Agenda item 2 is consideration of a negative Scottish statutory instrument—the Environmental Protection (Disposal of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and other Dangerous Substances) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2025.

The instrument is laid under the negative procedure, which means that it will come into force unless the Parliament agrees to a motion to annul it. No motion to annul has been lodged. The Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee has made no comment on the instrument.

As members have no comments on the instrument, I?invite the committee to agree that it does not wish to make any recommendations in relation to the instrument. Are we agreed?

Members indicated agreement.

NHS Highland’s vascular services have been in terminal decline for years. Sadly, our last vascular surgeon has just resigned because he feels that the way that the service is delivered is a threat to life and limb.

Given that NHS Highland has hospital beds and vascular surgery theatres available, will the First Minister ask his health secretary to review the situation? It is unacceptable that patients in the Highlands are being put in taxis and ambulances late at night to get to the central belt in order to get surgery.

I thank Colin Beattie for lodging the motion that we are debating this evening, which offers us a chance to speak of our three years of solidarity with Ukraine. Of course, that solidarity goes back much further than three years. I will touch on that, but I first want to make it clear that the events of 24 February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, go down in infamy with the events of 4 November 1956, when Russia marched into Hungary, and with the events of 24 December 1979, when Russia marched into Afghanistan. There are similarities.

Why does our solidarity with Ukraine go back further? Let us go back to the Budapest memorandum of 5 December 1994, when Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, the US and the UK agreed to stand together to guarantee the sovereignty of Ukraine in order to get rid of the nuclear weapons that it had. The Americans did just that. At that time, we said that we would guarantee Ukraine’s security.

What happened? I will tell members what happened. On 18 March 2014, Putin decided to invade Crimea. What did we do about that? Absolutely nothing. President Barack Obama stood by and said that he did not think that it was a serious event. Let me tell you: it was a serious event—it emboldened Putin and gave him the scope to do what he is doing today. That started the creeping war, as I call it, in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine and in Luhansk, where Putin pushed and pushed at the door to see how far he would get—and we did not do anything. To our eternal shame, we stood back. We had the ability to do something, and we did nothing.

That resulted in the lightning strike by Putin to capture Kyiv airport. I have to say that, as an ex-soldier, I am incredibly impressed by the fight that the 200 soldiers there put up, which basically prevented Ukraine from falling to Putin. They did one hell of a job, and we should be proud of them. We, from all parties, should understand and accept that that is why we need armed forces: to prevent people like that from coming in.

What has Ukraine had to face since then? It has had to face the Wagner group. I do not think that I have ever come across a more disreputable group of people in my life—not that I am aware that I have met any of them. It has also had to deal with North Korean troops being shipped across, and it has had to cope with arms and weapons coming from Iran and Syria. We were prepared to let that go. We have not done enough to stop all those countries arming Russia and standing up for Putin against Ukraine.

As the United Kingdom, however, we have done a considerable amount. I think that we have spent nearly £12 billion in supporting Ukraine. I am proud that we have done that. I know that there is a cost involved, but I understand why we had to do it. I also support Sir Keir Starmer’s plans to build up the British Army again. We need to. I have made no apologies for my Government, which hollowed out the armed forces and took the peace dividend from the cold war. That was wrong. I am glad that he has seen that, and I am glad that the west is now standing on its own two feet and will do something about it.

It would be wrong if I stood here and did not comment on the appalling behaviour that I witnessed, to my eternal shame and embarrassment, going on in the White House. On JD Vance’s behaviour, he should have known better. He was a marine—or it says in his service record that he was a marine; if we dig down into it, we find that he was a journalist with the United States Marines and given the honorary rank of corporal to boot. He should not have been trying to ambush somebody who has lived in fear for their life for three years. It was wrong and disgraceful, and, if no-one is prepared to call him out, we should stand here and do that.

Ukraine will face a huge battle at the end of this invasion, when its people win—we must ensure that they win—as they rebuild their country. It has been suggested that half a trillion dollars will be needed to rebuild that country. Let us not forget or shy away from the fact that Russia took repatriations from East Germany up until the day that the wall came down. If Russia is going to pull out, it can pay for the damage, injury and loss of life that it has caused to Ukraine. To let Russia get away with anything less would be unacceptable.

Does the member agree that, when the war is won and Russia is kicked out of Ukraine, repatriations from Russia will be the only sensible way of resolving the rebuilding that will be needed afterwards?

The second instrument is the Environmental Protection (Injurious Articles) (Fixed Penalty Notices and Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2025. Does any member wish to comment on the instrument?

Thank you, Monica.

I have to say, Mark, that I have heard raised the same issue that you are raising—that as the regulations come closer to coming into force, the vape manufacturers seem to be using workarounds. If I remember the regulations correctly, a vape has to be capable of having the tanks on it replaced, and therefore it has to be reusable. We could easily write to the Government to ask for reassurance that the regulations that were brought in are not now being circumvented. We could also seek from the Government some reassurance that the correct enforcement procedures will be in place when the regulations come into force. I suggest that raising those issues by letter is the best way to deal with that.

On that basis, do we agree that the committee does not wish to make any further recommendations on the instrument?

Members indicated agreement.

I do not, and I do not know whether the process has ever been changed. When I was on the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee, I remember seeing a previous instrument, whenever it came in—it must have been in 2000 or 2021. We could certainly ask the Government for more information on that at an appropriate stage.

Are you against the instrument in principle?

Thank you. If no one else has any comments on the instrument, we will write a letter to the Government specifically on the points that Mr Lumsden has raised.

I invite the committee to agree that it does not wish to make any recommendation in relation to the instrument.

Members indicated agreement.

Does any other member have any comments? Monica, I see that you have your hand up.

Good morning, and welcome to the ninth meeting in 2025 of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee.

Our first item of business is consideration of three negative statutory instruments. Being laid under the negative procedure means that they will come into force unless the Parliament agrees to a motion to annul them. I confirm that no motions to annul have been lodged. The Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee has made no comment on any of the instruments, but I will seek views on each of them in turn.

The first is the Scottish Road Works Register (Prescribed Fees) Regulations 2025. Do members have any comments on this instrument?