Chamber and committees

In our amendment to the motion, we asked for the detail of what that will look like. Which local authorities will people be asked to go to? How will that be managed? The cabinet secretary said that he wants to work with parties on that. We will be productive in doing so, but we must find out exactly how that will work in practice. That is incredibly important.

Daniel Johnson rose—

For as long as the Parliament has existed, we have not had a workforce plan for the national health service. That is ridiculous. Does the Scottish Government need to look at that, too? What the member has highlighted clearly shows that we need a workforce plan in order to run our public services in Scotland.

I want to make progress. I may have been given more time, but I have written more to say, too.

I was touching on the issue of health. One of the key briefings, which no member has mentioned, is the vitally important one sent by Marie Curie ahead of today’s debate. One key issue that is not being looked at is that of people living longer who need more care, such as palliative care. It estimates that up to 10,000 more people with palliative care needs will die each year. The greatest increase in palliative care need will be in those over the age of 85. Those dying with dementia will increase by 185 per cent, and the number of people dying with multimorbidities will increase by 80 per cent. Addressing that population health challenge is critical.

Yes—I have plenty of time.

I thank Clare Adamson for securing this members’ business debate and for her campaigning on this important issue. I am pleased that the issue is being debated in the chamber, and discussing the matter further is especially welcome at a time when issues relating to gas are in the news so often.

It is worth reflecting that gas safety has significantly improved from what it was 30 years ago. However, we still too often hear reports of gas explosions in homes and the widespread destruction of properties and even fatalities that result, and about carbon monoxide leaks that result in people being poisoned. Raising public awareness is therefore crucial.

I welcome the fact that we have gas safety week, but that only scratches the surface. Much more needs to be done not just in Parliament but by energy companies to improve on-going public information campaigns, with a focus on the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Before the debate, I was trying to remember whether my council tax information included a piece of information on that. I think that it did, although I also think that I binned that piece of paper. There are ways in which we can ensure that public information is provided.

Overall in Scotland and the UK, our gas network has a reasonably good safety record. That said, there are issues that need to be highlighted. One issue that certainly needs to be addressed is the proper maintenance of gas equipment by registered gas safety engineers. Many people will be unaware of the importance of that and, in many cases, people will be unable to afford the higher cost of paying for an annual check-up of appliances. Clare Adamson has rightly raised concerns about the cost of living crisis and energy bills this winter. Many people will simply not have the income to check their appliances. Organisations and charities already provide such services. I hope that we can promote that through our networks and look at how that can be widely accessed.

It is equally important that we support tenants who request gas safety certificates from landlords. All landlords should be aware of the requirement to make those available to their tenants, given that that is a legal obligation.

The Covid-19 pandemic has impressed on all of us the importance of having reliable and safe gas appliances in properties, as people have spent more time in their homes. According to staygassafe.co.uk, one in five homes in Scotland inspected by gas safety engineers had unsafe gas appliances. It is vital that consumers stay safe by checking their gas appliances every year and by checking that their engineers are Gas Safe registered. As I have said, it is not just the duty of consumers to do that; it is also important that we look towards the corporate social responsibility that Clare Adamson touched on. Helping to protect customers and save lives is vital, and carbon monoxide poisoning should be a concern of the past but, regrettably, it is not.

I was taken with a point about tourism and the suggestion that, when going to caravans or visiting properties, people should take an alarm with them. Those properties should be fitted with alarms, and people should have confidence in the appliances that they will use while they are on holiday. That is an important issue to come out of this debate.

According to a report by CORGI HomePlan Ltd in 2015, one in 10 Scottish adults has suffered carbon monoxide poisoning in their home. That truly staggering statistic reinforces the need to be vigilant about unsafe energy appliances.

Awareness of carbon monoxide poisoning is still not where it should be. I hope that this debate will help to demonstrate that. People often associate carbon monoxide poisoning with death but, as has been highlighted, flu-like symptoms often present. In many cases, that can potentially help to drive brain damage, strokes, depression or personality changes. Therefore, there are other changes that we need to highlight.

