Chamber and committees

The annual day of reflection for Covid commemoration takes place this Sunday, 9 March. This year marks the fifth anniversary of the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in Scotland and across the United Kingdom. This is a significant milestone, and I welcome the opportunity to gather in the chamber to remember all those who have been affected.

The day of reflection offers a chance to come together to remember everyone who died during the pandemic. Losing a loved one is one of the greatest challenges that many of us will experience, and we know all too well that those who experienced bereavement and grief during the pandemic faced unique challenges, dealing with loss and grief at a distance.

The day of reflection gives us an opportunity to remember the suffering that was endured during the pandemic, to remember the impact that was felt by all in our society, to remember the fear that we all experienced and to remember the heroic actions of many to support us all.

The day of reflection has its origins in the recommendations of the UK commission on Covid commemoration and in the work of Marie Curie. I put on record my thanks to both groups for all that they have done to support bereaved families and to ensure that, as a nation, we continue to make time to remember those who lost their lives.

Today, as First Minister, I express my deepest condolences to all those who lost family and friends, including those who are able to join us in the gallery today. It is our solemn duty, as leaders and as public servants, to mark the day of reflection and to ensure that those who died are remembered by us all.

In May 2022, it was my great privilege to attend the unveiling of Scotland’s national Covid memorial—the “I remember” walk in Glasgow’s Pollok park. At that event, I was struck by the dignity and strength of those who had suffered loss in such difficult circumstances. On Sunday, I will attend a memorial in Glasgow and lay a wreath in memory of those who lost their lives. The commemoration is organised by Covid-19 families Scotland, a group of bereaved families that was founded by Connie McCready during the pandemic. I pay tribute to Connie, Peter McMahon and Carolyn Murdoch, who serve as the group’s administrators, for all that they do on behalf of the families affected to ensure that the legacy of their loved ones lives on.

To support that legacy, in 2021, the Scottish Government funded the Remembering Together project, which commissioned creative practitioners and artists in all 32 local authority areas to co-create Covid-19 memorial projects. The Remembering Together project is about being part of a process to commemorate those who have lost their lives and those who have experienced loss and whose lives were changed for ever.

The annual day of reflection offers us all the opportunity to remember lives lost, to reflect on the sacrifice of many and to provide space for people to consider their experiences of the pandemic in a way that suits them best. On Sunday, as always, we will remember.

The Government is considering all the issues that were raised in the consultation on heat in buildings. We will respond as soon as we can.

I confirmed to Parliament that tackling the climate emergency is one of my key priorities—it is one of the four priorities of the Government. Heating our homes and workplaces causes around 20 per cent of our emissions, and we cannot achieve net zero without ending our use of gas boilers.

I am very happy to welcome the contribution of Moments of Freedom women and the Isaro Community Initiative to welcome new Scots. I know that Moments of Freedom was one of more than 80 organisations that hosted a community consultation as part of the work to update the “New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy” last year.

Through our cross-policy working on the “New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy Delivery Plan 2024-26”, we are taking account of intersectional approaches to gender equality, including engaging new Scots in the delivery of Scotland’s equally safe strategy and the wider work on violence against women and girls to ensure that the needs of new Scots are addressed. Intersectionality is key to our work with the National Advisory Council on Women and Girls for accelerating action on gender equality.

The first thing that I will say is that I saw during the week news that Mr Leonard intends not to seek re-election to Parliament. I express my warmest wishes to him and commend him for his service in the Scottish Parliament, which has been full of impact on many issues—including some of the issues that he puts to me on behalf of employees in Scotland today—for which I have the greatest respect.

Strike action at Scottish Water is obviously a matter for Scottish Water. I encourage the Scottish Water leadership and trade unions to try to find a solution that avoids disruption.

On the question of bonuses, because we have explained all the details to Parliament, Mr Leonard will be familiar with the point that, when it comes to the recruitment of leadership for Scottish Water, we are invariably in competition with other water companies around the United Kingdom. In that competition, the element of bonuses is part of the fabric of the financial settlements that are available to attract employees. Comparatively, bonus payments for the leadership of Scottish Water are much lower than those in other parts of the United Kingdom and the performance of Scottish Water is much higher than that of companies in other parts of the United Kingdom.

I acknowledge that those are difficult comparisons to make, but they are part of the judgments that the Government has to arrive at on how we attract the leadership to safeguard the important asset that is Scottish Water.

