Chamber and committees

It is being reported in the press this morning that the UK Government is likely to announce a ban on disposable vapes in the coming weeks. I welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to a consultation on banning them. However, harm is still occurring while that work is under way. Many vaping products are displayed in shop windows alongside sweets, or at the end of aisles, in full view of children and young people. I wrote to retailers, asking them to proactively put vapes behind cover, but many declined, saying that they will comply with any legislation that is introduced. The Scottish Government plans to use its current regulation-making powers to move quickly to put vaping products out of sight—in particular, out of the sight of children. Are additional measures, such as plain packaging or restriction of advertising, being considered?

Is work under way on putting vapes behind covers, as currently happens with cigarettes? One of the biggest concerns that we are hearing from parents is about the pervasiveness of the products, especially in shops. They can be reached by toddlers, because they are on the ends of aisles in some shops. If that was happening with cigarettes, we would rightly be outraged: vapes contain the same addictive ingredient. Is consideration being given to putting vapes behind covers?

I echo the minister’s condolences to all those who have lost a loved one. I thank the minister for advance sight of her statement, and I welcome the Lord Advocate’s statement. I want to follow other colleagues by paying tribute to campaigners, particularly Peter Krykant, who have worked tirelessly on the issue.

What engagement has the minister had with the UK Government, and is she satisfied that it will work with the consensus here, in Scotland, to allow a pilot safe consumption room to proceed?

Given the cabinet secretary’s comments and the particular vulnerability of people in hospital, what guidance has the Government issued about the use of high efficiency particulate air filters and air sterilisation, particularly in hospitals, to prevent airborne transmission of Covid-19?

I begin, as others have, by offering my and my party’s sincere condolences to Winnie Ewing’s family and friends. I know that, for many in the chamber, she had an impact on not just their political journey but their personal life.

Winnie Ewing’s impact on Scottish politics and her party is undeniable. There was a historic by-election win for the SNP in Hamilton; she advocated for independence on the international stage; and she reconvened the Scottish Parliament. That is an honour that no one else will ever have. I hope that we can also take this time to remind ourselves that this place has to go on to achieve everything that was hoped for in the very first session.

Winnie Ewing has undoubtedly left her mark on the political landscape. She represented in politics at a time when it was unusual, to say the least, to see women taking a prominent role. That is a reminder to us that we need to continue to value women in politics and help all of us to bring everything that we can to the job.

We have to recognise the unique situation that we are in with both Fergus and Annabelle here as sitting members. Winnie Ewing’s loss to the party and the independence movement is obvious, but the loss to her family is profound. Finding the words to express that loss and convey how sorry I truly am is almost impossible. The gravity of grief, let alone having to navigate that grief in the public eye, is great, and it takes a great deal of strength to be able to sit through such a session. I hope that the outpouring of feeling and the formal marking of their mum’s death bring Fergus and Annabelle some comfort. Grief is a process, and I hope that, long after this debate concludes, colleagues around the chamber will continue to provide a listening ear.

Winnie Ewing achieved what many of us hope to do in our lifetimes. She has a tangible legacy written into the history books, with people who love her to continue to tell her stories—the triumphant ones of winning elections and, undoubtedly, the deeply personal ones of fun. Those are the things that paint the picture of a life well lived, and add colour and light when grief can weigh heavy.

I want to finish with a poem that was sent to me by a friend at my own time of loss. I hope that those across the chamber who feel Winnie’s loss will find some comfort in it.

“Don’t think of her as gone away, her journey’s just begun,
Life holds so many facets, this earth is only one.
She’s in a place of warmth and comfort where there are no days or years.

Think how she must be wishing that we could know today
How nothing but our sadness can really pass away,
And think of her as living in the hearts of those she touched,
For nothing loved is ever lost and she was loved so much.”

