Chamber and committees

Clearly, you will enjoy joint ministerial committees when you get an invitation to one. It sounds like you have worked out the format.

In your introductory remarks, you raised a point about some of the history behind what we are talking about. One of the reasons—it is not the only reason—that this Parliament is in existence is to ensure that decisions about spending and what we now understand to be devolved areas are made by this place and not by anyone else. What do you make of comments from Scotland Office ministers that, because they do not like policies in certain devolved areas, they might want to bypass that? There is a suggestion that spending decisions in areas that might be considered to be devolved might be better made by them or other UK ministers rather than by ministers here. How can the Scottish Government engage with UK ministers in a way that makes it quite clear that that should not happen?

Other members today, not least Bob Doris beside me, have spoken very powerfully about the tragic situation in Afghanistan and Scotland’s moral obligation to help some of those who are now fleeing for their lives. As we have heard, those people include many women and girls who have gone to school or done anything else to make them conspicuous in the eyes of their new Government. They also include all those who have assisted coalition forces in any way over the past 20 years.

It is for another day to offer assessments about the political decisions that led to such a rapid withdrawal of those forces. For the moment, suffice to say that history is unlikely to be kind. Lest Mr Mountain wilfully mistakes that as a criticism of our armed forces: it most certainly is not.

I want instead today to say something specifically about those who have worked for international development agencies in Afghanistan to give opportunities to women and girls. As some members will be aware, Linda Norgrove, from the Isle of Lewis in my constituency, devoted and ultimately gave her life to helping people in Afghanistan to rebuild their communities. Linda was kidnapped by the Taliban and died during a failed rescue attempt in 2010. To their great credit, Linda’s parents, John and Lorna, now work from their home in Lewis to fund and facilitate projects that continue Linda’s legacy of supporting women and families in Afghanistan.

Needless to say, since the Taliban captured Kabul on 15 August following a rapid advance across the country, the fate of all those working on those projects has been a cause of serious concern. Then, on 26 August, an explosion outside Kabul airport, caused by an ISIS-K suicide bomber, killed at least 170 people and injured a further 150. Amid all that chaos, the Linda Norgrove Foundation was attempting to evacuate two vulnerable female staff members and their families. Sadly, despite getting close several times over the course of a 46-hour ordeal, they did not manage to get on a plane before the military presence departed. The Linda Norgrove Foundation is now anxious to find a way out of the country for them in the days ahead. I would ask the UK Government to be aware of, and to act on, those concerns.

The charity also hopes to be able to bring 20 of its 70 female Afghan medical students to the UK to continue their studies. All five of Scotland’s medical schools have, very creditably, already said that they would be happy to accept those students. The foundation has vowed to continue its work in Afghanistan to the best of its abilities under the new regime, despite the obvious difficulties.

Scotland can help more generally in the meantime in giving a welcome to people who have come here seeking refuge. Scotland has a long and proud history of opening our doors to refugees from all over the world. The UK Government has said that vulnerable Afghan citizens who were called forward by the Foreign Office but could not be evacuated will be guaranteed a place under the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme.

The UK Government has also committed to taking around 5,000 refugees from Afghanistan in the first year, and 20,000 over the coming years. As the Scottish Government has pointed out, those numbers are unlikely to be anything like adequate. Given the UK’s involvement in Afghanistan for decades, it is not possible to claim that we have no responsibilities there.

If I may end as I began, on a local note from my constituency, I want to praise the work of the local authority and community there over recent years in welcoming Syrian refugees to the Western Isles. I know many of those families and can confirm that they have enriched island communities, both culturally and economically, and have made a success of their lives. One of their children recently won a class prize for Gaelic. I record my personal thanks to those families for making the Western Isles their home.

As the cabinet secretary has likewise indicated, I hope that we can now give that same heartfelt welcome, across Scotland, to refugees from Afghanistan. I believe that we owe that much not only to the families, but to everyone from Scotland who has tried to help over the past decades in Afghanistan, whether in our forces or, like Linda Norgrove, in the many agencies that have been committed to building a better future for the people of that country.

Does the cabinet secretary agree that while we are coming out of the pandemic is the worst possible moment for many island businesses to have to cope with staff shortages caused by the Brexit deal? Does she agree with many island businesses that emergency Covid work visas for European Union citizens would at least alleviate some of the mess that Brexit has created?

My other question is about the labour shortages that Brexit and other issues have caused, which witnesses have mentioned a number of times already.

James Withers recently wrote to the Home Secretary and others, saying:

“Both Brexit and the pandemic have accelerated existing pressures on labour availability. We have now reached crisis point putting the growth, viability and security of many Scottish businesses in jeopardy, with knock on impacts for consumers. We need action now to save Christmas.”

Without being unduly alarmist, will you explain what you mean about the risks that your industry faces when it comes to Christmas and some of the issues that you face as a result of labour shortages more generally?

We have heard about some of the difficulties that exist. There is a difficulty that we have heard about post-Brexit. In the past, we have looked at difficulties in exporting. Concerns about certification changes coming up in importing food and what they mean for us have arisen lately. Will any of the witnesses—I do not know whether that will be James Withers, Geoff Ogle or somebody else—comment on the issues that have been raised about that, please?

My question relates to some issues about the supply chain that came up in the session with the previous panel. Are you noticing some of the same or analogous problems with changes to the certification of imports that you have experienced with exports since Brexit? The question is about the impact on your businesses when it comes to the changes that are expected some time between October and January in the certification of imports.

My other question relates to Europe and the supply chain. The labour shortages that you and the previous panel have described are occurring at the very time when we are trying to rebuild the economy post Covid. One of the witnesses on the previous panel made a case for what he called Covid recovery visas. Do you think that there is a need for the UK Government to intervene with some kind of emergency measure of that kind to release some of the current strain on the labour supply?

It has been more than a decade since national park designation for the isle of Harris had to be abandoned, despite more than 70 per cent of residents backing the move in a plebiscite that had a turnout that was higher than 70 per cent. There was limited support from the local authority, however, which contributed to the bid being rejected. The shared policy programme commits to at least one new national park being designated by the end of this parliamentary session. Can the First Minister say more about the process by which a new national park will be chosen?

Although the cut in Caledonian MacBrayne’s passenger carrying capacity to 39 per cent was obviously made for understandable health reasons, it has very seriously impacted every aspect of island life since ferry routes came under pressure at the beginning of the tourist season. Can the First Minister confirm whether passenger capacity will be returning to something more like normality as a result of today’s statement? As she will be aware, visitors tend to book ferry tickets far in advance, but islanders who are travelling to see family or to care for sick relatives, or just to get to work, tend to need to book at much shorter notice, which means that, at present, they are simply unable to compete for spaces on ferries. What can be done to ensure that islanders now have more equitable access to ferry bookings?

The very important physical distancing measures that have been put in place on ferries to prevent importation of the virus to island communities have nonetheless brought serious challenges to island life. Ordinary passenger capacity on CalMac ferries is down to around 35 per cent, and it is currently nearly three weeks before a car can be booked on the Ullapool to Stornoway crossing, with a similar picture on other island routes. What steps can be taken to assess whether safe measures are available that would allow an increase in ferry capacity to support the wider social and economic position for our island communities?