Chamber and committees

It is a bit rich for Anas Sarwar to come to the chamber and criticise me for decisions that I have taken, when he supports a party that wishes to relieve bankers of the obligation to pay into our tax system by lifting the cap on their bonuses. That is a ludicrous position.

This morning, I listened to the contribution from Keir Starmer in which he set out Labour’s policy position. I did not hear Keir Starmer setting out an uplift in public expenditure as a consequence of 14 years of austerity.

I have gone through with Douglas Ross some of the issues and the provisions that are in place, but I will go through them again for Mr Cole-Hamilton.

The circumstances at the weekend were unacceptable, and the recommendations of Sir Lewis Ritchie should have been implemented consistently over the past six years. They were implemented for three of the past six years. That is not good enough—it certainly was not good enough at the weekend—so that issue has been addressed directly by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care in his dialogue with NHS Highland.

Mr Cole-Hamilton raises issues about maternity care in Caithness. As he will understand, we take direct clinical advice about the sustainability of clinical services. It would be inappropriate for the Government not to take seriously the clinical advice that we have about the sustainability and effectiveness of local services. That will always be a priority for the Government.

I want to make clear to the Parliament the importance that the Government attaches—hence the point that I have just made to Mr Sarwar—to the significance of the financial settlement that we give to the national health service and to ensuring that those resources are deployed effectively around the country so that we have effective public services and effective health services available. That is the direction of the Government’s healthcare policy, and that is what we will do and implement on behalf of the people of Scotland.

I understand the genuine concern that Mr Ross is expressing to Parliament today, and I take that very seriously. Mr Ross is correct that the report came out in 2018, but I point out that there has been a three-year period since then in which 24-hour emergency care arrangements were provided at Portree community hospital; however, they were not able to be sustained because of workforce challenges in the locality. I accept that that is not good enough, which is why the health secretary has spoken to NHS Highland to insist that those arrangements should be put in place.

There is of course a challenge in relation to some workforce issues, because of staff availability and issues in connection with housing availability. I say to Mr Ross that ambulance cover is available in Dunvegan, Portree, Kyle and, of course, at Broadford hospital. However, I do not in any way want to say that that is good enough.

Sir Lewis Ritchie’s recommendations must be implemented, and the health secretary has made that point directly and clearly to NHS Highland. It is a matter of fact that there was a three-year period in which those recommendations were in force, but they have not been able to be sustained because of workforce challenges.

I thank Evelyn Tweed for raising that important case. I have watched with incredible admiration the courage of Ros and Mark Dowey in talking about their beloved son, Murray. As the parent of a teenager, I cannot comprehend the scale of loss and the unimaginable suffering that they are experiencing, but I commend their bravery in raising awareness of the threat of sextortion, which has had such a terrible impact on their family.

The Government will continue to prioritise working closely with national and United Kingdom partners to protect children and young people from sexual abuse and exploitation through our membership of Police Scotland’s multi-agency group on preventing online child sexual abuse. In the coming weeks, ministers in the Government will meet the Ofcom board member for Scotland to discuss the implementation of the UK Government’s important online safety legislation, on which we, as a Government, have been deeply engaged. We must all take the efforts that we can to raise awareness of this important issue, to ensure that families and young people are supported to deal with the threats that now exist in our society.

I commend the bravery of Ros and Mark Dowey. They have my deepest sympathy for the loss that they have experienced, and the commitment of my Government to do all that we can to protect young people from crimes such as sextortion and the incalculable suffering that those crimes can inflict on families in our country.

That dialogue is essential, as is the dialogue with the ferries community board, and those will significantly shape the dialogue that the Government takes forward on those important questions. I give Jackie Dunbar the assurance that we will take the necessary time to ensure that all those issues are properly explored before final decisions are taken.

I am very much in favour of making sure that the expectations of communities are met in contract arrangements, and ministers will insist on that, so that we have a high-quality and reliable service for island communities. I am committed to ensuring that that is the case.

I will explore the point that Carol Mochan puts to me. The data that I have on immunisation uptake from Public Health Scotland, which was published on 26 March, indicates an increase in uptake in relation to some vaccinations but, from the information that I have, I do not think that that is specifically about pertussis. I will give Carol Mochan a specific answer, but generally, on immunisation, the uptake is moving in the right direction, which we all want to see. I will provide a specific answer on pertussis in the aftermath of First Minister’s questions.

I am sure that Parliament shares my concern at media reports of the tragic loss of five young lives as a consequence of whooping cough. Those deaths occurred in England, but Public Health Scotland has confirmed that notifications of whooping cough—or pertussis—in Scotland have increased since the beginning of the year and that the number of laboratory-confirmed cases is likely to rise in line with that.

Pertussis is spread by respiratory droplets, either directly between people or via contaminated items. Young, unimmunised children and babies are particularly at risk of severe illness. The infection can be prevented by immunisation, so I encourage parents to ensure that younger children and infants are immunised. Pregnant women should also receive the vaccine, which provides vital protection for the first few weeks of their baby’s life.

Between April 2016 and March 2023, we have delivered more than 10,000 homes in rural and island areas. We are working with local authorities and registered social landlords to encourage utilisation of the £25 million key workers homes fund where there are identified local requirements. I am pleased that three local authorities are actively looking to bring forward proposals in rural communities. We will invest nearly £600 million in affordable homes across Scotland this year, including significant investment in rural and island areas through our mainstream affordable housing supply programme, as well as our demand-led rural and islands housing fund and rural affordable homes for key workers fund.

I will happily take forward the issues that Mr Kerr has raised with me today. The Government has an infrastructure programme that is taking forward developments around the country. I will look at the particular project that Mr Kerr has put to me and consider the position of that project in the Government’s capital programme.