I, too, thank Carol Mochan for bringing forward the debate, and offer my condolences to anyone who has lost a loved one to alcohol misuse. I also thank Alcohol Focus Scotland and SHAAP for their tireless efforts to tackle alcohol-related harm. Every alcohol-related death is a preventable tragedy.

This is a human rights issue. As elected representatives, we have a responsibility to act on it. Many others have covered recovery and treatment services. My contribution will focus on the other side of the issue: prevention and the specific actions that we need to take to address the alcohol deaths emergency. Inevitably, that will mean tackling alcohol marketing, which encourages people to start drinking and to drink at higher levels.

We know that exposure to alcohol marketing is a cause of youth drinking. Decades of research have concluded that alcohol marketing leads young people to start drinking earlier and to drink more. Clearly, allowing the industry to self-regulate is not working. In a UK survey, 82 per cent of 11 to 17-year-olds reported having seen alcohol advertising in the past month.

Alcohol marketing affects not just young people. It encourages consumption and risk-taking behaviour among heavier drinkers, causes higher craving levels and fosters positive alcohol-related thoughts. That can seriously impact people who are struggling with their alcohol use, or who are in recovery.

Alcohol advertising makes drinking seem more attractive and encourages high consumption. Restricted alcohol marketing benefits everyone. In fact, it is recommended by the World Health Organization as one of the most effective ways of reducing consumption and the health and social harms that alcohol causes.

Other European countries have already taken action. Ireland recently introduced legislation to ban alcohol advertising during sporting events and—crucially—events that are aimed at children. It is also restricting alcohol advertising outdoors and on public transport, as well as how and where alcohol can be displayed in shops and supermarkets.

Scotland would do well to follow Ireland’s lead and be bold in its efforts to tackle the proliferation of alcohol marketing. Measures recommended by the alcohol marketing expert network include restricting advertising outdoors and in public places, in sports and event sponsorship and in retail display and promotion. Those measures should be introduced as soon as is practicable and I look forward to hearing any updates that the minister has about timescales for upcoming consultations.

I turn to the introduction of an alcohol levy. I have long believed that the polluter-pays principle should be applied to the sale of alcohol. The alcohol industry makes huge profits from the sale of alcohol and should contribute towards mitigating the harm that is caused by the products that it sells. Retailers should not be allowed to keep the additional profits that they make from minimum unit pricing, which should be invested into prevention and treatment services.

Alcohol Focus Scotland also advocates for the introduction of an alcohol harm prevention levy. That would be raised through a supplement on non-domestic rates for retailers and applied to premises licensed to sell alcohol for consumption off the premises. I have raised that matter in the past and I would be grateful if the minister could update the Parliament on the Government’s current position on the proposal and advise what consideration is being given to introducing such a levy.

There are many actions that we can take to tackle alcohol-related harm. Now is not the time for timidity or hesitation. Too many lives and too many families are being destroyed. We must act and we must do it now.

To ask the Scottish Government how the investment announced in the 2023-24 programme for government will contribute towards a move to a wellbeing economy in the Central Scotland region. (S6O-02459)

Many projects across my Central Scotland region, such as those delivered through the Falkirk Foundation and the Motherwell Football Club Community Trust, contribute greatly to the wellbeing of their communities, including by providing lunches to children, football camps, employability schemes and mental health support. How can the Scottish Government ensure that practical as well as financial support is provided to projects that deliver positive outcomes such as those?

Submissions to the committee highlight significant concerns about staff wellbeing, particularly the accumulation of stress over repeated years, practicalities such as staff sometimes not having access to hot food and drink and, of course, the travel issues that social care staff face. What concerns do you have about the impact of winter pressures in that respect, and how is that being dealt with by your specific services?

Good morning. Submissions highlighted that it can be difficult to recruit staff to short-term contracts to address winter pressure, particularly given the cost of living crisis and the uncertainty of such contracts for on-going employment. Given the earlier comments on planning for 365 days rather than in response to short-term pressures, how can workforce planning and the models that we use be improved to give staff security and recruit staff according to future needs?