Mr Johnson has almost answered the questions that I have on amendments 9 and 8. He has spoken about historic alliances that have come about from various parties across the chamber, but the difference is that the rest of us are all sitting here as members of only one party.

I still interpret amendments 9 and 8 as giving the Labour Party and those who are Co-operative Party members an unfair advantage over others sitting in the chamber. Despite what he said to Mr Stephen Kerr about third-party expenditure being included to ensure proper accounting, I still have concerns and the amendments are a challenge for me.

Mr Johnson called them useful amendments, but I am also concerned that they might not be quite as useful for Parliament as they are for the members who sit with the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party.

Scottish Conservatives understand that electoral policy does not stand still and that the bill will update the law in time for the 2026 Holyrood election. Electoral reform that improves the running of Scottish elections and, at the same time, makes our democracy more transparent is very welcome, and I thank the minister for working closely with us throughout stages 2 and 3.

Although my colleague Annie Wells’s amendments were not pressed to a vote, it was important to debate the issues that she presented to the chamber. Earlier, Martin Whitfield acknowledged the challenges with balancing various rights. I do not believe that sex offenders should ever be allowed to hold public office, regardless of the level, so I hope that, at some point, the Government will take the bold step of reviewing that complex issue, because I do not believe that it can be ignored.

I will briefly touch on the amendments that focused on dual mandates, whether they involve councillors, MSPs, MPs or members of the House of Lords. I am quite relieved that the proposals will first have to go to consultation in order for us to gain a better understanding of the unintended consequences that they might have, and that some of them may progress no further than that. Martin Whitfield mentioned some of the pragmatic elements in relation to costs and having elections that are run concurrently, given the different electoral methods—and the instances of different incorrect instructions that have happened in the past.

I certainly hope that any consultation will be open and fair, and that views will be accepted without any prejudged conclusions. I had a dual mandate for a period of 12 months: I was a councillor for the Pentland Hills ward in Edinburgh while I was a regional MSP for Lothian. It was a genuine privilege to do both, and I believe that there was not a second during that period when I let down any of my constituents, either as a councillor or as an MSP. I say to Mr Cole-Hamilton that that is perhaps because it was not hundreds and hundred of miles away, but just up the hill.

I do not think that I would ever have become an MSP had I not been a councillor first. My involvement in local government was a great place to gain experience and cut my political teeth while letting me stay heavily involved in my local community and learn more about what other opportunities in politics exist, such as being an MSP or an MP. If that was no longer possible, I know that this Parliament would suffer from missing out on a diverse range of potential MSPs.

A lot has been made of elected representatives double jobbing and taking double pay while they do dual roles. As an Edinburgh councillor, the payroll system made it quite straightforward for me to arrange for my councillor salary to go directly to two nominated charities in the Pentland Hills ward, without the money ever coming to me or my bank account. It was an honour to support those two charities for the period of 12 months, and I know from feedback that the money was spent locally and directly supported families and individuals in need.

The minister highlighted some of Bob Doris’s amendments that spoke to the high rates of spoiled ballots, and Martin Whitfield spoke about some of the animations that we all see. We also heard Ross Greer’s ideas about compulsory registration—or, rather, automatic registration, to get the terminology right.

So much of what we have heard today was also discussed before this afternoon. As Mr Greer pointed out, maximising participation will enhance the trust that people have in politicians. We all need that to be restored quickly.

With the Scottish Government introducing further electoral reform legislation next year, in readiness for implementation in time for the next Holyrood election, we will work constructively with colleagues from across the chamber when the time comes, as we have done so far.

The minister spoke of the many planned consultations. I hope that they will be managed to ensure that there is successful engagement and that the public does not get consultationitis. It is, after all, in all our interests to create a more transparent and smoothly run Scotland in which people across the country go to the polls to choose their elected representatives.

The minister called this Parliament’s bill. To conclude, I formally state that the Scottish Conservatives will support the Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Bill.

It does not own the buses.

