Chamber and committees

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle any economic inequalities faced by unpaid carers. (S6O-02014)

Each drugs death is a tragedy for the family who are left behind, particularly for parents who lose a child. This week, we have seen that suspected drugs deaths reached the highest number recorded in a single quarter since 2021. Public health experts have said that data is vital in tackling the crisis, but Parliament’s Public Audit Committee has said that there is a significant risk that the scale of the problem is not being properly captured or understood. Data collection must be robust in order to support people and their families. What steps is the Government taking to improve the quality of data collection relating to drug use—in particular, use of potent new drugs that might account for the spike in the number of deaths in the last quarter of 2022?

As we move into spring and summer, we all hope for some needed respite from household expenditure, with energy use dropping. However, that is little comfort to tens of thousands of households across Scotland who continue to exist on the precipice of financial insecurity due to exorbitant energy bills. Indeed, unpaid carers can face significantly higher energy costs, as some must operate essential life-sustaining equipment.

In response to questions in the chamber from me and my colleague Jackie Baillie, the Government has stated that it will look to provide additional support for unpaid carers in relation to that life-sustaining equipment, but no detail has yet been forthcoming. Can the minister say if and when the Government plans to publish details of and perhaps a timetable for such additional funding to be made available to carers?

We are talking about people who have died. In the final quarter of 2022, excess deaths in Scotland rose by almost 10 per cent above the five-year average, which means that 1,433 more people died than would have been expected on the basis of historical trends. Each death is a tragedy, but those deaths are not a statistical coincidence. They are evidence of widening health inequalities; the normalisation of 12 hours waiting in accident and emergency; and a failure to increase cancer diagnosis rates. That is the heartbreaking reality of Humza Yousaf’s disastrous record as Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, and it will be the legacy of this First Minister. Why has she allowed the national health service to decline into such a state of perpetual crisis? Does she agree with clinicians, staff and patients—and indeed her Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy, Kate Forbes—that Humza Yousaf should not be anywhere near running our health service?

I am very grateful, convener. Good morning, witnesses.

We have just had a quite important discussion about role models for young women, but much of this comes down to men, their behaviour and how we, as men, change our behaviour and attitudes and attack systemic misogyny. To what extent are role models for men crucial in this? Andy Murray sticks out as someone who is always seeking to challenge the in-built bias that we see. Did you find that women responded to the fact that the onus is on men, too? Are there other examples of good role models in male sport who can be held up as examples of good practice and used to push people to do more?

That was very helpful; it is an issue that we want to consider as part of our work.

I want to ask about horrendous examples of, in particular, sexual violence and misconduct perpetrated by men in sport. That has had an impact on women’s participation, because very often they feel that clubs are not safe spaces. Being part of a wider club is all about identity and belonging, but women to whom I have spoken often do not feel safe in such spaces. Indeed, there are now a number of campaigns to tackle the issue. I know that there are sports clubs out there that do not have policies for handling people who are found guilty of sexual crimes or for handling reports of sexual misconduct. I appreciate that the issue is perhaps not reflected in the report, but I just want to ask the broader question: do clubs—and, indeed, governing bodies—need to go further to give women confidence?

Good morning, minister and witnesses. Could you expand a wee bit further on where the remit might go. Social care is obviously a very hot topic that is of significant interest to the committee. Dame Sue Bruce’s on-going work is on social care and its regulation. Have you factored that view into your planning? Given all that is going on in social care, might the PSC have a regulatory role in that context?

We would certainly recognise that from the evidence that we have heard.

To what extent do you feel that the commissioner, sitting where it does, will have the right powers? People want to see a resolution, which will very often involve some end point of action. Are there enough powers in relation to exerting pressure on the Government, pushing for changes to policy in the NHS or the important learning that has to happen where there have been issues?

I will push a little further on that.

Everybody wants to work in a collegiate fashion and ensure that there is encouragement in relation to change and learning lessons. However, that does not always happen; for example, in large organisations, it can often be difficult to get to that end point of a change in process or taking the learning on board. Although I know that “enforce” is not always a word that we like to use, because we want to see that collegiate approach, is there enough ability to enforce? In social care, for example, we would recognise enforcement as happening in the care home sector or other such places. Is there enough power, or any power, to enforce, if that is required?

We are interested in the appointment process and what alternatives were considered. In evidence from the English commissioner, we heard that the role is a department of Government, which, it was thought, allowed it not to be overlooked. However, the converse of that, with regard to the bill, is the importance of the independence of the role. What is your rationale for choosing that direction?