Chamber and committees

I take personal responsibility for everything that the Government is responsible for, every single day.

Anas Sarwar’s question raised three related issues; I will address them in turn. First, our NHS is working under extreme pressure right now. I recognise that. I pay tribute and express my gratitude to everyone who works in our national health service.

Nursing and midwifery staffing in Scotland is currently at a record high. Since the SNP Government has been in office there has been an 11.7 per cent increase in qualified nurses and midwives. The number of qualified nursing and midwifery staff working in our NHS has increased for nine consecutive years. We have a higher per head staffing ratio than other parts of the United Kingdom. In Scotland, we have 8.4 qualified nurses and midwives per 1,000 of the population, compared with just 5.9 per 1,000 in England.

That is the SNP Government’s record—but, of course, we need to do more because of the current pressure. That is why we are investing in greater recruitment and supporting health boards across the country to recruit more nurses and other professionals into our national health service.

On what the Royal College of Emergency Medicine has said, it published research this week, on which we will engage with the college in order to better understand it. The analysis appears to use research findings from England from four years ago to make extrapolations from Scotland-only data now. We want to understand that in more detail.

However, that said, everyone recognises the relationship between long waits in A and E that are not clinically justified and increased risk of harm to patients. Nobody can or should deny that, which is why we are investing to try to cut A and E waiting times and to improve flow through our hospitals.

That brings me to the new guidance that has been issued for A and E. This is where Anas Sarwar cannot quote the Royal College of Emergency Medicine when it suits him and ignore its views when they do not suit him. We are not turning anyone away from accident and emergency departments—it is about ensuring that people get the right care in the right place. The vice-president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine has said that the RCEM supports the guidance and that, in order to ensure that all patients receive

“the right care, at the right time, in the right place, it will on occasion be appropriate to signpost ... some people who have presented to an emergency department—but do not require after an”

appropriate

“assessment to be seen there—to another part of the healthcare system.”

That is appropriate and is a change in guidance that was, I think, made in England some time ago. It is about ensuring that patients get the best care in the right place, which is something that everyone should support.

On such a serious issue, although I am absolutely sure that members of parties across the chamber will not agree with everything that Angela Constance or I say on the issue, I hope that they would agree that Angela Constance in particular has not just been open to different approaches but has already in her tenure as drugs minister taken forward many different approaches to tackling this challenge.

On the specific point about the situation in prisons and, in particular, the issue of the photocopying of prisoner mail, the Scottish Prison Service has, rightly, taken time to consider the range of very serious operational and legal considerations. That includes taking into account prisoners’ rights, which are often determined through court judgments, on the handling of their correspondence. That is a fundamental consideration. As the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans outlined to the Parliament on Tuesday, the Prison Service will, after detailed operational consideration, be implementing that change.

I recognise that, particularly on such important issues, everybody wants the Government to operate and move with speed, and I share that view. However, when we are dealing with such serious issues, it is important that we take the time to consider all the implications, particularly when those implications involve legal considerations. That is what has happened, and I hope that members from across the chamber, who have been calling for the measure, will welcome the progress that we are able to make.

I recognise and appreciate the extraordinary efforts of council workers at all times, but particularly over the past 18 months. That is why, although the Scottish Government has no formal role in the local government pay negotiations, we supported efforts to find a solution, with a one-off offer of additional funding of £30 million. I was pleased to see that that intervention, along with a contribution from councils, enabled the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to submit a significantly improved pay offer to trade unions last Friday. The unions subsequently confirmed that they would suspend strike action while members voted on the revised offer. I welcome that.

It is therefore disappointing that the GMB in Glasgow has chosen to pursue strike action at this stage, although of course I respect its right to do so. I urge all parties in Glasgow to quickly find a resolution.

The things that Paul Sweeney talks about would be disgraceful if they were happening, but let us be clear that they are not. As I understand it, although I am not party to the matter, Glasgow City Council made clear last Friday that it would not take legal action.

