Chamber and committees

I am sorry, but can I interject? My question was specifically about women. Some of the graphics show us that, for example, after MUP started, there was a drop-off in the hospital stays of males but not in those of women. I am trying to drill down on the women element of things, if that is possible.

I will not. Thank you.

That means that members of the armed forces will receive the same income, regardless of where they are domiciled in the UK.

We called for the introduction of a specific veterans help-to-buy scheme, to give veterans and their families more support when buying a home in Scotland. That idea to help people to get on the property ladder was shot down by the SNP. We would help to reinstate help to buy, and we would set up a specific element of the scheme to support armed forces veterans to step on to the property ladder and build their lives and homes in Scotland.

Like all members, the Scottish Conservatives want servicemen and servicewomen who choose to settle in Scotland on leaving our armed forces to know that they are settling in a land that is fit for heroes and that offers them and their families the most generous support in any part of the UK.

When I was out in my constituency last night, I met a veteran who, like all of us, wants to live and take an active role in their community. Members can imagine that we had quite an interesting discussion, given the current state of affairs in Europe. That veteran continues—as we all do—to be as patriotic as ever.

We support the “Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Action Plan”, and call on the Scottish Government to accept its recommendations and fund it generously, so that our veterans can fulfil their potential and get the support that they need. The plan, which was developed with the Scottish Veterans Care Network and published in December 2021, aims to ensure that veterans can lead healthy and positive lives and reach their full potential by accessing timely and high-quality wellbeing and mental health services, no matter where they live.

The action plan has been developed through extensive engagement and collaboration, and it makes 38 recommendations, as we have heard. Contributors to the plan included but were not limited to 80 veterans, integration joint boards, NHS colleagues, third sector veterans organisations, mental health and wellbeing services, the Ministry of Defence and national NHS boards. Although we recognise that the plan suggests timelines for delivery on goals, those will vary across Scotland, which is why we believe that the Scottish Government and partner agencies should aim to assess and implement the action plan’s 38 recommendations within 24 months.

As well as supporting the plan, the Scottish Conservatives have proposed an armed forces and veterans bill, in order to stand up for our soldiers. The bill would enshrine in law the armed forces covenant for devolved public bodies such as the NHS and local government. The armed forces covenant focuses on supporting members of the armed forces community in accessing education, having a home, starting a new career and accessing healthcare, financial assistance and discounted services. That is important to me, living where I live, in close proximity to Dreghorn and Redford barracks.

The Scottish Conservatives fought for our service personnel to be exempt from Scotland’s higher tax rates. The Scottish National Party broke its 2016 manifesto promise not to raise taxes. Its higher taxes were set to target more than 7,000 of our armed forces personnel. After my Scottish Conservative MP colleague John Lamont raised the issue in the House of Commons, the UK Government stepped in to provide a Scottish income tax mitigation for personnel earning more than £28,443.

I will not at the moment, thanks.

Invaluable work is done by non-government organisations. I pay tribute to the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen & Families Association—Forces Help, whose representatives I met in West Lothian prior to my election to the Scottish Parliament, because my sister was a volunteer with the charity. It is a UK charity that has groups across the country that provide lifelong support to serving men and women and to veterans of the British armed forces and their families and dependents. SSAFA helps the armed forces community in several ways, including with issues of addiction, relationship breakdown, debt, homelessness, post-traumatic stress, depression and disability.

As we have heard today, it is imperative that we recognise the stresses that families face when they support service personnel who are having difficulties. Partners often struggle as they support their loved ones, whether they are on active service or coming to terms with what they have faced. SSAFA focuses on rebuilding lives.

We want to make Scotland an attractive part of the UK for people who leave the armed forces to settle in. It is clear from what I have said today that the Scottish Conservatives continue to strive for that, day in and day out. The Scottish Conservatives will always stand up for our armed forces. Today, we thank each and every one of them for their service, and we remember those who have paid the ultimate price.

Like the minister, I have been elected to the Scottish Parliament and I will talk about Scottish issues.

As Gillian Mackay said earlier, how can dentists assess their patients’ clinical need if their patients cannot get an appointment to see them?

Brian Whittle highlighted the awful health inequalities faced by young people. There has been a sharp increase in the number of children having full extractions, and it should shock every one of us in the chamber to hear that some children in Scotland today do not even own a toothbrush. Child dental health is going backwards.

