Chamber and committees

It is not a great look that the Government has waited until after the election and until the very last moment before recess to deliver what will be bitterly disappointing news to people who rely on Monklands hospital.

I welcome the investment in community health clubs, including in my constituency in East Dunbartonshire. The cabinet secretary also said that that rebalancing will allow for the delivery of other capital projects in the NHS. How will that impact the building of the new Belford hospital in Fort William? Will the Government fully commit to a replacement for the Gilbert Bain hospital in Lerwick?

I thank members for asking questions on this topic. There are plans to build one such data centre near Bishopbriggs in my constituency, and a number of local residents have contacted me with concerns about the potential impact. It is really important that people who could be affected have the chance to be heard and to understand the potential impact of such centres. Does the cabinet secretary agree that every effort should be made to ensure proper consultation with local residents?

To ask the Scottish Government what its priorities are for teacher workforce planning. (S7O-00124)

Right now, a huge number of newly qualified teachers cannot find permanent full-time contracts. That forces many of them into temporary work or even into seeking teaching jobs abroad. Last week, Alex Cole-Hamilton raised that with the First Minister but, unfortunately, the First Minister did not answer the question.

Many of my constituents are stuck in that bind. They just want a solution that provides some certainty and allows them to teach. What steps will the cabinet secretary take to get the situation sorted for the benefit of teachers and pupils across Scotland?

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve access to after-school care and holiday clubs for children with autism. (S7O-00097)

My constituent Nathan is five years old and has autism. Although he is able to attend school, there is no after-school care, and limited holiday care, to accommodate his needs. That means that Nathan misses out on activities and his parents struggle to balance work with childcare.

Many families in Strathkelvin and Bearsden and throughout Scotland find themselves in exactly the same position. Will the minister work with local authorities to ensure that children such as Nathan do not continue to be excluded?

My constituent Hugo is nine years old. Following a case of strep throat, he developed severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, tics and hallucinations and had significant weight loss. He was eventually diagnosed with the autoimmune condition PANS-PANDAS—paediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome and paediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections. Today, Hugo is doing much better, but only after his family spent more than £6,000 to enable him to see a private specialist in London.

Sadly, Hugo’s experience is not unique. Families across Scotland have been forced to seek private treatment because PANS-PANDAS is not recognised in national health service clinical guidance. Does the First Minister agree that no parent in Scotland should be forced to pay thousands of pounds just to make their child well? Will his Government take steps to ensure that PANS-PANDAS is properly recognised in NHS guidance?

I am pleased to speak in today’s debate and I thank Jenny Young for bringing it to the chamber. It is a privilege to follow on from some fantastic speeches in the Parliament.

It is fitting that we are holding this debate in memory of Jo Cox so early in the parliamentary session. As many people have said, with so many new MSPs, we have a rare opportunity to change the tone of how we do politics, both in this chamber and in Scottish politics as a whole. The anniversary of Jo Cox’s tragic death a decade ago provides a sobering reminder of how important it is that each of us holds ourselves to the highest standards and follows her example of service, compassion and unity.

In the days after Jo was killed, as more people learned about who she was and what she stood for, I remember that a friend told me that she had spent a long time looking for a political figure she could look up to and hope to emulate, and that she had finally found one. Her only regret was that she had not had the chance to follow Jo’s work when she was alive. However, we can all follow her example. We should also support the work of the Jo Cox Foundation, particularly its efforts to encourage more women to participate in public life.

If you engage in politics solely through social media, you could be forgiven for thinking that public life and politics are defined entirely by toxicity. I am happy to report that, when you get out and meet real people, that is not often the case. When you knock on doors, although people may not agree with you or may not like your political party, and although they may even be a bit—or more than—sceptical of politicians in general, most people engage respectfully. That has certainly been my experience, and I sincerely hope that it has been the experience of members across the chamber.

However, we all know that there are dark corners of social media where the opposite is true: places where hatred and abuse are directed at political representatives, candidates and campaigners, particularly women and those from minority backgrounds. Misogynistic abuse and threats of safety were among the top reasons that female MSPs cited for standing down before May’s election. That is deeply damaging to the health of our democracy, and it is easy to see why it has become increasingly difficult to encourage good people to get involved in politics.

I believe passionately in the right of everyone to express their views freely, robustly and with vigour, but that gives nobody the right to be abusive or threatening. Nor do I believe that those same rights extend to enormous social media companies. Too often, they have failed to tackle deeply toxic content and, in some cases, they seem to reward and amplify exactly the sort of behaviour that poisons public debate and that can lead to violence. In reflecting on Jo Cox’s legacy today, we should also consider how those very powerful organisations can be properly held to account.

I applaud the work of the Jo Cox Foundation in tackling loneliness, which remains a great epidemic in our society. Its great get together initiative, as Jenny Young mentioned, recognises the immense power of simply spending time together in healing divisions and helping people to feel less alone. That message feels every bit as relevant today as it did when Jo championed it.

I will do my very best to follow that example in my own work as an MSP and in the communities that I feel privileged to represent. I believe, as others have said, that the best tribute that we can pay to Jo Cox is not simply to remember her words but to reflect them in how we conduct ourselves in the Parliament and in our roles in public life over the years ahead.

I thank Patricia Gibson for bringing this important debate to the chamber and for raising awareness of pre-eclampsia. I also thank her for her powerful testimony, and I thank members across the chamber for their testimony.

