Chamber and committees

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I think that Maggie Chapman may have inadvertently misled members. On 12 October 2020, Ruth Maguire contacted SCOT-PEP, inviting it to give oral evidence to the cross-party group inquiry. On 10 November that year, I wrote to SCOT-PEP, again extending an invitation to give oral evidence and suggesting that, if that was not possible, it might wish to give written evidence. On 12 November, I again wrote to SCOT-PEP asking it to give evidence to the inquiry, either oral or written. We had no response to that.

I agree with everything that Liam McArthur has said. The news that there has been a pause is welcome, because that is what Prospect was asking for and, indeed, what the staff and communities were asking for—they want time to look at the alternative solutions.

Nobody is arguing that we do not need to improve safety; the argument was that HIAL’s proposals did not provide additional safety but were about centralisation. They would cause huge economic damage without providing the safety that people want.

I would be grateful if the committee would look at a number of things. The proposed discussions about Benbecula and Wick were overlooked because of the enormity of the proposals, which impacted all the airports. There is concern that the downgrading of Benbecula and Wick will go ahead. Those airports need safe surveillance and locally based air traffic control. Both Benbecula and Wick are looking at becoming satellite launch sites, so they need safe airspace.

Benbecula is also host to QinetiQ’s Hebrides range, which means that there is often a huge amount of air activity when tests are taking place. The Hebrides range also provides a potential solution, in that it has radar. HIAL could work with the range to provide that in Benbecula. That would be a very affordable course of action that would not cause huge disruption.

One of the issues in all of this was the recruitment of air traffic control staff. The air traffic control staff in Benbecula tend to be young, so that airport has staff into the future. They are local people—they are not going to move anywhere. They will be lost to HIAL if it ends air traffic control at Benbecula.

There is also talk of a new island’s impact assessment. Therefore, any downgrading of Benbecula should surely wait until that impact assessment has been done. That would be within the spirit of the law.

With regard to Wick, people will be aware of the closing of Dounreay and the need for an economic focus on the area. A lot of work is going on with renewables and with the maintenance of devices, but the area needs good air traffic links to other parts of the United Kingdom to be able to attract jobs. It is very important that it has a safe airspace. Indeed, we are trying to encourage more traffic there.

I will not repeat what the convener said about the CAA’s comments, but it would be well worth the committee speaking to the CAA to find out what is happening, including about Wick perhaps being managed from Orkney. There was some discussion about that, and the CAA was not keen.

HIAL used to be very good at staff recruitment. It used to recruit from local communities. It would train people up and those people stayed. HIAL had its biggest recruitment issue in Inverness, where people tended to be more mobile. The committee should make HIAL look at that again and ensure that it starts recruiting again, because that is one of its reasons for stepping back—it says that if it cannot recruit, it will continue with the position as it was.

I know that the petitioners were keen to see Digital Scotland’s second report published. HIAL has it so it would be useful if the committee would ask it to publish that report.

There is also the centralisation of radar surveillance at Inverness. That does not make sense given that we are to have air traffic control at the airports, so how that decision was reached could be scrutinised. I know that there are concerns in Shetland about that, because the airport there has its own radar and there might be an impact if radar were centralised at Inverness.

I agree about the other issues that have been mentioned, such as the use of New Century house—I do not want to repeat everything.

It does make sense. The cabinet secretary knows well that my colleague Mark Griffin tried hard to make that legislation acceptable to people in Scotland, especially in rural areas, where short-term lets can provide an income. It has to be balanced with population retention. If we do not do that, it will not work.

I will speak quickly about domestic abuse. Many of us have been contacted by constituents who are homeless at a desperate point in their lives. Many of them have had no choice but to flee. I agree with Elena Whitham that they should be supported to keep and stay in their own homes, but many are far too traumatised to do so. We need to ensure that there is safe and secure accommodation for them and their children, to support them in rebuilding their lives.

Willie Rennie and Jeremy Balfour talked about the intervention that took place during Covid, taking people off the streets and putting a roof over their heads. That shows that, where there is a will, there is a way. We can end homelessness only if sufficient resources are provided to local authorities. Putting additional responsibilities on local authorities without the funding will mean that there is no change. The Scottish Government needs to enable them to look after the people who are most in need at the time when they need it.

I draw members’ attention to my entry in the register of members’ interests.

It is unacceptable that far too many people in Scotland today are forced to experience the trauma of homelessness. There was a 3 per cent increase in the numbers last year. According to the Scottish Government’s report, “Homelessness in Scotland: 2020 to 2021”, a quarter of homeless households have children. That is a worrying statistic.

Indeed, it is worrying that, in this day and age, under the Scottish National Party, child poverty is on the rise, the cost of living is on the rise and many children are living from day to day without the security of a safe place to sleep. The SNP-Green Government must put the welfare and safety of children first.