Mr Mountain raises an important point. Indeed, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care and I discussed not that specific issue but the general question of how we deliver healthcare in areas where recruitment and employment can be a challenge but where, as Mr Mountain correctly puts to me, there is physical capacity to undertake some of that surgical activity in the health board facilities.

Part of what we are trying to work on is how we work collaboratively in health boards to address the circumstances that Mr Mountain puts to me, so that we can use that capacity to help us to reduce waiting times and meet the needs of his constituents and others. It is very much a live part of the activity that the health secretary and I are taking forward to ensure that the needs of constituents around the country are met.

I will not accept the charge—I reject it entirely—of state-sanctioned abuses. I will not accept that charge from Ash Regan in any way, shape or form. I have put on the record my absolute commitment to the protection of women and girls in our society. That underpins the policy agenda of my Government and it will underpin my conduct as First Minister.

Last week, I set out my aspiration to draw together leaders from across Scotland, including from our parliamentary parties, to consider how we can agree a common approach to asserting the values of our country in order to bring people together and create a cohesive society where everyone feels safe and at home. I am heartened by the response from civic society and parliamentary party leaders, and I hope that we will be able to convene that gathering on 23 April. My objective is to draw people together to encourage community cohesion, which will involve working to tackle the hatred and prejudice that Mr Choudhury raised—Audrey Nicoll echoed what he said. I look forward to using that gathering to create a firm foundation for the values of Scottish society.

I think that Mr Sarwar has used that line on me once or twice before, and I dare say that I will hear it a few more times between now and the elections in May 2026.

I will try to address the substance of Mr Sarwar’s points. I am concerned about those points, and I will happily look in more detail at the issues that he has raised. On cancer care, under the 31-day standard, 94.3 per cent of patients were treated within 31 days of a decision to treat, with a median wait for treatment of just four days. That is exceptional performance. We are finding difficulty in meeting the 62-day standard, but the median wait is 49 days from urgent suspicion of cancer referral to first treatment.

In addition, through the work that is under way, the Government is putting in place provisions to deliver more than 150,000 extra appointments and procedures. In relation to some of the additional sites that we are bringing forward to undertake orthopaedic appointments—which Mr Sarwar asked me about—we expect to be able to deliver more than 2,500 extra procedures in those sites. That is possible only because the Government’s budget has been approved by Parliament and will invest a record amount of money in the national health service.

I am very happy to confirm to the Parliament that there will be leadership to take that issue forward, as there is on a wide variety of climate measures. That is evidenced by the financial commitments that the Government has introduced in the budget, which I was delighted that Mr Harvie and his colleagues were able to support.

I recognise the urgency and seriousness of the issue. Fuel poverty in our country is one of the key issues that underpins the question that Mr Harvie has put to me. The impact of changes in energy prices on fuel poverty rates in Scotland is clear, as those rates have almost doubled between 2019 and 2023. We must acknowledge the significance of the impact of fuel and energy prices on fuel poverty. That is why we must take action on the climate, which Mr Harvie has raised with me, why the matter is central to the Government’s agenda and why we will deliver progress as quickly as we can.

First, I thank Mr Sarwar for his generous and kind comments about the birth of my first grandson. I also welcome his characterisation of me as “a young grandfather”. That is the most precious remark, and it is helping me to come to terms with all that is going on in my life just now. His kindness and good wishes are deeply appreciated by my daughter, her husband and Rua—as are those of many other members of the Parliament. I am grateful for them.

In relation to the NHS, Mr Sarwar knows from our exchanges that the issue commands my attention and is an absolute priority for me. I recognise that people are waiting too long for treatment in Scotland today, so the work that the health secretary and I are doing is very focused on reducing waiting list numbers—indeed, that was the subject of a lengthy discussion yesterday between me, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care and NHS chief officers from around the country.

We are in a position in which progress has been made. Figures that were published in February show a 4 per cent decrease in the total waiting list size for diagnostic tests, which is one illustration of the improvements that are being made. We are determined to focus on further improvements by ensuring that we increase the capacity of the national health service, increase productivity at the local level and are able to meet the needs of the population.

The point that Mr Sarwar put to me, in principle, of an NHS being available free at the point of need when people require it, is exactly what I want to deliver for the people of Scotland.