Chamber and committees

The Government has set out its position. If Rachael Hamilton’s response is a supposed welcome to the Government’s agreeing with her, I would hate to hear what her reaction would be if we said that we disagreed with her.

Our budget will be cut by £160 million as a consequence of changes by the Labour Government. The Conservatives and the Labour Party want us to reduce taxation, which will further reduce the money that is available. Clare Haughey’s question reminded me of the commitment that Anas Sarwar gave to the people of Scotland—he gave it directly to me—that there would be “no austerity under Labour”. We are now getting austerity under Labour, and Labour should be ashamed of itself.

There are challenges in the national health service, and there is not an occasion when I am questioned on the subject when I do not accept that point, but there are also a couple of realities that we have to wrestle with. The first is the increased demand that was created as a consequence of the Covid pandemic. Our health service staff are working as hard as they possibly can, and I admire them for all that they are doing to try to deal with that situation.

The second reality is the financial context in which we are operating. This Government has taken some pretty difficult decisions to increase the money that is available to the national health service so that, for example, we can afford pay deals in order that we avoid industrial action. That has been such an important element of sustaining the national health service in Scotland, and I welcome the positive dialogue that has taken place.

However, the problem here is the perpetuation of austerity. Mr Sarwar told me during the election campaign that there would be “No austerity under Labour”, so Mr Sarwar can try—

—is that, if he wants to help the situation, he should say to his UK masters to end the austerity because, as he well knows, all roads lead back to Westminster on NHS funding.

The Cabinet will next meet on Tuesday.

The Scottish Government remains committed to using the latest scientific consensus of established evidence to inform our view on ultra-processed foods. Many ultra-processed foods are high in fat, sugar or salt, which can contribute to diet-related conditions. However, some food that is classed as ultra-processed, such as wholegrain breads and breakfast cereals, can be consumed as part of a balanced diet.

We continue to endorse a healthy balanced diet as represented by the “Eatwell Guide”. That guide will support progress towards achieving our Scottish dietary goals, and it complements our vision for Scotland to be a good food nation where people from every walk of life can take pride and pleasure in, and benefit from, the food that they produce, buy, cook, serve and eat each day. There are significant issues, and opportunities in the education system to enable a deep understanding of the nutritional value of particular types of food.

Obviously, the Government will look carefully at the OECD report, but I do not agree with that conclusion. The Government has invested heavily in the skills sector over many years. Engagement with business is work that has been undertaken by a range of organisations, not least Skills Development Scotland, to ensure that we undertake skills audits in localities. That involves engaging with employers to ensure that we understand the future skills needs of individual localities and that those are provided for by the skills development system in Scotland. When we look at the outcomes that have been achieved as a consequence of our investment, we see a record number of young people going on to positive destinations as a consequence of their participation in skills development in Scotland.

No. We take ideas and projects and make them available right across the country. The young persons guarantee started off as a proposition in the City of Edinburgh. It was a tremendously good idea, which was led by Sandy Begbie of Scottish Financial Enterprise, partnering with the City of Edinburgh Council. It was a very good proposition. We listened to that learning and we applied it across the country. That is the right thing to do.

The problem with the statistics that Douglas Ross puts to me is that, in the most recent economic inactivity data available, there was a significant fall in economic inactivity in Scotland and an increase in economic participation. The issues are challenging, and the work on tackling economic inactivity is fundamental to encouraging economic participation, but it commands the focus of Government to maximise the number of people taking part in the labour market and participating in Scotland’s economy.

The issues that Carol Mochan raises are very much at the heart of the Government’s response and intervention on these questions. As I have indicated, the UK Government approach is welcome and it obviously complements many of the measures that we are taking, which are being progressed through the curriculum in Scottish education. There is an opportunity to take forward our commitment to ensuring that people have a balanced, healthy diet, which is essential for individuals’ wellbeing.

The place to start is in the home and in our schools. We need to make sure that everybody is aware of the nutritional value of food, as well as of the dangers of some foods and the damage that they can do.

Work can also be done to encourage an active lifestyle, which is very important. I can report to Mr Whittle that I was out running this morning.

Mr Whittle is gesticulating to me that he was also out running this morning, so I had better put that on the record to protect his international reputation.

The fact that he has asked me that question gives me the opportunity to say that I welcomed his question last week about the Commonwealth games, and I hope that he welcomes the announcement that the Government made on Tuesday about our support for the work of Commonwealth Games Scotland. Having the Commonwealth games in Glasgow in 2026 is a very visual signal of the opportunities to lead a healthy and active lifestyle.