Chamber and committees

In May, I joined Living Streets, the United Kingdom charity for active travel that encourages children to walk through walk to school week.

Our roads are seen as too dangerous for many, with casualties on the roads increasing since 2020. Will the cabinet secretary outline what measures the Scottish Government is taking to increase road safety and promote active travel, and will she assure me that projects for Transport Scotland’s road safety framework will be fully funded until 2030?

I have a lot to get through. I will give way in a minute.

Just this week, I heard from a constituent who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. He was told that his tumour is growing, but there is an eight-month wait for surgery and he has no idea when his treatment will start. He is living in fear for his health and is confused about when he will get help.

His experience is far from unique—in the past year, the number of Scots waiting more than a year for treatment has risen by a fifth, to almost 88,000 people. While that happens, £1.3 billion has been wasted on delayed discharges and £1.6 billion has been wasted on agency spending. The SNP is leaving Scottish taxpayers to be let down by the service that is supposed to be there for them in their time of greatest need.

Issues of underfunding are being seen in all our services. Ultimately, the public pay the price. That is clearest in our local authorities. Last month, it was found in an Accounts Commission report that Scottish councils have a budget gap of more than £0.5 billion for the year 2024-25. That is staggering. It represents millions of pounds of cuts to essential public services that the public rely on almost every day—more charges for bins, parking charges, less money for social care and less money for pools or for schools. It is shocking that the SNP decries Westminster austerity while constantly ignoring the concern that is raised by our local authorities about funding of their public services.

For Scotland and the United Kingdom to thrive, we must have economic growth. Our wish to pursue social justice and fund public services sustainably must be met with economic growth to create jobs and boost wages, but the SNP has not been able to deliver the necessary change. The people of Scotland deserve better. Labour market trends data shows that, in Scotland, economic inactivity is higher, unemployment is higher and the growth of pay is slower than they are in the rest of the UK. Rather than having a laser focus on growth, on raising funds for public services and on creating jobs, the SNP would prefer to cover up its shortfall by raising taxes on nurses.

The Scottish people have been let down on two fronts—by the Tories in Westminster, who caused chaos through Liz Truss’s fantasy economics, and by the SNP, which has poured fuel on that fire through mismanagement and waste. The people of Scotland need new leadership that will prioritise growth, reduce poverty and allow for greater investment in and reform of our public services. People in Scotland need change and new leadership—which they will get with Labour in Scotland and at Westminster.

I begin by paying tribute to our public service workforce who, in the past few years, have dealt with so much—the people in our NHS who put themselves at risk and treated people while many of us stayed at home during lockdown; our police force, who do a difficult job to keep us safe; our fire service, which saves lives every day; and all those whose roles are not public facing, yet they remain vitally important, all the same. It is unfortunate that many people in the sector spend so much time working harder to achieve less, in trying to cope with the consequences of the repeated underinvestment and chronic mismanagement that we have seen from the SNP Government.

I hear from constituents every week examples of our public services suffering from underinvestment, as does everyone in the chamber. We hear from people who are stuck on waiting lists for vital operations, whose lives are on hold.

We should write to the Minister for Higher and Further Education to highlight the evidence that the committee has gathered and to seek an update on the Government’s progress towards developing a consistent approach to data collection and safeguarding that will help to protect students.

Yes, it should, but should we not wait until Universities Scotland has updated us in October 2024?

My colleagues touched on that issue. My final question is this: does Redress Scotland agree with the former Deputy First Minister that the Fornethy survivors would not meet the evidential requirement, even if the scheme was extended?

Can we also try to find out what the barriers are that prevent women from various communities taking up cervical screening? Is there a way that we can ask for that data?

Yes, it does, although we should still write—

Good morning. I seek clarification on one point concerning cases being refused or not heard. Do you have a list of the evidence that can be accepted?

Employability schemes can be a key factor in people joining the workforce or for parents rejoining it after having a child. Despite that, the Scottish Government cancelled £53 million for employability schemes and scrapped the parental transition fund.

Will the minister advise how the Government will make up for the shortfall in funding for employability schemes? What other measures is the Scottish Government taking to get people into employment in Edinburgh?