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Chamber and committees

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 14 February 2025
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Displaying 1053 contributions

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Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 29 January 2025

Willie Rennie

Too often, the police have to step in where other public services are not able to provide support: either they are failing or they do not have the capacity. That is particularly the case with mental health services, and police officers can be tied up for hours supporting an individual who is going through a crisis. What particular support is the justice secretary making available through Police Scotland to ensure that services are there for people when they need them and that the police can be free to do their job?

Meeting of the Parliament

Investing in Public Services Through the Scottish Budget

Meeting date: 28 January 2025

Willie Rennie

It was quite unnerving earlier, when Alex Cole-Hamilton sat down, to see that it was not only me who was applauding his contribution; there were some SNP members applauding, too. Sometimes, even I do not applaud his speech.

It was also quite difficult to hear Bob Doris being nice to us—and, even more so, to hear Kevin Stewart paying us a compliment—

Meeting of the Parliament

Investing in Public Services Through the Scottish Budget

Meeting date: 28 January 2025

Willie Rennie

He is always complimenting us.

I am afraid to disappoint those members: we are not suddenly the SNP’s best buddies, and we will remain its biggest critics in the Parliament on occasions.

However, as Alex Cole-Hamilton said earlier, sometimes in the Parliament, in order to get things done, we just have to sit down and talk, and that is exactly what we have done through the budget process.

There was complete silence, on the other hand, when Alex Cole-Hamilton was speaking about the provisions that we have managed to secure for those babies who are addicted when they are born. No one could criticise that contribution, or that change, because it means something to thousands of babies across the country, and it will ease their transition into this world.

Sometimes, when we are debating politics—we all play politics—we should remember that it looks incredibly small in comparison with the situation of babies like that, who are born into this world in very challenging circumstances. I ask members to forgive me, therefore, for saying a bit more about some of the measures like that that we have secured in the budget process.

If members have ever been to the Faroes, they will have seen a series of interconnected tunnels that have brought economic growth to those islands in a way that nobody would ever have imagined. That has been done through fixed links and tunnels, which have boosted the economy and created great opportunities for the people who live there. I want that for Shetland, and the budget will start the process of securing the fixed links that my colleague Beatrice Wishart talks about endlessly. We also want improvements to communications between the islands in Orkney, and those have also been secured in the budget.

How many times have we heard from constituents who are frustrated that they cannot see a dentist to get the essential dental treatment that they want, or from those who are waiting to see a GP and have had to make phone calls in the morning to try to get an appointment? We have heard from the people of Fort William, who have been desperate for a new Belford hospital, and from people in Edinburgh who have to go to St John’s hospital or Haddington to get their eyes treated, who are in desperate need of the eye pavilion. We have secured funding for all those things in the budget.

We know that there is a housing emergency—we have debated that in the chamber. The fact that funding has been restored for the social capital budget is helpful, too.

We have been debating end-of-life care for some time, and the hospices told us bluntly, as Bob Doris highlighted, how desperate they were for additional resources in order to continue to provide services, especially with the increase in employer national insurance contributions that is coming down the track. We have secured an extra £5 million for them, which should make a real difference.

My colleague Alex Cole-Hamilton has been talking a lot about long Covid clinics, because there are people whose lives have been devastated, who have failed to recover from the pandemic and who are still living with the effects to this day. We will now have dedicated clinics for the first time in Scotland.

That was all agreed in the draft budget, which was published before Christmas. We have now agreed additional items, including those relating to the college costs for young people with additional and complex needs. There is a review under way on the provision of that service, but additional resources will be provided for the next two years to deliver some of the things that Pam Duncan-Glancy talked about in relation to her Disabled Children and Young People (Transitions to Adulthood) (Scotland) Bill. The bill did not make progress in the Parliament, but those things are still desperately needed. I hope that that will be one of many services across the country that will be developed over the next few years to give those young people the same chances that everyone else has.

There will be additional support for offshore wind skills through colleges, and we will have more skilled staff in the social care sector, which continues to be in crisis. That will be a big boost. On employer national insurance contributions, more compensation will come from the UK Government for local authorities.

I will mention another area that is incredibly important. We have additional income from the offshore wind ScotWind round, and we will have additional resources from community benefits from other energy projects, particularly in the Highlands and Islands. I want those revenues to be invested in the economy instead of being used for day-to-day spending, no matter how valid that spending might be. I want to invest in order to create jobs and opportunities for the longer term, particularly for the communities that see wind farms from their houses but do not see direct benefits for themselves. I want that to change.

I hope that the infrastructure investment plan, which will be discussed soon, will result in greater priority for special schools—such as Kilmaron school in Cupar—the Gilbert Bain hospital in Shetland and the Newburgh train station.

Those are just some of the things that we have debated and discussed in the budget negotiations. I hope that members can see the real benefit of properly engaging in that process to make a difference to people’s lives.

