Chamber and committees

I understand the priority but I think that there is a big opportunity that might serve everyone’s interest, including the interest of financial sustainability.

My last question is about sections 12 to 14 of the bill, which deal mainly with children at court. One reason given for why more financial information is not available in the financial memorandum is the reluctance to cut across judicial discretion. I cannot say that I am convinced that a judge or sheriff might think twice about their decision because an indicative budget has been attached to that somewhere.

The imaginative response might be to say that anything agreed through discussions with the judiciary will give an indicative budget to be used only for that purpose. It might also be helpful for Parliament to look at potential costs, while also ensuring that the judiciary did not feel in any way fettered.

I very much welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate. I also congratulate my colleague Bill Kidd on securing a debate on such an important topic.

As we have heard, today is international firefighters day, or firefighters memorial day. It is an annual observance that allows us the opportunity to recognise the immensely important role that firefighters play in our society and to honour the memory of those who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

Scotland has an important place in the development of firefighting. The city of Edinburgh—our capital—is believed to have had the first municipal fire service, which was formed in 1824, and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is now the world’s fourth-largest fire and rescue service.

Just last week, like other members, I attended a wreath-laying ceremony in Alloa as part of international workers memorial day. The ceremony was, rightly so, in memory of all those who have been killed at work. However, it is also right that we should have a special day to mark the particular sacrifice of those men and women in our Fire and Rescue Service.

As we have heard, firefighters memorial day has a particular poignancy in Scotland so soon after the death of firefighter Barry Martin as a result of injuries sustained while tackling a blaze in the former Jenners department store here in Edinburgh. Firefighter deaths have, mercifully, become more infrequent in recent years. Barry Martin was the first firefighter to be killed in the line of duty since 2009. Indeed, he was the first since the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service was formed. I hope that it will be a very long time indeed before there is another, but of course the nature of the job is such that danger is ever present.

Bill Kidd’s motion understandably acknowledges the crew at his local fire station at Knightswood, and I take the opportunity to mention the firefighters, whole-time and retained, who protect the communities of my constituency from the fire stations in Alloa, Tillicoultry, Bridge of Allan and Dunblane.

Firefighters are a special breed. They willingly and deliberately put themselves into situations that are incredibly dangerous in order to protect us, the public. They are the ones who run towards danger when others are fleeing. At any time on their shift or when they are on call, the bell could ring, and off they go, ready to face whatever danger awaits.

I am also pleased that the motion highlights the red plaque project. As has been outlined, that important endeavour seeks to recognise and remember the contribution and sacrifice of those firefighters who have been killed in the line of duty through the placing of a distinctive plaque as near as possible to the location where they died, commemorating an important moment in a community’s history and offering a place for reflection for family, friends, colleagues and those from the wider community who have been affected by the events around the loss of the firefighter. The project, which has been creating memorials since 2017, is funded by the firefighters 100 lottery—a charitable initiative that is run by the Fire Brigades Union.

One such plaque in my constituency commemorates John Noble, who lost his life in the line of duty on 23 January 2008. I actually met John at an event about a week before his death. His red plaque was presented on the anniversary of his death on 23 January 2019. A watch manager at Alloa fire station, John was on his way to a call-out at Strathdevon primary school in Dollar—which all three of my children went to, and which one of them was at on the day in question—when the fire engine that he was in was involved in a fatal accident. With more than 20 years of experience in the fire service, the 46-year-old left behind his wife, Lorraine, and two children.

The fire engine had a crew of five and they were responding to a smoke alarm that had activated at the primary school when the driver attempted to turn into a bend between Tillicoultry and Dollar—the place is called the Dollar bends, and those who know it will know that it has a lot of sharp bends in it. The fire engine left the road near Tillicoultry and collided with a tree, killing John and injuring four of his colleagues, one seriously. The call was later found to be a false alarm.

That story underlines the random nature of the threat to life that firefighters face on a daily basis as they go about their work of protecting the public. It also highlights the sad fact that even a false alarm can result in the death of a firefighter. It is right that we take the time to remember and honour the memory of John Noble and all those firefighters who have been killed in the line of duty.

I have said three times that I am not giving way, Deputy Presiding Officer. [Interruption.]

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer.

How much is the £3.5 billion aircraft carrier the Prince of Wales worth now that it has been stripped for parts for its sister ship? How much of the European Union structural funds that used to come to Scotland and other parts of the UK have been cut from Scotland?

Let us have no more pious lectures from the Tories on transparency. After all, in 2021, during the current Prime Minister’s tenure as Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was revealed that the Treasury refused to comply with more freedom of information requests than any other department in Whitehall.

Members on our side have repeatedly called for a full public inquiry into the revelation that the UK Government used funds for Covid contracts to conduct research into constitutional issues—

I am delighted to take part in this debate, and I am grateful for the opportunity to provide some balance for the benefit of Conservative colleagues. I can hear Douglas Ross muttering away. I welcome the motion in the same way that the Hibs fans welcomed Douglas Ross at McDiarmid park two weeks ago, although I will not use the same language that they used.

The motion talks about “the governing party” but, as the Tories never tire of saying—often tiresomely—as Stuart McMillan mentioned, Scotland has two Governments, and their party is also a governing party.

Yes, the Tories are transparent—so transparent that it is crystal clear to everyone that the motion is nothing more than an attempt to grab some headlines and deflect from the failures of their own Government at Westminster. Last week, for example, the Tories did not seem to think that debating the UK Government’s abhorrent anti-immigration bill was a good use of their time. So transparent was their discomfort that we could see only one or two of the back benchers—the others were completely transparent.

However, this week, the Tories are here aplenty for a debate about party-political matters. Let us play their game and do a wee test of transparency here. I am happy to give way to any Tory member who can and will tell us how many members the Tories have in Scotland. Anyone?

No. I was happy to give way to any Tory—[Interruption.] I was happy to give way to any Tory who could actually tell us—[Interruption.] I cannot hear what is being said. I was happy to give way to any Tory who could tell us not just how many members the Tory party has, but whether they actually know how many members they have, because that seems to be a moot point as well.

How can we expect—[Interruption.] As Russell Findlay had, I have only four minutes, most of which have been wasted already, so I am not giving way.

When can we expect the publication of the Russia report? No answer there. The motion talks about transparency in Government—

Douglas Ross rose—

As ever, that was not a point of order.

Should we really expect that Scotland’s other Government—the Conservative Government—will release the polling evidence that it collected, at taxpayers’ expense, on support for Scottish independence? How about an arithmetical question? How much more is high speed 2 costing compared with its original estimate of around £30 billion? It is now over £100 billion.

I could not hear much of that exchange. I have obviously touched a raw nerve with the Conservatives. It was a simple question, but Douglas Ross has failed to answer it so many times. [Interruption.] I am struggling to hear myself speak, Deputy Presiding Officer. Is it possible to get some quiet, as Conservative members were given when they made their speeches?