Chamber and committees

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app froze. I would have voted no.

To ask the First Minister, in light of reported findings from the children’s charity, Aberlour, that over £1 million is owed in school meal debt, whether the Scottish Government will provide an update on its plans to expand universal free school meal provision in order to support families struggling with the cost of living crisis. (S6F-01208)

At this time of rising costs, it is concerning that families of school pupils are being chased for debts by councils. Does the First Minister agree that local authorities should write off that debt?

What will be the practical consequences of having a human rights-based approach to the inquiry, and how will that approach ensure that the voices of bereaved families are meaningfully heard?

I appreciate those comments. My other question is about diversity. Across student representatives on boards and the college student associations, are there attempts to make sure that there is balance relating to women, minority ethnic groups, people with disabilities and so on?

I am sorry if this question seems like a little jump backwards. In talking about college student associations, Eve Lewis mentioned that students have a diverse range of views on digital access to courses, where courses are and so on. There is clearly not a one-size-fits-all approach across the student population. It seems to me that there is a real need for personalisation and for choices and options for students in order to improve their ability across the board to be able to sustain places. Are student associations advocating for that?

That is really interesting, because my other question is about the management boards and whether students’ views get parity. Are students influencing changes that are improving their experiences and their outcomes? You talked about students being involved in strategic discussions with college leaders and the fact that there needs to be a little bit more support around that for students who are inexperienced. How can we make that happen and get students involved in the design element in order to improve things?

Public Health Scotland’s findings from its most recent survey of people on the high risk list shows that socioeconomic vulnerability remains the strongest association with on-going caution and fear of Covid-19 infection. Is there any further information on how cross-Government Covid recovery policies will respond to that?

Thank you, Presiding Officer. I, too, thank Sue Webber for bringing this topical debate to the chamber.

The pandemic has certainly brought the importance of medical research for our health and wellbeing to our attention. In Scotland, the life sciences community mobilised and responded rapidly to the challenges that arose from Covid-19. From research, drug discovery and manufacturing to clinical trials for our vaccines, Scotland is considered a world leader in medical research and we must maintain this proud legacy across the private, public and charity sectors. The health benefits are clear. Medical research continues to develop and make life-changing differences to patients. Importantly, for so many people who are living with long-term conditions, research provides hope for the future that there will be less pain, that they will get better treatments and that they will have a little bit more control over their lives.

The focus of today’s motion is research charities, which are in a unique position to leverage the power of grass-roots movements. Generous public donations and specialist expertise from the industry can be complementary, and drawing on the lived experience of patients and families is key to that.

Paul McLennan talked about how the British Heart Foundation has raised so much in funds through its stores. It brought to mind a wee meeting that I had with a young man called Mohamad, who won an award for his volunteering. He came to this country as a refugee and decided to volunteer at the British Heart Foundation, and he was hoping to become a doctor in the future. That was a couple of years ago now. He had so much warmth and dedication, and volunteering helped him to learn the language. There are lots of little ripples that come out from these charities. They make a real difference to our communities.

The economic value of medical charity research in Scotland is clear, but it is not without its challenges. As the motion highlights, medical charity research in Scotland supports a lot of local jobs and generates wider investment, with direct employment at universities and in medical industries but also that spillover effect that supports a wide variety of jobs right across Scotland, too. Many of those jobs are highly skilled and well-paid positions within world-leading institutions. The medical research sector is one of the most effective in Scotland in driving economic growth and employment and it has attracted talent from all over the globe.

However, research charities face quite serious issues in 2022. The pandemic has put enormous financial pressure on individuals and organisations; that is not going away any time soon given that the current cost of living crisis looks set to worsen. Medical research funding by charities is estimated at around 46 per cent of all third sector and public funding, making this income integral to Scotland’s medical research industry. The long-term consequences of charity funding reductions in Scotland are likely to include shortages of highly skilled medical researchers and stagnation in treatment development. It also has the potential to negatively impact on Scotland’s reputation as a world leader in research.

In response, some charities have called on the Scottish Government to increase investment in third-sector medical research by a further £37 million. However, Scotland does not have the same borrowing powers as Westminster. Making a comparison between the UK Government’s spending per head of population of England with that of Scotland seems to be a wee bit unfair, given that the Scottish Government’s hands are tied, fiscally speaking.

Where would that additional investment come from? The Scottish Government is already doing so much to mitigate some of the damaging policies, including the bedroom tax, that have come out of Westminster, and is looking to increase child support. While we do not have the freedom to borrow and make long-term investments in our people’s health and wellbeing, our economic options remain limited.

We need to listen to charities to understand the challenges that they are facing and make sure that we are doing everything that we can to support their ambitious work, thereby ensuring that Scotland remains a world leader in research and development. Within its budget, the Scottish Government has already demonstrated its commitment to ensuring that researchers have access to the infrastructure, training and career development opportunities that they need to succeed and to work with partners. The work to create an attractive environment for students to carry out their research is on-going. I agree that we must, moving forward, work collaboratively with the medical research charity sector.

In reality, only with the power of independence will Scotland be able to properly address the challenges ahead. We need that to happen in order to enhance our economy and improve our nation’s health.

That is great. Thank you. We all have an issue with thinking of young people.

What progress has been made in ensuring that students’ voices are listened to? How do students influence the sector’s future priorities? Is the drive towards net zero and the need to prioritise green skills for the future a priority for students and the sector?