Chamber and committees

Post-mortem scanners, which have been trialled in Lancashire, have been reported to decrease the time that is taken to receive post-mortem results and, in certain cases, to remove the need for an invasive post-mortem and the removal of organs. What discussion has the Scottish Government had with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service regarding the potential time-saving qualities of post-mortem scanners in Scotland?

The future of the Edinburgh deaf festival is at threat following the rejection of two successive bids for Creative Scotland funding. The festival has been highly praised for its success in showcasing deaf performers’ art, culture and heritage, along with Edinburgh’s festival fringe. Can the cabinet secretary outline how the Scottish Government plans to encourage both British Sign Language and deaf communities in the culture and arts sector in Scotland, to ensure that our vast cultural landscape is inclusive and accessible to all?

Nature can be used as a first line of defence against the impacts of the global climate crisis, but we must not only look at protecting the existing nature and species that we have; we must also make targeted moves towards restoring what has been lost. That means ensuring that there are green spaces in urban areas. It means investing in our rural lands and nature reserves, and it means taking an integrated, targeted and cross-portfolio approach.

Scottish peatlands contain unique carbon-catching properties. In its 2023-24 programme for government, the Scottish Government made a commitment to restore 10,700 hectares of degraded peatlands over the course of the next year. I welcome that investment in nature and climate restoration and hope to see the targets achieved this year. In the fight against climate change, we need to focus on that just as much as on prevention.

The climate and nature emergencies are deeply connected and must be tackled together. We are at a crucial turning point for nature restoration in Scotland. Investment in nature and our natural spaces is vital to reduce biodiversity decline. Scotland’s native species inspire and sustain our health and culture. However, one in nine wildlife species in Scotland is at risk of extinction. We need to evaluate the abundance and distribution of species in our natural spaces and monitor the extinction risk to ensure that we are taking the right course of preventative action.

We must also monitor whether the extent and quality of habitats for those species is up to standard. Targets for nature restoration must drive ambitious action across Scotland across multiple levels and portfolios, similarly to the successful mainstreaming of climate change targets.

We must pair this great investment in Scottish nature with efforts to tackle climate change around the globe. A recent report on climate inequality by Oxfam outlined that the richest 1 per cent of humanity is responsible for more carbon emissions than the poorest 66 per cent.

This week, I returned from a cross-party group visit to Bangladesh. There, we can see at first hand the impact that climate inequality is having in the global south. Going into COP28, we must ensure that climate justice is at the forefront of our minds. Nature restoration targets should involve helping countries that are disproportionately affected by the climate crisis to adapt to long-term climate-related changes.

Scotland needs to engage in multifaceted responses. That means climate mitigation, adaptation and support to ensure that climate justice for all countries can be realised on our global path to net zero and nature restoration.

As always, there are supply issues for those with type 2 diabetes. The recent report by Diabetes Scotland on its “Diabetes Tech Can’t Wait” campaign highlighted that only 14.5 per cent of adults with type 1 diabetes are using an insulin pump and only 5.9 per cent are using continuous glucose monitors. Does the minister agree that more funding is vital to provide fair and equal access to life-saving diabetes technology across Scotland?

Place-based approaches to culture are vital. They enable communities to make decisions about culture that best suit the needs and wants of the local population and allow much-needed local engagement in Scotland’s culture. I welcome the announcement of an extra £100 million for the arts and culture budget and await further details of that. However, the report and the committee’s pre-budget scrutiny highlight that questions still need to be answered, given the dire situation that our culture sector faces.

As Karen Adam and Keith Brown rightly pointed out, we are in a difficult financial situation and the culture sector is feeling the brunt of it. I have been contacted by a number of organisations and event organisers whose future remains uncertain due to continued funding cuts in the arts. As a result, Scotland’s culture sector hangs in the balance. A straightforward and coherent approach to protecting Scotland’s unique culture and heritage is crucial. Cuts and short-term, project-based funding schemes jeopardise the ability of cultural programmes to reflect the communities that they serve. Our culture sector needs long-term, sustained funding. Community organisations cannot continue to operate while wondering when the next funding cuts will be, so long-term and continued funding is the only way that a place-based approach to culture in communities can work. Without it, community organisations cannot plan ahead, commit to cultural events or ensure the progress of culture in their own communities.

A successful place-based approach to culture must also address the individual needs of people in each community. The report rightly recognises the important role that volunteers play in supporting community-led cultural activities. However, Neil Bibby rightly pointed out the need to address the disparity when communities do not have the capacity or resources to sustain long-term volunteering.

In addition, the cultural needs of one community might not be the same as those of another. Scotland is a diverse place, so there must be a targeted approach to ensure that each community’s unique needs are being met. A place-based approach must also acknowledge the unique cultural heritage and history of individual communities. It must recognise the multicultural heritage and make-up of communities across Scotland and work towards meeting the needs of the many, not the few.

A place-based approach to culture is what best serves our communities, but that cannot be fully implemented without decision making being handed back to the local communities. Decentralisation will bring decision making closer to home and put it back into the hands of those who are directly impacted. Local communities know their own cultural needs best. By giving communities a choice and a say in shaping the cultural life of their communities, we will help to strengthen and improve multiculturalism and Scotland’s rich cultural heritage.

