Chamber and committees

Over the weekend, I raised the need for digital vaccine certificates in the context of foreign travel. I note that the First Minister said that an app would be available from next month, but it would be helpful to have a clearer timescale, if that is possible, given that some of the commentary on the matter has been vague. Constituents have rightly been asking why it has taken so long to get an app in Scotland, given that such apps exist elsewhere in the UK and in other parts of Europe.

Will the First Minister confirm that the app will be compatible with vaccination records from across the UK, which is particularly important for students who are travelling to university? Will she ensure that the app has the ability to deal with cases in which someone has had one dose of the vaccine in Scotland and one in another UK nation, or vice versa? I have heard from constituents that there have been problems in that regard with paper vaccination records.

On 2 July, “STV News” covered the story of Brian, who works in test and protect. He described his working environment as “toxic” and said that staff are being “overwhelmed” by the demands of increasing infection rates and that

“morale is at an all-time low.”

This week, I have met test and protect staff, who told me that, at the start of their work, they felt pride as key workers, but that they now feel nothing but stress. Test and protect is stretched to breaking point, and staff need better support. Therefore, will the First Minister agree to support those staff through additional resource? Crucially, what can the Government do to support the mental health and wellbeing of those key workers?

The situation is, indeed, deeply concerning. Our thoughts are with all the women affected. I appreciate what the minister has said about funding for the Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust helpline to support anyone who is concerned, but will she confirm that the funding will last for as long as it is needed and that all sufficient resources will be given to the trust to ensure comprehensive individual support? Further to that support, will the minister advise what is being provided to GPs and other health professionals, who may be the first point of contact for women but who are in the midst of remobilisation from Covid?

Thank you, Presiding Officer. I knew that there being two Pauls in the Labour group would get confusing at some point.

To ask the Scottish Government when the national qualifications group agreed on the appeals process for 2021 national qualifications, and whether the decision was unanimous. (S6O-00062)

When did the national qualifications group agree on the appeals process for the 2021 national qualifications, and was the decision unanimous?

I note what the cabinet secretary said about some members of the group, but the Government has said that a rights-respecting approach is at the heart of our recovery from the pandemic. It is therefore disappointing and frustrating that Cameron Garrett from the Scottish Youth Parliament, who was the only young person on the national qualifications 2021 group, has said that young people have been ignored in the formulation of the process.

Listening to the views of young people and upholding their rights should be among our top priorities in the Parliament. Were there any other dissenting views in the national qualifications 2021 group regarding appeals?

Until 10 May, I was policy and participation manager at Enable Scotland, which is a learning disability charity and social care provider. I am currently a councillor in East Renfrewshire Council and, until 10 June, I was deputy leader of the council and convener for education and equalities. I am also a member of the GMB union.

I thank Bob Doris for securing the debate, and I congratulate and thank MND Scotland on its 40th anniversary. It has done 40 years of outstanding work in improving the lives of people who live with motor neurone disease, supporting families and campaigning for change.

We have already heard about the impact that MND has, not just on the people who are diagnosed with it but on the friends, families and loved ones of those who live with it. It has robbed many people of their future, and the Parliament must do all that it can to support people whom it affects.

We remember and pay tribute to the incredible individuals who have done much to advance the care of those with MND, and I will give specific mention to two people this evening. The first is Gordon Aikman. Like so many in the chamber, I had the great honour of knowing Gordon, in my case through the Scottish Labour Party. I fondly remember his warmth and generosity and the many great conversations and laughs that we had, particularly during the 2014 referendum campaign, when Gordon received his diagnosis.

Gordon was inspiring—the courageous way in which he faced his illness was one of the bravest things that I have ever seen. He became a ferocious campaigner for change, working with MND Scotland. He made people stop and think, and he made the Scottish Government invest and change policy. His legacy is every single person whose life has been made better due to more MND nurses, voice equipment or drug trials. I pay tribute to Gordon’s husband, Joe, and his friends, especially Lawrence Cowan, for continuing that work, which we will endeavour to support in any way in Parliament. We on the Labour benches are all proud of Gordon. He was the very best of us, and we miss him every single day.

As we have heard, further inspiration is found in Euan MacDonald and his father Donald. Euan’s drive to create the Euan MacDonald Centre at the University of Edinburgh, which focuses on finding a treatment for those living with MND, is inspiring. Beyond that, his drive to make a positive difference in the lives of disabled people is shown in the creation of Euan’s Guide, which is a website that makes it easier for disabled people to find great places to go to without having to worry about any accessibility issues there.

Due to the work of people such as Gordon and Euan, we have seen a growing public understanding of MND, how it affects people and how we can tackle it head on, and through the renewed drive to defeat MND, there has been scientific progress. Colleagues will be aware of the recent news of the scientific breakthrough by researchers at the Euan MacDonald research institute that could lead the way to the discovery of a cure. If that research bears fruit, we must all collectively step behind the science and ensure that it is supported in every way possible.

