To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making in implementing its diabetes improvement plan. (S6O-03302)

In a letter to me last April, the minister stated:

“our aim is to improve access to closed loop and artificial pancreas systems at the earliest opportunity.”

However, patients across Edinburgh have told me that they will not get those innovative solutions because, even though they are clinically appropriate, the health board faces a severe financial situation. Even worse, a patient who was on a trial that was successful has been told that she will have to return to her glucose pump system, even though the closed-loop system has made a huge difference to her health and quality of life. Will the minister meet me and patients who are affected? Although there is a real opportunity to improve diabetes patients’ quality of life, that opportunity is not just being denied to my constituents—it is now being snatched away.

I, too, congratulate Audrey Nicoll on securing this important debate. It could not be more timely. I have lost count of the number of meetings that I have had with the renewables sector, from large companies to community and co-operative projects. The supply chain networks are talking to us, and everyone agrees that we have made huge progress in the past couple of decades and that the renewables sector is now a key part of the economy, but we need more action.

When I first set our renewables targets in the Parliament’s early days, they were seen as somewhat bold and radical. That we have got to where we now are, therefore, is a credit to the sector and to the companies that have been delivering the jobs and the infrastructure over that time. We have seen huge steps forward in onshore and offshore wind, in solar, wave and tidal energy and in hydro and pumped storage, and technological developments are opening up new options for the future.

However, we need action to develop supply chains and to give clarity and certainty to the sector in the future. If we are to make progress, it is critical that we do not miss the boat. We also need to maximise the opportunities from our natural capital while investing in renewables infrastructure that will help to promote biodiversity. There is now a lot of research and experience that needs to be widely shared.

I thank all those who gave us briefings for the debate, and groups such as Scottish Renewables that have, in recent months, shared their thoughts on the need to act urgently to address the challenges that the sector faces.

We need strategic leadership, effective consenting and planning processes and development of the grid. We also need access to apprenticeships and reskilling opportunities to allow people to move into the sector. I am thinking in particular of workers with skills, knowledge and experience who want to move into the renewables sector, especially those who have been working in the oil and gas sector—they should not have to pay for that training. We need to deliver “North Sea 2”, as Gordon Brown recently described it.

I highlight the Scottish Trades Union Congress report on the just transition, which includes some key recommendations that need to be addressed with regard to Scotland’s missed potential and the need to prioritise more manufacturing of renewables in Scotland. We also need joined-up thinking, and—as we just heard from Maurice Golden—we need to link the renewables sector to the circular economy in practice. Companies such as ReBlade are moving ahead on that, but that approach needs to be built in to the whole sector.

As I mentioned, we urgently need action on planning and consent processes. Our local authorities are suffering after a decade of cuts—£1 billion of cuts—from the Scottish National Party Government. We need urgent action to ensure that local authorities get the support that they need now and to bring new planners into the sector to bring an end to the never-ending processes.

We also need more community and co-operatively owned heat and power projects, as that will be central to Scotland’s economy as we move forward. Labour’s local power plan would see us making the progress that we urgently need, because we need investment in our local communities so that they, too, gain the benefits from the transformation that is possible.

Our commitment to a “Great British Energy” company—

On the particular point about the public sector working with the private sector, the minister has not mentioned solar energy yet. Does he accept that there are huge opportunities in solar, both in solar farms, given the new tech that is developing, and in our homes and buildings? Would it not help if we still had a grant to enable individual home owners to put solar on their roofs, and if we also work across our cities and towns to see whether we can do more urban solar developments?

It is not just about timescales. We definitely need more resources for local authorities that are separate from the sector, but we need that for onshore and offshore, not just one of the two. It is critical that we get that urgently, because if we are to get the jobs that we need in Scotland, we need strategic leadership and investment, which would mean transformational change in our economy. That is why Labour wants to see a “GB Energy” company established and headquartered in Scotland, which would give us the strategic leadership and investment that other European countries have baked into their projects.

This morning, I saw for myself the impact of joined-up thinking and investment on an inspiring visit to Forth Ports. I saw the work that it is doing to invest in the port to make it fit for the future. As part of that process, 2,000 jobs will be created through a new renewables factory; new harbour infrastructure to enable floating wind to be developed; and the building of new affordable social housing in Leith, which is urgently needed. I note my entry in the register of members’ interests on that point.

We have new renewables developments that will benefit from the investment that is being made by Forth Ports, which will sit alongside the work that is being done up and down our east coast. However, we need more young people to be inspired to join the sector, and they need access to the skills, training and academic development that our renewables sector needs now if we are to deliver the jobs, investment and low-carbon power that Scotland needs now.

Yes.

Will the member take an intervention?

The Committee on Climate Change’s report is a damning indictment of the Scottish Government’s lack of progress on achieving net zero. SNP and Green rhetoric has not been matched by action.

It is not just me who thinks that. Today, Mike Robinson, chair of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, a respected organisation with more than 60 member organisations, said:

“the Scottish Government has lost its position as a climate leader and we would like to see the First Minister make an emergency statement to Parliament to set out his response.”

Will the cabinet secretary agree that the Scottish Government has lost its position as a climate leader since our first climate act was passed, 15 years ago? Will the Government bring an emergency statement so that the First Minister can respond in full to Parliament?

I need to get to the end of my speech.

We cannot ignore the issue of how much waste we export from Scotland, and we know that our consumption emissions have increased. I hope that the minister will commit to supporting amendments to address that issue at stage 2 and commit to effective monitoring, because the principle of carbon consumption targets and the analysis of our international carbon footprint are key if we are to deliver a just transition. That is not currently in the bill, which needs to change.

I want to hear from the minister about the Office for the Internal Market work to ensure that the regulations will be deliverable. That is critical, particularly given the deposit return scheme fiasco.

There must be support and encouragement for businesses, because, if we are to have a circular economy, we need more than what is in the bill. The Scottish Government could take a lead by ensuring that its own purchasing procurement works to incentivise products that are designed with circular economy principles baked in from the start.

The principle of building a circular economy has to be what we deliver in the bill, with sectoral approaches and action from day 1, such as reducing our reliance on single-use products and ending food waste. The waste hierarchy is key: we need to redesign products to prevent waste in the first place; we need to prepare for reuse, recycling—

I thank the minister for her answer and welcome her to her new role.

Investment in cultural cinema is vital in supporting film makers, providing access to cultural cinema, as the minister mentioned, and ensuring that cultural cinema is a key part of Scotland’s cultural offer. With the Edinburgh international film festival forming part of our Edinburgh festivals, we have huge opportunities. Therefore, will the Scottish Government work with Screen Scotland and Creative Scotland to ensure that the Edinburgh Filmhouse’s “Open the Doors!” campaign, which has been incredibly successful thus far, gets the final amount of capital that it needs to open the doors of the Filmhouse and put us back on the map?