Finally, despite the Scottish Government’s commitments to culture, access to cultural spaces in communities is on the decline. Giving power to the communities to implement their own cultural activities will go nowhere if local spaces are not made available to bring them to life.

Alexander Stewart rightly pointed out that there is immense pressure on many community arts groups to rescue spaces that are used for community cultural activities. There are some success stories in that regard, such as North Edinburgh Arts, in my region, but the current crisis that the sector faces means that many community organisations’ spaces are still at threat of closure. That is particularly the case in deprived urban areas, where individuals may feel further removed from engaging in culture. We must ensure that spaces are open and maintained in order to allow communities to meet the cultural needs of individuals and to encourage everyone to engage in local cultural and arts settings.

Yesterday, the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture announced funding of £6.8 million for the cultural sector in 2023-24. I welcome that news. However, long-term and sustained funding for courses and qualifications must go hand in hand with that to ensure that the culture sector has the skills and talent that it needs. What discussions has the cabinet secretary had with ministerial colleagues in the culture sector to ensure that culture is encouraged and kept alive in our educational system?

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to help schools to support children who wish to pursue a career in the culture and arts sector. (S6O-02734)

I apologise to members and the ministers for my slightly late arrival in the chamber for this afternoon’s debate.

Scotland benefits greatly from migration, as Jamie Hepburn rightly noted. Migration brings a set of fresh perspectives, skills and experiences to strengthen our economy. The food and drink industry—to name but one—has benefited greatly from migration and the delicious cuisines that have become family favourites in Scotland.

Sadly, however, many migrants feel unsupported in Scotland, and the economy might come under strain if the Tories’ regressive migration policies continue. Kaukab Stewart spoke about her disappointment with the current hostile environment policy of the immigration and asylum system. As a first-generation migrant, I join her in deploring that policy.

In recent years, we have seen an increase in Westminster’s anti-migration ideology and the use of inflammatory language, such as its references to “waves of illegal migrants”. Such “fear of the other” rhetoric stokes racism and deprives the UK of the benefits that migration brings.

When the UK Government revealed its plan to prevent foreign postgraduate students on non-research courses from bringing dependents to the UK, I raised the concern that that could impact the attraction of talent to the Scottish economy. We must welcome migrants to Scotland and provide an environment that allows them to succeed in Scotland’s economy. To ensure that we can do that, we must fully plan to meet the skills needs of industries. At this point, I remind the chamber of my entry in the register of members’ interests as a stakeholder in a licensed restaurant.

I am glad that, in its paper, the Scottish Government recognises that businesses are struggling because they do not have enough staff. That situation has been compounded by Brexit and Covid. However, the Scottish Government must do more with its current powers to proactively help businesses in Scotland now, rather than discussing independence once again. As Donald Cameron and Alex Cole-Hamilton rightly pointed out, the taxpayers’ money and civil servants’ time that have been wasted on that could have been spent on tackling the biggest issues that Scotland faces at the moment. Instead, the Scottish Government has left Scotland lacking the skills that it needs.

We have heard the arguments many times, and I have yet to hear a positive argument for independence from the SNP. The SNP can use the powers that it has. There needs to be a plan, but I have not yet seen a positive plan. The SNP should use the powers that it already has.

Scotland voted to remain in the UK, and the Scottish Government should respect that and work to support the nation in every way that devolution allows it to. We are a proud nation that is welcoming of diversity, so it is clear why many people move to Scotland from the rest of the UK. That is a great sign for welcoming talent to Scotland.

However, it is important to emphasise that pride in our nation should not lead to isolation. We should prioritise greater co-operation, opportunity and sharing of skills between Scotland and the rest of the UK. Scotland must welcome workers from the rest of the UK, as the rest of the UK should welcome Scottish workers. We cannot be isolationist in our policies and rhetoric; instead, we must ensure co-operation and share opportunities for migrants and all workers across the UK, for with shared opportunities can come shared prosperity.

That is what a Labour Government would bring, ensuring that our post-EU immigration system works for all nations and regions in the UK. As my colleague Paul O’Kane highlighted, a UK Labour Government would do that by strengthening the Migration Advisory Committee, with appropriate input from across the UK. Scottish Labour is also committed to ensuring that skills bodies in Scotland and across the UK are consulted, so that industry needs are met and the economy is supported. The Scottish Government should be doing that now, to ensure that we have a strong economy with well-staffed and skilled sectors.

The SNP claims to want to address population decline through migration, yet it is failing to use powers that it already has to address the causes of depopulation and poor economic growth, such as by creating good-quality housing and stable, well-paid jobs. A Labour Government would ensure that we have a progressive, welcoming immigration system and a Scotland with concrete plans for fulfilling skills-based needs to build a stronger, fairer Scottish economy for all.

I need to make progress.

As Paul O’Kane noted, the Scottish Government should be doing more to plan for the skills needs of the Scottish economy.