Chamber and committees

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking following Reform Scotland’s recent report, “NHS 2048: Future-proofing Scotland’s Health and Social Care”, which found that 11 national health service boards have seen waiting times for hip operations at least double from the point of decision since 2019. (S6T-01624)

The inquiry clearly shows that the Scottish Government walked away from the major capital project. Recommendation 10 in the inquiry report advises Scottish ministers to consider

“establishing a joint working group consisting of officials in Transport Scotland and representatives of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities ... to consider how best to take advantage of ... the necessary skills and expertise within Transport Scotland”

to deliver future projects on time and within budget. Will the Scottish Government implement that recommendation in future large infrastructure projects?

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to ensure that dentists are suitably funded to be able to continue taking on NHS patients, in light of reports that some dentists in Edinburgh are ceasing to accept NHS patients altogether. (S6F-02489)

My constituent Claire was informed that her dentist would be privatised from January and that her family would need to start paying monthly fees or leave the practice. That is not an isolated case; another family in the west of Edinburgh was also informed that their dentist would be privatised. Neither family has been able to find another dentist in their area who will take on NHS patients.

Can the First Minister outline what action the Scottish Government has taken to support dentists and their staff to ensure that their services remain accessible for all?

I am happy to be here to talk about public participation and engagement and the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee’s inquiry and report on public participation.

I am currently a member of the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee. Sadly, like my colleague Maurice Golden, I missed the world tour. I am counting on our convener to organise another world tour, which I hope will be soon. Although I was not on the committee when the inquiry began, I have since worked on the committee through some of the report stages.

As many of my colleagues have said, public participation and engagement opportunities must be easily accessible to the public. One theme of the recommendations that I would like to talk about today is that of growing community engagement with the work of the Scottish Parliament. I have worked in third sector and charity organisations all my life. Through that, I have engaged with many different communities and organisations, and I have been saddened by what I have heard in the past about certain communities’ engagement with the Parliament and with democracy in general. I heard from some people originating from more disadvantaged backgrounds that they believed that politics and participation were not meant for them. I heard from some young people that they believed that their opinion or participation was not wanted. As the inquiry report recommends, such barriers must be removed to encourage everyone to participate in democracy and to engage with the parliamentary process.

Many of the organisations that I have been involved with are run by or have been created by black and ethnic minority communities. Over the years, I have been disheartened to hear that many people from those communities never thought to engage with public participation in the Parliament; moreover, they did not even know that it was an option for them to do so.

Many others felt that the public participation process was not meant for them and, even if it was, did not know how to engage with it. That was partly due to representation, which is a theme that is highlighted in the inquiry report. As MSPs, we must ensure that citizens are able to see themselves reflected in the Parliament. Many people also mentioned that they did not feel as though they understood politics or the parliamentary process enough to fully engage with it.

It is clear that our current methods of engagement with the public do not go far enough, especially when it comes to engaging with harder-to-reach communities. The citizens panel’s findings and recommendations identified barriers associated with low levels of education, employment status, a lack of representation in Parliament and lack of trust in politicians and politics in general. It identified the areas of community engagement where we are still lacking and the barriers that still exist to prevent people in Scotland accessing, and feeling comfortable in accessing, democracy. Those include the expense of travel to Parliament, the need to take time off work if they work from 9 to 5, childcare costs and difficulties with accessibility requirements.

The proposed citizens panel will help to close the gaps in Parliament’s engagement. We must ensure that people believe that they have a role to play in Parliament, that their voices are heard and that they understand the means by which they can engage and participate. The proposed mini citizens assemblies will be instrumental in that.

In our role as MSPs, we can also work to overcome the barriers faced by many members of the public. We should ensure that we are offering public participation opportunities for our constituents outside normal business hours, so that those with 9-to-5 jobs or childcare issues have flexible opportunities for engagement. We could provide participation opportunities in different locations so that all accessibility requirements can be met. That is how we can work, alongside the recommendations of the inquiry, to improve community engagement with the Parliament.

I had a few meetings with some of the firefighters as well. The chief officer, however, has been put in a situation where, if the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service does not have enough funding, it has to make decisions. Sometimes, it depends on the funding. It is important that we find out about the issue.

I have had a few meetings with youth parliamentarians and they have suggested that they want more engagement with MSPs.

My daughter is a member of the Scottish Youth Parliament. Can we increase the frequency with which the Scottish Parliament and the SYP hold joint sessions?

Yes, to ask the SPCB to consider holding joint sessions. That would give—

The value of Scotland’s culture sector cannot be denied—in Edinburgh alone, upwards of 3 million people flock to the capital every August for the festival—yet our culture sector is in desperate need of help and support. Scotland is world renowned for its culture and arts, but that legacy is in danger if the culture and arts sector continues to face a lack of funding. Following a difficult few years through the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis, continued cuts will cause many key cultural institutions to be lost if we do not step up and solve the problem.

Edinburgh is feeling the brunt of that lack of funding for culture. Last year, we saw the closure of the legendary Filmhouse in Edinburgh, after its parent company went into administration. I was happy to hear the news that the Filmhouse may reopen, due to crowdfunding, and I am hopeful that that great cultural institution will be restored. However, that is still just one example of the bleak future that our cultural institutions may have.

More recently, Creative Scotland turned down Lammermuir Festival’s funding application last month. The festival expected the grant to make up 23 per cent of its budget and now its future hangs in the balance as a result. When I questioned the Scottish Government about providing crucial funding to rural cultural projects such as the festival, the Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development reminded me that the allocation of grant funding is Creative Scotland’s responsibility. However, in previous years, Lammermuir Festival has been partly funded through that grant. Scottish Government cuts to Creative Scotland’s budget means that difficult decisions such as the one on the festival’s grant will continue to be made.

I was honoured to sponsor a celebration of the major Indian festival Dussehra last night in the Parliament. Throughout our work to support Scotland’s cultural sector, we must continue to make sure that we encourage and invite diverse cultures in Scotland to work towards a vibrant, more inclusive Scotland. That is why I was pleased to hear the minister’s comments last night about the future funding options.

It is not enough simply to rescue and support our current cultural institutions. We must ensure that Scotland’s cultural sector is protected well into the future. Only a few months ago, Scottish Opera commented on difficulties due to a lack of young people in the industry. Arts and cultural jobs and career paths must be made available and promoted in schools alongside more traditional career pathways. Children must have access to music tuition, dance and arts throughout their educational journey. That way, we can allow our cultural sector to continue to survive.