—because we have a particular issue regarding the festivals. I want to know what the Scottish Government is going to do to support people in the city to get access to training, because we are losing huge numbers of jobs due to the pandemic. We are also losing out in retail, and we need urgent action to target those industries.

I have met constituents who are concerned to know what advice will be available and when, so that they can apply to the scheme. They have had fantastic support on redress from Future Pathways Scotland and Birthlink, and they have been told that they pass the threshold for minimum payment, but they are worried about where they will get the support for what will be an incredibly traumatic, complicated and challenging process. What financial support will be given to organisations such as those that I have mentioned and Wellbeing Scotland, which have played an essential role thus far in supporting survivors and which will be crucial in giving them independent advice going forward?

I wrote to the Scottish Government last week about how it analyses waiting times for dentistry, and the answer was that it does not. Dentists have warned of years and years of delays. Given that dental care is a vital part of health and wellbeing for children, how is that situation acceptable? Longer and longer waits for NHS treatment for children and adults mean that many people choose to go private. Is that not just privatisation by stealth?

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to address the reported backlog of national health service dental appointments for children and young people. (S6F-00091)

I agree with other members that it has been an excellent debate. Our challenge is what comes next in this session of Parliament, because this is the one that really matters.

I welcome the range of excellent briefings that we all received from organisations across the environmental movement in the run-up to today’s debate. We have also had some excellent meetings, such as the nature champions meeting and this week’s climate emergency meeting. The focus must be on ensuring that we have a joined-up approach, so that, when we tackle our current health crisis, we do so alongside tackling our nature and climate emergencies. That was argued powerfully yesterday.

As we work to build our recovery from Covid and address our climate crisis, we need a global and a joined-up approach. As others have said, this year’s COP26 in Glasgow gives us an unprecedented opportunity to lead by example and to deliver the success that we need for our world’s future. As Fiona Hyslop said, we need to bear collective responsibility for the task that we face—it is up to all of us. That means providing leadership nationally and locally across Scotland.

In our amendment, we call for climate justice to be included in the curriculum. That has been called for by young people, who understand the vital need for urgency in tackling our climate emergency. By the time we reach 2045, today’s secondary school students will be in their 40s, but the tipping point for action in their lives will be during this session of Parliament. Therefore, we need to act. I am okay about us disagreeing on different issues, as long as we come together on the big issues and push hard to move further forward.

In replying to what has been said in the debate, I would like to welcome the first speeches that have been made. In particular, I congratulate my colleague Mercedes Villalba on her excellent first speech. She will be a powerful voice for Scottish Labour and for Scotland on the environment and biodiversity.

It is time that the climate and biodiversity emergency is taken seriously across Scotland. Last week in our capital city, we saw the publication of the City of Edinburgh Council’s draft climate strategy for 2030, which will give people across the city the chance to give their views on how we can reduce our climate emissions. Across Scotland, people and communities must be involved in the development of plans that lead to action in areas such as low-carbon heat networks and the creation of new green jobs, alongside action to tackle fuel poverty. Such joined-up thinking of the kind that is promoted by the UN’s sustainable development goals is what we need.

I want to pick up on the issue of heat networks. Scottish Renewables has identified 46 heat networks across Scotland’s seven cities. Following the Parliament’s passing of the Heat Networks (Scotland) Bill just a few weeks ago, those networks could help us to make much-needed progress towards our heat decarbonisation targets.

Section 15 of the Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Act 2020, created by my amendment, gives the Scottish Government the capacity to incentivise investment to enable communities, councils and co-operatives to develop new heat networks that are currently unaffordable due to high rates. That is the kind of practical action and progress that we need.

The cabinet secretary—I welcome him and his team to their new jobs—said that we can create 24,000 jobs from action on climate change, but the truth is that we need urgent action for that to happen, and it will require strong leadership from the Scottish Government. We cannot afford to have the problems that we have seen at BiFab and other companies across the country. As Gillian Martin said in an incredibly powerful speech, having a just transition will require support for climate action and jobs in Scotland now.

The Scottish Government needs to work much harder with the renewables industry to make sure that we get a green recovery such that communities that are impacted by the energy transition are supported to retain their prosperity. Communities across the country need local apprenticeships and training and co-operative renewable energy schemes.

Scottish Renewables said last week that the renewable energy industry is already supporting more than 22,000 jobs and significant output of more than £5 billion a year in Scotland, but we can see from the statistics that there is a lot of scope for new investment in renewables jobs, as Monica Lennon said. The Government must take urgent action on that. I recommend the report that the STUC has produced, which takes us through what would change the outputs.

There are some key areas where the Scottish Government needs to act urgently. Mark Ruskell and others mentioned the need for another climate change plan update. We should not have to wait several years for that. We had cross-party agreement on the subject—from all parties—at the end of the previous session of Parliament, so I urge the new team in the Scottish Government to pick up the recommendations and get going on them.

