Chamber and committees

I, too, thank Ruth Maguire for securing the time for this debate on such an important issue. Her work and Rhoda Grant’s work on the topic long pre-date my time in the Scottish Parliament.

I understand that how Scotland addresses prostitution and protects vulnerable women has been discussed and debated in this chamber many times but, as Ivan McKee pointed out, there has, sadly, still been no real resolution. The Scottish Government’s 2021 programme for government committed

“to develop a model for Scotland which effectively tackles and challenges men’s demand for prostitution.”

Work is on-going, but the commercial sexual exploitation of women continues every day, often with harrowing consequences.

There are questions over the policy approach to a model for Scotland. Do we tackle prostitution in law or through other mechanisms? How do we change behaviour and reduce demand? How do we mitigate the unintended consequences of criminalising the purchase of sex? There are ideological questions, too. If two consenting adults agree to the purchasing of sex, should that be acceptable in the eyes of the law? Can there ever be an equal distribution of power in a situation where sex with women is a commodity bought by men?

Ruth Maguire’s motion focuses on international insights and learning, but I note that the Netherlands is not mentioned. Some time ago, I lived and worked in the Netherlands, where prostitution is legal as long as it involves sex between consenting adults. The Netherlands has a liberal approach in which prostitution is normalised, and I have reflected on that for many years. Since I was elected, however, I have opened conversations with sexual violence support services and advocacy groups such as Beira’s Place and the Women’s Support Project, and they have had a massive impact on me.

Prostitution is not about pleasure or gratification; it is about exploitation and violence. I am still developing my position on how we address such a complex issue, but the immovable starting point for me is how we best protect vulnerable women from coercion, violence and abuse. In the Netherlands, the fact that prostitution is legal does not make it safe. Forced prostitution, underage prostitution and unsafe working conditions still happen, but underreporting to police about what happens in the room is common practice because of prejudice. I note with interest that the Dutch Government has been working to improve the social and legal position of sex workers.

Diane Martin CBE, chair of A Model for Scotland, has urged the Scottish Government to be courageous as it tackles the sex trade. I pay tribute to her courage and her work, and I hope that MSPs will answer her call to action as we look at how to protect women from sexual violence.

The SNP says that the NHS has record staffing levels, but the SNP does not like to hear the truth. The reality is that the NHS has massive vacancies and high staff turnover. Annie Wells described the failure to recruit more GPs and said that spending on agency staff has quadrupled in two years. She also said that there are more than 5,000 nursing vacancies in NHS Scotland and that staff turnover is at its highest rate in a decade.

The complacency of the SNP Government as the NHS spirals is staggering. As we have heard in the debate, from waiting times to workforce planning the NHS is in crisis. National treatment centres were touted by Humza Yousaf as the cure-all for capacity problems, but now the SNP has hit the brakes on NHS capital projects. You just could not make it up.

Almost 830,000 patients are on NHS waiting lists—a figure that is barely believable. A patient in Tayside waited almost four and a half years for orthopaedic surgery. Another in Grampian waited three years and 179 days for cataract surgery. The impact on patient treatment and staff morale is profound, and there is no end in sight.

The beleaguered health secretary has been distracted and has been more preoccupied with saving his own job than he has with plugging the gaps in NHS vacancies. Jackie Baillie highlighted promises that have been made by the SNP-Green Government, such as its promise to eliminate completely the longest waits in planned care. She gave it a “Fail, fail, fail, fail,” and she said that Michael Matheson has been distracted by personal scandals.

Michael Matheson apologised for the unacceptable waits. He gave us more spin about £1 billion for NHS recovery and the national strategy. He talked about transformation, but those are just words—they are not worth the paper that they are written on. It is statistical spin yet again, but people see the reality on the ground. He deflects, whether to Wales, Westminster or the pandemic. Why do we not believe what the cabinet secretary says any more?

Sandesh Gulhane said that the First Minister and cabinet secretary come to the chamber, make an announcement then fail to deliver, and then defend their record by tripping out spin and promising that lessons will be learned. Just look at CAMHS. As Sandesh Gulhane said, Humza Yousaf promised to clear CAMHS waiting times by March 2023. That matters, because poor mental health robs children of their childhood. Jamie Greene talked about the shocking and despicable lack of action on CAMHS waiting times. He described waits in his constituency of 91 weeks for a first appointment. He also asked where the Greens are. I notice that two Greens miraculously just turned up near the end of the debate, but did not listen to any of it.

Jamie Greene also talked about “creeping ineptitude in Government”, and Bob Doris said that

“not a single new idea”

is coming forward from anyone else. You’ve had 17 years, Bob Doris.

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to review the consultation process for energy infrastructure projects. (S6O-02961)

Scotland deserves a fresh approach to deliver a modern, efficient and local NHS, but the stark reality is that, although winter for the NHS is especially difficult, it is now “Condition: critical” for the health service all year round. Seventeen years of SNP mismanagement means that the system is at breaking point. The buck stops at Bute house, and there is no one else to blame.

North-east residents who are affected by the Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks pylon and substation proposals have increasingly shared their concerns with me about the consultation process for the new infrastructure. They feel that it is being railroaded through. That has impacted the community’s wellbeing and has caused significant distress to many. Surely there must be a better way of engaging with affected residents. As energy infrastructure projects ramp up, will the minister commit to listening to communities about the way in which the consultations are run and work with the developers to improve them?

Are you able to give a figure for the costs and a timescale for remedial action?

Just to confirm, there were no significant costs and there was no significant remedial action.

So there is no extra money.

I have a question about reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete. It is not clear exactly how many properties are affected by RAAC or what the remedial action will be. Can you give us an idea of the cost, based on surveys that have taken place to date, and how long the remedial action will take? Over what period will it be carried out?