Chamber and committees

I said earlier that the buck stops with me, but I am afraid that that does not include Stephen Kerr’s teeth problems. I just hope that the glue is working better today. I will move on, because the issues are too important for such levity.

The issues are important, and there are more dentists here. If I look at where Stephen Kerr’s party is in government, I see that the number of dentists per 100,000 of the population is 39.9. In Scotland, it is 55.6, which is 40 per cent higher. For this financial year, our Government’s investment in core community dental services is 40 per cent higher.

That does not remove all the difficulties, but it shows the foundation that we have in place in Scotland, which is why the additional investment that I am speaking about is so important. It recognises the additional problems that are caused by the pandemic. We will continue to focus on supporting NHS dentists in order that people across the country can have the access to them that they have every right to expect.

We have been discussing with the island authorities for some time the interisland ferry services, and we will continue to do that. I will ask the Minister for Transport to engage with Liam McArthur in more detail on what further steps we are able to take.

These are serious issues, and I want to ensure that we take them very seriously. On the specific issue of an offender register, we keep the law under continual review. We are always keen and willing to explore any options to reduce crime and reoffending, so we would be very keen to understand the detail of that proposal and give it due consideration. All registered sex offenders are already placed on the sex offender register and, as such, must register with the police as part of those requirements. However, I appreciate that that does not include all perpetrators of domestic violence. The issues need careful consideration, and I certainly undertake to give them that.

On the broader issues, it is definitely the case—and it should be welcomed—that more people feel able to come forward when they are victims of domestic abuse or sexual violence. That is to be encouraged. However, sentences for perpetrators are obviously a matter for the courts, and it is important that we all recognise that. A range of work is under way to ensure that there is better support for victims and that those who commit these dreadful crimes face up to the consequences of their actions. The Caledonian system that I referred to is an important part of that. We are also investing more in the support services that victims need and get so much benefit from. A range of work is under way, but the Government will remain open minded to any further proposals that are put forward on the issue.

I am happy to reply to the member in more detail, but we are, of course, continuing to work closely with all those in the social care sector to deal with current pressures. Free personal and nursing care is a key part of how we fund social care in Scotland, and we have increased the rates for that.

From the point of view of self-funders, the thresholds that apply in Scotland are different from, and better than, those in other parts of the United Kingdom. We have a strong foundation in Scotland, but we recognise, as we work towards the national care service, that there is more work to do, and we are very focused on achieving that.

Yes, I very much agree with all of that, and I thank Christine Grahame for bringing that tragic issue to the chamber today. The death of Amanda Cox was heartbreaking and a tragedy, and I again convey my thoughts and sympathies to her family.

It is absolutely imperative that all health boards take steps to ensure that the situation is never repeated. Last year, we published the “Maternity and neonatal (perinatal) adverse event review process for Scotland”, which will standardise and improve approaches to the review of any adverse events in maternity.

We also continue to prioritise improvements to care through the implementation of the maternity and neonatal best start programme, in partnership with senior leaders and clinicians. That group is currently producing Scotland-wide standards of care for the management of women who present with neurological conditions, including headaches, and care pathways for women who present with acute medical conditions, including those who present to accident and emergency.

None of that will lessen the pain and grief of Amanda’s family, but I hope that it gives them some assurance that lessons are being learned to ensure that such a tragedy never occurs again.

Obviously, I am aware of what has been reported about an announcement that will come from P&O later today. We sought to engage with the UK Government this morning to seek further details, and we will seek to engage fully with P&O as more detail emerges. The relevant issue for Scotland is the Cairnryan-Larne route, and we will pay particular attention to any implications for that route, which supports a number of sailings every day.

We will keep Parliament updated as we get more detail. Obviously, we have to await that detail, but this will be a seriously worrying time for those who work for P&O. I know that, with the pandemic, this has been a difficult time for ferry operators—I do not underestimate that—but I hope that we are not about to see a mass-scale fire-and-rehire situation.

This will be a worrying time for everybody. We will engage very closely with all those involved and we will, of course, keep Parliament fully updated.

I express not for the first time and certainly not for the last time my deep and enduring gratitude to everyone who has worked in test and protect over the past two years. That work is vital. Part of the reason for our longer transition in testing is to ensure that we treat staff fairly.

I will certainly look at the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde material. It is important that all health boards engage properly with those staff, and the Scottish Government will ensure that that is the case.

These services are coming to an end in England at the end of March. We have extended them for public health reasons, but also to ensure that we treat staff as fairly as we possibly can.

We will seek to redeploy as many staff as possible and as many as possible who want to have roles elsewhere. We need people working in our broader health and social care system right now, and there will be opportunities for staff there.

I again express my gratitude to everybody who has worked to help us through the pandemic over the past two years. As we see from the pressure on our NHS right now, it is possible that this week will be the toughest in the pandemic so far in terms of the impact on the service. Everybody who is working to help us through is doing a sterling job, and they have my and the Government’s deep gratitude.

Yes, I will. The individual concerned—as Pam Gosal fairly pointed out—was immediately suspended from the SNP; it would be wrong for me to comment any further.

I represent the most diverse constituency in the whole of Scotland in this Parliament—I represent the biggest BAME communities in the country. I understand these issues, I understand how serious it is that all parties take these issues very seriously, and I am absolutely committed to doing so.

I think that this is an issue for all parties. We all have to be prepared to act when necessary in a way that aligns with what we say around these things. For my part—I am probably speaking more as leader of the SNP than as First Minister here—I am determined that my party does so, and I call on other parties to ensure that they always follow suit. That is something on which we can, I hope, unite.

We are progressing a circular economy bill as a priority in this parliamentary session. We will obviously consult on the contents of that bill in May. However, I can confirm that it will include proposals to ban the destruction of unsold durable goods. That aims to prevent needless waste and it will also help to support initiatives such as Fresh Start here in Edinburgh, which provides goods that would otherwise be destroyed, as well as goods donated by the public, to low-income households and people moving out of homelessness.

No. Those are big challenges that we are working to address, and we are working very closely with organisations such as the RCN and the BMA. The health board delivery plans for the strategy will set out a lot of the detail of how individual health boards will go about retaining and recruiting staff. Of course, we have already seen a significant increase in the overall NHS workforce under this Government, which includes qualified nurses and midwives. We are in a very difficult recruitment climate right now for a whole host of reasons, not least the reason that I cited in the previous answer. That is why we are investing in wellbeing support for staff, so that we can retain staff who are already in our NHS and why we are funding international and domestic recruitment campaigns. We will work with the RCN, the BMA and other professional organisations and trade unions as we get more and more staff into our NHS in the years ahead.