We also need to look at the work of the just transition commission, which has closed, having produced a fantastic report in March. Could it be restarted so that businesses, trade unions, environmental groups and the Government can work together? The commission’s report was excellent, but it needs to be followed up and acted on, and we need pressure on the Scottish Government, not just from the Parliament but from groups outside it.

Let us see more action on Scottish Government procurement so that we shift to a greener and fairer set of contracts. That would be a game changer.

I strongly agree with Maurice Golden’s comment that it is time for a circular economy. Let us see the timetable for the circular economy bill and get going on it now. It is not just that we need to stop incinerating waste; we are still exporting waste to lower-income countries that have no choice but to accept our plastic waste, which is creating a climate crisis in other countries. We need to take responsibility across the parties in this Parliament, to move more quickly and to ensure that our councils are part of this work as well. It is not just a national issue; it is also a local one.

We need our councils to be able to act on locally owned bus companies, such as the one that we have in Lothian, in order to address the points that Monica Lennon made about the loss of bus services.

We have radical targets in Scotland, but if we pull together what all the speakers have said today, we can see that we need practical action on the ground, with strong leadership and investment to deliver transformational change, and it has to happen now. Let us work together and ensure that members in the next session of Parliament do not need to have a lovely debate like this one because we will have made progress—and let us do that now.

Given that Edinburgh’s incidence of Covid in terms of numbers per 100,000 has, over the past seven days, overtaken Glasgow’s, when will walk-in clinics be available for people who are over 18 to access vaccines urgently? What monitoring and testing are now being carried out across Edinburgh in public and private sector workplaces and in our schools so that, when Covid transmission is identified, urgent action can be taken to reduce its rapid spread throughout our city?

I would be delighted to. I warmly welcome the cabinet secretary to her new and important post.

The ability to plan ahead is critical for our council colleagues. Could the cabinet secretary give clarity on the location of and funding for the proposed new city centre Gaelic school for Edinburgh? The proposal in the Scottish National Party’s manifesto came out of the blue for councillors on the City of Edinburgh Council.

Will the cabinet secretary take an intervention?

I thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and welcome you to your new post.

I would like to begin by recognising, as colleagues have, the tireless work of our health and care staff before and during the pandemic, but especially now, as we recover and rebuild. We need the Scottish Government to take on board the Labour amendment, which was lodged by Jackie Baillie and calls for an immediate pay increase for care workers to £12 an hour rising to £15 per hour over the current session, and effective engagement with NHS unions to ensure that all the work of our health and care professionals is rewarded, and that they are supported in making their vital contribution.

I want to focus on the crossover between health and social care, and the need to ensure that no one who finds themselves at that crossover is missing out on the care, treatment or support that they need. I am delighted that the Scottish Government will finally be pressing forward with Labour’s national care service. From the outset, the service must be fair to staff and users and accessible to the people who need it.

Last week, a constituent from Midlothian reached out to me for support. Her father has dementia and the family have been struggling to meet his care needs, particularly as his symptoms worsen. As it is for many people who live with a dementia sufferer, that has been a constant source of worry and concern, which has been made worse by waiting lists for dementia beds and places in care homes and the absence of a social worker.

My constituent told me that her father’s behaviour can at times become challenging because of his dementia. He has been given antipsychotic medication, which means that when his symptoms are manageable, he is not his normal self, and the family feel as though they are firefighting the symptoms and not treating the cause. They were advised that they should, should he have a flare-up, call the police or take him to an accident and emergency department. That is no solution for such a horrible situation.

Thankfully, after a long wait, they got a temporary respite place at the end of last week, and the family has had appointed for them a social worker to support them through the next steps for the father’s long-term care. They have praised everybody who has supported them, but their experience shows the stress and anxiety that exist in the crossover between health and social care, and it shows the restraints on professionals who are trying to do their best.

As we move out of the pandemic and we prioritise NHS recovery and building our national care service, examples like that one must be used to help to design the best possible service for those who receive health and social care, and for their families and loved ones, so that no one falls through a gap. We cannot go back to the delayed-discharge crisis that we had before the pandemic. We need step-down care, accessible homes that are adapted to meet people’s needs, care staff who are treated with respect under national terms and conditions, and councils that are properly funded. All those are essential for moving us forward so that people get the support that they need when they need it.

One issue was massive for those of us in Edinburgh before the election. I call on the cabinet secretary to commit to fully funding a new eye hospital in Edinburgh, following the First Minister’s promises during the election campaign. Yesterday, retired eye specialists raised their concerns that NHS Lothian might fail to back the plan that they had worked up, which was based on using money provided by the Scottish Government, which would ensure the creation of a new eye hospital at Little France. They said:

“Lothian’s ophthalmic patients need a fully equipped and staffed eye hospital to replace the current crumbling eye pavilion, which is near the end of its useful life.”

We need a clear commitment and we need it fast.

made a solemn affirmation.