Chamber and committees

If the Scottish Government is not planning to amend the current legislation to allow survivors to claim redress, will it provide funding to allow the Fornethy survivors to pursue justice via legal means?

Welcome, Tim. It is good to see you here. I, too, have been involved with the issue before, and I think that the presentation that our colleague gave was great.

We need to recognise that swimming pools are closing. In West Lothian, three swimming pools recently closed, and I have a lot of constituents who are asking what support the Government is providing. I think that we should write to the Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport to seek the Scottish Government’s response to “The Future of Swimming Facilities in Scotland” report and ask for further details on the financial support being provided for swimming facilities.

Right—okay.

I agree with both of my colleagues. I understand that the UK National Screening Committee is conducting a review and that the next review is expected to be completed in 2024. Do we know exactly when in 2024 that will be, and will we be informed of the recommendations?

I totally agree with Oliver Mundell. Quite a lot of constituents have been saying to me that they cannot sleep at night if they have to make a phone call in the morning. The time window to call is between 8 and 9, and people cannot get through. Sometimes they are told to go online, but many people cannot go online. It is time for the Government to step up, talk to the GPs and find a solution, because it is a major issue.

I thank Kate Forbes for bringing this very important debate to the chamber. I have been involved in third sector organisations all my life, so I know the difficulties that they face.

Scotland’s third sector makes a vital contribution to Scottish society. Sadly, the contributions of that important sector are too often overlooked and undervalued. That is further represented in Scottish Government funding models, through which we see third sector organisations losing out time and again.

In January this year, I hosted a round-table meeting for third sector community organisations in the Lothian region. I was told by many community organisations that the current grant and funding model is confusing and time consuming for smaller organisations, which do not have dedicated fundraising managers, which means that smaller third sector community organisations lose out and cannot provide the services that are desperately needed in their communities.

Acknowledging the economic contribution of the third sector means accepting the need for more investment and support to keep those vital organisations up and running. The Royal Society of Edinburgh’s report on the economic contribution of the third sector in Scotland highlighted that the third sector is often overlooked as a source of wealth generation and is rarely included in national or local growth strategies.

In order to reap the reward of the vast economic contribution that the third sector makes we must give it the recognition and funding that it deserves. The Scottish Government has made commitments to a wellbeing economy, but those commitments cannot be reached without the important work of the third sector.

The range of work that is done by the third sector is incredibly wide and long lasting. Since 2020, increases in use of food banks and in use of temporary accommodation and the increase in energy prices have meant a significant increase in demand for services.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, and subsequently, third sector organisations worked around the clock to provide support, but because of the current financial situation, core funding is reducing and many vital organisations cannot offer the level of support that they once offered. We will see the impact of that in our economy if more investment is not made.

It is clear that barriers still exist to allowing wider recognition of the third sector in Scotland. The RSE report highlights that there appears to be “cultural resistance” to involving charities and other social organisations in programmes. The report also highlights that charities often feel that they are not taken as seriously or deemed to be as “professional” as other organisations. That culture leads to third sector organisations missing out on opportunities to expand and to contribute to our economy and society as a whole. Its contributions are vital and we should support them.

I welcome the report and hope that it will lead to barriers to access being torn down and to third sector organisations getting the recognition and support that they deserve.

I apologise: I will not be able to stay until the end of the debate, because it is Ramadan.

Figures suggest that, in Scotland, we use more than double the sustainable limit of materials. To tackle the climate crisis, we must tackle overconsumption and create a circular economy where materials are valued and can be cycled around for as long as possible. However, the current Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill does not go far enough to do that and it seems more like a recycling bill than a full circular economy bill. It does not provide a thorough enough framework for action and it does not provide for the aims to be successfully implemented, monitored and evaluated across all areas of a circular economy to ensure that Scotland meets important climate targets.

More emphasis is needed on opportunities for carbon-based consumption reduction targets and ambitious interim targets to be implemented and measured so that we can ensure that the bill meets its purpose in tackling climate change. More attention must also be given to how implementation of the bill will work with third parties, including local businesses and local authorities.

If we have learned anything from the deposit return scheme debacle, it is that the Scottish Government must create thorough, actionable policies that have been thought out in partnership with businesses and local authorities and that do not place significant bureaucratic burdens on small and medium-sized enterprises. Some sectors have already been able to take steps to reuse materials, and the Scottish Government should build on that by helping local businesses to improve their reuse and recycling processes.

The Scottish Government will need to work alongside and properly resource local authorities. Instead, so far, there has been a significant underestimation of the funding that will be needed to enable our local authorities to deliver a circular economy, which has left them with yet another funding crisis that they will have to precariously juggle.

It is important that the bill recognises and prioritises a climate justice approach. Research by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts a worrying future, with a rise in the number of migrants who will be displaced because of climate effects. The bill should provide a stable circular economy that supports climate refugees, not an economy that contributes to the problems that cause people to be displaced from their home countries.

We must build a strong, skilled and engaged workforce. The introduction of a circular economy skills passport could result in people being upskilled to work in the reuse and repair sector and could support access to sustainable economic opportunities.

To achieve climate justice through the bill, there must be monitoring of, and accountability for, exported materials to ensure that Scotland does not simply move its waste to other countries and shift the climate burden in its mission to meet its own waste targets.

The bill will not change public behaviour overnight. We need more investment in charity projects that will change behaviour and facilitate the cultural shift that is needed to support a circular economy by helping people to acquire more sustainable lifestyles through awareness of the need to reduce, reuse and repair.

I recently co-sponsored with Maggie Chapman a circular economy showcase fashion show outside the Scottish Parliament. The event was a collaborative initiative between Friends of the Earth Scotland, Plastic Free Communities Scotland, Edinburgh street stitchers, Shrub Coop, Reset Scenery, the Marine Conservation Society, Circular Communities Scotland and the Edinburgh and Lothians Regional Equality Council, which I chair—I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests. The showcase demonstrated how we could transform how we view and use materials, and it exposed the potential for a circular economy if the bill provides a sufficient structural and cultural basis for change.

Working towards a circular economy is the right direction to go in, but we cannot have a half-hearted attempt with ill-thought-out implementation mechanisms, weak and hollowed-out targets, poor monitoring of effectiveness and a lack of support for industry and local authorities. As the bill progresses through the Parliament, Scottish Labour is committed to ensuring that it is properly scrutinised and made as robust as possible in order that Scotland’s commitment to climate action is progressed and a more sustainable planet can be built for all.

I recently met the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians, which outlined the dire situation with high rates of maternal and infant mortality and morbidity in Palestine. Can the minister please advise what steps the Scottish Government is taking to ensure that the aid that Scotland sends is available to reach new and expectant mothers in Gaza?

Yes.

When delegated powers that are exercisable within devolved competence are not mentioned in an LCM, does that mean that the Scottish Government is content with the UK Government’s proposal to take those powers? We ask that question in the context of recently considering the LCM for the UK Parliament’s Criminal Justice Bill, which did not mention ancillary or commencement powers that conferred powers on UK ministers in the devolved areas.