Bus passengers in Edinburgh face longer journeys under the council’s plans to cut speed limits from 60mph to 20mph. The proposed changes are expected to cost £850,000 and would affect 66 roads in Edinburgh. Lothian Buses has raised concerns that the slower traffic will affect journey times for passengers, adding to the misery that commuters face across our capital. Only 18 fines for breaching the 20mph speed limit in Edinburgh have been issued since 2020-21. Without enforcement, it is nothing more than an expensive box-ticking exercise. Does the cabinet secretary agree that introducing more 20mph limits will increase congestion and journey times and do nothing to encourage people to use public transport?

Edinburgh’s population has grown over the past decade, along with complexities in policing the capital. However, that population growth has not been matched by a rise in divisional resources for Police Scotland, which has floated at around 1,100 officers in Edinburgh for most of this year. Maintaining numbers is not enough for the city.

I witnessed the pressures first hand when I went out with officers from Wester Hailes police station in south-west Edinburgh, and the strain became evident to all in the firework-related violence that we saw last month.

What action will the cabinet secretary take to ensure that Edinburgh has policing resources that are fit for a capital and match its growing population? [Interruption.]

I thank the cabinet secretary for advance sight of her statement. I also pay tribute to the hundreds of people who have been injured and have lost their lives on the A96, and to the emergency workers who are left picking up the pieces.

Communities that use the A96 will rightly feel betrayed by the cabinet secretary’s response today. The Scottish National Party is once again kicking a decision on the A96 further down the road, despite committing to dualling it in 2011, 13 years ago. In the general election campaign, and less than three hours ago, the First Minister said that he was committed to dualling the A96. However, the cabinet secretary, instead of fulfilling those promises to communities on the A96, is betraying them.

The cabinet secretary admits in her statement that the SNP Government will break its promise and that the A96 will not be dualled by 2030. Worse still, the door has been left open to rowing back on that promise entirely. That would be unacceptable to communities that rely on that road. Will the cabinet secretary jettison the so-called refined approach and finally keep the SNP’s promise to dual the A96 between Aberdeen and Inverness?

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support mental health services across NHS Lothian. (S6O-04020)

During the past fortnight, we have spent a significant amount of time discussing the topic that Claire Baker has brought to the chamber this afternoon—tackling abuse of bus drivers. We support the calls in the Scottish Labour motion. Unite the union has found that an alarming 84 per cent of bus drivers have experienced abuse in the past 12 months and that drivers are frequently beaten, spat upon and threatened by teenagers.

Members might recall that, at First Minister’s question time on 14 November, I asked the First Minister to outline what action the Scottish Government is taking to protect drivers and to clamp down on under-22s who abuse their free bus pass by committing antisocial behaviour. Mr Swinney’s response was helpful in that he confirmed that he would explore the point that I had put to him and determine whether any action could be taken. Only yesterday, the cabinet secretary wrote to me advising of the commitment to addressing that pressing issue, and findings and recommendations are expected by the end of the year. The need for that to be a priority is clear.

Next week, as we have already heard, I, Claire Baker and Mark Ruskell will host a round-table meeting in Parliament about the safety of bus drivers. I am glad to hear that the minister, Mr Fairlie, will also be in attendance. We will discuss the growing level of abuse towards bus drivers and how it can be tackled. A variety of stakeholders will attend, including Unite the union, FirstBus, Young Scot, Police Scotland and the Confederation of Passenger Transport. We have also heard that, on 14 December 2023, my colleague Graeme Simpson held a members’ business debate to discuss reports of antisocial behaviours on buses.

I want to go into some detail about the card curfews and confiscations that the Scottish Conservatives have been calling for.

Will the member take an intervention?

Veterans First Point—V1P—Lothian is a vital service that supports veterans with their mental health and wellbeing. On 28 October, following NHS Lothian’s decision to withdraw its joint funding of the service, all new referrals to V1P were paused and the service faces an uncertain future. What discussions has the Scottish Government had with NHS Lothian about that vital mental health service? Will the minister provide me with an update on the future of V1P Lothian?