Chamber and committees

I give the reassurance that the chief constable will address these issues. The chief constable is responsible for the operational deployment of police officers around the country. I believe that the financial settlement that we have put in place for policing is adequate for the challenges that we face in our country, given that we know that recorded crime is down by 40 per cent since 2006-07 and that there has been a 54 per cent fall in the rates of attempted murder and serious assault.

We have, comparatively speaking, lower levels of crime in our society, but we continue to invest in policing. I know that the chief constable will be very attentive to the need for effective deployment of resources around the country to meet the needs of communities that are facing challenges.

Those are urgent priorities for me, because they go to the heart of what I think is the key issue that is affecting the performance of our healthcare system in a number of respects, which is our ability to manage flow within healthcare settings. For example, if a hospital is at full occupancy and congested, it is difficult for staff in an emergency department to admit individuals into the hospital, and if we do not have enough social care provision in the community, we will have delayed discharges from our hospitals. There is an integrated link between emergency departments, hospital occupancy and delayed discharge. I assure Mr Findlay that all three of those elements relating to flow within the healthcare system are priorities for the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care and me as we undertake weekly scrutiny of the health system’s performance and the work to reduce waiting times.

We also want to strengthen access to general practice, which was the point that Mr Findlay made in his first question, so that individuals with healthcare requirements can get appropriate treatment and support at the earliest possible opportunity. Of course, a wide variety of treatments and support are available through pharmacies, general practice and other allied health professionals to whom we wish to improve access.

Not for the first time in my life, I find myself in huge agreement with Mr Carlaw’s comments. I appreciate the way in which he has expressed that point. The contrast of the material that Mr Carlaw has put on the record could not make his point more strongly. The education provision by the school has been acknowledged by Education Scotland and His Majesty’s chief inspector of education to be outstanding, and the outside of the school has been targeted by utterly unacceptable behaviour, which never had any place in Scottish society and certainly does not have any place in Scottish society in 2025.

I endorse entirely Mr Carlaw’s comments. Perhaps the best way through this is if Mr Carlaw and I visit St Joseph’s school. We could have a question-and-answer session to see how we both get on at the school in front of the pupils. The visit would be an indication of my warm appreciation of the strength of the school and what it does for the children of that community. [Applause.]

We do not accept it. We do not see it as acceptable in any way, nor are we resigned to it. That is why Healthcare Improvement Scotland went in and undertook that investigation. It is why the leadership of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said today that those issues will be addressed “at pace” and with urgency.

Let me use this platform to make it abundantly clear to every health board in the country that the culture that is referred to by Healthcare Improvement Scotland is completely and utterly unacceptable. In general, Scotland has a formidable record on improvements to patient safety. Indeed, our patient safety programme is very highly regarded internationally because of the work that it involves. However, the quality and strength of that patient safety programme will be undermined if there is not a culture of accepting the need to tackle the behaviour that the Healthcare Improvement Scotland report highlights. Mr Sarwar has my assurance that, in my communication and that of the health secretary to health boards, we are making it clear that the contents of that report are unacceptable and must be addressed by health boards around the country.

I thank Russell Findlay for his kind remarks about my dear colleague Christina McKelvie. I appreciate his condolences to all on the sad news.

The Government will consider the recommendations that are contained in the Audit Scotland report. We are taking forward a series of investments to strengthen access to healthcare in Scotland. General practice is one of the areas in which access is most critical. The Government’s investment through the primary care improvement fund, for example, and other steps that have been taken to expand the workforce in general practice are among the practical steps that we are taking to address the issues in the Audit Scotland report.

Today is an unbearably sad day as we all come to terms with the loss of our generous, kind, loyal and fun-loving colleague Christina McKelvie. Members across the chamber all feel that loss, but my party is aching at the news today.

Christina was a parliamentarian of the highest motivation and the finest nature. I was proud that she was a member of my Government, giving her all to make life better for others, which was always her motivation. She served her constituents, her party and her country with the greatest amount of devotion that was imaginable.

Today, I express to her partner, and my deputy, Keith Brown—one of my dearest friends—and to her sons, Jack and Lewis, my profound sympathy at their loss and my gratitude for the benefit of having known such a magnificent woman.

Climate change is driving more extreme weather conditions in Scotland. This month, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency reported that Scotland has had a drier than average winter. Scotland’s national water scarcity plan sets out how water resources will be managed during periods of prolonged dry weather. As part of that plan, the Scottish Government, SEPA and Scottish Water have established rigorous processes to monitor the situation and to support those affected.

Summer is usually a crucial time of the year for water demand and, potentially, for water shortages. It is important that water users and abstractors are aware of the risk of water scarcity, so that we can all help to reduce the pressure on the water environment. From May, SEPA will provide weekly water scarcity reports to update key sectors and stakeholders on the position.

I thank Mercedes Villalba for her kind remarks about Christina McKelvie.

I am grateful to Ash Regan for her comments on my dear colleague.

I am deeply concerned by recent incidents in Edinburgh and am fully supportive of Police Scotland’s efforts to apprehend those responsible. Although it would be inappropriate to comment on the investigation itself, I reassure members that significant resource is being put into the scrutiny of closed-circuit television footage and that door-to-door inquiries and increased patrols are being deployed in the area.

I encourage anyone who has information to report it directly to Police Scotland. There are, of course, a range of other measures that are being taken in relation to the work of the serious organised crime task force and its key partners to disrupt, deter and detect serious organised crime. That remains an absolute priority for all partners.

Those issues and judgments are a matter for the chief constable in the exercise of her operational responsibility for control of policing. It would be inappropriate for me to specify where police officers should be located, other than to reassure communities that, where the intelligence that is actively scrutinised by Police Scotland identifies the potential for violence to emerge in our society, that will be responded to by Police Scotland and resources will be allocated accordingly.

In the budget, the Government has allocated £1.62 billion to support police capacity and capability, which represents an increase of £57 million in resource funding to enable our police to undertake the roles that we expect them to undertake. There is now capital funding in place that is assisting with the renewal of the estate, technology and fleet activities, and investment in body-worn video camera equipment has been rolled out for the first area of the country in the past few days.

Over many years, I have listened to lots of debate—certainly during the 2014 referendum campaign—that have indicated that oil revenues are not going to be a source of strength for Scotland in the future. Mr Hoy is alighting on the challenges that exist as a consequence of a declining oil basin. We have to adjust to that and put in place measures to tackle those issues, and that is what the Government is doing.