Chamber and committees

I have found this morning’s session really interesting and I have learned a lot, so I thank the panellists for their evidence.

Dr Cawston talked about creating systems—I am summarising—that are a step on to the pavement. A general theme has been the importance of local assets and infrastructure. Dr McDaid mentioned the impact of the loss of local libraries, while Professor Marmot talked about a state of helplessness.

I realise that this is a really complex subject, but in developing resilience and the reasonable prices that Professor Meier talked about, is there a single practical action that would have a dramatic impact? At our previous meeting, we talked about sport, and there was a theme of opening up school estates to communities to improve local health equality. What are the panel members’ thoughts on taking a single action such as opening up school estates to communities so that those assets are available? Can each of you think of something better?

I will proceed.

Official figures that were published last Tuesday reveal that more than a quarter of children and young people are still not being seen within the target of 18 weeks for referral to child and adolescent mental health services. In fact, the Scottish Government has never—I repeat, never—met its target in that regard. Yet the SNP-Green Government has found the time to commission and publish a paper—the first of many, apparently—on building a new, independent Scotland. That is another distraction from the SNP’s woeful record on the delivery of public services.

As if that were not enough, Audit Scotland, which scrutinises how the public purse is spent, faces having its “wings clipped” for shining a light on Government failings that long predate the pandemic. In particular, the spending watchdog has repeatedly raised a red flag on CAMHS. It has said:

“Serious concerns have existed for years about access to children and young people’s mental health services.”

The committee rightly looked at CAMHS during its inquiry and suggested a number of recommendations to address lengthy waiting lists and workforce capacity.

The report commends the work that NHS Grampian, in my region, has undertaken to improve waiting times for CAMHS, but I emphasise that that turnaround took roughly 10 years. That is time that the system simply does not have. As the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland has made clear, at one stage last year, more than 1 in every 100 young people was being referred to CAMHS. We cannot leave Scotland’s children and young people in limbo any longer.

The committee highlighted the role of schools in supporting health and wellbeing. I am pleased that schools have started to embed counselling services, but I am aware that there is a shortage of qualified and accredited counsellors in parts of the north-east, which means that some services might not be fully up and running for some time. We constantly come up against poor workforce planning by the SNP Government, and our public services are poorer for it.

The committee called on the Scottish Government to set out how it intends to increase rates of physical activity among children and young people—especially girls and young women. In her evidence, the Minister for Public Health, Women’s Health and Sport said, in relation to low participation levels in women’s sport:

“you cannot be what you cannot see”.—[Official Report, Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, 1 February 2022, c 35.]

In my region, there are some exceptional women who are leading the way in that area. They include Montrose Football Club Women, who recently won the Scottish Women’s Football Championship; Aberdeen-based cricket team Northern Lights, who won their debut match in the Women’s Premier League; and Hollie Davidson, who was the first female to referee a men’s six nations side in a test match. Those are the successes that we must celebrate and share to improve participation in women’s sport and achieve parity of recognition with men’s sport.

It is abundantly clear that the SNP-Green Government has the levers it needs to improve our public services, from health to education. This is not a question of powers but of good governance. The SNP needs to get its own house in order, yet it is already thinking about building a new one. Let us rebuild Scotland, not divide it.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I cannot hear Mr O’ Kane because there is a conversation going on.

I am delighted to speak in this afternoon’s debate. The Health, Social Care and Sport Committee carried out its inquiry into the health and wellbeing of children and young people before I became a member. I pay tribute to the convener, clerks, members, witnesses and stakeholders for such a substantial piece of work on a vital topic.

The committee’s inquiry was wide ranging, which is a reminder that so much has a bearing on the health and wellbeing of our young people—even before the significant impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is taken into consideration. I am especially pleased to see recommendations from the committee that relate to the mental and physical health of young women and girls. I sincerely hope that we will see action in those areas. What happens during the formative years can hugely affect later life, so we need to get our approach and interventions right.

The starting point of the committee’s inquiry was this question: is Scotland the best place for a child to grow up in? Given that the committee made 99 recommendations, there is still a long way to go, but that needs to becomes the reality.

In the past few weeks, the education secretary and the First Minister have been at odds over the timeline for closing the educational attainment gap. On the keystone policy commitment of Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP Government, the situation has got worse on the Government’s watch. There was a real-terms cut of almost £15 million from the children and families budget in the most recent spending review, but—predictably—the SNP still managed to find £20 million to fund preparations for another independence referendum.

Will I get the time back, Presiding Officer?

So the message could be that the recruitment of those 250 link workers should be sped up.

I have a general question for the panel. The pandemic has exacerbated systemic health inequalities. In your areas, have each of you identified one example of good practice, even if it is a small example, that could be applied more widely across Scotland? I will start with Richard Meade.

The Scottish Government has a target to have 250 link workers in surgeries. Toni, do you think that having link workers in surgeries would help people who come out of prison to integrate in the community when they need healthcare?

Sorry, that is a bigger issue. Is there one, tiny, small example of best practice that you have identified that could be applied more widely?

Richard, can you talk about link workers in surgeries?

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I would have voted yes.