The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.
The Official Report search offers lots of different ways to find the information you’re looking for. The search is used as a professional tool by researchers and third-party organisations. It is also used by members of the public who may have less parliamentary awareness. This means it needs to provide the ability to run complex searches, and the ability to browse reports or perform a simple keyword search.
The web version of the Official Report has three different views:
Depending on the kind of search you want to do, one of these views will be the best option. The default view is to show the report for each meeting of Parliament or a committee. For a simple keyword search, the results will be shown by item of business.
When you choose to search by a particular MSP, the results returned will show each spoken contribution in Parliament or a committee, ordered by date with the most recent contributions first. This will usually return a lot of results, but you can refine your search by keyword, date and/or by meeting (committee or Chamber business).
We’ve chosen to display the entirety of each MSP’s contribution in the search results. This is intended to reduce the number of times that users need to click into an actual report to get the information that they’re looking for, but in some cases it can lead to very short contributions (“Yes.”) or very long ones (Ministerial statements, for example.) We’ll keep this under review and get feedback from users on whether this approach best meets their needs.
There are two types of keyword search:
If you select an MSP’s name from the dropdown menu, and add a phrase in quotation marks to the keyword field, then the search will return only examples of when the MSP said those exact words. You can further refine this search by adding a date range or selecting a particular committee or Meeting of the Parliament.
It’s also possible to run basic Boolean searches. For example:
There are two ways of searching by date.
You can either use the Start date and End date options to run a search across a particular date range. For example, you may know that a particular subject was discussed at some point in the last few weeks and choose a date range to reflect that.
Alternatively, you can use one of the pre-defined date ranges under “Select a time period”. These are:
If you search by an individual session, the list of MSPs and committees will automatically update to show only the MSPs and committees which were current during that session. For example, if you select Session 1 you will be show a list of MSPs and committees from Session 1.
If you add a custom date range which crosses more than one session of Parliament, the lists of MSPs and committees will update to show the information that was current at that time.
All Official Reports of meetings in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
All Official Reports of public meetings of committees.
Displaying 1895 contributions
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Meeting date: 8 November 2022
Paul O'Kane
Thank you. I will move on to Alison White. I appreciate that you are here to represent Social Work Scotland, so I will not ask you necessarily to respond as a chief officer.
I want to ask about Social Work Scotland’s view at the moment. It has called for a pause in the legislative process. Is that to do with what you said about co-design? You said that there should have been a process of co-design prior to this point, rather than it happening through secondary legislation. Is there anything that you want to add about how Social Work Scotland arrived at that position?
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Meeting date: 8 November 2022
Paul O'Kane
Thank you, convener. I have two questions, but they will be directed to individual witnesses.
I will begin with Patricia Cassidy’s comments. I am looking for a bit more clarity about where chief officers are on a number of issues. In many of the submissions that we received from local authorities, IJBs and health and social care partnerships, concern was expressed about what disruption to services will do to integration. Angus HSCP said that
“Significant work has gone into the establishment of IJBs”,
and that a national care service
“could take the focus away from integration and continual improvement”.
East Lothian HSCP said that
“It would be damaging and counterproductive to restructure services again, less than eight years since the integration of H&SC.”
Are chief officers of the view that there needs to be structural change to the care boards, or is there a sense that there is not enough detail in the bill to make a judgment about whether we should move towards that and about what the change would look like?
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Meeting date: 8 November 2022
Paul O'Kane
I will pick up on your response to Evelyn Tweed on accountability to the Parliament and the minister being held accountable for social care. Is it your view that social care is not currently being held to account by elected council members and health board appointees—who are appointed by the Scottish ministers—who sit on IJBs? The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities would take exception to that because of how councillors are connected to their communities and hold social care accountable. Is the principle of local accountability not at stake, to some degree, if we focus everything on the Parliament?
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Meeting date: 8 November 2022
Paul O'Kane
Thank you for that response. I appreciate absolutely what you said about co-design; I witnessed some of that in a previous role before I became an MSP. As the framework bill stands, does it meet your expectations and the expectations of those with lived experience? My contention is that people want detail, and they want to help to co-design that detail through the legislative process rather than after the fact. It feels like a structural bill rather than a bill about culture.
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Meeting date: 8 November 2022
Paul O'Kane
I will pick up on that point about the framework bill and the way that this has come about. Some witnesses have said that the concern about its being a framework bill is that co-design could have happened prior to publication of the bill. The bill could have been co-designed and if it had been, we would now be having a different discussion. The views of those who are calling for a pause, including Social Work Scotland, Unison the union and COSLA, have been fairly well documented.
I am keen to get your views on whether there should have been a co-design process prior to the bill’s introduction. I do not think that anyone disagrees with what you have said about the fact that people want to see tangible benefits. Do we need more pace on other parts of your review recommendations—for example, removal of charges for non-residential social care support? Should we invest money now in order to move the dial on those things, rather than waiting for the delivery of a national care service by, potentially, the end of this session of Parliament?
11:30Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: 8 November 2022
Paul O'Kane
It is another record-breaking day for the cabinet secretary. We know that the situation in A and E is emblematic of the wider crisis that is engulfing our NHS. Delays to discharge are at their highest-ever levels, social care is in crisis and the Royal College of Nursing is balloting nurses on strike action for the first time in its 106-year history.
I have a constituent who has been waiting for nine months for a colposcopy after her smear test reported high-risk human papillomavirus and abnormal cells in her cervix. That is four months longer than is set out in national guidelines.
Excessive waits are the difference between good outcomes and bad outcomes. Once again, I ask: when will the cabinet secretary set out a clear and meaningful plan, ahead of winter, to deal with the shocking waiting times? If he cannot, or if he will not, will he resign?
Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: 8 November 2022
Paul O'Kane
The annual act of remembrance is a powerful one. It provides a necessary opportunity to reflect on the crucial moment in our history when the guns stopped firing and peace in Europe was secured. It is also a time to reflect on the fragility of that peace in our world—peace that has often been imperilled, down through the centuries
Of course, in the past year we have been served with a stark reminder of that fragility, with Russia having unleashed a dreadful and bloody campaign of destruction in Ukraine. I am sure that those scenes will not be far from any of our minds as we pause to remember, this coming weekend. Today, I want to take some time to pay tribute to those who support remembrance in communities across West Scotland.
For more than a century, the poppy has served as a poignant symbol of remembrance for all those who have lost their lives on active service, and as an expression of hope for lasting peace. The work that Poppyscotland and so many other charities do makes a real impact on veterans and their families, and is rightly being recognised in our debate today, but none of that work is possible without the support of the people who fundraise in our towns and villages at this time of year and, indeed, throughout the year.
I take this opportunity to pay special tribute to my constituent Kitty Ramsay, who has received the president’s award for her years of fundraising for Poppyscotland. Indeed, it was wonderful to see the Presiding Officer making the presentation in the garden lobby here in Parliament, just a few weeks ago. For decades, Kitty has selflessly organised the sale of poppies in Port Glasgow and across Inverclyde, thereby raising thousands of pounds for Poppyscotland.
It should be noted that the president’s award is an extremely prestigious accolade that is bestowed on individuals for exceptional volunteering services to Poppyscotland. I am sure that all members agree that securing the award is an exceptional achievement, and I am sure that Kitty is very proud to have received it. It was a real pleasure to chat to Kitty and her husband Ronald, along with Jamie Greene—who I see is in the chamber—and other members, and to hear her say that she does it for all the people who never came home from war to the streets of Inverclyde.
As Paul Sweeney said, Scottish Labour strongly supports the work of Poppyscotland. We support implementation of the recommendations of the Poppyscotland manifesto, which calls on the Scottish Government to mainstream the armed forces community in the policy-making process and to properly capture the lived experience of armed forces personnel, veterans and their families. I warmly welcome what the cabinet secretary said in that regard.
I am conscious of the time, Presiding Officer. I want to give another local example of people in West Scotland who support remembrance—an example that is close to my heart. As members will have heard me say before in the chamber, I have been privileged to be involved with the Neilston War Memorial Association since its inception in 2011. The association is made up of local volunteers who have given their time to build a new war memorial in Neilston and now act as the custodians of remembrance in the village.
This week, the Neilston War Memorial Association received the sad news that one of our leading committee members, Keith Fergus, has passed away aged just 49, after a period of illness. Keith worked closely with his friends in the association for more than 10 years—from his involvement in the initial fundraising that helped to build the war memorial, to his becoming our official photographer. During the pandemic, he delivered food packs, Christmas and Easter treats for local children and high teas for the village pensioners. He will be sorely missed. Our thoughts are with his wife Helen and his children Kyla and Cammie at this very sad time. Indeed, as we gather this weekend, we will remember Keith’s contribution to remembrance.
As a nation, we should be grateful for the service of all personnel who have given their lives. We should also be grateful for the service of volunteers like Keith and Kitty, whose quiet, determined and dedicated actions keep alive the promise that has echoed down through the years:
“We will remember them.”
16:18Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: 2 November 2022
Paul O'Kane
More than a decade ago, the Scottish Labour Party called for the creation of a national care service. Our vision was rooted in a belief that social care could be transformed to deliver exceptional national standards of care across Scotland. That is about changing the culture, not the structures, by ensuring that our social care system treats people with dignity and by ensuring that our care staff are respected as skilled professionals. Sadly, the Scottish Government’s proposal lacks substance, lacks vision and, increasingly, lacks the confidence of key stakeholders, including trade unions, COSLA, care providers and staff who are working on the front line.
At yesterday’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, COSLA’s health and social care spokesperson, Councillor Paul Kelly, clearly outlined on behalf of councils across Scotland—of all political stripes, including SNP-led councils—huge concerns about what the bill would do to local government. It would take away power from local communities and place it in the hands of ministers, who would then use secondary legislation to design the national care service. He raised concerns that many councils might become unviable.
I and the Scottish Labour Party have serious concerns about the Scottish Government’s vision of the national care service. If the minister will not listen to me, perhaps he will listen to his own colleagues, who are also losing confidence in their Government’s ability to deliver what it has promised.
At last week’s Finance and Public Administration Committee, Kenny Gibson compared the Government’s approach as being akin to using a
“sledgehammer to crack a nut.”—[Official Report, Finance and Public Administration Committee, 25 October 2022; c 24.]
He also mentioned the “monumental risk” in relation to the financial memorandum and the lack of detail therein.
Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: 2 November 2022
Paul O'Kane
Will the member take an intervention?
Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: 2 November 2022
Paul O'Kane
I have a lot to get through, so I want to make some progress.
The loss of confidence in this proposal has been growing, week on week. That is why, today, Scottish Labour is calling for the bill for to be paused. Let me be clear: this is not about trying to get one over on the minister or opposing for the sake of opposing. What we are debating is far too important for that. This is about a fundamental principle—the principle of good lawmaking—and creating a national care service that is worthy of the name.
It is irresponsible to press ahead with legislation that is not fit for purpose and that does not command the confidence of key stakeholders. We cannot afford to get these reforms wrong. Indeed, we have had 15 years of this Government ignoring social care. Half-baked solutions will only deepen the problems in the sector.
Presiding Officer, if Emma Harper wants to speak, I am happy to give way.