Chamber and committees

It is very clear that the evidence points to the acute difficulties that Elena Whitham puts on the record. If there is a prolonged reduction in public expenditure, it will harm the population. That is what we are wrestling with, and that is why there must be a change of direction in the public finances. We have taken decisions in Scotland to expand public expenditure to enable investment in our public services. We need the fiscal climate of the United Kingdom to catch up with us to enable greater investment in the public services of our country.

When this Government came to office in 2007, the health service occupied about 33 per cent of the Government’s budget. Today, it is closer to 50 per cent. Those are the decisions that this Government has taken, and that has ensured that there is more funding to deal with the increased demand on the national health service.

Last year, with the allocation of consequential funding from the United Kingdom Government, we faced a choice. Consequentials came to us for business rates support for the hospitality industry. When that money came here, Douglas Ross wanted us to spend it on the hospitality sector, and we chose to spend it on the health service. We are prepared to make the tough choices; Douglas Ross ducks them. [Applause.]

I think that my colleagues are pretty happy that I am here just now, believe you me. [Interruption.]

Let me tell Douglas Ross why independence matters. People in this country are suffering because of the—[Interruption.]

I have set out what we are doing in considerable detail. The Presiding Officer has asked me to keep my remarks limited, so I will not repeat all that I have just put on the record. What I said in my answer is a demonstration of two things: one, the investment that we have made in specialist capacity to enable us to treat cancer patients, and two, that we are prepared to put in the resources to enable that to happen. That has not happened by accident. It has happened because ministers in the Government took a decision to increase taxes for higher earners so that we could spend more on health than was provided by the United Kingdom Government in consequentials. Secondly, it happened because we decided not to pass on a Barnett consequential to the hospitality sector, but to invest it instead in the national health service.

I am contributing to the debate by acknowledging the significant pressures on the national health service as well as the significant burden that has been created by prolonged austerity. What I worry about—and I worry about it deeply—is that I do not hear a willingness from the Labour Party to take a different course of direction and to invest more in our national health service to ensure that we can deliver the care that people require. I want to ensure that that is well understood by people in the course of the next week, so that they are fully informed about the limitations of the position that has been offered by the Labour Party. I want to demonstrate the commitments that we have given to put our money where our mouth is, to put taxes up, to increase investment in the national health service and to deliver for the people of this country.

In addition to Emma Harper’s point about the impact of the carer support payment on young people, from Monday we extended eligibility for that payment to 16 to 19-year-olds who are in full-time secondary education and are in exceptional circumstances. I hope that that will help to address some of the issues that the member raises.

The Government is committing a record £6.3 billion to benefits expenditure, which is £1.1 billion more than we receive from the United Kingdom Government for social security through the block grant. That demonstrates our commitment to tackling poverty. The investment will support more than one in five people in Scotland—in particular, disabled people. It will assist them to live full and independent lives and it will enable older people to heat their homes in winter. It recognises unpaid carers’ valuable contribution to our communities around the country.

I have the greatest respect for the comments of Dr Kennedy. I listened and I read his comments with great care, and I take them seriously, because Dr Kennedy has given a significant warning to us about what lies ahead.

I have been completely candid—[Interruption.] This will be interesting to see. I do not think that it is any secret that we are going to have a Labour Government in a little while. We will have to see how the dialogue develops here. A week on Friday, the issues that have been raised with me about the health service are going to be the Labour Party’s problem.

No, because we have exceeded our commitment to recruit 800 additional mental health workers to accident and emergency departments, GP practices, police station custody suites and prisons. We have also invested in mental health support in our schools and the appointment of mental health counsellors in order try to provide early intervention to reduce the crystallisation of demand for child and adolescent mental health services, so that young people are supported at an earlier stage. The Government has increased expenditure on mental health with a 2 per cent cash increase, representing 8.5 per cent of total national health service expenditure. Expenditure on CAMHS has also increased, and the Government will continue to support essential mental health services to assist in meeting the demands and needs of individuals in our society.

Recent analysis by the Government has estimated that reversing the two-child limit and reintroducing the family element of universal credit would lift 10,000 children in Scotland out of poverty. That would be a welcome addition to the effectiveness of the child poverty measures that the Government is already taking, which include the Scottish child payment and other measures, as a consequence of which we are keeping 100,000 children out of poverty.

It would be of assistance to us in achieving the fundamental aspiration of this Government, which is to eradicate child poverty, if we were to have the support of the United Kingdom Government through the lifting of the two-child limit, rather than the prolonging of child poverty as a consequence of the maintenance of that immoral policy.

I am sure that I speak for all members when I say that Mr Whitfield’s speech came as a great relief to us all in resolving that particular matter.

The motions in my name seek Parliament’s approval that Gillian Martin be appointed as Scottish minister and Alastair Allan be appointed as Scottish junior minister. Before I go on, though, I want to express my best wishes to Màiri McAllan as she temporarily leaves her Cabinet post to go on maternity leave. She is an outstanding and much-valued cabinet secretary, with responsibility for Scotland’s response to one of the defining challenges of our age—climate change—and she has never shied away from taking the big decisions and always seeks to push the powers of her portfolio to their limits.

Important though her Cabinet role is, it is nothing compared to the role that she is about to take on as a mother and a parent, when, with her husband Iain, they welcome their first child into their lives. There is no more vital task in our society than giving our children the best possible start in life and, although we will miss Màiri McAllan around the Cabinet table, she has my full support to take the time that she wishes to take and which she needs on maternity leave, knowing that her job will be there for her on her return. I am sad to say that that is not the experience of all women, but it is a message that I am keen for my Government to promote strongly. There should be no barrier to women holding senior positions in organisations from having children, and they deserve our full support to be able to do so. [Applause.] I know that the whole chamber will join me in sending our best wishes to Màiri and Iain as they await their new arrival.

As for today’s appointments, while Màiri McAllan takes her maternity leave, I have asked Gillian Martin to assume her responsibilities and become acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy. Gillian Martin has served as the Minister for Climate Action since May, but she has held similar briefs as a minister for some time before that. Before she was elected to Parliament, she spent time working in the energy industry and, as a representative of the north-east, she fully understands the complexities and the opportunities of her new role as she leads the Scottish Government’s efforts to deliver a just transition. She will also retain responsibility for the circular economy.

With Gillian Martin moving into a Cabinet position, I have asked Dr Alasdair Allan to take on her responsibilities and become Acting Minister for Climate Action. Dr Allan is no stranger to ministerial office, having served as a minister for many years previously in education and external affairs roles. He is well used to engaging with and listening to a wide variety of stakeholders on areas of critical importance to the Government. As a long-serving member of the Scottish Parliament for the Western Isles, Dr Allan brings a particular perspective to a portfolio where considering the needs of rural communities is absolutely vital, including on issues such as renewable heating and energy efficiency.

By the end of next week, we will have a new United Kingdom Government. We will await the result of the election. Although the chamber is about to rise for its summer recess, ministers across my Government will be seeking to engage promptly and constructively with counterparts in Westminster over the summer period. Gillian Martin and Dr Allan are both very keen to pursue their responsibilities, and I ask Parliament to approve their appointments today.

I move,

That the Parliament agrees that Gillian Martin be appointed as a Scottish Minister.

That the Parliament agrees that Alasdair Allan be appointed as a junior Scottish Minister.