Chamber and committees

Due to the Covid pandemic, the pressure on housing stock in many rural and island areas, such as Argyll and Bute, appears to be increasing property prices. Last week, on Mull, I met the Mull and Iona Community Trust, which expressed concern about the lack of support that is available for local people who want to use the scheme. Will the cabinet secretary provide an update on whether the thresholds in the scheme will be reviewed to take account of inflated property prices in communities such as Mull?

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the impact of the open market shared equity scheme in Argyll and Bute. (S6O-00432)

The Scottish Government’s world-leading climate change legislation sets a target date for net zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2045. Could the cabinet secretary outline how the recently announced national test programme will lay the groundwork for Scotland’s agriculture sector to be global leaders in sustainable agriculture?

My constituency is an important renewable energy source. However, due to the dispersed nature of communities on islands and remote mainland areas, many of the proposals to achieve a circular economy can be more expensive to implement. Will the minister advise what the Scottish Government is doing to support communities such as those in Argyll and Bute?

The pancreatic cancer ribbon is purple. It represents the love of one daughter for her mother. Rose Schneider died after battling pancreatic cancer, and her daughter founded the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network to support those affected. Purple was Rose’s favourite colour.

Tomorrow evening, as part of world pancreatic cancer day, Dunoon landmarks will be bathed in purple light to reflect the love of a family and a community for one of their own: local firefighter David Colquhoun. David was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in September this year. On behalf of David and his family, I thank my colleague Clare Adamson for ensuring that the Scottish Parliament plays its important role in raising awareness of pancreatic cancer.

David’s sister-in-law, Jacqueline Kennedy, said to me yesterday:

“All cancers need to be up there. We need people to talk about them.”

As Clare Adamson said, pancreatic cancer is the deadliest common cancer in Scotland. The five-year annual survival rate is only 5.6 per cent. Awareness levels of it in Scotland are low. Fifty-five per cent of people know almost nothing about the disease. Jacqueline is right: we need to talk about it.

David is Dunoon through and through. He has his own roofing business and is employed as a firefighter in Dunoon fire and rescue service. In August this year, he was one of the heroic firefighters who risked his own life during the horrific fire in Argyll Street. He has given much to his community. Tomorrow, his community will show its support for him and help to raise awareness of the key symptoms of pancreatic cancer.

The family wanted to use what they were experiencing to improve the prospects of others. By bringing their voices, commitment and energy, they are helping to change the pancreatic cancer story across Cowal. David’s daughter and her friends organised a sponsored wear purple day at Dunoon grammar school, and friends and family have taken on individual walking challenges. All are raising funds for Pancreatic Cancer Action Scotland and Pancreatic Cancer UK. Tomorrow evening, there will be a walk through the town in which people will visit all the purple-lit landmarks, from Dunoon fire station to Dunoon Castle House Museum.

The past couple of months have been incredibly tough, as David, his wife, his children, his immediate family and his friends have come to terms with the diagnosis, but the support that they have received from NHS Scotland as well as Sheila, their amazing Macmillan Cancer Support nurse, has been a huge help. Pancreatic Cancer UK and Pancreatic Cancer Action have also been great. Both charities work tirelessly for people who are living with and affected by pancreatic cancer. They support innovative research to find breakthroughs that will help how pancreatic cancer is understood, diagnosed and treated.

One example of that is pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy, or PERT. A tablet replaces the digestive enzymes that many people with pancreatic cancer can no longer produce. Only one in three people with pancreatic cancer in Scotland is being prescribed PERT. However, fortunately, Scotland is acting on that issue and leading the way in transforming PERT prescription rates.

I will finish with simple and honest words from Jacqueline that ring true for any illness, but even more so for pancreatic cancer, as it does not present in an obvious way. Jacqueline said to me:

“Keep listening to your body, and keep going to the doctor.”

I have been contacted by a constituent who will soon travel to Austria. To do so, they require proof of their vaccination or booster vaccination within nine months before entry. Will the First Minister expand on vaccine boosters being recorded on vaccination status records and the NHS Scotland app?

To ask the Scottish Government how it will support Argyll and Bute to benefit from the transition to net zero. (S6O-00368)

Argyll and Bute is central to Scotland’s journey to net zero; it has onshore and offshore wind and renewable supply chain businesses and marine research at the Scottish Association for Marine Science, and it is home to Scotland’s Celtic rainforests. How will the Scottish Government listen to communities and balance their needs with those of the wider country?

The Scottish Government’s position has always been to deliver the best outcomes for Scotland’s fishing interests. A world-class fishing nation should deliver responsible and sustainable fisheries management and communities. To put it simply—fish, folk, future.

I was brought up in the east neuk of Fife. Fish was a constant through my childhood; my father’s accounting business supported fishers, my higher geography project was on the development and sustainability of the industry and a fish supper at Anster harbour was a top treat.

I studied in Aberdeen and came to face to face with the bigger industrial fishing industry there. As an accountant, I audited fishing businesses, reconciling catches with quotas. I now live in Argyll and Bute, where I represent a different, but extremely important, element of Scotland’s fishing industry—the west coast inshore fishers. I thank those who work so hard in that industry.

The matter of fisheries is—correctly—devolved. Significant differences exist in the industry in Scotland and across the UK, and differences should be recognised. The management of fish stocks needs to be tailored to individual circumstances.

I am pleased that, when it constructed its core team for the coastal state negotiations, the Scottish Government brought in voices and experiences from all elements of our fishing industry, including Communities Inshore Fisheries Alliance, which is a community-based organisation whose main aim is to address the economic and physical needs of the Scottish inshore fisheries and their associated communities and businesses. The alliance provides local wisdom which, when it is combined with the science, can ensure the most sustainable results.

Coastal communities should not be cut off from opportunities—just because they have not done something for a while should not negate their chance to return to it. They can also comment from a practical perspective, for example on how quota swaps from west to east could impact negatively on the west coast nephrops fleet if discards are lost. By bringing everyone around the table, the Scottish Government is creating the space to ensure the protection of Scotland’s interests.

Leaving the EU has disproportionately impacted on Scotland—one of my fishers has lost 60 per cent of his market and is worried about the labour impact too, and our fishing fleets have access to fewer valuable fish stocks. Until Scotland regains its independence and EU membership, the Scottish Government will continue to be actively involved in the coastal state negotiations, in which it will play a key and active role in ensuring the protection of Scotland’s interests.

As the cabinet secretary has said, the Scottish Government will also be an active partner at international negotiations, especially in relation to fish stocks in Scottish waters and access to Scottish waters by foreign vessels. Fish do not recognise international boundaries, so it is vital that they be jointly managed to ensure long-term sustainability—fish, folk, future.

As I have said, I grew up in the east neuk of Fife—home to the award-winning Scottish fisheries museum, whose collection traces the development of commercial fishing through the ages, including Loch Fyne skiffs and Campbeltown ring nets from Argyll and Bute. The collection tells the story of a way of life that is so important to Scotland and which has adapted and changed through constant innovation. Fishing survives because of the dedication of folk who often work in harsh conditions. Sustainable fishing is crucial to its future.

Many of my Argyll and Bute constituents who live on islands must travel to the mainland for dental treatment, which can be expensive, and the islands that have dental practices can struggle to get the necessary staff. Can the cabinet secretary provide an update on the work that the Scottish Government is doing to ensure that patients in island communities have access to affordable dental treatment?