Chamber and committees

The announcement represents a significant cut in the funding available to deliver public services to those in need. I think that it is counterproductive and short-sighted for the UK Government to make those cuts to the tariff for local councils, and we will be joining with the Welsh Government to make clear our opposition to them.

Right now, Ukrainians displaced by the war need more, not less, support, and we have continually called on the UK Government to extend funding in line with the three-year visa. Of course, Scotland has the highest number of arrivals by population share in the UK as we continue to seek to provide a place of safety; we use our own budget to do that—and we will continue to do so—but the UK Government needs to continue to step up and fulfil its responsibilities, and we will continue to encourage it to do exactly that.

I have already set out that the health secretary will update the Parliament very early in the new year. It would be unacceptable to appoint somebody whom we did not think was the best person for the role, whatever their skills and attributes. It is essential that we get the right person with the right skills and the right expertise, and I am confident that we will do that. As I said, that process is in its final stages.

I agree very much with Carol Mochan that the appointment of a women’s health champion is important, but delivery of the women’s health plan does not rest solely on that; we continue to take forward the strands of the plan. However, there is no doubt that our ability to do that will be augmented by the appointment early in the new year.

I am trying to answer serious questions in a detailed fashion, Presiding Officer. I had started to say that there will be individual cases where, sometimes, clinical circumstances will mean that it takes longer, and where, sometimes, yes, failings in the NHS will mean that it takes longer. I am making the point that, for the vast majority of patients, that is not the case. The median waiting time to start cancer treatment is measured in days in this country. That is down to the hard work of those on the front line.

Douglas Ross started his previous question by saying that I spent more time attacking the health service elsewhere than I did talking about the Scottish health service. First, I have not attacked the health service anywhere. Secondly, I think that anybody who reviews the Official Report of this session will see that that is just factually inaccurate. In fact, the Conservatives were getting impatient because they seemed to think that I was taking too long going into detail about the urgent and unscheduled care collaborative earlier on.

However, when Douglas Ross puts it to me that the problems in our national health service are unique to Scotland and they are worse in Scotland because of this Government, it is reasonable for me to point out that that is not the case—

Despite the challenges, which nobody here is shying away from, our NHS performs better than its counterparts in England and Wales. The only reason why I say that is because Douglas Ross is putting the counter to me.

Finally, it is really important that we continue to support record investment in our national health service. It is not that long ago—here, we are measuring in weeks—that Douglas Ross was demanding that I cut taxes for the richest people in our country. Had I followed his advice, we would have had to take investment out of our national health service, which is why few people will take Douglas Ross or the Conservatives seriously when it comes to trust on the national health service.

I will say it again, because it is important, that experiences such as Charlie’s are not acceptable. I do not know all of the circumstances; I am willing to look into that.

I am not standing here and saying that Charlie will be the only young person in the country who has that kind of experience—far from it—but nor is it right to say that the progress that I have narrated today is somehow unimportant, because that is the progress that requires to be made to ensure that there are far fewer experiences like Charlie’s.

In terms of funding, mental health spending has almost doubled in cash terms since we took office. We will continue to support record expenditure across our national health service and ensure appropriate expenditure for mental health services. As I said earlier, we are also shifting more treatment into the community. One of the most important things that has been done, backed by investment, is the recruitment of counsellors across our secondary schools. Those are really important issues.

Although it is right and proper to come to the Parliament and state the challenges, our job, as I have demonstrated today, is to get on with the work of addressing those challenges. As I have set out, we have seen a fall in the waiting lists for access to CAMHS. That is down to investment and the actions that have been taken, which is why it is so important that we continue with that.

Mental health spending has doubled under this Government—that is a fact. The number of people who are working in child and adolescent mental health services has also doubled under this Government; to be precise, it is up by 110 per cent.

There are significant challenges in waiting times for CAMHS, and we take that extremely seriously. However, it is right to point to progress, which that investment and the increase in the workforce are designed to achieve.

There has been a 14.4 per cent decrease in the number of children and young people who are on the waiting list compared to the past quarter. There is a decrease in the numbers of children and young people who are waiting more than 18 weeks and more than 52 weeks. As I said earlier, that is the first time since 2016 that there has been a decrease in all three waiting-list measures.

Does that mean that we do not have more work to do? Of course it does not; there are significant challenges, but real progress is being made because of the actions, focus and determination of this Government to support the work of those who are on the front line, and that will continue.

We know that caring for a child who is disabled or has a long-term condition can result in extra costs, from buying specialist equipment to taking part in activities. That is why the child disability payment is a vital benefit that helps parents to support their children to live their lives as fully as possible.

I am very pleased that, in the child disability payment’s first year, almost £60 million has been paid to the families of nearly 44,000 children and young people. The child disability payment is the first disability benefit anywhere in the United Kingdom for which applicants are able to apply online, by phone, by post and face to face. That demonstrates our commitment to improving access to social security and ensuring that people receive the assistance to which they are entitled.

I assume that the member is not suggesting that the investments in temporary repairs should not have been made—that is my first point. Secondly, as I am sure that the member knows, in relation to the Rest and Be Thankful, a preferred route corridor for a permanent solution was announced in 2021. Route option designs within the preferred corridor are being progressed and we are working towards announcing a preferred route for the long-term decision by next spring.

The Scottish Government continues to invest significantly in housing, in terms of our targets for new affordable housing and, as the member alludes to, our existing housing stock. I will ask the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government to write to the member in more detail about the actions that we are taking and any lessons that require to be learned in Scotland from the tragic case that the member has highlighted.

I congratulate Clare Bailey and thank her for the advice that she has offered to the Scottish Government. She attended the summit that we held earlier this year, which Gillian Mackay also attended.

I was very pleased to see yesterday that the Supreme Court has protected the rights of women to access abortion services in Northern Ireland without fear of harassment or intimidation. The Scottish Government is considering very carefully the detail of that judgment, and we look forward to working with Gillian Mackay on how we can progress quickly the next steps for taking forward her proposed bill. We are absolutely committed to supporting her with the development of a bill to safeguard access for women in Scotland to healthcare facilities that provide abortion services and to do so without fear, harassment or intimidation.