Chamber and committees

Given the increased pressure on waiting times and in other areas in the NHS as a result of Covid-19, is it realistic to move towards greater preventative spend in the medium term? May I go to Leigh Johnston to answer that first, please?

To ask the First Minister what further steps the Scottish Government will take to support tenants facing the cost of living crisis. (S6F-01341)

I thank the First Minister for her welcome response.

Does she agree that the ambition that she outlined in the programme for government to introduce a rent freeze and a halt to evictions puts the Scottish Government far ahead of anywhere else in the UK in protecting tenants? Does she also agree that the commitment should rightly be seen as a central part of our far-reaching programme of reform, as outlined in the new deal for tenants, which is being led by my Green Party colleague Patrick Harvie as Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights, and that our shared commitment shows the value of political co-operation in developing detailed, workable and robust protections for tenants?

We are in a cost of living crisis and I am sure that the cabinet secretary would not want anyone to be unable to make their appointment due to not being able to afford to get there. Has the Scottish Government had any conversations with health boards about what support might be offered in those circumstances?

I thank Kaukab Stewart for bringing this important debate to the chamber and for her passionate speech. The “Changing the Boundaries” report is damning in its conclusions; as other members have said, the wealth of evidence was undeniable. It is worth noting that Plan4Sport, which produced the report, had almost 1,000 interactions with people to hear about their experiences. I would like to thank each and every one of the people who came forward and shared their stories about the impact that Scottish cricket has had on their lives.

The report found the leadership practices and governance of Cricket Scotland to be institutionally racist. It also found 448 instances that demonstrated institutional racism. Like so many colleagues across the chamber, I express my deep concern at the findings and my solidarity with those who experienced that institutional abuse. No one should be made to feel unsafe, unwelcome or abused in sport. We must ensure that those who have experienced or witnessed racist incidents have the confidence that their reports will be taken seriously and, crucially, acted on when they come forward.

That Cricket Scotland has won various awards for diversity is a further cause for concern and demonstrates that we cannot be complacent about the perceived progress that we have made on equalities in Scotland. We cannot be content with any progress that we have made while racism still thrives.

It is essential that the safeguards that we build in to provide the additional scrutiny and oversight that are needed in Scottish sport take account of the limited powers of institutions such as sportscotland to effectively explore and address racism across different governing bodies. Where vital responsibilities are discharged over areas such as safeguarding, racism and bullying in governing bodies, it is essential that institutions that lack expertise on their boards, which are often small or reliant on volunteers to function, are fully supported in those endeavours.

The Scottish Greens share the view that genuinely impactful equalities and anti-racist strategies should be central to organisations that receive Government funding. Further to that, I welcome the assessment framework that is set out in the report. I share the view that is noted in Kaukab Stewart’s motion that that could be used as a condition in the funding criteria for all funding of sports in Scotland.

I look forward to the response of the Scottish Government on the proposed anti-racist infrastructure model, which we understand is being considered and which will potentially be published next year. The report will inform the work on oversight and how to support public bodies to ensure Scotland can become an anti-racist society.

I am pleased that some measures are already being taken to provide oversight of Cricket Scotland until October 2023. Cricket Scotland is undertaking an immediate recruitment process for new board members and for additional staff to ensure the effective operation of new equalities measures and the undertaking of a governance review. It is vital that the voices of those with lived experience are part of that process.

We must also remember that cricket will not be the only sport in which such things happen. The situation should be a wake-up call to all governing bodies and taken as an opportunity for them to stand together and say that racism will not be allowed in our sports teams. Although I have spoken about the structures and teams involved, we should all remember the impact that there will have been on individual players, their lives, their families and their love of their sport. I hope that all those who have come forward are getting the support that they deserve.

I also thank Running Out Racism and other organisations, such as Show Racism the Red Card and Kick It Out, for their campaigning efforts to give this important issue the public attention that it deserves, and I thank all the people who joined the rally outside Holyrood to make their voices heard—that racism has no place in Scotland.

As parliamentarians, we must tackle these challenges, which are prevalent in all areas of public life. We must continue to be vigilant in the face of discrimination and address any form of inequality head on. Sport should be a welcoming place for everyone. Racism and all other forms of bigotry and discrimination have no place in Scottish sport and no place in Scotland.

To ask the Scottish Government what actions it is taking to support the establishment of more publicly-owned bus services. (S6O-01293)

There has been a raft of service cuts across central Scotland, with driver shortages and efficiency cuts being blamed. When we should be increasing service provision, services are being cut. Stagecoach reported a profit of more than £32 million for the first half of the most recent financial year, yet the X28 service, which serves Cumbernauld in my region, is up for cancellation. Does the minister agree that more needs to be done to hold the private sector to account, and that more support for publicly owned bus services could ensure that the transport needs of our communities are truly supported?

Thank you, convener. In its submission, the Health and Social Care Alliance highlighted that people with long-term conditions have been particularly impacted by the deterioration in their health and wellbeing due to the cost of living crisis and because they have to use different healthcare aids and supports. What actions is the Government taking to support those people or give them access to support from other places, and to address those issues as a whole?

Absolutely, and thank you both for those answers.

Dr Shari McDaid told us that

“if there is just a one-off training session in the trauma-informed approach, people will be expected to go back to their systems of working and try to remember what they learned during that one-off ... programme.”

They emphasised the need for “on-going reflection” and said:

“Embedding reflective practice is the next step that needs to accompany the training programmes and education in the trauma-informed approach.”—[Official Report, Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, 21 June 2022; c 31.]

What action is the Government taking to ensure that reflective practice accompanies trauma-informed training?

A lack of joined-up care has been highlighted to the committee, with some patients falling off the cliff edge once they have been discharged from services. For example, patients are not always connected with community care once they have been discharged from hospital. How can we ensure better links between acute and community care, and what role can link workers play in that regard?