Chamber and committees

As Mr Findlay knows, all the issues around tax are dealt with in the budget process, and there will be an opportunity for the Conservatives to engage in that process to discuss those issues. I know that the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government will engage in those discussions constructively, but the Conservatives have to be able to come to them with some proposals. [Interruption.]

Let me explain my point: between 1999 and 2007, an average of 5,448 affordable homes were built each year under the Labour and Liberal Democrat Government. Under this Government, it is an average of 7,734 each year. The SNP Government has built more houses on average per year than our predecessors. That is because we are prepared to take the action to deliver on the housing emergency when everyone in the Labour and Conservative parties just postures.

I ask Mr Whittle to furnish me with the details of the case; it will obviously be familiar to the Government if the cabinet secretary has already intervened.

I have to say that I am not very happy with what Mr Whittle has recounted, because if a cabinet secretary directs an organisation to engage with a member of Parliament, I would expect that engagement to be substantial, regardless of the politics in the chamber. I have dealt with Warmworks on a constituency basis on a number of occasions, and have pursued cases where things had not worked out perfectly, so if Mr Whittle would give me the details of that case, I will pursue it on his behalf.

As colleagues will be aware, I travelled to Washington DC last week to support the efforts of the Scotch Whisky Association and its counterparts in the United States in the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States and the Kentucky Distillers Association, which have a shared and symbiotic relationship in relation to the sustainability of the industry.

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to spend about 50 minutes with President Trump explaining that argument, and I engaged substantially with the President on the issue.

I make it clear to Parliament that I was making representations on behalf of the industry—I was not negotiating a trade deal; that is the proper responsibility of the United Kingdom Government. However, I also had the opportunity last night, at the state event that was hosted by His Majesty the King at Windsor castle, to discuss the issue further with President Trump. I will continue to engage in order to ensure that I deliver the type of zero-for-zero arrangement that the United States whiskey industry and the Scotch whisky industry are seeking, because I think that that makes economic sense on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Scottish Government recognises the issue. In one of my earlier answers, I made reference to the local housing allowance; that uplift would assist us to tackle the issues of homelessness that we are wrestling with and to support families who are living with poverty.

In this financial year, the Government is making £7.9 million available to mitigate shortfalls in local housing allowance rates and help to protect tenancies. We are making a further £2 million available to support households in temporary accommodation to find settled homes.

There would be much greater assistance if a link were to be established with the local housing allowance. I encourage the UK Labour Government to do exactly that.

It is with enormous sadness but also with the warmest of heartfelt thanks that I rise to move the motion in my name to honour a true giant of my party, of this Parliament and of Scottish public life, Sir George Reid. I express my condolences and those of the people of Scotland to his wife Dee, to his daughter Morag, to his son-in-law Pete and to his grandchildren, and I welcome members of the family who join us in the gallery today.

Born in Tullibody, in the shadow of his beloved Ochil hills, George was a proud son of the wee county, a passionate advocate for the people and the communities of Clackmannanshire, and destined to make a huge impact on the lives of others far beyond Clackmannanshire’s borders.

George was a distinguished journalist, academic, parliamentarian, humanitarian and public servant. As the last surviving member of the trailblazing group of Scottish National Party MPs elected in 1974, George was so proud to have served his home county both at Westminster and here in the Scottish Parliament, an institution that he dedicated so much of his life to establishing.

Although this Parliament reconvened in 1999, it truly came of age under George Reid’s tenure as Presiding Officer. That stewardship reminded us that this Parliament and this country are at their best when we look outwards, not inwards. His finest speech in this Parliament was in the debate on the Iraq war in 2003, when he cautioned:

“The war has already claimed its first victim, which is the truth.”—[Official Report, 13 March 2003; c 16446.]

Railing against that sentiment was not just something that George thought or said, or would have had others do; it was a value that he put into practice throughout his life.

His humanitarian and international outlook was at the heart of his life and work. He played a central role in the media coverage of the Ethiopian famine and worked tirelessly to provide assistance through the Red Cross and Red Crescent around the world.

He used his remarkable knowledge, his experience and his intellect as a professorial fellow at the University of Stirling, teaching on international conflict and co-operation for the learning of others. That was typical of George.

Although an inspiring and captivating speaker, he was never content just to speak. He was always determined to act, to make a real difference and to use his huge intellect, his drive and his compassion for others to make the world a better place.

It was that determination that he brought to bear so effectively here in this Parliament. Those of us who served during his time as Presiding Officer will remember the extraordinary leadership that he provided, putting aside party and working truly in the national interest, ending the early struggles and controversies and truly cementing our Parliament’s place as the centre of the political life of the nation. When the history of this Parliament is written, the role played by George Reid will be at its heart because he was a true statesman, a man whose life’s work was devoted to, and has benefited, the whole nation of Scotland.

His unique and exemplary commitment to public service was recognised in his appointment by Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth as Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and to the Order of the Thistle, one of the ancient symbols of our nationhood.

