That is useful. The bill process is on-going, and we are moving towards the amendment stage, so it would be useful for the committee to be kept updated on that issue.

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

It is expected that, this afternoon, the City of Edinburgh Council will declare a housing emergency, following a call from Shelter Scotland. Will the Scottish Government now accept that there is a housing emergency in our capital city, and will the First Minister look at targeted solutions and investment to increase housing supply in Edinburgh?

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to discuss climate adaptation funding. (S6O-02669)

In the past month, we have seen the impact of devastating floods. When we talk to councillor colleagues, they all comment that they are cash strapped and not getting enough support from the Scottish Government. My understanding is that funding for flood defence in Scotland is far lower per capita than it is in England and Wales, and it has flatlined over the past decade. Given the clear cross-party support for action expressed in yesterday’s debate, could the cabinet secretary say how she intends to ramp up financial support for adaptation investment in our communities?

In yesterday’s debate, the cabinet secretary did not comment on the Scottish Government’s failure to report on progress on flood risk management plans, as is required by the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009. Could she confirm when the Scottish Government will report on that for 2021-22?

Last week, I asked when the Scottish Government would, in the light of storm Babet, carry out a review of existing and planned flood prevention infrastructure. Will the cabinet secretary give us a timescale for that today?

Last week’s statement on storm Babet gave us all the chance to send our condolences to the families who had lost a loved one and to thank those in our public services who worked so hard to rescue people and support communities.

However, as has been observed in the first two speeches, the floods have had a devastating impact on people’s homes, businesses and farming communities, so we really need to do two things. First, we need to support those who have been affected, because it could be months before people are able to live in their homes again. Secondly, we need to urgently learn lessons from this devastating incident.

My amendment is an add-on amendment. I want it to be constructive and to highlight concerns about the need for action.

Last week, I pointed out that the Brechin scheme was built only seven years ago, and it was designed to deal with a once-in-200-years incident. We urgently need clarity from the cabinet secretary on what work is being done to review existing and planned flood prevention infrastructure. We need to reflect on what worked during storm Babet and, crucially, what did not work. We also need to know what will be done to accelerate flood resilience to support communities, businesses and farmers.

It is disappointing that the Scottish Government wants to delete the recommendation for a multi-agency task force. It is important that we have a collaborative approach and that we also have a regional approach. It will be crucial for the Scottish Government and local authorities to work across boundaries, given the scale of the potential change.

Labour’s amendment highlights that the Scottish Government has failed to report on progress on flood risk management plans, as required by the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009. We need more political leadership, and we need that progress report. I hope that the cabinet secretary will give us that clarity in her concluding remarks.

We need expertise, and we need people to come together with investment and action now. That means having a partnership approach between the Scottish Government, local councils, businesses and farming stakeholders, and also with the transport sector and environmental campaigners. We need people with experience in the room together.

As the motion rightly states, we are likely to see more frequent and more intense extreme weather events that are fuelled by climate change, such as storms. That could mean forest fires, drought and flooding in urban and rural communities, as well as the impact of sea level rise. Those events could put people’s lives and livelihoods at risk by damaging homes and buildings, vital infrastructure, agricultural land and our natural habitats. They could also cause damage that could put our cultural heritage beyond repair.

There has to be a joined-up approach to tackle extreme weather conditions, because what the member described is experienced in other countries as well. He is right. There are floods, droughts and extended extreme weather periods and there could be storms, so we need to be prepared for the combination of those impacts.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said that one in 22 of all residential properties in Scotland is at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea or heavy rainfall. By 2050, it is estimated that the annual cost that floods will have on United Kingdom businesses could exceed £1 billion. It is a now issue. We need to do the heavy lifting now to build resilient infrastructure that protects our biodiversity, uses our natural environment to mitigate the impact of flooding and delivers crucial adaptation projects to deal with the change that is already here or is coming.

The Government’s amendment states its intention to produce a national flood resilience strategy for Scotland. It is fair to ask why we do not yet have one. We passed two climate acts and a flood risk management act years ago, so it feels that we are behind where we need to be.

The second part of Labour’s amendment is about having a fire and rescue service that has the resources and capability to support communities and save lives in times of crisis. The Scottish Government needs to be worried that 93 per cent of Fire Brigades Union members agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is not

“adequately resourced enough to deal with the increase in climate-related incidents such as wildfires and flooding.”

The firefighters I spoke to at the FBU rally last week were clear that they are already pushed to the limit. I spoke to one firefighter who said that he had had to do 20-hour shifts, and that is not uncommon. That is not safe for him, the colleagues he is working with or the people whose lives he is working to save.

During storm Babet alone, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service took more than 750 emergency 999 calls and attended almost 300 incidents. We need to acknowledge that the FBU’s “Firestorm” report says that

“Water Rescue resources are regularly unavailable due to not enough competent crew being available”,

and we need to get that investment.

The SFRS stated earlier this year that, with a cut of £11 million from its budget, appliances have had to be withdrawn—including one at Polmadie, which provided a dedicated water rescue service. That is putting us into reverse by making us less resilient and more prone to disaster. We are not taking seriously the impacts of climate change.

With one in 22 homes at risk and firefighters who do not believe that they are adequately resourced to respond to flood and emergency events, we have a disaster waiting to happen again. We need action. This is a current crisis.

Appliances used in times of flooding are being withdrawn now, leaving communities without protection. When the next severe flood comes and the rescue services are not just cut to the bone but have been cut beyond repair, what will happen to those communities? We need to act now and invest in our key public services to address the economic, human and environmental impacts so that we can avoid the devastating impact that we saw last month. With one in 22 homes at risk and an environment scarred beyond repair, that cannot be allowed to happen. We need to act now. The Scottish Government needs to lead and work constructively and collaboratively.

I move amendment S6M-11036.1, to insert at end:

“; regrets the Scottish Government's failure to report on progress on flood risk management plans, as required by section 52 of the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009, for the last two years; notes with concern the warnings from the Fire Brigades Union that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service will struggle to respond to the increased number of extreme weather events due to Scottish Government funding cuts, and calls on the Scottish Government to set out how it will ensure that communities facing extreme weather will not be impacted by this loss of capacity.”

It is good to hear the minister confirm that the green hydrogen fund will launch this year. Will she confirm how quickly the Scottish Government intends to allocate the £90 million that it has committed, so that we can see the investment that is needed to boost green hydrogen production and, critically, to help to decarbonise transport and industry?

Will the member take an intervention?

Thank you.