I hope that it is okay that I borrow a minute from my colleague.

In the run-up to the 2016 election, I worked on a member’s bill to introduce a transient visitor levy. I knew that it would make a difference in Edinburgh by helping to address the challenges and opportunities created by year‑round tourism, which puts pressure on culture, housing and local services. However, democracy kicked in and I did not get elected, so I was delighted to support the 2024 TVL, because it was urgently needed. However, as Mark Griffin commented, only two years later we are back here supporting another TVL bill to address issues that were not fixed in that bill.

Details matter, and I believe that we urgently need a new Scottish Government that is ready to fix the systemic issues that our country faces. In our national health service, we have overcrowded accident and emergency facilities, inadequate mental health support for children, which will impact their lives, and appalling waiting times for adults. One constituent I have been supporting has been told that it will be a decade before he gets the help that he urgently needs.

It has been a privilege to serve the constituents of Edinburgh Central and then the Lothians. That has included local campaigning on issues such as the Dalry baths and a new eye pavilion, as well as the current campaign to save Marionville fire station. I have been endlessly raising Edinburgh’s housing emergency, and I have been highlighting the systemic underfunding of NHS Lothian.

Referring to what Ariane Burgess said, I have also been campaigning on the need to urgently address our climate and nature emergencies and to create decent jobs and empower local communities at the same time. For me, being in here is about delivering change that will benefit my constituents. That is why I stood to get elected in 1999, for the first session of the Parliament. It was personal. My dad chaired the all-party campaign for a Scottish assembly for a decade in his spare time, and my granny was a Labour activist after the second world war. You can imagine the debates in our family—they never stopped.

If someone had told me that I would get elected in 1999, that I would be involved in the coalition negotiations and that I would then become a member of Donald Dewar’s Cabinet, I really would not have believed it. That taught me that constructive hard work and using the powers of our Parliament could deliver real change. For me, it was about investing in our railways—Airdrie to Bathgate, Larkhall to Milngavie and Stirling to Alloa, and supporting work on the Borders railway—as well as new CalMac ferries, improving island airports and tackling potholes. I had a £30 million fund. That would probably not sort out Edinburgh these days, and that was for the whole country. I introduced twenty’s plenty zones, investment in walking and cycling infrastructure and our first national planning framework. I set a target—which was quite radical at the time—of 20 per cent of electricity consumed coming from renewables.

I delivered legislation to establish our first national parks: Loch Lomond and the Trossachs and the Cairngorms. As a former town planner in Central Regional Council, I was hugely proud of that. My first debate in here was on Loch Lomond and the Trossachs national park, responding to Jackie Baillie’s members’ business debate. It is an issue that we have both been passionate about for decades.

It is harder to deliver change in opposition, but it is a matter of giving a voice to effective campaigning by constituents, such as on the eye pavilion. It can deliver, even if it takes years to get the result that we need.

I was very proud to amend housing legislation to support constituents who were attempting to make tenement repairs. It is now more straightforward for them to do that. In the next session, the Parliament will have to work out how to address community heat networks and the installing of solar panels, which are urgently needed on our tenements.

In 2009, I successfully amended the Climate Change (Scotland) Bill to include a requirement for all new homes to have whatever renewables were appropriate installed in order to make them more energy efficient. I thank the then finance minister for that—and members can work out afterwards who that is.

We are now at a point where we need to accelerate action to address our climate and nature emergencies. We urgently need to get our constituents and businesses the support that they require now. Great British Energy and the United Kingdom’s warm homes plan show the way forward, but the 400,000 homes and buildings in Scotland that are currently at risk from flooding do not need warm words; they urgently need action. People are calling out for transformative change—well-paid, decent jobs in every constituency across the country and community, council and co-operatively owned heat networks and power schemes.

It has been an honour to serve in this Parliament and to work with MSPs across the chamber. I have had a great team of staff throughout the years, and I thank them for all their hard work. I also thank all the activists and community members I have worked with and campaigned with. It has been a real privilege.

16:43

I, too, thank the cabinet secretary for advance notice of her statement, and I thank all the stakeholders who gave their views on how the draft climate change plan should be strengthened.

I agree with the cabinet secretary’s reference to yesterday’s warning that climate change is now accelerating and will negatively impact on people’s lives. I note, for example, the 400,000 homes and buildings in Scotland that are now at risk of flooding.

It is crucial that the next Scottish Government has strong leadership and that it focuses on delivery. It must ensure that people get support to make their homes warm and energy efficient; support on solar, heat pumps and heat networks; affordable and accessible buses that they can rely on, with links to our railways; investment in our land to restore our peatlands; and a joined-up approach to food production and biodiversity. It must also ensure that councils and communities have the financial support to deliver community heat and power projects that will transform people’s lives.

What is new in the final plan? Does the cabinet secretary agree that members in the next parliamentary session must change how we scrutinise implementation? Proper parliamentary scrutiny of the climate change plan has not been enabled today, and we have not heard from the cabinet secretary which recommendations have now been included in the plan. We need an urgent focus on implementation. Does the cabinet secretary agree that a key message from those who gave evidence to the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee and other parliamentary committees was that it is all about delivery and that the draft plan did not go far enough?