Carbon monoxide is also odourless, which only adds to its menace. It is therefore crucial that utmost care is taken to ensure that leaks and faulty appliances are identified and that we prevent such poisoning.

As we approach the Scottish winter months, I would like to see all organisations involved in gas provision throw their weight behind the campaign and consider how we might extend it beyond gas safety week.

I very much welcome Clare Adamson’s bringing the debate to the chamber. I hope that it will be the beginning of a substantial piece of work that aims to drive down all deaths during this period.

Campaigners were heartened when the First Minister signalled that the Scottish Government will take forward a formal apology to those affected by forced adoption. Monica Lennon and I have met ministers to try to progress the issue, but progress has been limited. For many campaigners, time is simply running out. Therefore, I ask the First Minister this straightforward question: will she today commit to take forward that national apology before the end of this year?

I know that the cabinet secretary is acutely aware of the concerns that have been expressed, especially by class 7 guest houses and bed and breakfasts that have been included in the scheme by some councils when they should have been excluded. Indeed, many councils do not even have teams in place to do the work.

Like many small businesses, those that provide short-term lets are still to recover from the Covid pandemic. The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers has warned that the Scottish Government’s legislation will have a negative impact on the sector, and it is now calling for the implementation of the legislation to be delayed. With that in mind, will the cabinet secretary agree to delay the legislation and take on board the growing concerns about the negative impact that it will have?

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out regarding the implementation and potential impact of short-term lets legislation. (S6T-00856)

I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer, but I think that it is a complacent one, given the inconsistent implementation of the Government’s legislation across local authorities. For example, the Deputy First Minister has been telling guest houses in his constituency that they are exempt. The Scottish Government is clearly not giving the right information to constituents and businesses. It is clear from what the cabinet secretary has said today that the scheme needs a bit of time to work properly and to bed in.

I go back to the key point in my question: does the cabinet secretary not realise now that the legislation is a mess and that there needs to be a pause for councils to implement it properly, especially given that many have not yet even employed the staff who will be tasked with its implementation?

As Alexander Burnett and Fergus Ewing stated in their excellent speeches, many people will have been deeply touched by the fitting tribute that was the cavalcade of tractors and horses and riders bordering the M90 at Glenfarg and A90 at Peterculter as the Queen made her final journey from Balmoral to the capital.

The Queen’s lifelong love of horses and passion for horse-racing is well known. Her Majesty’s first appearance at a Scottish racecourse was in Musselburgh as a child, while visiting friends in East Lothian. The young Princess Elizabeth was seen playing in the parade ring.

The Queen visited Hamilton Park racecourse in May 1947 with her father, sister and an unknown gentleman—one Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten. More than 21,000 Scots flocked to see the Royal family that day.

Over the course of her life, the Queen entered racehorses in more than 3,400 races in the UK, with her horses winning 566 races. The Queen’s last winner in Scotland—appropriately named First Love—was at Perth in May 2003. She had also bred that horse: it is well known that she was a dab hand at breeding great racehorses.

As Martin Whitfield said, the Queen’s last visit to a Scottish racecourse was in July 2016, when Her Majesty helped Musselburgh racecourse, in my region, to celebrate its 200th anniversary. After that day’s racing, the Queen dropped into the Sheep Heid pub in Duddingston for supper at a window seat in the public dining area.

Throughout her life, horse-racing gave the Queen a diversion from life as our monarch and, more importantly, a diversion from the sobering business of global and domestic affairs. Her trainer Richard Hannon said that when the Queen visited his stables she would say that it was nice to come to a place that did not smell of fresh paint. It was also well known that her advisers must ensure that a copy of the Racing Post newspaper was always tucked in with her daily correspondence.

The Queen inherited her love of horse-racing from the Queen Mother, as many do from their own parents. She often named her racehorses with a clear message, giving them names such as Duty Bound, Discretion, and Constitution. Jockey Frankie Dettori rode more than 50 winners for the Queen over 30 years. He stated that the sport has lost its greatest ambassador. I agree. The Queen and the Queen Mother redefined horse-racing from being the sport of kings, making it the sport of queens. The industry is grateful for her support for horse racing.

God save the King.