Chamber and committees

As Liam McArthur is aware, we have taken a range of measures to ensure that ferry fares are more affordable and that ferry travel is more accessible, convenient and easier for his constituents.

The road equivalent tariff has been debated, looked at and considered. As the member will be aware, there are complications with some of the unintended consequences of what road equivalent tariff would deliver, but I will ask the transport minister to write to him with an update on the actions that we are taking to address the affordability of ferry travel for his constituents.

You can’t even keep a straight face.

Our heart disease action plan sets out the aim that everyone with suspected heart disease, including people with heart valve disease, should have timely and equitable access to diagnosis, treatment and care. An initial investment of £2.2 million has supported progress on the actions in the plan. We are undertaking work to improve access to cardiac diagnostics and are developing nationally agreed pathways of care for all cardiac conditions.

We have committed more than £1.5 million over five years to support a change in access to and use of data to support improvements in diagnosis, treatment and care for people with all heart conditions. In April 2021, we commissioned Public Health Scotland to deliver the Scottish cardiac audit programme. Significant clinical and patient engagement is currently under way to support its development.

We are doing all of that—I covered some of it in my initial answer.

We know that the number of people who are waiting for more than 12 weeks for cardiology out-patient appointments has increased throughout the pandemic, but there is no current indication that patients with heart valve disease have been told that they cannot have appointments in 2022. Our recovery plan sets out the key actions that we will take to address the backlog in care and meet the on-going healthcare needs of people across Scotland. That is backed by more than £1 billion of targeted investment in total.

I thank Heart Valve Voice for its work and the report that it has produced. We will consider that fully, and I am sure that it will have an important contribution to make to the on-going work that I set out in my initial answer.

I do not know the circumstances of that. There are differences of opinion about the wearing of cycle helmets. I would always expect my ministers to set a good example, but I am happy to look into the particular circumstances and respond in more detail when I have had the opportunity to do so.

First, no we will not. Secondly, I make it clear that the questions that have been the focus of much of the commentary on the survey are being asked of 14, 15 and 16-year-olds. The census is not mandatory for local authorities to use in school or for children, given that parents may or may not consent to their child taking part. Pupils themselves can, if they wish, opt out of the survey.

All Governments have a responsibility—and I think that it is a serious responsibility—to ensure that public service delivery is informed by lived experience. We have two choices: either we can bury our heads in the sand and pretend that young people are not exposed to the issues or pressures that we know that they are exposed to, or we can seek to properly understand the reality that young people face and then provide them with the guidance, advice and services that they need to make safe, healthy and positive decisions. I choose the latter.

The latest information that we have is that 24 local authorities have confirmed that they are taking part in the census, which of course also features extremely important questions about people’s experiences of the pressures of schoolwork, bullying and mental health.

Yes, there are lessons that we can learn. It was very special to be there today as the chimney came down. I spoke to people who had worked in Longannet themselves, but also to people who had worked there whose parents and grandparents had worked there. It generated power in Scotland for most of my lifetime, until a few years ago. It has been there for more than 50 years, so there were mixed emotions. It is clearly a symbolic moment, because it marks the end of coal power, but people are sad to see the chimney go, not least because it has been a feature of our landscape for these 50 years.

There are lessons to learn; I talked about some of them earlier. Not long ago, it would have been unthinkable that we could have kept the lights on or found employment for people who worked at Longannet. That has been done, so it should inspire us to know that a just transition is possible. However, what has happened at Longannet tells us that we need to manage the process, to plan for it and to make the right investments.

Amid the mixed emotions, there are positive lessons that we must now take the opportunity to learn.

I hope that there is no impact on compliance with Covid protections, because it is really important that we all comply with the protections. People can be angry with politicians—at times, with all politicians—but it is important that people comply with the protections for their own safety, the safety of their loved ones and the country as a whole.

In the omicron variant, we face a serious challenge right now. I will further brief party leaders on the nature and scale of the challenge later this afternoon. Omicron is rapidly spreading and it poses a real difficulty for us. One of the ways in which we can help to slow its transmission is by complying with all the protections. I appeal to people across the country to do so.

We have witnessed, and are continuing to witness, many “disgusting” things in politics right now, but none of them is on the part of this Scottish Government. I almost feel a little bit of sympathy for Douglas Ross today, because I know that he must be deeply mortified by the actions and behaviour of his colleagues in the UK Government, but that is no excuse—[Interruption.] That is no excuse for throwing around unfounded accusations and trying to cause concern among oil and gas workers.

As First Minister, I am committed to making sure that we have a just transition away from oil and gas, in the same way as we had the transition away from coal power, because the future of our planet demands it. We will make investments to ensure that that is done justly and fairly. If the UK Government wanted to work with us—around carbon capture, for example—that transition would be easier.

I am committed ensuring that we do not leave people behind and that we do not have fewer jobs, and that, instead, we have clean green jobs for the future. Just last Friday, I visited Nigg to mark a major investment there that will mean towers for offshore wind being manufactured in the Highlands. That is the kind of investment that we are supporting and the kind of work that we will do to secure a just transition in Scotland, for the sake of the future of the planet and of generations to come.

I absolutely understand the concern and anxiety that would have been caused. Anybody with a sick child will feel that anxiety and will not want it to be compounded by getting wrong advice or getting advice that they believe to be wrong from the national health service.

I am always reluctant to comment too much on individual cases. I do not question what I am being told in the chamber, but I obviously want to understand the full details. If Paul Sweeney wants to write to me or to the health secretary, I undertake to look into the situation, get back to him so that he can update his constituents, and ensure that patients, particularly those with sick children, are getting the right advice and the advice that they need in what, I know, are very stressful times for them.