The key issue, though, is that it is up to every local authority to decide whether or not they want to use the legislation, and they have to go through thorough legislation to do so. Is that not critical?

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the regulatory framework currently in place to monitor the development and operation of data centres in Scotland, in relation to ensuring that their energy use, water consumption and any environmental impacts are being effectively controlled. (S6O-05674)

Stop Climate Chaos Scotland has warned that, although the draft climate change plan outlines a range of policies that are aimed at increasing energy generation from renewables, it does not discuss the potential huge energy demand coming from data centres that planning authorities are now having to consider. In Edinburgh, for example, a temporary moratorium on data centres has been agreed and will be in place until the true level of energy and water consumption required is actually understood.

To follow on from the initial advice that has been given, will the cabinet secretary outline what advice and monitoring the Scottish Government will provide? Can lessons be learned from Dublin and Amsterdam about tightening controls on large data centres, and also from Odense, where 100,000 homes are now being heated by a data centre?

I am interested to know the extent to which the impact of the new statutory instrument will be monitored. The briefing notes that public awareness campaigns change attitudes for a short period, but not for the long term. I am interested to hear about the SSI’s impact and how it will be monitored.

I am pleased to speak in today’s debate, and I thank Martin Whitfield for bringing it to the chamber.

I am immensely proud of the achievements of the University of Edinburgh. Our city has long been at the heart of public health, and, over the past 300 years, the medical school has produced extraordinary scientific work and world-leading research. Students from across the world have come to Edinburgh to study medicine and have then gone on to make significant contributions in countries far beyond our own. The university’s commitment to ensuring that local communities also feel the tangible positive impact of the 300-year celebration of the faculty of medicine is hugely worth celebrating; the global partnerships that have been built by the medical school are inspiring; and the work that is being carried out right across the world by its alumni reflects the exceptional standards of education and the lasting relationship that is formed between students and their lecturers.

Edinburgh offers a wide range of sectors and opportunities for those who study medicine, extending far beyond clinical practice. Many alumni have gone on to create new innovations, launch businesses and shape entirely new fields in medicine. The discoveries and achievements of the medical school are remarkable. Its alumni have made a profound difference not just in Scotland but, as several of us have said, across the UK and the world.

As we celebrate that progress, we must also acknowledge that many people still struggle to access the care and support that they need. I also want to highlight the important economic benefits that are brought by the international community that chooses to study and work here, contributing to growth across Scotland. I also cannot speak about the University of Edinburgh without highlighting the massive financial challenges that the university and its staff are facing.

However, to go back to being positive, throughout the anniversary year, a wide range of events will showcase the school’s achievements, including the Edinburgh tartan parade, the Everywoman festival, an alumni weekend and many more. Those events will enable lots of different people to attend—we can all attend, and we should.

Like colleagues, I think that, as we celebrate 300 years of Edinburgh medical school, it is vital to recognise the women whose contributions have shaped medicine in Scotland and far beyond. As part of the anniversary celebrations, a special programme was brought together featuring Professor Lorna Marson, Dr Lesley Dawson and, as Martin Whitfield mentioned, final-year medical student Heen Shamaz to honour the women of Edinburgh medicine. Their discussion highlighted both the historical barriers that women faced and the extraordinary achievements that they went on to deliver. The university’s 300 faces of Edinburgh medical school project has also been instrumental in bringing forward lesser-known stories of women who contributed to that medical progress.

The Edinburgh seven have already been mentioned. They were the first women in Britain to matriculate at a university, and their struggle to gain access to medical education paved the way for generations of women who followed. It was a major achievement. The Herald has highlighted that women spent a century fighting to get into medicine, and that the Edinburgh seven—the first female medical students admitted to a university—were among the trailblazers. They were led by Sophia Jex-Blake. She applied to study and the medical faculty accepted her application, but the university court blocked it. That was challenged. She published that rejection in newspapers and got six more women to apply: Mary Anderson, Emily Bovell, Matilda Chaplin, Helen Evans, Edith Pechey and Isabel Thorne. They worked together as a group and were accepted. I wanted to put their names on the record.

Today, women continue to shape the future of Edinburgh medical school. As Martin Whitfield said, women such as Heen Shamaz represent the next generation of clinicians and researchers, and symbolise the continuity of progress and the growing leadership of women in the field. Progress in medicine is not just about science; it is about who we are and our society. The inclusion, recognition and advancement of women has strengthened the profession and enriched the university’s global impact. That is woven into the fabric of Edinburgh’s medical heritage and will continue to guide its future. That is truly inspiring, and it is an important history for us to celebrate today.

13:16

Will the member take an intervention?

How will I follow that?

I am pleased to open the debate on behalf of Scottish Labour as we discuss the draft climate change plan. When the plan is finalised, it will shape Scotland’s environmental, economic and social future for decades to come. The plan has to get it right, because the risks are high for our constituents, our land, and our economy.

