Chamber and committees

I thank Patrick Harvie for making us all stay late. No, seriously—we thank him for securing this important debate on the future of Glasgow’s bus services.

The issues that are raised in his motion impact my constituents in central Scotland, too, and I know that members across the chamber are passionate about improving bus services in our communities, as we heard in the thoughtful speeches tonight, even though people are a bit on the tired side this evening.

I hope that the minister feels energised hearing that colleagues, regardless of party or where we sit in the chamber, feel very strongly about the issue and want to work together on solutions.

No one wants to live in a bus desert. Graham Simpson, who has disappeared from the screen, highlighted the real concern about that issue that many of us share, and it is becoming a reality for too many communities. The term “bus desert” has appeared in the Official Report too many times for my liking.

As a member of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee, I am keenly aware of the challenges and opportunities that decision makers face. I join colleagues in paying tribute to Get Glasgow Moving for its better buses for Strathclyde campaign, which is supported by more than 12,000 people and counting across the region. I thank Ellie Harrison and all the volunteer campaigners, because they do that work in their own time. I am sure that, at times, it is very stressful and tiring, but that lived experience is valuable.

Mark Ruskell and others have addressed some of the challenges around the franchising process and have mentioned some of the barriers. Colleagues, including Bob Doris, have talked about bus services and routes that they care about. Clare Haughey and other colleagues have mentioned the 65 route, which is operated by First Bus at the moment. That makes me think back to our experience in Hamilton with the X1 bus service, which the minister and other colleagues have heard me talk about a lot. Again, with First Bus, there was a real lack of consultation, transparency and accountability, and a lack of responsibility regarding what was in the public interest.

Through community efforts, people did not give up on the X1 bus service. I pay tribute to JMB Travel, a small operator that saw the opportunity that was presented by the public’s demand and need for the service. The X1 bus service has been resurrected, and we again have a fast route through Hamilton, into the town centre and on to Glasgow city centre. However, the preservation of such services should not be down to luck and hard work on the part of communities, because not everyone has the capacity and resilience to do that.

I am grateful to the minister for giving way. Of course I accept his apology. I understand why he feels frustrated; it has been a long week.

Nevertheless, does the minister agree that it is even more frustrating for people who rely on bus services when buses do not turn up, the service is unaffordable or the routes are under threat? We heard about the 65 service, and Ross Greer gave a powerful example as well. What will the minister do to tackle those issues and give people some hope?

I, too, welcome the minister to his new role and agree with him that young people are waiting too long for support for their neurodivergence—young people such as my six-year-old constituent from Blantyre who has been waiting for almost four years.

For many children, young people and families affected by the issues that we are discussing, the school holidays will be a challenging time. What reassurance can the minister give to my constituents that, this summer, if they need it, they will be able to access the right support in a way that is accessible and affordable?

Absolutely. We need to have a spatial and joined-up approach. The political will is here, and we need the Government to step up. I see that the minister is shaking his head, and I am happy to give way, but I see that he is indicating that he does not want to make an intervention.

The situation here contrasts with the situation in England, where the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced more than £15 billion to transform public transport in the regions that are committed to bus franchising. There is a real danger that Scotland will lag behind.

It is great that communities are being backed by their MSPs and MPs, such as Michael Shanks in Rutherglen and John Grady in Glasgow East, with their petitions on the 65 bus. It is also great that we can work in a cross-party fashion, but we need leadership from the Scottish Government. As others have said, the issue involves aspects of social justice, the environment and the economy, so we can bring about a win-win-win situation with an approach that is right for Scotland’s people, environment and economy.

Finally, I hope that the minister will address the very important issue of school transport.

Will the minister give way?

I, too, am grateful to Bill Kidd for lodging this vital motion and for giving the Scottish Parliament the opportunity to debate the on-going crisis in Gaza. I recognise that my colleagues, Katy Clark and Pauline McNeill, also lodged motions on the subject in recent weeks.

There are no words that do justice to this humanitarian catastrophe. We have to follow the evidence and the reality. I thank colleagues who have highlighted the fact that journalists cannot get into Gaza to report in the way that Stephen Kerr and other members clearly want to see. We know that many journalists have been killed, alongside many medics, doctors and others on the front line.

Like others, I thank constituents who have been in touch with me through my inbox or by speaking to me at events and surgeries. It was good to hear from George Adam about the lively efforts in Paisley to support the Palestinians. At the end of the day, all we can do is show love and empathy and that people care. I thank all my constituents who have written to me to urge an immediate ceasefire, the safe release of all hostages and the immediate and unconditional lifting of restrictions in Gaza on the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid.

I was thinking back to an event in 2022 that was hosted in the Parliament and organised by Jackie Baillie. Some guests from Medical Aid for Palestinians were hosting medics from Gaza; other guests included some of our doctors and other clinicians from Scotland who had been working with teams out there to build capacity. I was so impressed by what I heard at that event.

I also heard about MAP’s work to support cross-party visits to Palestine and I was interested in perhaps going on one of those trips. A few years later, it is unthinkable that any of us will set foot in Gaza in the near future. I know that Pauline McNeill has spent time in Gaza and in the region, but what is going to be left?

