Chamber and committees

Many Scots will be driving to visit family and friends over Christmas. The RAC has warned that the next few days will be the busiest festive travel period in a decade. With such a high volume of motorists on the road network, I thank Pam Gosal for securing the time to debate the pothole emergency this afternoon—and it is an emergency.

It is one of those topics about which people say, “What are you talking about?” If someone asks what our last debate was about and you say, “Potholes”, they will ask, “Potholes?” but, actually, at the moment, everybody has a pothole story, either from their own experience or their family’s. Therefore, it is an issue, and it is an emergency right now. Constituents across the north-east raise the issue consistently.

Potholes are a menace. They are costing cash-strapped councils millions of pounds and they are costing drivers hundreds of pounds in repairs. This is during a cost of living crisis, so people feel that cost even more. Potholes can cause burst tyres, engine issues and even collisions. They can affect lives and livelihoods. This week, when I said that I was going to make a speech on potholes, one constituent told me that her son had written off his car, driving from Carnoustie to Arbroath, after going over a pothole at night, that she said he could not see. Fortunately, he was lucky and he survived, but too many other drivers and cyclists have been badly injured because of road defects.

Unfortunately, councils are trying to make up for shortfalls in funding, and they are having to magic up money that they simply do not have for repairs.

I have been contacted by women’s support services in my region about the devastating impact of Labour’s national insurance hikes.

One service estimates that the hikes will cost £9,000. The service’s budgets are already cut to the bone and it has waiting lists of six months or more. It will likely have to lose a practitioner, and the impact on survivors will be absolutely awful.

People from the services are watching proceedings today to hear your answer to my question. What action is the Scottish Government taking to ensure the sustainability of those vital services, so that all survivors receive the vital support that they need?

Last week, Aberdeenshire health and social care partnership emphasised that

“there has been no funding from Scottish Government to support initiatives to manage seasonal pressures”.

Crucially, it added:

“As such, there are limited additional levers that can be introduced to manage surges in demand at this time”.

Given that NHS Grampian is already at crisis point, how can the Scottish National Party Government seriously expect community health and social care services to tackle rising demand when they have not been given the resources to address it?

At the Beira’s Place event that I co-sponsored with Claire Baker last week, we heard alarming feedback about what is going on and the frightening frequency of non-fatal strangulation. Within six to eight seconds, a woman loses consciousness. After 15 seconds, her bladder will be incontinent. After 30 seconds, her bowels will open. She will be brain dead within four minutes. I note the First Minister’s remarks to Michelle Thomson, and I implore him to take a look at the law.

I note that the First Minister referred to Fiona Drouet, whose daughter Emily tragically took her own life in Aberdeen after being choked by her boyfriend. If the First Minister believes that common assault reflects the gravity of the crime, I ask him to consider meeting the experts and campaigners and to do that in a cross-party way—as he did with placental growth factor testing—and to explore why they are all calling for legislative change.

Minister, you say that you have not been involved with the issue. It is a horrific crime. It is about mutilation. It is about violence against women and girls. When I read the papers for this meeting, I was disturbed and shocked that nothing has been done in four years. I read Pam Gosal’s question, which was from years ago. I am shocked and appalled. You say, “Oh well, it will happen in 2026”, but 2026 is the next election. Minister, you are kicking the can down the road, and letting women and girls down.

Do you accept that the women who contributed to the consultation on the bill years ago are not just disappointed that the act has not been implemented, but appalled, shocked, upset and let down, especially given that, as my colleague Maggie Chapman said, there is a report saying that there has been a 50 per cent increase in cases? Do you accept that it is not good enough? For you to say that you are not involved is shameful.

It is one of the key stakeholders.

The Law Society of Scotland has expressed a view that

“a formal decision never to bring the provisions into force would be unlawful.”

Maybe you have not made a formal decision not to bring the act into force, but you have been back-pedalling and doing very little to implement it.

Nel Whiting mentioned the police, COSLA and local authorities. Not once have you mentioned general practitioners and the national health service. Why are GPs and the NHS not part of the stakeholder mapping?

That is one. What about the others?

I would just like to know why you have missed out the NHS and GPs.