Chamber and committees

I associate myself very much with the comments and requests of Kristopher Leask.

This weekend sees the second Water Sound bluegrass festival take place in Burray, in my Orkney constituency. I therefore ask the cabinet secretary to offer congratulations to the organisers, Pete and Gail McAndrew, for getting the festival up and running. Will she also acknowledge that sustaining festivals of that type relies heavily on musicians such as my good friend Douglas Montgomery, who was recently inducted into the Scottish traditional music hall of fame for services to the community?

I have a constituent who, for the past nine years, has desperately sought treatment for swelling on his legs and groin that has progressively worsened and is now profoundly incapacitating. Having sought treatment in Scotland, it is clear that that is not available. However, with the help of his general practitioner, a consultant at the urology and lymphoedema clinic at St George’s, University of London was consulted, and they confirmed that the treatment, which he feels has a high chance of success, requires approval from the national services division. That approval has not been forthcoming, despite my constituent doing everything that has been asked of him.

Given the impact on his physical and mental health, which my constituent now believes to be a matter of life and death, will the First Minister, subject to me providing further details, look into the case and take steps to ensure that a referral can be made as soon as possible?

I, too, thank the cabinet secretary for early sight of her statement, which obviously comes on the back of eye-watering rises in business rates earlier this year. Those rises have posed an existential threat to many businesses, including many in my Orkney constituency, which also face additional challenges from being based in the islands. The cabinet secretary will be aware that the Liberal Democrats worked with the Government on transitional reliefs, but there was a recognition that a wider review was necessary. Can she confirm that any review will look at how the rental-only value methodology can be revised for self-catering properties to enable a more proportionate approach in future?

I thank the minister for providing early sight of her statement.

Although I accept that underspend is an inevitable part of ensuring a balanced budget and that the money is protected for future spend, at a time when critical infrastructure is desperately needed across Scotland, £358 million is an alarming sum. That is particularly the case in the area of transport, where there is an underspend of £63 million, which includes a large amount of capital. That follows a similarly large underspend the year before. Why are we seeing such an underspend in areas where key upgrades are desperately needed?

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address workforce planning challenges in staff recruitment and retention for health and social care services in Orkney. (S7O-00080)

I thank the cabinet secretary for that acknowledgement and commitment. Despite local recruitment initiatives, Orkney health and care still faces long-standing vacancies and significant reliance on agency staff. With an ageing population, demand will only rise, yet it is expected that health and care will bear the brunt of efforts to close the £5 billion gap in Scotland’s public finances by 2030.

Does the cabinet secretary accept that Orkney faces particularly acute workforce challenges? What specific measures will the Government take to help Orkney health and care to build a sustainable local workforce for the long term?

I thank Jenny Young for taking my intervention, and I want to echo Michael Marra’s comments—it is an exceptional speech. She has drawn attention to how difficult this anniversary is for Jo Cox’s family.

I had the privilege of working very closely with Jo’s sister, Kim Leadbeater, in the previous session of Parliament, and I found her to be someone who exemplified precisely what Jenny Young has been talking about. I not only put on record my thoughts for Kim and the family at this time, but highlight her as an example of how we can tackle difficult issues in a way that does not cut across our need to be humane in how we conduct our politics.

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the installation of electrical infrastructure in Orkney. (S7O-00043)

I welcome the advances that the minister has made in his early days in the role. Earlier this year, the electricity cable serving North Ronaldsay, in Orkney, developed a fault that cannot be fixed. Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks has confirmed that a new cable will be needed. Given the impact on my constituents, I hope that the minister will agree that the new cable should be consented as quickly as possible. Will he also agree to ensuring that the fibre within the cable is now used to provide long-overdue digital connectivity and resilience to the residents of North Ronaldsay?

I echo all the comments that Kristopher Leask has made so far. Would he also accept that, with regard to repowering, genuine community benefit can be derived only where communities have the skills that they need in order to drive forward those projects, and that investment in colleges in particular is therefore crucial?