In recent months, I have been involved in scrutinising the plan in the Economy and Fair Work Committee and the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee. I have also been involved in meetings with the climate change plan team and the advisory group. I have attempted to engage constructively with the cabinet secretary by sharing concerns and giving her lots of suggestions about how we can improve the plan, because it has to work.

I thank all those across the Parliament, particularly the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee, who have been involved in the consultation exercises that have been carried out to engage people on the issue.

A document cannot do this—we all have to do it together. The challenge is that, although there are areas of ambition in the plan, there are also areas from which ambition is entirely missing. As priorities have been chosen, some key elements have been left behind.

It has been excellent in the debate to hear from a raft of parliamentary committees, including the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee; the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee; the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee; and the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee. The plan will affect all our committees, and it will require action across the Government. That is absolutely critical. We need investment and action right across the Government and a plan for the future.

I am very conscious that the Government’s climate change plan team is analysing the consultation feedback that it has received and that the final report will be published at the end of the month. The challenge is that, by the end of the month, the Parliament will have dissolved. Ensuring that there is a focus on the climate change plan will be a challenge and an opportunity for the next Parliament, because delivery will be critical. The Climate Change Committee’s report makes it clear that there are gaps in delivery, gaps in understanding and gaps in the practical steps that are needed to meet legally binding targets. The Climate Change Committee’s warning on the second and third Scottish carbon budgets is particularly stark.

Sorry—it will not be from that member, then.

The draft energy strategy was published in January 2023, and we are still waiting for the final version. Just last month, the Just Transition Commission published its report, “No Time to Lose”. It tells us that we need to be working together and to be making the maximum use of the powers that the Scottish Government has. Mark Ruskell made that point, and I totally agree with it.

The report also says that we need a place-based approach for every community. That means that communities and local authorities must have the capacity and the support to deliver in practice. We also need clarity so that sectors can invest, businesses can plan and workers can prepare for the future.

The financial aspects of the climate change plan reveal one of the most concerning gaps. Committees are always told that financial space is very tight, but we need to ensure that there are actual plans and incentives and that every policy has a fully costed financial plan behind it. We need to see that in the final plan.

We also need better monitoring and evaluation. The Climate Change Committee has been explicit that the final plan must include a complete monitoring and evaluation framework with annual sectoral pathways and indicators of progress. That needs to be monitored not just by one committee of this Parliament but by a range of committees, because one committee will never be responsible for everything that is in the climate change plan—everyone must be involved in it.

We also need joined-up thinking and action. When it comes to transport, there are huge opportunities for electrifying rail, cars, buses and other vehicles. We also have opportunities around heat. We need to think through the local supply chains. That need for joined-up action has been referred to in different ways.

We need to think about how we can better use our power near to where it is produced. That is a huge opportunity. It was interesting to hear Paul McLennan’s speech, as a big discussion is happening in the Lothians about the potential for the Berwick Bank wind farm to bring in lots of new electricity. Why do we not use that where it is produced? Why do we not establish heat networks both to use that electricity and as a storage process? We need joined-up thinking.

I mentioned solar energy in my opening comments. I declare an interest in that I am a member of the Edinburgh Community Solar Co-operative. I have seen the impact that it has had on buildings that are owned by the City of Edinburgh Council but into which the council has not had to put any investment, because that was done by the co-operative, and it has made money. We should be doing that everywhere, but on a local basis.

I also used to work with the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations—again, I declare an interest—where I saw the benefits of solar heat and solar power. We always talk about solar power, but the technology can be used to heat water in our homes. We need a joined-up approach.

We have done a lot with new housing. Patrick Harvie referred to the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009. Following negotiation with the then Deputy First Minister, I sneaked into that act an amendment that all new homes had to have some form of renewables. That has happened and there was constructive work with the building sector. A lot of it is solar but it is not exclusively so.

However, we are not seeing work to decarbonise existing homes and buildings. Kevin Stewart and Bob Doris made points about this. Tenements are critical. In the next session of the Parliament, we need more than a nice-to-have on tenements. We need to think about how we improve the quality of tenements and consider the opportunities for affordable heating—that means heating that people can afford to have on. We did not talk about it, but there are social justice and health issues with heating: an older person needs to have their home at 19°C at least and, if a person has a disability, that is something that they urgently need to be addressed.

There is a lot of work that can be done. I talk about the local issue. Members should think of the local jobs and supply chains if we have a programme and a plan to heat our homes effectively and affordably. We have the warm homes plan in the UK, so let us learn from that.

I will wind up my speech. We need to make the plan an opportunity. We need joined-up thinking across Government and we need to ensure that, in the next session, the climate change plan is not just a job for one of the Cabinet members but a job for every member of the Government. If we do not take that approach, it will mean massive missed opportunities and social challenges in tackling the impact of the climate emergency on Scotland. Let us get on with it and have a proper discussion early doors.

I hope that the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy has been listening not just today but for the past however many weeks and months, because there are big opportunities and we need to seize them together.

17:06