Chamber and committees

Tomorrow marks a very sombre occasion. It is exactly one year since the invasion of Ukraine began. The twenty-fourth of February 2022 has become a date that will live in infamy. On that day, we first became aware of the tragedy that was unfolding in Europe. News of the invasion was instantly beamed across our television stations, radio airwaves and social media channels.

The shocking way in which wars are reported in our era makes the reality to which we all bear witness very real and accessible. Even so, the decision that was taken by Vladimir Putin to declare war on Ukraine sent shock waves throughout the world. Putin’s remarks were carefully orchestrated and stage managed from Moscow with the sole intention of usurping large swathes of Ukrainian territory. It was a deliberate action that has dangerous consequences for the general peace and security of Europe.

We all know that war comes with a very real human cost. I was roughly six months pregnant when I turned on the news to see a wounded pregnant woman being carried on a stretcher. The maternity hospital in Mariupol had been bombed. The wounded woman held on to her bloodied left abdomen as emergency workers carried her through the rubble. I watched on in horror as videos showed the devastation that was caused by the bombs, and all I could think about was the women and newborn babies who were in the building at the moment that the hospital was attacked. I later learned that the woman who was carried through the rubble was taken to another hospital, where the doctors tried to save her and her baby; however, neither of them made it.

The Russian ministry of defence claimed that the bombing of the hospital was justified by the presence of Ukrainian armed forces. Bombing innocent women and children can never be justified. It was a war crime, and they knew it. Even now, I cannot get out of my mind the image of that woman holding her unborn baby or the fact that their lives were cruelly ended that day. I do not think that many of us will ever truly understand the horror of the Ukraine war.

As my party’s spokesperson for children and young people, it would be remiss of me not to mention the devastating impact that the war is having on the lives of Ukrainian children. A recent report in The Daily Telegraph highlighted the horrendous reality for those attending school in Ukraine. More than 4.7 million children are enrolled to attend lessons. Those lessons are interrupted by air raid sirens instead of school bells; by power outages; and by fear and trauma instead of safety and learning. It cannot be right that those young people are seeing that as their new normal when it comes to their education and their lives.

Even more concerning is the news that has recently come out from a Yale University report, which has indicated that more than 6,000 Ukrainian children are being sent to camps that are specifically designed to expose them to Russian propaganda and are orchestrating forced adoptions into Russian families. In fact, Ukraine’s national information bureau claims that the number of children who have been deported to Russia could be more than 16,000. That is abhorrent. The removal of protected people is prohibited under article 49 of the fourth Geneva convention. Furthermore, under article 50, it is prohibited to change the personal circumstances of any child, including their nationality.

We simply cannot allow Russian aggression to define a new normality for the experiences of Ukrainian children. I therefore hope that members of this Parliament and our colleagues at Westminster and across other devolved Governments will condemn that practice in the strongest possible terms. Ukrainian children must not be forcibly removed from their families.

Just as in relation to the story that I shared earlier, it is important that we pause and reflect that almost 1,000 Ukrainian children have been killed or injured because of the war. That is a travesty, and our thoughts and prayers are with those who have lost a child during the conflict.

By all accounts, the conflict is beginning to pick up pace again as we move out of Ukraine’s harsh winter months. We must continue to do all that we can to support the people of Ukraine as they continue to defend their freedoms.

President Zelenskyy has stated:

“The United Kingdom is marching with us towards the most important victory of our lifetime. It will be a victory over the very idea of war.”

What a wonderful concept that would be for us all to embrace—a world without suffering; a world without conflict; a world where the children of tomorrow will not come to accept the ravages of war as being their new normality. As our most famous wartime Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, said,

“The salvation of the common people of every race and every land from war and servitude must be established on solid foundations”.

That is an outcome that we can all hope and pray for.