George’s political life was anchored in his drive to secure for Scotland her place as an outward-looking, equal and independent member of the family of nations. As a teenager, I heard his arguments for that cause. His advocacy—and that of his peers Winnie Ewing, Gordon Wilson and Margaret Ewing—for Scotland and for independence shaped the political convictions that I have held for my entire adult life. Throughout my parliamentary service, George Reid was a source of wise counsel and steadfast support. Leadership can be a lonely place, but I was always strengthened in exercising leadership by the encouragement and the deepest of loyalty of George Reid.

So it was when I visited George for the last time in July. Knowing that his life would soon come to an end, I listened to a wise man at peace with himself and as assured as any of us can ever be that he had led a fulfilled life of joy, of service and of love.

I feel immensely privileged that my life was enhanced by knowing George Reid and benefiting from his counsel. I would like to end this tribute by reflecting on a section of George’s 1995 Donaldson lecture, an exposition of values and political thought that stands as a defining contribution to the development of my party and of modern Scottish politics. In that lecture, George said:

“Our future cannot be a continuation of our past. Too often, we Scots are concerned about the day before yesterday.”

Instead, he implores us

“to say, with a sense of purpose, ‘Today is tomorrow.’”

With those words, George encourages us to use today to secure the future, to think optimistically of what might be possible and to pursue a common determination to shape and improve Scotland’s future. I commit today to doing that and, in so doing, I hope that that can be the on-going tribute of us all to the life and legacy of Sir George Reid.

I move,

That the Parliament expresses its profound sadness at the death of George Reid; extends its deepest sympathy and sincere condolences to his family and friends; appreciates the many years of public service that he gave as an MP, MSP, Presiding Officer, and Lord Lieutenant; recognises the substantial contribution that he made to the establishment of the Scottish Parliament and the securing of its place in the life of the nation, and acknowledges his humanitarian work over many decades and the high regard in which he was held by colleagues across the world.

[Applause.]

First, I pay tribute to the courage of women such as Liz Shanks. It is invariably women who have had the courage to come forward and talk about their experience so as to ensure that victims are more central to the criminal justice system. I know that the justice secretary has engaged substantively on all those issues.

We have will have amendments in front of us in Parliament on Tuesday, and the Government will consider all the amendments that are submitted to come to the right conclusion.

I assure the Parliament and Liz Shanks that we have listened to the opinions that have been expressed to us, we are making changes to the bill, and the Government is absolutely committed to ensuring that the voice of victims is central to the way in which the criminal justice system proceeds.

That action is coming through the work of the midwifery task force. That is under way—I reassure Carol Mochan on that point.

Carol Mochan offered to make clear the Scottish Labour position. Let me make clear what Scottish Labour’s position is on all those issues. Scottish Labour members’ position is that none of them—not a single one—was prepared to put their support towards the Government’s budget, which pays for NHS staff the length and breadth of the country. That is a pathetic contribution from the Scottish Labour Party.

I will tell Parliament what the other Scottish Labour position is. The Scottish Labour Party is umbilically linked to the Labour Party in London, and what is the Prime Minister doing? He is making it more difficult for healthcare workers to come from other countries to work in this country. Twenty-six per cent of our social care staff come from other countries, and the Prime Minister is shutting the door on all of that. The Scottish Labour Party has got nothing to offer the Parliament on the health service. Scottish Labour is delivering a lack of support to the NHS, and this Government is delivering for the NHS in Scotland.

First, I pay tribute to the courage of women such as Liz Shanks. It is invariably women who have had the courage to come forward and talk about their experience so as to ensure that victims are more central to the criminal justice system. I know that the justice secretary has engaged substantively on all those issues.

We have will have amendments in front of us in Parliament on Tuesday, and the Government will consider all the amendments that are submitted to come to the right conclusion.

I assure the Parliament and Liz Shanks that we have listened to the opinions that have been expressed to us, we are making changes to the bill, and the Government is absolutely committed to ensuring that the voice of victims is central to the way in which the criminal justice system proceeds.

That action is coming through the work of the midwifery task force. That is under way—I reassure Carol Mochan on that point.

Carol Mochan offered to make clear the Scottish Labour position. Let me make clear what Scottish Labour’s position is on all those issues. Scottish Labour members’ position is that none of them—not a single one—was prepared to put their support towards the Government’s budget, which pays for NHS staff the length and breadth of the country. That is a pathetic contribution from the Scottish Labour Party.

I will tell Parliament what the other Scottish Labour position is. The Scottish Labour Party is umbilically linked to the Labour Party in London, and what is the Prime Minister doing? He is making it more difficult for healthcare workers to come from other countries to work in this country. Twenty-six per cent of our social care staff come from other countries, and the Prime Minister is shutting the door on all of that. The Scottish Labour Party has got nothing to offer the Parliament on the health service. Scottish Labour is delivering a lack of support to the NHS, and this Government is delivering for the NHS in Scotland.