Chamber and committees

That is another reason for wanting to get a better future for Scotland.

I agree that children with autism should have access to good services, regardless of where they live in Scotland, and we would expect local authorities to ensure that they do. Our duty, which we take seriously, is to support local authorities financially and in other ways.

I am happy to ask the education secretary to look at the situation in the region that the member represents and write to him in greater detail. I hope that all local authorities take very seriously their responsibility to support children to catch up their education.

The first thing that I will say is that Alex Cole-Hamilton should not misrepresent my position. I have not said that clinics “get in the way” of other support. The argument that I have made and will continue to make is that health boards need to put in place a range of support. Long Covid clinics may well be part of that, and that is for health boards to consider.

We will continue to provide funding and support for health boards, including research support to enable clinicians and others to continue to develop their understanding of long Covid and its impact. Long Covid is something that we take seriously and will continue to take seriously, given, as Alex Cole-Hamilton is right to point out, the significant numbers of people who are living with long Covid and are likely to continue to do so.

I am not sure whether that was a leadership bid that Michael Marra was launching there or an entirely inadvertent attempt to undermine his leader, who just told me that we should never talk about Wales in this chamber. Perhaps Michael Marra will clarify that in future.

I can say unashamedly that we have looked at the example in Wales and will continue to do so. We remain committed to an alternative to Erasmus and we will set out further details of that in due course.

I will tell members what else I am committed to: I am committed to seeing Scotland rejoin the European Union as an independent nation, so that we do not have to have a second-best alternative to Erasmus and can be back in the actual Erasmus scheme, benefiting young people for generations to come.

The spending review is balanced each year, so it is simply not true to claim that there is a £3.5 billion gap in our spending plans. What the spending review shows, however, is that, in the face of rising inflation, our spending power will be significantly smaller in real terms than what was forecast just a few months ago. What makes matters significantly worse is that the Tory Government is denying Scotland both the powers and the resources to properly address that.

Let us look at those issues in turn, Presiding Officer. First, let us look at the help that the chancellor announced last week—I will say in passing that it is deeply regrettable that it took the partygate crisis, from which Boris Johnson wanted to divert attention, for the chancellor to lift a single finger. The £400 in universal support, welcome though it is, is a fraction of the projected increase in energy costs that families across the country are facing.

The support for the lowest-income families is, again, very welcome, but it does not even come close to putting back the £1,000 that was taken out of the pockets of the lowest-income families in the clawback of the £20 a week of universal credit. Much more needs to be done by the UK Government.

Secondly, on the Scottish Government’s block grant, would it not be better if we had responsibility for raising our own revenue rather than having to rely on a block grant from someone else? Douglas Ross says that it is the biggest-ever block grant. This year, because of Westminster Tory decisions, Scotland’s budget is reduced in real terms by 5.2 per cent. If that is the biggest grant ever, I am not sure that that is much for the Tories to crow about.

Next, Douglas Ross says that money that has been spent to save BiFab, Ferguson’s and Prestwick airport is wasted money. I think that that says everything that we need to know about the Tories’ approach to jobs—they do not care about people’s jobs.

Finally, yesterday, Kate Forbes set out ambitious plans that back our priorities of tackling child poverty, protecting public services, moving to net zero and supporting the economy. Do I wish that we had more money to allocate? Yes, I do. However, the Government’s budget is largely determined by decisions that the Tories are taking. Therefore, everything that Douglas Ross has just said does not detract from but makes the argument for this Parliament and this country to become independent.

It is of course just a fact that the size of the Scottish Parliament’s budget is largely decided by decisions made at Westminster. If Douglas Ross does not like the outcome of that, perhaps he should have a word with his bosses at Westminster, or better still, support this Parliament and this country having full financial responsibility.

