I join members in welcoming the continued recognition of Scotland as a fair trade nation. It is a testament not only to the work of campaigners and businesses that promote and stock fair trade goods but to Scotland’s role as an outward-looking global nation.

A Scottish Labour Government kick-started the process in 2007 for Scotland to be recognised as a fair trade nation. However, the history of the movement goes far beyond that. The modern fair trade movement is said to have started after world war two with an American woman called Edna Ruth Byler, who would buy lace products from women in Puerto Rico for a truly fair price and sell them to her friends. She said:

“I’m just a woman trying to help other women.”

Those simple principles of support, fairness and trade justice remain to this day.

Since then the movement has grown massively, with the UK’s own fair trade certification turning 31 this year, generating millions in premiums for producers, improving their lives, and building their communities.

Edinburgh has played a role in the fair trade movement. On George Street, in the centre of the city, sits Hadeel, a fair trade shop selling Palestinian goods and providing a source of income for artisans and farmers. The University of Edinburgh is one of Scotland’s three universities with Fairtrade status. Edinburgh itself gained Fairtrade city status in 2004.

The Edinburgh Fairtrade city steering group organises events marking Fairtrade fortnight such as the Fairtrade festival and displays in Edinburgh’s libraries. That commitment has led to Edinburgh hosting the Fair Trade Towns International conference this August, bringing together producers and campaigners from across the world to discuss the benefits of fair trade and how we can use fair trade to meet the sustainable development goals.

I have heard at first hand about the impact of fair trade through the cross-party group on Bangladesh. We heard from a representative of Community Crafts, a fair trade organisation that has operated for more than 40 years, giving marginalised women the opportunity to make a fair wage by creating products from upcycled saris. Those products are sold right here, in Edinburgh, at One World Shop, which I visited last year and which has sold only fair trade goods for more than 40 years. The representative from Community Crafts was in Scotland to find more buyers for their goods. That shows the strength of feeling towards fair trade here in Scotland, and its powerful global effects.

However, given the continued prevalence of poor working practices and exploitation in the production of the clothes that we wear, or the technology that we use every day, there is still much more to achieve. Fair trade in Bangladesh, especially, can be a powerful force for achieving climate justice. Producers in the global south can be considered to have done the least to cause the climate crisis, but they face the greatest loss from climate change. For a multinational corporation, a changing climate may mean a loss on the balance sheet, but for a small-scale farmer, it means losing their livelihood. With fair trade, producers are better able to adapt and protect their livelihood and communities.

I note the story of Colombian coffee co-operative Red Ecolsierra, which, through fair trade, was able to invest in sustainable growing practices, such as shade trees and better coffee drying. However, we must keep working to maximise the benefit of being a fair trade nation.

Colin Smyth has already discussed procurement and a standard definition, which are positive steps. We should also be looking to further encourage businesses across all sectors to adopt fair trade practices and to support them to build sustainable ethical supply chains by renewing and strengthening the Scottish businesses pledge.

I would welcome any further work to embed and encourage the principles of fair trade all across our economy. The strength of the fair trade movement in Scotland is something that we should be proud of. While much of the world seems to be turning inwards, with fair trade, we can make a positive case for co-operation and friendship.

I raised Islamophobia with the First Minister just two weeks ago. The abhorrent attack on Aberdeen Mosque and Islamic Centre demonstrates that Scotland is not immune to hatred, so I welcome the First Minister’s condemning it today. Will he outline what action is being taken to protect mosques during Ramadan? Does he agree that education is key to combating Islamophobia and hatred of all forms?

Yes.

Members indicated agreement.

We need to keep in mind that a lot of religious people do not like dogs walking over their graves. We need to start inspecting. Can we ask local councils whether they have enough signs in cemeteries to make it clear that there should not be any dogs?

I think that we should write to the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and seek its view on the petition, because I feel that the Scottish Government is washing its hands of this, and we need some guidance from COSLA to see whether there is something that can be done.

We could write to COSLA to seek its view on the petition and whether it believes that the actions taken by the Scottish Government are enough.

I agree with my colleagues. It is very important that we ask the Scottish Government to work with the petitioner and to provide a timeline.

In the light of what Mr Sweeney has said, we should write to the Scottish Government seeking further information on the working group with the third sector representatives and other interested parties, specifically on whether consideration is still being given to the development of a national pilot scheme for the delivery of free bus travel for people seeking asylum, and on when it expects the working group to offer recommendations on the practical delivery of free bus travel on a longer-term basis.

We should take the suggestions from Jackie Baillie to the Scottish Government and ask it to reconsider. We should write to the Government to seek its view on the suggestions from the Scottish Forum of Community Councils on a way of allocating planning decisions to the most appropriate level.

The report from Shelter Scotland is uncomfortable and depressing reading, but, unfortunately, for many members, it will be unsurprising, and it merely confirms what we have heard from our constituents. It is an indictment of an SNP Government that allowed the housing emergency to grow and grow. That is especially true in Edinburgh, which has the highest number of children who are waiting in temporary accommodation of anywhere in Scotland. The report’s findings are stark and they show that children are being failed and that their rights are not being met.

Last year, north Edinburgh parents action group published a similar report, and both reports identify common issues that people in temporary accommodation face—particularly mould and damp. The Shelter report states that

“dampness, mould, and inadequate maintenance were observable and pervasive features of children’s daily lives”.

Damp and mould were described as causing “discomfort and fear” in children and “frustration and stress” in parents, who faced great concern about their children’s health and could not get these issues fixed for months. That situation does not meet a child’s right to an adequate standard of living or best health.

Crime and antisocial behaviour were also features of children’s and parents’ experience. One family with a four-year-old mentioned neighbours consistently shouting and threatening to kill each other at night. Many parents restricted children’s outdoor play due to crime and drug taking. Those issues alone are harmful to children’s development and health, but we must stress the compounding nature of these experiences.

Research shows that a child who cannot sleep due to antisocial behaviour is more likely to do poorly at school. A parent being stressed and anxious in their life situation can cause a child to be stressed and anxious. Years spent in temporary accommodation have lifelong consequences, so investing in housing, raising standards and, most important, lowering the waiting time for social housing will benefit us all in the long term.

The conditions that are described in the report are appalling and shame us all. They fall far short of what vulnerable children need and deserve. Shelter’s recommendations should be implemented by the Scottish Government. I have called for Awaab’s law to be implemented in Scotland, to ensure that damp and mould are addressed, so I welcome the fact that the Scottish Government is in favour of that.

Children lose out socially and educationally when they move schools, so we should keep them in the same school unless it is absolutely necessary to move them.

Above all, we need to build more social housing. That is the clearest demand in the report. The current rate of social and private house building does not touch the sides and must be accelerated.

As we approach a year since the housing emergency was declared, the report serves as a painful reminder that a failure to act is failing Scotland’s children.