Chamber and committees

Jan, do you have anything to add?

I absolutely understand where you are coming from on the point about the labour market. I just think that there could be opportunities and that, with the remit that we have in the Scottish Parliament, we could be looking at this as well to make sure that we are doing everything that we can do within our powers to promote the sectors that need workers to come in. That could also resolve the depopulation that is becoming an issue in Scotland. Under the Scottish Government’s devolved powers, what could we be doing to address the labour shortage and make sure that we are getting people into the roles that are so vital for exporting?

We were promised fresh leadership by John Swinney, but all that we got from his much-talked-up Cabinet reshuffle was Humza Yousaf’s Cabinet with a different figurehead. They could not even be bothered to shuffle around the portfolios in any major way.

We were promised that there would be a streamlined Cabinet with fewer people in it. Instead, the Cabinet is even larger than it was under John Swinney’s predecessor, which will cost taxpayers tens of thousands of pounds more. The First Minister promised us that he would reach out to other parties and deliver a new style of politics. However, as we saw at First Minister’s question time, the Scottish National Party Government will continue to deflect and obfuscate instead of being up front and honest. For all that John Swinney talks about leading a new or revitalised Government, the past couple of days have shown that it remains the same old SNP Government that Scotland has suffered under for the past 17 years.

Although the Government has remained the same, the Parliament has changed. The SNP no longer commands a majority in the Parliament. It has ended its deal with the Greens. Although we welcomed the ending of the Bute house agreement, that has consequences for the Government. The SNP must now change its approach and reach out. It must build consensus and collaborate, otherwise it will be blocked from taking forward its agenda. That is why we will not support the Government’s appointments today. That we will not do so is not a personal criticism of any of the individuals who are up for approval today. Instead, we are putting down a marker that the Government must change its approach.

The Scottish Conservatives will take every opportunity to oppose the SNP Government and its obsession with independence. However, that does not mean that we are above working with other parties in the Parliament to deliver on the real priorities of the Scottish people. It is now a Parliament of minorities, and the SNP must recognise that.

Yesterday, I attended the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee’s meeting to hear directly from Dr Hilary Cass following her review of gender care services for children and young people. I had hoped to ask a question but, despite emailing the committee on Friday, I was told that time had run out. Unfortunately, that was just the latest in a series of questions that I have raised on the topic that have been rejected or denied. The fact of the matter is that children, young people, parents and campaign groups deserve answers, which is why my party has brought a debate on the issue to the Parliament.

Talking about gender in Scotland has become toxic, but we need to be clear that the Cass review is not about ideology. It is a scientific evidence-based review of the medical care that we have been giving to vulnerable young children. It is a monumental and fearless piece of work. I say “fearless” because, even amid the toxicity of the gender debate, the crucial report did not shy away from its difficult findings—namely, that we have been letting down a generation of vulnerable and distressed children.

One would think that the publication of a damning report on the medical care of children would jump straight to the top of any Government’s in-tray and that politicians of all stripes would be united in wanting to ensure that mistakes and poor practices were stopped immediately and that the required improvements were put in place. However, the response from the Scottish National Party Government could not have been more lacklustre.

From the moment that the Cass review was commissioned four years ago, the SNP Government sought to dismiss it as being irrelevant to Scotland, even though the medical approaches that were being reviewed were almost identical to those that were being used here. The Government disregarded the interim report, which cast doubt on the safety of puberty blockers for children, and, when the final report was published last month, it dithered, delayed and obfuscated until clinicians took the decision out of its hands by announcing that NHS Scotland would pause the use of puberty blockers for under-18s.

Although the use of puberty blockers is undoubtedly one of the key aspects of the Cass review, the nearly 400-page document makes a total of 32 recommendations to improve gender care for young people in Scotland. The recommendations include offering children fertility counselling before they proceed down a medical pathway; assigning a child a medical practitioner to take charge of their care and ensure that they get the personalised help that they need; support for parents, carers or siblings if needed; and a requirement to keep a national data set on gender services in order to continually update best practices.

The SNP has continued to be deafeningly silent on those and a host of other reasonable, commonsense recommendations. I made a promise to families who have been failed by gender care services in Scotland, and I intend to keep raising the issue until the Scottish Government implements all 32 recommendations of the Cass review without delay.

The Cass report should fundamentally change how we look at gender care in Scotland. It should be approached with caution and care, and it should be given holistically, viewing a child as a rounded individual and tailoring the approach to their unique needs. Yes, the report concludes that there is little evidence to support use of puberty-suppressing hormones, but it also details that children and young people might not be offered the right psychological support and assessments when experiencing gender distress. Medical intervention is not always required, but that has been common practice for many individuals. Meanwhile, children’s mental health has been left to deteriorate.

Although the Sandyford clinic has finally paused its use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for those who are under the age of 18, gender care services need a complete overhaul. The Scottish Government needs to make that a priority because, as things stand, the waiting times for children and young people to see a clinician at a gender clinic can be over four years. Child and adolescent mental health services waiting times are through the roof, and the SNP has remodelled the funding of gender care services, which has resulted in a cut to the budget of those services.

I say to members, regardless of their opinion on the Cass review or on gender care services, that the Scottish Government is failing young people.

I move,

That the Parliament welcomes the report submitted by Dr Hilary Cass on gender identity services for children and young people; recognises the report as a valid scientific document, and calls on the Scottish Government to implement the recommendations of the report that are applicable to NHS services in Scotland.

Absolutely. This is an opportunity to reset, refocus and actually prioritise young people who need the Government’s support.

The Cass review is a four-year-long, near-400-page report on the care that we give to some of our country’s most vulnerable children. The fact that we have been failing them for so long is bad enough, and we should all reflect on that. However, to ignore the scientific evidence-based report for the sake of dogma and ideology would be unforgivable. This is about the health, safety and wellbeing of our young people. There are no other national health service services that we would allow to continue unchanged after such a report had been brought forward and had shown that they were failing, and this service should be no different.

Next week, I will hold an event in Parliament with Marion Scott from the Sunday Post. That will be an opportunity for MSPs, ministers and cabinet secretaries to speak with families who are affected by gender care and to hear how they have been failed by the processes that are in place in Scotland. I urge all MSPs, regardless of their persuasion or political party, to speak to the families who have bravely stepped forward to tell their stories.

It is clear that we need to implement all 32 recommendations of the Cass review, as our motion says. That is simple, but it will show that we in this Parliament care about young people who are experiencing gender distress. The message that I have for MSPs is that, if they do not back our motion today to implement the full recommendations of the Cass review, they will need to explain to the families why they have not done so, because those families are the ones who have been impacted by the Scottish Government’s lack of decision making and action.

Thank you, convener—I very much look forward to working with everyone on the committee. I have no interests to declare just now, but should that change, I will notify you and the clerks.

Thank you. Nichola Mallon or Stephen Kelly, do have you anything to add to what Stuart has just said?

We are all hoping that an agreement will be reached but, if it were not, how would you assess the risks to food supply chains for Ireland and Northern Ireland and access to the EU single market?

I am hoping to pick up on the concerns about supply of veterinary medicines. I know that discussions on the matter are on-going, but could the panel provide an update on any progress that has been made on engagement among the UK Government, the European Union and, of course, people in that sector? What role and remit have the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly in monitoring progress on and trying to come to an agreement on the veterinary supplies issue? Stuart Anderson, do you have any insight into that?