We must look to provide further support to those who live with MND in the here and now. Colleagues across the chamber will be aware of the on-going campaign, which leads on from the work of people such as Euan MacDonald, to ensure that more changing places are available for those who suffer from illnesses such as MND. There are too few changing places toilets available in Scotland. A lack of appropriate facilities is a barrier to disabled people, their families and those with lifelong conditions accessing simple things such as a day out or a holiday. I hope that colleagues will join me in creating a changing places cross-party group to consider some of the issues that directly impact the lives of people with MND every single day.

I praise the hard work of campaigners, including Angela Dulley, and people who live with MND, who have undertaken work on the matter already. I hope that members will join me in that work, and I ask them to get in touch with me if they can.

Once again, I pay tribute to the work of MND Scotland over the past 40 years. I honour the memory of those whom we have lost, and I commit to doing all that I can to fight for those living with MND, so that we can achieve the cure that we all desperately want to see.

Will Collette Stevenson take an intervention?

In rising to speak in the debate, I feel a number of different emotions. First, I feel an overwhelming sense of sadness about the lives that have been lost. Behind every number is a person. They were sons, daughters, parents, partners, family members, friends, brothers and sisters. Collette Stevenson powerfully described that, as have other members in the chamber today.

The word “scandal” is often overused in our politics, but there is no other word to use. It is painfully sad and heartbreaking for those who are left behind—for people who have all too often struggled to get the right support at the right time for their loved one.

I also feel anger because quite simply not enough has been done to tackle the root causes of the problem and to be innovative and flexible in approaches to policy around care and treatment. I feel anger because there has not been enough funding to support services properly and because there has been a lack of prioritisation of the issues.

Long before the Covid-19 pandemic, a pandemic was raging in our cities, towns and villages. It was born of poverty, trauma and poor mental health. That pandemic demands a public health response of the size and scale that we have seen in our current day-to-day context.

It will take leadership and a genuine commitment to listening—which we know has not always been the case, in the past. The Scottish Government was warned that cuts to the budgets of alcohol and drug partnerships in 2015-16 would lead to more deaths, but it went ahead with the cuts anyway. Labour has long called for funding to reverse the cuts, so it is welcome that the Government appears to be listening.

I want to focus my comments on the required public health response to the crisis. Reporting is not regular enough; annual reporting on deaths, which is two years retrospective, is not adequate for reacting with the flexibility that we need. The minister touched on that; I hope that she will say more in her concluding remarks.

Michael Marra referred to that fact we have, throughout Covid, had a wealth of data at our fingertips and on our television screens daily, including analysis of trends and data-led decision making. We all are acutely aware of the importance of such intelligence in making the right public health decisions. It can be done, so why should it not be done for drug deaths?

We also need better data on issues such as the high number of people who drop out of treatment. The Scottish Drugs Forum has highlighted the high levels of poor retention of people in treatment, and we know through research by the University of the West of Scotland that there have been significant challenges in respect of alcohol and drug partnerships properly recording the number of unplanned discharges and, crucially, the reasons behind them. That data would allow consistent follow-up and support for people to re-engage with services.

Scottish Labour’s amendment calls for robust scrutiny of the new MAT standards, including six-monthly reporting to Parliament. We must ensure that we know whether the standards are met, and that we know what the impacts are of important interventions such as same-day access to services.

Inflexible services fail too many people, which leads to the unplanned discharges that I mentioned. The Scottish Drugs Forum has said that

“Treatment needs to be attractive and offer what people want, when they want it; and it needs to respond to changes in what people want over time—substitution prescription, support to address immediate health or social issues; support with longer term mental or physical health”.

We must invest in services such as those that the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and others advocate—for example, the availability of naloxone in a variety of community settings, and appropriate training for a variety of individuals in communities and healthcare settings on how to use it.

In common with many other organisations and parties across the chamber, Scottish Labour thinks that we must have meaningful and swift action on exploring all options to deliver safe consumption rooms.

Breaking down silos is also key. We cannot just pay lip service to initiatives such as housing first and then witness sustained cuts being made to local government budgets for support services in housing. We also know some of the concerning challenges that Shelter Scotland has raised, which relate to people being forced to give up their homes after having been told that they cannot claim the housing benefit that is needed to pay for stays at residential rehabilitation centres that the voluntary sector runs.

I spoke at the beginning of my speech about the range of feelings that I had in approaching the debate. I also feel a sense of hope that we can work in partnership across the chamber and with individuals and their families, communities, and those who provide services and support, whether in healthcare settings or local government. However, we can achieve that sense of hope and optimism only if the Government is willing to listen. From the tone of the contributions to today’s debate, I believe that there is a sense that the Government is listening.

Labour members will hold the Government to account. We will relentlessly seek the data that we need and we will interrogate it. We will continue to make the case for well-resourced and flexible services that prioritise individual needs and trauma-informed practice, because lives depend on that action.

We need to ensure that we collectively take responsibility, make the right decisions and move Scotland forward to deal with the scourge of drug deaths.