16:44  

Meeting of the Parliament

Topical Question Time

Meeting date: 28 January 2025

Willie Rennie

Unauthorised absences are a widespread problem; it is not just a small group of young people who are persistently absent. We know that some families are finding it difficult to pay for holidays in peak periods, so they are taking their children out of school at other times of the year. What message does the cabinet secretary have for them and for the holiday companies that seek to exploit peak periods?

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Fatal Accident Inquiries (Deaths in Custody)

Meeting date: 23 January 2025

Willie Rennie

The decisions that we take in this Parliament matter, and that could hardly be more striking than it is today. It is very emotive to see the families here today—I am sure that we all feel for them.

I have been frustrated and, frankly, annoyed that, for years, fatal accident inquiries have taken so long to begin. First, will the cabinet secretary consider removing the responsibility for fatal accident inquiries from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and ring fence the responsibility in a separate organisation?

Secondly, can the cabinet secretary explain why it took almost three years for the prison suicide prevention strategy not to be renewed? It has taken all that time, when it was essential for it be renewed.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 23 January 2025

Willie Rennie

Rachael Hamilton it is right to say that we should value the sector, especially in areas such as the Scottish Borders, but balance is important. We must ensure that there are sufficient homes for workers to be able to service the industry in order to keep it thriving. Does the minister think that control areas—which I support, although I do not support licensing—were designed with the east neuk and St Andrews in mind when the scheme was being put together?

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 22 January 2025

Willie Rennie

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the rural affairs secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding what funding will be available in the next financial year to support farmers to address water management issues impacting on agricultural land. (S6O-04222)

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Safety in Schools

Meeting date: 22 January 2025

Willie Rennie

It is too early to judge whether the Scottish Government’s action plan is working, as we have not even got through the first phase of the plan. However, I have not seen any evidence that the action plan is making a practical difference on the ground, so far. I continue to receive reports from parents who are frustrated, angry and feel powerless; from pupils whose education is disrupted; and from teachers who are really frustrated about the lack of support. We must start to see action in this area, or people will lose confidence in the plan’s ability to deliver.

I will make some observations. As a liberal, I always want to understand the root causes of any behaviour and to provide support to address those causes. That is why I am a liberal.

I want to be clear about this. Just because we understand the causes of the violence, that does not make it any more acceptable. There must be consequences for that behaviour, because endless understanding without consequences, support and action does not help the perpetrator, let alone the victim, of that behaviour. Often, I get the impression that some people make excuses for those who engage in violence rather than taking the necessary action and providing support.

My second observation is that teachers need to be empowered, supported and respected. When they are unreasonably challenged by parents, they must have the support of their management. Questioning by management of teachers and circumstances is fair—it is the right thing to do—but management must have the backs of teachers in issues of behaviour in the class. I hear of too many occasions on which the teachers do not bother a second time, because they do not get the necessary support when they are challenged.

I will move on to mobile phones. The evidence for a ban on phones in schools is pretty convincing. They are contributing to disorder and disruption in the class, and they are misused on many occasions. Once we are confident that learning and safety will not suffer—those are two important aspects—we should move towards a nationwide ban.

If the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills needs that power, we should give her that power. Although it is fair that she has given the power to headteachers, that is clearly not enough, because they need to have the support from the centre to deliver something that, in many cases, will be quite controversial.

My final point is on an issue that was raised in the Education, Children and Young People Committee last week—part-time timetables for certain pupils. We heard that some pupils are getting timetables of as little as 15 minutes a week. Sometimes, that is because it is in the interests of the pupil, and that is fine. I get the impression that their getting 15 minutes in school is sometimes done only in the interests of the school. On other occasions, it is 15 minutes because that ticks a box when it comes to keeping the Promise, in that we should not have care-experienced young people being excluded from school.

The experiences will vary from pupil to pupil and from school to school, but people attending the committee last week gave us clear evidence that, on many occasions, part-time timetabling is not being appropriately implemented. I want to make sure that, if there is just 15 minutes in school being provided, the rest of the pupil’s week is populated with support and action, and that they move back to the school in a transitional way. That is important.

15:17  

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 22 January 2025

Willie Rennie

The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland was very critical of the facilities at Stratheden hospital in Fife, which Alex Rowley has just mentioned. The facilities there are overcrowded, cramped and outdated, and there is a lack of privacy and a lack of access to recreational and therapeutic activities. When will the money be forthcoming to build a new facility?

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 22 January 2025

Willie Rennie

I have been trying to help the victims of flooding in Cupar and in other areas in my constituency along the River Eden. They are frustrated that, despite the publication of the flood resilience strategy, and despite talk about bringing farmers on board and working in partnership with them, the practical effect on the ground is that there is no change. The farmers have a disagreement about what best practice is, and there is very little financial support or real practical guidance to make a difference. When will we see an actual change, rather than more strategies and plans?