The SNP Government must do more to facilitate routine NHS dental care. As my colleague Dr Sandesh Gulhane said, the Scottish Government emergency funding package for NHS dentistry that was introduced at the start of the pandemic was not fit for purpose, but it was better than nothing. However, from 1 April, the SNP Government will cut that emergency funding while leaving all the infection control measures in place.

No, not at this stage, Mr Doris.

Dentists are usually paid based on each individual item of treatment that they provide but, during the pandemic, that funding mechanism has been superseded by top-up financial support that recognises that the additional infection control measures severely reduce the number of patients who can be seen. The SNP Government is not planning to reduce or remove those measures, even though it is withdrawing financial support.

We believe that the emergency Covid support cannot be withdrawn while strict infection control guidance remains in place. Top-up funding must be maintained for the upcoming financial year, while the Government decides on its long-term plan for the future. The British Dental Association has warned that the Government’s plan to end Covid support payments from April will devastate dental services across the country.

My colleague Finlay Carson highlighted the stark inequalities that are faced by families across rural Scotland and rightly reinforced the negative impact that the removal of funding on 1 April will have. That move means that the income of NHS dentists will be decimated, and many have stressed that it will make their position financially unviable.

Let us not forget that NHS dentistry in Scotland was in crisis before Covid hit. For too long now, people have gone without access to full NHS dental services. To tackle the unprecedented challenge, dental practices need support from the Scottish Government. We are calling on the SNP Government to work with dentists to prevent the collapse of NHS dentistry. It does not matter that treatment or enhanced examinations are free at the point of need, if people cannot get an appointment.

The cabinet secretary must get a grip of the situation and bring forward a credible plan to restore routine dental care and tackle the enormous backlog. The SNP will always put its independence obsession ahead of the national interest. The Scottish Conservatives—Scotland’s real alternative—are pushing for the full return of routine services and putting the people of Scotland first.

We have heard that, under the SNP, NHS dentistry is in crisis. Covid support is set to be withdrawn in two months’ time, while even before the pandemic the SNP was letting down NHS patients with its conveyor belt approach to dentistry.

Morale in the profession is at an all-time low, with more than a third of dentists saying that they intend to leave the profession in the next 12 months. One of my constituents in Edinburgh spoke to their dentist yesterday, who said that dentists feel as though they were abandoned during the pandemic. Dentists who are tuning in to the debate this afternoon have messaged me to say that they are quite concerned about and rightly furious with some of the Government’s comments.

Failure to act risks sparking an exodus from the workforce that will mean families across Scotland losing access to NHS dentistry for good. We, the Scottish Conservatives, acknowledge the concerns expressed by many in the profession and call upon the Scottish Government to come forward with a plan for ensuring the long-term sustainability of NHS dentistry. As Jackie Baillie rightly stated, the complacency that the Scottish Government has shown today should alarm us all.

More than 3.5 million NHS dental appointments were lost in Scotland because of the pandemic, and that unprecedented backlog continues to grow. It will take years to clear. Despite their best efforts to restore patient care, dental practices continue to operate considerably below pre-Covid levels. Attendance rates plummeted during the pandemic due to restrictions imposed on dental practices.

Just over half of registered patients have seen an NHS dentist in the past two years, which equates to more than 850,000 fewer patients being seen by NHS dentists compared to pre-pandemic levels. Dental inequalities are widening and the participation gap between the least and most deprived communities has widened dramatically.

Judith Proctor mentioned the outcome of the Scottish Government work and some of the issues around the turnover of senior staff in councils, the NHS and the integration authorities. How do the working conditions of more senior staff compare with those of the broader workforce in the social care sectors?

Annie Gunner Logan talked about how some senior leaders are out of the loop and are not part of the leadership effort, which might contribute to a lack of trust and a lack of understanding of one another’s working practices and business pressures. We have a lot of short-term posts and an ageing workforce. All those things affect people’s leadership capacity. What can be done to improve understanding? What role does the Scottish National Party Government have in building trust between the various sectors and leaderships?

I ask Annie Gunner Logan and Donald Macaskill to answer.

You will be glad to know that I am a red type.

I am trying to drill down into whether there is a safe space—an anonymous internal whistleblowing process—for reporting concerns. There is quite a lot of change and upheaval going on in your office, so I am wondering whether there is a secure place for that.