We try very hard not to dehumanise people in debates on such conflicts, but the numbers are absolutely unbelievable. It is heartbreaking that, today, there are still 58 hostages who have been held for more than 600 days and remain in cruel captivity. At the same time, the lives of more than 55,000 Palestinians have ended, and more than 127,000 have been injured—and those numbers continue to rise. When will enough be enough?

If we believe in international law and international justice, we all have to do more. Debates such as this one can help to push the issue up the agendas of the Scottish Government and the UK Government. I agree with all my colleagues who have said that the UK has to do more. This cannot be allowed to happen in our name. Every day when I go home, my 18-year-old daughter speaks about Gaza. We have a generation of young people in this country who are in utter disbelief. We have to do more. That includes tracking what is going on in relation to Scottish Enterprise and making sure that no taxpayer pounds go towards funding the war.

What we are seeing in Gaza is genocide, but we are also witnessing an ecocide. Satellite imagery from Kent State University showed that nearly all Gaza’s crops, tree cover and grasslands have been damaged. Three weeks ago, UN satellite imagery showed that less than 5 per cent of Gaza’s crop land remains available for cultivation, further exacerbating the risk of famine.

I echo colleagues’ remarks: we need justice for the Palestinians. Both the people of Israel and the people of Palestine deserve a better future. They are not getting that from their current leaders. The world needs to act—we need to act now.

I welcome, and agree with, the points that the cabinet secretary has made, as other Scottish Labour members have done this evening, but will he provide an update on the Scottish Government’s efforts to review Scottish Enterprise’s human rights checks? We are approaching the summer recess, and many of us still feel very uncertain and quite anxious about the situation in that regard. I would welcome an update on that.

Emissions from buildings remain largely unchanged, so the Government must go faster to switch households to clean heating sources and improve the energy efficiency of existing homes. The proposed heat in buildings bill has been delayed and concerns have been raised about its scope and ambition. Does the minister agree with Citizens Advice Scotland that the Government must make provisions in the bill that will contribute to a reduction in fuel poverty and an overall improvement in housing standards, given that environmental justice must go hand in hand with social justice?

I am grateful to have the opportunity to take part in the debate. I congratulate my colleague Colin Smyth and commend him for securing it and for uniting members on this issue. Having listened to the debate so far, I am pleased that we are speaking with one voice.

I also pay tribute to the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee, which I know has taken this cause to its heart. It has listened to the women and to the evidence, and it has made really important recommendations to the Scottish Government. I was surprised to hear that we had not seen the action that everyone is fighting so hard for.

I am grateful to Fergus Ewing for the important points that he makes. It is not just a matter of whether it shames the Scottish Government—it shames Scotland that we are not doing the right thing by the survivors, and we should leave no stone unturned. It is good that we are having a members’ business debate today, thanks to Colin Smyth’s efforts, but the subject should be debated in the chamber again in Government time, or perhaps in Opposition time. This cannot be the last word.

It is good that, between the efforts of the convener, Jackson Carlaw; Maurice Golden, who is in the chamber today; and Foysol Choudhury, Fergus Ewing and Maggie Chapman, from whom we have also heard, we know that there are many members on all sides of the chamber who care. I know that there are some limitations on what we can say today, and time is always short in a members’ business debate, but I wanted to speak briefly just to demonstrate, again, my solidarity with the Fornethy women.

I knew nothing about Fornethy house or about the survivors until I had a chance encounter outside the Scottish Parliament back in March 2022. I was walking on by—I was there to meet with other campaigners—when I was approached by some of the women. They asked me and my researcher, “Are you MSPs?” and we stopped to chat. I was able to refer some the women, including Marion Reid, to Colin Smyth, given the links to his region, and to my friend and colleague Lynsey Hamilton. Lynsey is currently on maternity leave, or she would have been in the public gallery to support the women today.

That brings me back to Fergus Ewing’s final remarks in his speech: doing nothing is not an option. For me, that chance encounter was a lesson in not being a bystander. Although I am a regular visitor to the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee to speak to other campaigns, I have watched other colleagues, including Martin Whitfield, take this campaign forward. There have been dozens of parliamentary questions, and there has been involvement at the highest level, including from the Deputy First Minister. I know Kate Forbes to be a good person with a good heart, and I know that she will be listening very carefully and will do everything that she can to ensure that we can, together, knock down all the barriers that are apparently in the way.

I am grateful to you, Deputy Presiding Officer, for giving me a little bit of time back. This is about the pursuit of truth, and about justice. I hear what colleagues have said about the redress scheme and the fact that not everyone will want to pursue that route, but it is important that it is there for those who want to access it.

I know that many of the women have had to use a lot of their own money to pay for therapeutic interventions, including therapy. The experience has had an impact and left them with lasting trauma, and everyone’s journey will be different—that should be acknowledged. We have previously united in the Parliament to say sorry to those affected by historical forced adoption, for example, and I was grateful to the former First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, for listening to my call to work cross-party on that issue. This is another issue on which we have to unite and come together, and I know that the Deputy First Minister will do everything that she can.