Douglas Ross asked me how the work that is being done to close the attainment gap in education is going. I will be delighted to give him a progress report on that today, and he does not have to take my word for it—I will quote the commissioner for fair access who, just yesterday, talked about progress in closing the attainment gap in access to university. The commissioner said that the work of the Scottish Government has been “an unambiguous success”, and Scotland is now leading the UK. There is the progress report on education.

We know the real reason for all of Douglas Ross’s bluster today. Before I go on to that, let me reiterate—[Interruption.]

We are committed to ensuring that the NHS has the right number of beds and staff to meet the needs of people across Scotland. We will continue to work with the Royal College of Emergency Medicine and other front-line staff with the aims of reducing unnecessarily lengthy hospital stays and avoiding unnecessary admissions, in order to help to increase capacity in hospitals for people who require it.

The royal college acknowledges that bed numbers prior to the pandemic reduced—I quote—

“largely because of shortened hospital stays and the very real need to reduce the length of time that people stay in hospital and provide care for them in as homely or at home an environment as possible.”

The report examines bed reductions not only in Scotland, but across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The report finds that Scotland has a higher number of beds per head of population, with 3.6 beds per 1,000 population. There are just 3.3 beds per 1,000 in Wales and just 2.2 in England.

Yes—I very much agree with that. Before I address the matter of staff shortages, I will complete my answer on bed numbers. It is important, and it is a big responsibility of the Government, working with health boards, to ensure that we have an appropriate number of beds in the national health service. Gillian Mackay is absolutely right to say that one of the biggest challenges facing health and social care is staff shortages. Indeed, Dr Loughrey described the situation as

“a real problem and a real challenge.”

We should be in no doubt that Brexit has put unnecessary and harmful obstacles in the way of potential new members of staff from the European Union joining the NHS, particularly in social care roles. We are working with NHS boards to support international recruitment to try to overcome the barriers that Brexit has put in our way. We are also investing £11 million in international recruitment over the current session of Parliament. That investment has already delivered 191 internationally recruited nurses in the past year, with a pipeline of many more due to join the NHS.

Her Majesty is the first British monarch in history to celebrate a platinum jubilee. For her, that marks 70 years of dedicated public service, which, by any measure, is an extraordinary achievement. This jubilee is therefore a hugely important personal milestone for the Queen, but it is also an occasion of historic significance. Over the next four days, it will be marked across the Commonwealth, throughout the United Kingdom and around Scotland.

I will have the privilege of attending, on behalf of the Scottish people, the special thanksgiving service in St Paul’s cathedral on Friday morning. It is, as the Presiding Officer indicated, fitting that the Parliament adds our voice to the many tributes being paid.

The Queen has been a very good friend to our Parliament for the past 23 years. The mace before us in the chamber, which was her gift to mark the Parliament’s re-establishment, in 1999, is inscribed with the words wisdom, justice, compassion and integrity. It is a treasured symbol of the values that underpin this institution and that guide those of us who are privileged to serve here.

Since 1999, Her Majesty has addressed this Parliament on several occasions, most recently last October, when she reminded us of our responsibilities, particularly in the face of the climate crisis, to help to create a better and healthier future and to make particular efforts to engage with young people as we do so.

Her regular visits to Holyrood—both to the chamber and to her residence across the road from here—reflect the fact that, as she noted when she first addressed us, Scotland occupies a special place in her affections. Her love of Balmoral is very well known, and her first-ever public engagement was at the Aberdeen sailors home in 1944. When she visited Scotland seven decades ago, following her accession to the throne, tens of thousands of people turned out to welcome her. Since then, Her Majesty has played an integral part in the story of modern Scotland.

In the past decade alone, she has helped to mark many important occasions here. She opened the Glasgow Commonwealth games in 2014. In 2015, on the very day on which she became the UK’s longest-serving monarch, she officially opened the Borders railway. In 2017, she opened the Queensferry crossing, exactly 53 years to the day after she opened the Forth road bridge. At all those events, it was very obvious just how much public affection there is for her and there was for the Duke of Edinburgh, whose loss last year will, I am sure, be keenly felt by her over the coming days.