During the lead-up to the 2014 independence referendum, the SNP boasted that it could set up a fully independent state within a mere 18 months. Following that referendum, in which a clear majority voted to remain in the United Kingdom, the Scotland Act 2016 set out a route map to devolving more powers to Holyrood. Those changes included administering an additional 11 welfare powers worth £3 billion, which accounted for roughly 15 per cent of social security spending in Scotland. Considering the SNP’s highly critical stance on the current system for administering benefits in the United Kingdom, it had a big opportunity to look at a new approach when it set up Social Security Scotland.

However, it seems as though the Scottish Government has one talent, which is for making an absolute mess of every single area of devolved competence—or, in this case, devolved incompetence. The SNP was full of grand promises that the Scottish benefits system would be fully operational by the end of the 2020-21 parliamentary term, but that did not happen. Instead, Scotland has had to endure years during which benefits have been kicked backwards and forwards between Holyrood and Westminster.

Last week, the cabinet secretary set out four red lines to councils: teacher numbers, the length of the school week, pupil support assistance, and probationary teachers. I hate to break it to the cabinet secretary, but councils have already made savings in those areas in previous years, and some have no choice but to look at making further savings to balance the books. As the cabinet secretary is keen to set red lines in education, perhaps she could outline what other savings councils should make in order to balance their budgets in the face of Scottish National Party cuts.

No—sorry. I have only four minutes.

To its further embarrassment, the SNP Government has now handed back the administration of the severe disablement allowance to the DWP because, according to the former Cabinet Secretary for Social Security, there would be “no advantage” to Social Security Scotland delivering it. It is clear to everyone that the Scottish Government did not have the right mechanisms in place. To me that is a scary thought, considering that the SNP thought that it would win in 2014.

At one point during the independence referendum campaign, Alex Salmond boldly claimed that it would cost only £200 million to set up an independent Scotland. Setting up Social Security Scotland has already cost the public purse £651 million. It is obvious that the Scottish Government’s claims about a fully independent Scotland in 18 months were pie-in-the-sky thinking, just like its current plans to hold another referendum.

It is not only the handover of devolved powers that has led to another failure of the SNP Government; since its implementation, Social Security Scotland has performed poorly, with waiting times for applications increasing and payments not being made on time. Whether it is less than half of people aided by the fair start Scotland scheme sustaining employment, or application processing times for best start foods increasing year on year, it is concerning that the SNP seems totally incapable of getting to grips with the new welfare systems.

More recently, MSPs were told that the winter heating payment could now be delayed until March. I must ask: what on earth is the Government doing? It is certainly not focusing on the creation of a benefits system that supports Scots. The SNP needs to urgently explain how it intends to fix the mess that it has created, and how new and expanded benefits will be funded on top of increasing demand.

I believe in devolution. I was only seven years old when the Parliament opened, and I grew up in a country that has the advantages of having two Parliaments. However, the SNP is making a mockery of devolved government by not being able to get the basics right. I believe that the ability to support those in need is a vital role for any Government. If the SNP continues to make a mess of the roll-out of Social Security Scotland, it will make a mockery of the Scotland Act 1998 and this Parliament.

Crucially, the SNP’s failure to get this right will have let down the thousands of Scots who rely on those benefits, and that would be shameful.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I want to check the timing of speeches, because that speech went well over the allocated time.

The British Heart Foundation is in Parliament today to raise awareness of the importance of learning cardiopulmonary resuscitation. My constituent Stephanie Bain had to perform CPR on her five-week-old baby after he stopped breathing in his cot. Neither Stephanie nor her partner knew how to do CPR on a baby, and I can only imagine how terrifying that must have been for them and their family. The family is now urging parents to learn vital first aid skills that could save the lives of their young children. My office has been in touch with Stephanie, and I am pleased to say that Finlay is now doing well. I have also reached out to the British Heart Foundation to encourage it to create digital content that shows parents how to perform CPR on children who are under the age of one. As February is heart month, will the First Minister support the campaign to ensure that everyone, especially parents, has access to CPR training, as it saves lives?

