Chamber and committees

I wrote to the new Cabinet Secretary for Justice on 7 August on the back of the recent investigation by the Scottish Mail on Sunday, which reported that the Scottish Government was warned by national health service officials about several significant issues relating to the replacement Monklands hospital. That happened in March. Did the former health secretary know about NHS Scotland Assure’s concerns back in March while he was out campaigning for a new Monklands hospital in his Airdrie seat? Why is the former Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs letting the former Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care off the hook?

No, not just now.

Willie Rennie was right that we need long-term solutions, and that involves growing our economy, more investment and more jobs. James Adams was right to say that some policies that the Government announces will receive cross-party support but that there are also areas where the Scottish Government has promised families the world and failed to deliver. I am talking about the free stuff that is not actually free but paid for by taxpayers, such as laptops and bikes; and, now, there is the offer of a free school bag. I wish that the Scottish Government would divert its attention away from the props and focus on the back-office changes that need to happen to close the attainment gap or reduce in-work poverty—changes that could divert more resource to our classrooms, give working families more control over the money that they earn and help families to make the decisions that they believe are right for their children.

I appreciate that that would not necessarily grab the headlines, but governing is not always about grabbing the headlines—it is about results and meeting targets. The Scottish Government needs to stop focusing on propaganda and start using resources better by directing them towards the areas where they would be most valued and where we can make the greatest difference.

The Scottish Conservatives support the Lib Dem amendment because we understand the issues in the childcare sector. I hope that we can work cross-party on that, particularly in relation to the cross-boundary aspect, but also on what happens when families who have twins—or more—are looking for childcare.

If we are serious about tackling child poverty, we have to be serious about childcare and about growing our economy. It is not about what looks good in a press release—it is about what works for families.

16:35

Will the member take an intervention on that point?

I am very pleased to speak in the members’ business debate in the name of Graham Simpson on AI data centres, especially because it mentions all the proposals that are happening right across Central Scotland and Lothians West, including Ravenscraig, Larbert, Newhouse and West Calder. For many people right across that region that I represent, it is not just about one development, such as the one at Larbert or Ravenscraig; it is about the scale of them and the speed at which the applications are progressing through local authorities.

The tone of today’s debate has been incredibly helpful. I do not think that having data centres is anything to be worried about—as has rightly been stated, we already have data centres. The issue is the requirement that we upscale them across the country. The questions that remain unanswered are where they should go and what proximity they should have to one another. Those are questions that the Scottish Government must answer.

This issue is also a consequence of legislation that has passed through Parliament in relation to the national planning framework. Yes, it has a line about “green data centres”, but, as the motion rightly points out, we do not have a real definition of that or know what green data centres will do, what the overall achievements of the data centres will be, and what positive impact they will have on our communities.

If the Government were to address some of those concerns, it would certainly help to inform MSPs for when they attend the public meetings that have been scheduled across the country. I have one coming up in Larbert, because the community is very concerned about the proposed development there, particularly because of its proximity to homes, Forth Valley hospital and care facilities. It is incumbent on MSPs to listen to the concerns of constituents, but we must have clear guidance coming from the direction of the cabinet secretary and the Scottish Government.

The point has been made in the debate that the guidance is coming or that we should get an update soon. However, as I raised previously, given the speed at which the applications are progressing, by the time that information becomes public knowledge and is put through the parliamentary process, it might be too late. Some of the applications that we might have considered not to be in the best locations for our communities and for the people who live in those places will already have been approved.

It is incumbent on all of us to take an ounce of responsibility for that. We are all asking the Government this evening—near enough with a collective voice—to bring forward that guidance and evidence that will allow local authorities to do their job properly.

I will end my remarks there, because I know that quite a few members still have to speak. Again, I do not think that we should be too worried about data centres, but the issue goes back to the points that members have made about where and how many.

18:13

I hope that we can all agree that this debate has been characterised by strongly held views about how best to tackle child poverty. If I may begin on a point of consensus, I believe that every MSP who has spoken in the debate wants to reduce the chances of a child growing up in poverty. Where we disagree is on how best to achieve that.

The breadth of the debate has demonstrated just how many issues feed into child poverty: the economy, childcare, housing, employment, transport and educational attainment—I think that there was even a mention of net zero. However, when a debate becomes a hotchpotch of so many different ideas it becomes difficult to properly scrutinise any one of them. Having reflected on the contributions overall, I am afraid that the Scottish Government has still not learned the lessons that it needs to learn. In fact, many contributions this afternoon seemed to focus on politics and Governments elsewhere, rather than what is going on right here, right now in our country.

This Government has become increasingly reliant on welfare as a means of reducing poverty. This year, the social security budget is £7.4 billion, and it is forecast to reach £9.2 billion by 2031. The trajectory is unsustainable, and I believe that the Scottish Government knows that. The answer cannot be simply to keep increasing spending and taxes and hope that the problem goes away. We need to be honest enough to ask whether the policies that are being pursued are actually working. Tackling poverty is not simply about how much money the Government spends; it is about providing people with the opportunity to work, families keeping more of what they earn, and children getting the best possible start in life. That is the test that this Government should be applying to its policies. Instead of asking how much more money we can spend, it should be asking whether we are actually changing people’s lives.

One of my constituents has written to me about the provision of affordable childcare for twins, because, as we know, parents of twins face not just one cost but a double cost. Will that be part of the Government’s considerations? We know that those families are struggling.

I was struck by what Paul McKinlay said about the challenges that our courts are facing, particularly in relation to vacancies, backlogs and the impact not just on the people in the profession but, of course, on the individuals and the families caught up in the system.

The Scottish Law Agents Society has brought to my attention the issue of delays in the registration of power of attorney. That is quite a sensitive issue, and it can have profound impacts on practitioners, individuals and families, as well as practical consequences, which can be serious if registrations are not dealt with in a good timeframe. There are challenges with that right across the UK. In England and Wales, the delay is sitting at about eight to 10 weeks, but here in Scotland it is sitting at about 14 months. What can we do to overturn those backlogs to ensure that families are dealt with within a good timeframe? What procedures are in place to expedite particular cases in that field?

10:15

My query on power of attorney has now been resolved, and the situation seems to be moving, but I will pick up on Jennifer Paton's points. What she said about the unintended consequences of legislation was interesting, and I am keen to revisit some of that, if we have time.

One of the potential unintended consequences of the Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2025 relates to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission. There are still unresolved concerns about the independence of the SLCC because of its extended remit, and there is also the accountability aspect. Practitioners in the legal profession are concerned about that. What are the panel’s views are on that? Should we should look into it again?

I understand that a consultation is ongoing and is likely to conclude in November, I think. It would be useful to hear the panel’s thoughts on where we are now and what they think the consultation could bring around.

That would be helpful. It is reassuring to hear that work is being done and investment is going into that aspect. We do not by any stretch of the imagination underestimate the amount of work that will have to be done to get the backlog down, but it is reassuring to hear that at least things seem to be moving in the right direction. Given the sensitivities and concerns around the issue, I am sure that many families will be thinking about how long they will have to wait to go through the process.

I am the deputy convener. I am delighted to be part of this committee and am really looking forward to working with you all. I am one of the members for the Central Scotland and Lothians West region.