One of the Queen’s most recent duties relating to Scotland was for the 26th United Nations climate change conference of the parties—COP26. Although she was unable to attend the summit in person, she contributed a thoughtful video message, calling on world leaders to show leadership. That evening, in Kelvingrove, I was very struck by the obvious attention and regard that her remarks commanded from all those who were present. It was a mark of how widely the Queen is respected not only across the Commonwealth, but in countries around the world. Therefore, it is not surprising that her jubilee is being celebrated so widely. Here, in Scotland, thanksgiving services are being held in many locations, including at Glasgow cathedral on Sunday. Tomorrow night, jubilee beacons will be lit across the country and, in many places, pipers will play a specially composed tune. Communities across Scotland will take part in a variety of different ways.

The Scottish Government, on behalf of the people of Scotland, will mark the occasion with the presentation of two personal gifts to Her Majesty: a bottle of limited edition Johnnie Walker whisky with a design celebrating Scotland’s plants and wildlife, and a throw that is made from the tartan that was commissioned in honour of the three bridges across the Forth.

To create a longer-term legacy, Historic Environment Scotland will plant a stand of 70 native trees in Holyrood park. The proposed jubilee wood will be located less than a kilometre from here, just across the road from St Margaret’s loch, and will be visible from the palace of Holyroodhouse. It is expected that wild flowers will be planted beneath the trees by primary and nursery children from nearby schools. The initiative will enhance a part of our capital city that the Queen knows and loves. It is also historically apt, as the Queen’s first public engagement in Scotland after acceding to the throne, 70 years ago, saw her plant a cherry tree by the entrance to Canongate kirk. That tree still stands there today.

It is hoped that the trees that are planted this year, for her platinum jubilee, will still be standing and flourishing 70 years from now and for many years after that. They will be an enduring and fitting reminder of a unique occasion in history and an expression of the regard and affection in which the Queen is held by so many across our nation.

We were reminded of Her Majesty’s sense of service very recently in the example that she set for us all during the pandemic. In her public address during the first lockdown, in April 2020, when she said that “better days” would return and that we would all “meet again”, she provided a comforting message of reassurance to an anxious and unsettled population.

Of course, none of us will ever forget the deeply moving image of the Queen at the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh, her husband of 70 years. That was, undoubtedly, an image for the ages as she demonstrated yet again her determination to lead by example.

On that day, as she has done throughout her reign, she affirmed those core values of integrity, wisdom, justice and compassion. The Queen has upheld those values for more than seven decades now. She has been a constant figure in an ever-changing world, and, over the decades, she has provided support and encouragement to many.

One of the great privileges of being First Minister, which I have in common with my predecessors and with Prime Ministers over the past 70 years, is spending time with her privately. Those conversations are, rightly, confidential, but it is fair to say that the opportunity to talk with her and benefit from her knowledge, wisdom and unique perspective on modern history has been an experience that I deeply value and will always cherish.

Of course, there are and always have been different views in our country—and, indeed, in this chamber—about the institution of monarchy. The democratic right to express those views is always to be celebrated. However, the occasion of the platinum jubilee is not just about an institution; above all, it is about the life and service of an extraordinary woman who had no more choice than any of us do about the circumstances into which she was born, but who has given a lifetime of dedicated service. We should all pay tribute to that.

Therefore, it is absolutely right that we celebrate the platinum jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. Let us congratulate her warmly on a reign of unprecedented length, and let us acknowledge, with deep gratitude and respect, her dedication to duty. It is a pleasure and my privilege to move the motion in my name. [Applause.]

I move,

That the Parliament congratulates Her Majesty The Queen on the occasion of her Platinum Jubilee; expresses its gratitude for Her Majesty’s exceptional public service and dedication to duty over 70 years; affirms the deep respect that is held for Her Majesty in Scotland, and sends good wishes for her continued service.