Chamber and committees

That is a very specific issue, so I cannot give Sharon Dowey a direct response today, but I will take that away and explore it.

My answer to a question from Mr Greene a few weeks ago indicated that we are on target to increase the number of beds available for rehabilitation services, according to the expectations of the national mission on drug deaths, so I am surprised to hear the information that Sharon Dowey has put to Parliament today, given that it is my expectation that we will achieve our published targets.

I will take that particular question away and explore the issue of River Garden.

That is courageous questioning from Jackie Baillie. For some considerable time, I have been trying to set out to Parliament the enormous pressure on public finances. [Interruption.] If Jackie Baillie would stop interrupting me, we might make a little more progress.

Scotland faces a public spending crisis, but the Labour Party is proposing to continue that austerity. That is what is being proposed. [Interruption.]

I am very familiar with the work of MCR Pathways. I supported its introduction into public policy when I was the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, and I recognise the transformative effect that it can have on young people.

Decisions about the allocation of funding are matters for individual local authorities. The Government has given local government a record funding settlement of more than £14 billion for this financial year, which will have been allocated proportionately to Glasgow City Council.

I encourage members to look carefully and seriously at the work of MCR Pathways, recognising the benefits that it can deliver for young people around the country.

I think that if Mr Ross were to look at the material that the Government has published and the process that we believe should be taken forward in a rational and considered way, he would find that the Government’s position is anchored around a number of principles. First, we have to assess the compatibility of any oil and gas licence application with the journey towards net zero, and a rigorous and thorough process must be undertaken around that. Secondly, in coming to that assessment, we must consider issues in relation to our energy security. Thirdly, we must take a responsible approach to managing the transition to net zero.

I am not going to stand here and be lectured by a leader of the Conservatives, whose party presided over the industrial devastation of central Scotland, the consequences of which we as a Government are still having to address. The Government will take a responsible approach to the management of the oil and gas sector and its transition to net zero, and we will take absolutely no lessons from the Conservatives.

First, I am sorry that Mr Choudhury’s constituent is facing the anxiety that they are facing. If he wishes to share details of that particular case with me, I will have it examined to see whether there is anything that can be done to address it.

The Government has invested £70 million in the endoscopy and urology diagnostic plan, which includes a commitment to develop urology diagnostic hubs that are designed to speed up the treatment of cases of the type that Mr Choudhury puts to me. They will enable us to detect cancer earlier and faster and intervene at the earliest possible stage, which is crucial in cancer care.

I assure Mr Choudhury of the importance that the Government attaches to this important area of health service policy. If he cares to advise me about the individual case, I will see what can be done to address the issues that he puts to me.

The issues in connection with the Rosebank oilfield have been the subject of a very active case, which is influenced by a decision in the Supreme Court today, so I will need to be careful about what I say in relation to the Rosebank development.

As Mr Ross will acknowledge, the Scottish Government believes that any new application for oil and gas developments has to have associated with it a very detailed and specific climate compatibility assessment, which should be undertaken to determine whether any such development can proceed in a fashion that is compatible with our journey to net zero. That is the approach that the Government believes should be taken.

I think that one of the reasons why Douglas Ross is leaving the leadership of the Conservative Party—

There are obviously a lot of fiscal choices involved in Mr Harvie’s question. He knows me well enough to know that the budget does not get written from here randomly during question time on a Thursday afternoon. There will be a process of engagement across the parliamentary spectrum to enable that to be undertaken.

However, I agree with Mr Harvie that the conspiracy of silence that exists between the Conservative Party and the Labour Party to hide the £18 billion of cuts from the public is reprehensible. The one thing that must happen after the election that we face is an end to austerity. Our public services cannot cope with any more austerity and, unfortunately, the outcome of the United Kingdom general election—the election of either a Conservative or a Labour Government—will deliver more austerity. We need to use our votes effectively in the election to prevent that from happening.

The UK Government’s own Migration Advisory Committee described our rural visa pilot proposal as

“sensible and clear in both scale and deliverability”,

and it highlighted that it is in the UK Government’s interest to trial it. Despite that, and despite the harm that has been caused to our rural and island communities by a hard Brexit, the current United Kingdom Government refused to engage.

The business sector recognises those harms. It is therefore welcome that FSB Scotland is calling for a rural visa pilot, which recognises that businesses need to attract people to Scotland to contribute to our economy and communities. Our offer to the next United Kingdom Government is simple—work with us and with stakeholders across Scotland, which are calling in the strongest terms possible for that pilot to be delivered.

I also do not think that Douglas Ross is on strong ground in attacking me about the rational and considered position that the Scottish Government is taking, when the Prime Minister is ignoring the climate emergency by sanctioning 100 oil and gas licences without any questions being asked. That is irresponsible. That is action that will accelerate the climate emergency.

This Government will take a rational and considered approach to oil and gas developments. We will also support the oil and gas sector to transition to the essential work that we need to undertake on renewables, because Scotland’s future lies as a green energy renewables powerhouse, and the Scottish Government is putting in place the measures to make that happen.