Chamber and committees

I answered the point in my earlier answer, where a scoping—[Interruption.]

I compliment Monica Lennon on the diligent work that she has undertaken to engage with many stakeholders and parties, and also with the Government, on the formulation of the bill that she is to introduce to Parliament. I recognise the importance that she attaches to that piece of legislation, and the Government understands the significance of the points that are raised. We will, of course, consider the bill that Monica Lennon is going to introduce, and we would welcome further dialogue with her on the issue.

We are committed to the protection of our natural environment, as represented by the introduction in February of the Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill. We will give very serious consideration to the conduct and issues that Monica Lennon raises, because the implications and impact of those issues are detrimental to our natural environment, which we have to protect.

On Tuesday evening, along with Richard Lochhead, the Minister for Business, I had the enormous pleasure of meeting a delegation of mayors from Ukraine who had come to Scotland to sign a trade agreement and to encourage collaboration. On Wednesday, the agreement was signed by the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, Angus Robertson, on behalf of the Scottish Government. That dialogue has been encouraged and enabled by the work of the Parliament’s cross-party group on Ukraine, of which Mr Beattie is the convener. I am grateful to that group for its support.

The agreement is one example of how we can establish further co-operation and collaboration with Ukraine as it tries to recover from an illegal invasion. It is also an opportunity for me to indicate our resolute support for Ukraine’s people. On Friday, I was in London, where I met the Prime Minister. Of all the things that he said to me and the leaders of other devolved Governments that day, I cannot compliment enough his resolution in support of Ukraine. I applaud the Prime Minister for his resolute support. He speaks on behalf of the Scottish Parliament when he highlights the importance of our standing up to Russian aggression, protecting Ukraine and securing its future. We will stand steadfast with the people of Ukraine in that regard.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service intends to undertake a consultation on various aspects of service redesign, which it will conduct through engagement. Twenty-three service delivery review options are being considered as part of a full public consultation that will commence at the end of June 2025. Rachael Hamilton’s points can be considered as part of that consultation. It is important that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service adopts a sustainable approach to fire and rescue cover, which will vary around the country based on the number of incidents and the level of risk in particular localities. The SFRS will carry out the consultation in a professional manner.

On the financial aspects, the Government has increased the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s budget for this financial year by £18.1 million. Indeed, its budget has increased by £97 million since 2017-18. Therefore, the Government has been investing in the service, but, from time to time, the SFRS needs to explore how its resources can be deployed properly. It will do that in a professional way while protecting public safety.

The Government will carefully consider the advice of the Climate Change Committee before we set out our proposed carbon budgets in secondary legislation in due course. There are a lot of policy proposals in the committee’s recommendations. The Government will consider those. However, what is absolutely inescapable is that we have to take action to tackle climate change in our society. That is why the Government is absolutely committed to achieving net zero by 2045—because the implications and consequences of not doing so would be very dramatic and damaging for Scotland and our economy.

The issue of Brexit—

Brexit has caused incalculable damage to the farming industry in Scotland, and this Government is working to repair that damage.

My second point is that the targets for reaching net zero by 2045 are not those of the SNP—they are the Parliament’s. They were democratically agreed to by the Parliament because we all recognised the importance of climate action.

What we see in front of us just now is obvious: the Conservatives are deserting the action that is necessary on climate for a cheap political opportunity. However, this Government will do what it always does, which is to act in the best interests of the people of Scotland and to secure the future of our country.

Since the Prime Minister made his announcement, the Scottish Government has not been furnished with detail, and the lack of information is only adding further to the uncertainty. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government wrote to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury this week to urge the UK Government to share its plans with us as quickly as possible, so that we can understand any implications for our own programmes and, crucially, our budget.

Mr Findlay talked about reassurance for farmers. As a representative of a constituency that includes many members of the farming community, I take the commitment to support the future of Scottish agriculture very seriously, and it has always been reflected—[Interruption.] That commitment has always been reflected in my policy priorities.

I can tell the Parliament that what was not reassuring to farmers was Brexit, which Mr Findlay supported. That has damaged the economic opportunities—[Interruption.]

In his previous question, Mr Sarwar referenced the significance of the Covid pandemic. All of us must be realistic and recognise that the Covid pandemic interrupted the ability to deliver healthcare services for members of the public for a two-year period. It takes a period of time to recover from such an event, and focus and direction are needed to ensure that the process is successful. The measures that I have set out on the expansion of capacity are designed to ensure that that is the case.

I am sorry that Eileen Kelly has had the experience that she has had. Obviously, there are individuals who receive treatment earlier than was promised in her circumstance, because there is an ability to put forward legitimate clinical cases for urgent intervention where such intervention is able to be undertaken. If Mr Sarwar wants to furnish me with the details of the case, I will examine exactly what has happened in that circumstance.

We are working to make sure that we have in place the staff and the resources to address the issue. What will not help us is the approach that is now being taken on immigration by the United Kingdom Government. Anyone who has looked at the details of what it has set out, which involves turning off our ability to attract international workers, will realise that that is a very damaging blow to our health service. I saw data from Scottish Care on social care—[Interruption.]