Chamber and committees

I warmly recommit the Government to achieving that objective by 2030. As Mr Greene states fairly, the operational plans that are being delivered to achieve that are on track and good progress is being made. However, we have to sustain that focus to make sure that we can achieve that objective. It is part of a global effort and we will succeed in that effort only if we start by addressing the issues here.

The other point that I would add is that we must also tackle stigma. There is still too much stigma around HIV and, as a tolerant, respectful and courteous society, we should do all that we can to eliminate that as we work together to achieve the objectives that Mr Greene has put to me.

We will concentrate our public expenditure on the priorities of the people of Scotland. Why does that matter? It matters because that delivers for the people of our country and demonstrates, as was proven by the credit rating agencies, that this country benefits from prudent fiscal management and prudent financial planning. That is what an SNP Government delivers.

The Scottish Government put forward legislation, which has been approved by Parliament, that introduces rent controls but also enables Scotland to be an attractive market for housing investment. That is demonstrated by the dialogue that the Government is having with the investment sector. Of course, any decisions about these issues will be set out in the budget in January.

Mr Findlay makes a habit of coming to the chamber and not reading out complete paragraphs from party manifestos that set out our position. We set out our manifesto position in 2021, but we said that we had to be mindful of the economic context. The economic context has been fundamentally changed by two things: first, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which led to a spike in inflation and a massive increase in public sector costs; and, secondly, the absolute rank and total stupidity of the Liz Truss budget, which Russell Findlay supported. That is what changed the landscape.

As the Minister for Victims and Community Safety made clear to the Criminal Justice Committee last week, although the Scottish Government strongly supports the principle of legislating to criminalise those who purchase sex, we retain a neutral stance on the Prostitution (Offences and Support) (Scotland) Bill. It is clear that a number of stakeholders have voiced concerns about the safety of women, and it is paramount that the legislation laid before Parliament must be safe for women involved in and exiting prostitution and must recognise online exploitation. It is paramount that, alongside a number of other issues with the bill that the committee has heard about, that must be addressed by the member in charge if the bill is to have the confidence of Parliament.

I assure Ruth Maguire of the sustained and detailed attention and engagement of the Government in taking forward legislation and in contributing to the discussion about addressing the issues.

I reiterate my deep disappointment and concern at that decision, and I assure the workforce at the Fife ethylene plant that the Scottish Government is committed to doing whatever it can to safeguard jobs there and to secure an industrial future for the site.

The Deputy First Minister has engaged extensively with all who have an interest in supporting the workforce and the local economy at Mossmorran, including the trade unions, workforce representatives, Fife Council and the United Kingdom Government, which holds the levers for industrial intervention at the scale that we have seen in England and Wales. We have also joined partners, including Fife Council, in calling for a pause to the closure, to ensure that all options to secure the industrial future of the site have been exhausted. I welcome Mr Rowley’s participation in the discussions on Monday.

Last Friday, I launched the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence in Perth city, in my constituency. Ministers will take part in a national leadership event, a vigil and a parliamentary debate and will visit local projects. Tackling gender-based violence is not a commitment for only 16 days, however; it is a commitment for 365 days a year. That is why we will continue to implement our equally safe strategy, which focuses on prevention and is backed by £21.6 million of expenditure for the current financial year.

Presiding Officer, Pam Gosal raises many serious issues, to which I would like to give substantial answers.

First, I welcome the groups that are here. I commend them for their courage and for commemorating the 46 women who have been killed by men. Every single time a woman is killed by a man in our society, it is a totally unacceptable crime and it appals all of us, regardless of our politics.

My second point is on the bill that Pam Gosal has introduced. The Government will engage constructively on the bill. We have already legislated on the issue through different measures—the Criminal Justice Modernisation and Abusive Domestic Behaviour Reviews (Scotland) Act 2025 is an example, as is the previous domestic abuse legislation—to strengthen the legislative position so that there is absolutely no tolerance of domestic violence in our society.

The issue of grooming gangs is a very complex one, to which the Government is giving detailed consideration. On Monday, along with the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills and the Minister for Children, Young People and the Promise, I was briefed by Police Scotland and the national child sexual abuse and exploitation strategic group on the prevalence of those issues in Scotland. The national group met to review those issues yesterday, and I have personally conducted a discussion on them with Professor Alexis Jay.

I hope that putting all those details on the record today will give Pam Gosal and colleagues in Parliament the confidence and assurance that the Government is looking in detail at all those questions. Nobody is putting their head in the sand. These matters are being looked at in detail. There are complexities around the interaction of the call that has been made for us on the issue with the child abuse inquiry that we have already statutorily established, so there are no straightforward ways through the issue. However, I assure Parliament that the Government is giving every serious consideration to this important issue.

The issues that Mr MacDonald raises are very important and significant. Calls for the disparity in alcohol duty to be addressed in the budget went unheard. There will now be a rise in duty rates amounting to 18 per cent over three years.

The Scotch whisky industry is an important sector to the Scottish economy. As Mr MacDonald will be aware, I worked assiduously over the summer to try to resolve another issue that is presenting challenges to the Scotch whisky industry—the tariffs applied by the United States. I await the outcome of the United Kingdom Government’s approach to that issue. I am becoming increasingly concerned that no solution has been offered, despite the hard work that has been done on the issue. I recognise that the industry is operating in a challenging environment, and the Scottish Government will support it in any way that it can.

Mr Whittle is shouting “spend to save” at me, but the money has to be available to spend in the first place. That comes about through constructive engagement on the budget. The Conservatives voted against the budget last year. I do not know what they will do this year, but I encourage the Parliament to come to considered conclusions about the priorities in the budget, and the Government will be willing to engage with members on that question.