Listening to those accounts and the issues that have been raised today takes me back to the birth of my own little boy three years ago. I am reminded of what an incredible time it was for me and my wife as we welcomed our first child into the world. I also remember how vulnerable my wife was in those final stages of pregnancy. Alongside all the practical questions that soon-to-be parents have to consider—some of which are lovely, such as deciding what colour to paint the new arrival’s bedroom and what name to choose, among all the excitement that comes with preparing for a new baby—there are also important health considerations that require a lot of thought and planning. During pregnancy, parents are often given a huge amount of information to take in, and it can be difficult to know what to look out for and what to prioritise.

I am conscious that I am speaking in today’s debate as someone who will never experience pregnancy personally, but I remember very well how important it was for me to have the right information and understanding so that I could speak up for my wife when she was not in a position to do so herself, particularly in those final stages of pregnancy and during labour.

As we have heard this afternoon and as set out in the motion, 76,000 mothers and 500 babies worldwide lose their lives due to pre-eclampsia and related conditions every single year. What I found to be most striking is that 60 per cent of those maternal deaths could be prevented. We know that signs of pre-eclampsia, as we have heard today, can be easily missed. Symptoms such as swelling of the face, hands and feet, or pain below the ribs, can easily be mistaken for routine parts of pregnancy.

The theme of this year’s world pre-eclampsia day—know her symptoms—feels very apt. We need to equip expectant mothers, as well as their partners and loved ones who are supporting them, with the right information so that they can ask the right questions, raise concerns and advocate for themselves at all stages of pregnancy and afterwards.

That responsibility does not end at birth. As we have heard, the years afterwards are just as important in protecting mothers’ long-term health. We need to ensure that women receive long-term monitoring following pre-eclampsia in pregnancy to guard against those long-term risks. I was shocked to hear that, following her experiences, Patricia Gibson was not even made aware of those long-term risks. We need to look at that issue.

Far too often, women are not taken seriously when they raise medical concerns. Unfortunately, that is often the case during pregnancy and more generally, and that needs to be tackled.

I am pleased that, as part of the women’s health plan, the Scottish Government is committed to greater support for women who have experienced pre-eclampsia, but we need to ensure that those commitments are carried out. I agree with Patricia Gibson that we need to make publicly available the data on women who are impacted. That is vital and is a key issue that should come out of the debate. Raising awareness will save lives, as will ensuring that women are listened to.

As this is my first speech, I pay tribute to my predecessor, Rona Mackay, who served the people of Strathkelvin and Bearsden for a decade. I thank her for her efforts in the community over that time.

This is the first time that the Lib Dems have won this Scottish Parliament seat, but I recognise the excellent local work done over the years by Jo Swinson and my current Westminster colleague, Susan Murray. From Bearsden in the west, through Bishopbriggs, Lennoxtown, Campsie and Torrance to Lenzie, Kirkintilloch and Twechar in the east, each part of Strathkelvin and Bearsden is brimming with history, natural beauty and, most importantly, the very best people. Over the past year, I have had the pleasure of meeting thousands of them. As I said to many of them on the doorstep, I cannot promise to fix everything or to be perfect, but I do promise to work hard, to be centred on service and to bring their voices loudly and clearly to this Parliament. Being elected as the MSP for the area where I grew up and where I am raising my family is an honour and responsibility that I do not take lightly, and I will use the incredible opportunity that I have been given to push for positive change.

It is all about opportunity. Providing young people with the right opportunities at the right time is a big part of why I got involved in politics, and sport often provides a gateway for those opportunities. As we have heard, it has an important part to play in mental and physical health, providing challenge and community. It is important that the summer of sport that lies ahead helps to provide those opportunities at grass-roots level so that all people, from all backgrounds, can access them. To allow that to happen, we must ensure that local authorities are properly funded. The chronic underfunding of local councils has forced them to make cuts for years, with leisure and sporting facilities often the first to be impacted.

Key facilities such as the only diving school in the west of Scotland are under threat of closure right now. Thirteen-year-old Heather Graham from Bearsden, in my constituency, has won a gold medal for diving but will have to give up the sport entirely if her diving school in Ayr closes. I hope to hear a positive response on that from the minister in her closing remarks.

As we look ahead to the world cup, let us follow the lead of our national team. It was their grit, audacity and teamwork that got them to the world cup in the first place, and I think we could use some of that here, too.

I plan to be really robust in holding the Government to account and in holding power to account. However, in doing that, I will always be focused squarely on what truly matters to the people I represent. They want us to work together to find solutions—they are just not interested in party politics or the political bubble. So many of them are really struggling and have lost faith in politics. They have lost faith in this place improving their lives. They are tired of a political culture that rewards division with attention and punishes collaboration—and I am tired of it, too. We do not have time for all of that any more. We have to focus on fixing things and on getting things done. I know that members across the chamber want to make things better for their constituents, and we should all work together to make that happen.

I will end with a wee story. My late grandfather was raised on a farm on the remote west coast of Ireland. He used to walk to school in bare feet every day. He came to Scotland as a young man and worked hard to build a future for his family. I am sure that it is the same story for many of our grandparents. He bought me the suit that I am wearing when I was just 13 years old. [Laughter.] He said that it was far too big at the time—and it was—but that I would grow into it one day. I think that he would have got a real kick out of seeing me wearing it here, in the chamber, today. I dedicate this first speech to him and to my wee three-year-old boy. I hope that I have, in some way, started to grow into this jacket.

Now it is time to crack on with providing a better future for those who will come after us. At the end of the day, that is what all of this is really all about.

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