Carol Mochan talked about the devastation that homelessness causes for individuals. The consultation on the duty to prevent homelessness is an opportunity to change things and look at how we can intervene early and provide joined-up services. Mark Griffin said that all services should have a duty to prevent homelessness, as some services can pick up issues much earlier than council departments that deal directly with homelessness can. The point was amplified by Tess White. People need to be given help and assistance before they become homeless—that is key.

Mark Griffin also talked about the £1 billion cut that local government faces, which means that councils cannot react in the way that we want them to. Councils are at the front line of prevention and rehousing, but they are underfunded.

Carol Mochan talked about her lack of confidence in the new initiative due to the lack of investment. Willie Rennie made that point, too. Without investment, the policy will be useless and will be just another empty promise from this Government.

We need early intervention—it is a must. Miles Briggs said that people seek help when they are homeless rather than beforehand, but we often hear of people who are threatened with homelessness being told to stay put until they are actually homeless. I have come across that in my casework. That means that the change in the person’s housing situation goes largely unplanned. Ruth Maguire and Elena Whitham were right to say that people should have choice, but at a time of crisis there is no choice. Early intervention is key.

Mark Griffin, Willie Rennie and several other members talked about the change from “permanent” to “stable” when it comes to the right to accommodation. I know that the cabinet secretary heard that, and I hope that she takes on board the point, which has been made by Shelter and which was emphasised throughout the debate.

A major cause of homelessness in rural areas is the rise of second homes and the holiday homes market, as Ariane Burgess and Emma Roddick said. Young people simply cannot compete when they are on low wages or have unstable incomes, and they can be forced to move miles away from home, probably into towns and cities. However, the Scottish Government is not building affordable homes in rural areas or taking measures to retain such homes for the local population. I recently heard that only two housing associations are building in the Highland Council area, because it is close to impossible to retain the houses.

Okay.

As the cabinet secretary knows, the legislation on short-term lets was not right and did not take account of local circumstances. Had the Government been keener to devolve power to local authorities to shape it in the right away, it could have made a real difference.

I am not sure that I have time.

What support is available to Orkney Islands Council and Shetland Islands Council, which provide interisland ferry services? Their fleet is ageing, and the cost of replacing ferries is beyond their reach.

I have previously written to the cabinet secretary about that matter and have not received a reply. A review of patient travel in the Highlands and Islands was due to take place, but it has been delayed since August last year because of the pandemic. When will the review take place? It is urgently required, because the criteria and reimbursement amounts date back to 1996 and do not account for inflation. Will the cabinet secretary also confirm that the review will be subject to an island impact assessment?

I, too, congratulate Jackie Dunbar on securing this really important debate.

Asthma is a common complaint—so common, in fact, that we often take very little heed of it, even though it impacts just under 10 per cent of the population. Moreover, although most people live with the condition, it can be fatal; indeed, it takes the lives of three people in the UK every day. As Jackie Dunbar has said, most of those deaths could have been prevented with better guidance and monitoring. Good management is therefore crucial, and the motion sets out how that can be done.

The my breath is my life project helped young people, their parents and teachers to understand the condition, its causes and its management.

I grew up aware of asthma, because my grandmother had it. I remember her having terrible attacks and being taken outside the house in the hope of helping her to get her breath. As a young person, that was frightening to watch, and it must have been terrifying for her. Therefore, even by simply raising awareness, the project has been very worth while.

The pandemic has been very challenging for those with asthma. Not only have they had the fear of catching Covid-19, but their lives have been disrupted much more than those of the general population have been, as they have had to shield. The pandemic has also impacted on their families, who have had to take measures to protect them. In particular, children, who have been told by their parents and those in authority for two years, which is a huge portion of their lives, that it is risky for them to be out and mixing with others, are much more likely to have had their mental health impacted. It will also be a lot more difficult for them to mix again with others with any confidence.

People’s careers will have been affected because they have been required to shield. Not every job can be done remotely. That means that some people will have lost their job or given it up due to the requirement to shield. We need to target support towards them to bring them safely back into the workforce.

There is an argument about how masks make people with breathing difficulties feel. If that is lined up against the benefits of wearing masks for the most vulnerable to Covid-19, there is a very difficult decision to take.

The project looked at the triggers for asthma attacks. We would all benefit from understanding those. Many attacks are triggered by atmospheric conditions and pollution. We must cut pollution and emissions for the good of the planet and to stop climate change, but we also need to do that to help people with breathing issues, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The project should show the way to how we can build greater understanding in Scotland. Raising awareness of asthma allows us all to play our part in preventing it and supporting those who live with the condition every day.