Chamber and committees

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it is giving to increasing the powers of the police to confiscate and retain e-bikes, e-scooters and quad bikes used antisocially or in connection with criminal offending. (S7O-00055)

I commend the comments on the third sector that we have heard in the chamber this afternoon. I draw the cabinet secretary’s attention to the Social Justice and Social Security Committee’s report on funding of the third and voluntary sectors, and I highlight the longer-term funding that is required. If those sectors are strategic partners in public service reform, they will have to be funded strategically and appropriately in the long term. Does the cabinet secretary agree?

[Made a request to intervene.]

I welcome the minister to her place and thank her for that answer. In the previous parliamentary session, I met ministers on several occasions to raise concerns over the illegal use of such vehicles. I hope that we continue to have a similar relationship in this session.

I was pleased to see the Scottish National Party manifesto commitment on the issue. There is an intended consultation to update the Police (Retention and Disposal of Motor Vehicles) Regulations 2002, as mentioned by the minister. What stage is the consultation at? Does the minister agree that greater fines and greater powers in relation to retention and disposal must be actively considered as key deterrents to the antisocial behaviour that is impacting on the communities that I represent?

I welcome the cabinet secretary and her ministerial team to their places, and I also thank the outgoing cabinet secretary, Neil Gray, for his work over the past few years, particularly the work that he did with me to secure the screening of newborn babies for spinal muscular atrophy, an initiative that I championed and which the Scottish Government was able to make happen. I am deeply proud of that.

I have a list of requests for this session of Parliament, which includes better care for those living with epidermolysis bullosa—I usually say EB, because I always trip over the name. It is important that we deliver better care for EB sufferers. We must also look at whole-genome sequencing, particularly for cancer patients. Those are two things that I want to return to—not in this speech, but I have learned to get my asks in early in this place, and I have done that now.

More generally, I welcome the Scottish Government’s motion, which recognises and commends the hard-working staff across Scotland’s NHS and places those staff at the heart of the significant progress that has been delivered, which, of course, includes long waits coming down for 11 months in a row. That is not to say that there are not many challenges. Of course there are, and I know that very well. My wife is a critical care nurse, and I hear from her about many of those various challenges. We are very well aware of those, and they have to be acted on.

However, in this speech, I want to focus on palliative care, and I thank Miles Briggs for his kind words in relation to that. I endorse the work that he has done on the issue, as well as that which was done by Marie McNair. I also thank the former Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health, Jenni Minto, for her work in that area—thank you, Jenni, for everything that you have done.

In the previous session, I chaired the cross-party group on palliative care—I hope that we get it back up and running in this session, as that is an important issue. To highlight that importance, I note that a Scottish Parliament information centre briefing indicated that, in 2021, 89 per cent of those dying in Scotland had palliative care needs. There is also a huge increase in those dying with complex needs and multiple conditions, which is a much more complex situation.

In a report that was published this February, Marie Curie pointed out that a new national analysis showed that almost one in three people in Scotland die with unmet palliative care needs. That suggests that around 18,500 people across Scotland die each year with significant levels of unaddressed symptom control or concerns about timely access to appropriate care. We must address that.

It is estimated that, each year, around £1.3 billion is spent on supporting people in their last year of life, and £1.1 billion of that is spent in hospitals. That includes unscheduled visits to accident and emergency departments, avoidable admissions to acute services and costs incurred due to the lack of a sustainable support package for those in hospitals to return to the community or to secure a care home or a hospice bed. Those are just some of the examples of how the NHS spends its money in a way that does not lead to the best outcomes for those we serve.

Given the scale of the challenge, our health and social care sectors must deliver reform and renewal, as the Scottish Government motion highlights. The challenges may be substantial, but there is cause for optimism. We should not forget that, where palliative and end-of-life care is delivered, it is often done to an exceptionally high standard, with great care, respect and dignity. That can often get lost in the debate.

We also have an excellent hospice network, which has, in recent budgets from this place, received additional moneys, including some to help work towards pay parity with NHS agenda for change staff. That is something that I and other members have championed for some time. Reform and renewal must be done with Scotland’s hospices at the heart.

However, it is not just about hospices. Our vibrant hospice-at-home network also needs to be nurtured. Our care home staff and home care workers are all fundamental to the network of support that is required.

Hospice UK is concerned about challenges in retaining current hospice beds at a time when we need to look at expanding provision, not just maintaining it. The Scottish Government has committed to working with the sector to secure a sustainable hospice network, and I understand that there remains an ongoing positive discussion between hospices and the Scottish Government about how we work towards that. That will require a longer-term and refreshed funding model for hospices that is less reliant on charitable donations.

A new palliative care strategy was launched in September 2025, and there is much in it to welcome. How those ambitions are funded, by whom, and how they are delivered and monitored, will be crucial. The strategy’s initial delivery plan includes a 24/7 palliative care helpline to give people confidence and support whenever they need advice about palliative care or what to do when someone is ill or dying. It also includes the integration of specialist and general palliative care services, to get appropriate care more quickly to those who need it and, crucially, ensure that health and social care staff who provide general palliative care for people of all ages with life-shortening conditions also have access to 24/7 specialist palliative care advice and support for them to do their job properly on the front line.

In delivering all those things and more, the role and funding of integration joint boards will need to be considered carefully. There may be an important role for the national care service advisory board in driving through some of those changes, but change there must be.

In the few seconds that I have left, I note that, in the previous session of the Parliament, irrespective of whether people supported Liam McArthur’s Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, which he took forward with great dignity, everyone on all sides of the debate believed that we must do better on palliative and end-of-life care. We promised to do that during this parliamentary session. This parliamentary session has been convened, and we must deliver for people who are approaching end of life.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I was unable to connect to the voting app. I would have voted yes.

I, Bob Doris, do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles, his heirs and successors, according to law. So help me God.