they are classed as too hard to recycle and are usually taken in only by specialist schemes that are run by committed volunteers. One of those volunteers is Betty McDonald from Prestwick, who set up the town’s recycle Saturday initiative. Every month, Betty and a team of volunteers collect boxes that are full of those hard-to-recycle items, which are then sent to specialist recycling facilities. Betty is going above and beyond for her community.

However, expansion of those schemes is severely limited. If we want to properly fix that problem, we need much larger action at a higher level. We need to educate people on the items that can and cannot be recycled in order to stop our landfill sites from growing ever larger.

Each and every one of us has been blessed with a country, and a planet, of outstanding natural beauty. We would do ourselves, our children and our children’s children a monumental disservice if we were not to protect and preserve those things. That goes far beyond party politics, so let us come together to work towards a just and fair transition to net zero for the benefit of Scotland and the world.

We have a couple of minutes left, so I will bring in Murdo Fraser.

I am sorry, Professor McKenzie Skene, but we are having a few problems with your sound. We will move on to David Menzies for the moment.

Brilliant. Thank you very much, and a warm welcome to you.

My first question is about the proposed bankruptcy threshold. The emergency coronavirus legislation increased the debt threshold at which a creditor can make someone bankrupt from £3,000 to £10,000 during the pandemic. The bill proposes to set the threshold permanently at £5,000. What is the panel’s view on the level of the bankruptcy threshold?

Thank you, Abbey. You raise some very valid points in relation to the increase in the cost of living.

I am sorry, but we are still having technical issues with your audio.

Thank you. That was very interesting. I was not aware of the number of bankruptcies that are initiated by the Government and local authorities.

Actually, we do have a little bit of time, as we are going to 11:30.

This might be covered under the on-going bankruptcy review, but our committee received an interesting submission this week that I wanted to raise and ask your views on. Bearing in mind the cost of living crisis and the fact that families have been made bankrupt and had their wages and bank accounts arrested, I think that the person who got in touch with us asked the valid question whether the bill could be an opportunity to provide people who are struggling financially with increased protection from bank account arrestments. We have been told that such arrestments can leave people with only £529 in their bank accounts, regardless of whether they are single or a couple with three or four kids. One example that was highlighted was of a family with two children. When their bank account was arrested, they were left with £529 to survive on for the rest of the month, and they had to choose between food, gas, electricity and travel and childcare costs. Could there be an opportunity to amend the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 to increase the amount that people are left with in their bank accounts from £529 to, say, £1,000?

Perhaps we could start with Abbey Fleming.