At present, a key issue in colleges is the inability to properly assess completion rates. When the Minister for Higher Education and Further Education, Youth Employment and Training attended the Education, Children and Young People Committee in November, he was questioned by several MSPs about what he is doing to resolve the issue, and when it would be fixed. Mr Hepburn said:

“My ambition is to do it as soon as possible”.—[Official Report, Education, Children and Young People Committee, 2 November 2022; c 17.]

It has been three months since then, so will the Government provide an update on what progress has been made? If no substantial progress has been made, why not?

No. I am in my final minute and I have got more to say.

The 1,140 hours policy is a mess. The SNP Government has reviewed it time and again with no meaningful change. While it chooses not to act, childminders leave the profession and nurseries close. Parents have been promised 1,140 hours of free childcare and they expect the Government to deliver that.

Should the minister ignore the concerns that MSPs will raise today, this vital policy will fail. My debate is about the future of childcare, and it is time that the Government gets to grips with the crisis in our childcare sector before it is too late.

I finish by welcoming the minister’s contribution and I look forward to hearing how the Government intends to fix the mess that it has created.

Does the member not realise that local authority control of the sustainable rates for the PVI sector creates a fundamental flaw in the policy, because the PVI sector cannot compete against the local authorities? Does the member agree that the funding formula that is used to set the rates needs to be reviewed?

Good early years education is fundamental for developing vital skills that will help children to succeed in life. Promoting, developing and nurturing those skills, along with strengthening families, are important ways of improving long-term outcomes for children. Research shows that the development of important emotional, cognitive and behavioural skills takes place early in life. Those foundational skills are important not only for a successful transition to primary school, but for later academic achievement and social adjustment.

Giving our children the best start in life should be a priority for every member of the Scottish Parliament. I am passionate about early years education and it is one of the many reasons why I got involved in politics. I want Scotland to be the leader in early years by supporting parents and giving our young people the tools that they need to achieve.

The reality in Scotland today, however, is that the 1,140 hours policy is failing our children, parents and the private, voluntary and independent sectors. The Scottish Government is facing a crisis on top of a crisis: parents not being able to choose which nursery their child attends, PVI nurseries closing their doors, staffing shortages, a reduction in the number of childminders, out-of-date systems, relationship breakdowns, and nursery owners not knowing whether they can afford to stay in the childcare sector. All of that is happening on the watch of this Scottish Government.

Since returning from maternity leave, I have been in contact with nurseries, charities and organisations that have raised concerns about the Government’s handling of the childcare crisis. The Scottish National Party has a responsibility to make sure that its policy works for parents and their children. If free childcare cannot be delivered, it will result in a worse start in early years for education. Parents will be unable to work because they cannot get the childcare that this SNP Government promised them.

I had hoped that things would improve during my maternity leave and that the Government would finally get to grips with the problems that I and others have been raising for years, but nothing has changed. A former nursery owner in Aberdeen told me that she just could not take it any longer. She has now sold her nursery and left the sector completely. Modern apprentices in South Lanarkshire are being paid more than fully-qualified childcare practitioners, but the private, voluntary and independent sector is still being expected to train and not retain.

In North Lanarkshire, a legal dispute has delayed parents’ access to childcare. Those parents are now in limbo because they do not know when they can book nursery places for later this year.

In another council, the PVI sector was told that it is no longer a partner but a contractor. The sector is at the end of its tether, and the silence coming from the Government about 1,140 hours is deafening. We have been told that reviews are under way, but no statement on early years education has been made to the Parliament recently. Reviews should lead to action and action should result in change. Where is that change?

The disparity in rates between local authorities and the PVI sector has existed for as long as the 1,140 hours policy. It is widely known that local authorities determine what proportion of early years funding the PVI sector receives, and we know that local authorities get more money per child than their competitors. Parents have a right to know why a child who attends a PVI nursery is apparently worth less than a child in a local authority setting.