On the suggestion of breaking the strike, I know that the council issued a statement last night and that it has a concern about bonfire night posing an additional fire risk if rubbish is not collected. Although it is considering cover to mitigate those risks, it is not considering the use of contractors to fulfil the regular duties of striking staff. Labour should know all about the latter, because that is what it did during the cleansing strike under the Labour administration in 2009, so perhaps a bit of reflection on the Labour benches would be welcome.

The situation in Glasgow has arisen out of a national pay dispute. The Government made additional resources available last week to allow COSLA to make a renewed offer, which it has done. The unions rightly suspended strike action to allow members to vote on that renewed offer, and that process should be allowed to take its course.

I have the utmost respect for cleansing workers in Glasgow—those who do that job in my constituency and across the city—so I hope that Glasgow City Council and the union can get around the table and find a resolution that puts an end to the dispute and allows industrial relations to move forward positively.

That is an important issue, and I know that it will be causing concern. A small premises near Arbroath has tested positive for avian influenza. Public health advice remains that the risk to human health is very low, and food standards bodies advise that avian influenza poses a very low food safety risk for consumers and does not affect the consumption of poultry products, including eggs.

In order to limit any further spread of disease among birds, appropriate restrictions have been imposed on the affected premises, and public health staff are liaising with others such as Health Protection Scotland to ensure that the correct protocols are followed. There were some surviving birds on the premises, and those were euthanised on welfare grounds, with on-going support being provided to the owner.

The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands will be happy to engage with any member who wishes to have further information on the steps that are being taken.

The Scottish Government has been working—

We have taken several steps to highlight the nuisances and risks associated with fireworks and the new limitations on when they can be used. Outwith organised displays, fireworks can be used only between 6 pm and midnight on bonfire night itself and between 6 pm and 11 pm on most other nights of the year. We have funded three targeted publicity campaigns as well as promoting key messages on social media. We have also funded extra engagement with retailers by trading standards officers.

Others are also playing an important role. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Police Scotland, community safety partnerships and charities—from Crimestoppers to the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals—are putting huge effort into advisory activity to minimise distress and harm to people and animals across Scotland.

We continue to focus on ensuring equitable access to cancer services throughout the pandemic. For example, mutual aid across health boards means that every patient is seen according to their priority. We continue to provide support through the screening inequalities fund, in order to increase screening rates across all groups in our society, and we have recently completed a second funding round of our more than £100 million national cancer plan, where the impact on equalities was a key criterion in the award of funding. Finally, the most effective means to reduce mortality from cancer is early detection, which is why we continue to invest in our detect cancer early programme.

As I outlined, the Scottish Government had extensive engagement and consultation with the police and other partners and stakeholders over a long period of time in coming to the new, tighter restrictions that are now in place. We will continue that engagement in terms of the enforcement and assessment of the restrictions.

I appreciate the local issue that has been raised. I think that any of us who saw the pictures on social media that evening of the explosion in Siobhian Brown’s constituency understand the shock and that therefore there will be particular sensitivity in the area around fireworks this bonfire night. I will ask the relevant minister to engage with the police locally and nationally, and with Siobhian Brown as well.

I do not think that. If Anas Sarwar had listened to what I said, he would have heard me say that we are listening to the front-line professionals. The nurse numbers that I cited are facts: there has been an 11 per cent increase in nurses and midwives since we took office. I went on to say that that is not enough, because the pressure on our health service has increased. We are listening to the people on the front line and we are supporting health boards with additional investment to recruit more staff into the health service in order to deal with the pressure.

Anas Sarwar said that we are somehow not listening to the people on the front line by—in his words—turning people away from accident and emergency services. That is not the case. We recognise the pressure on accident and emergency services and we recognise the need to ensure that people get the right care in the right place, and we are trying to find the solutions.

The part of the solution that is encapsulated in the new guidance is supported by the people on the front line. It is supported by the very person whom Anas Sarwar quoted—the vice-president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, John Thomson. He said that the approach is the right thing to do to ensure that patients get

“the right care, at the right time, in the right place”.

We absolutely recognise the challenge, but we are listening to those on the front line in coming up with the best and the right solutions.