Chamber and committees

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support survivors of domestic abuse while they are engaged in the justice system. (S6O-03034)

I thank the minister for meeting me earlier this month, when we discussed a number of issues that have been raised with me by constituents about their experiences with the justice system. Those issues included domestic abusers using civil courts to continue to exert power over the survivor, potential limitations to the disclosure scheme for domestic abuse Scotland and, among other things, the cost of taking out non-harassment orders. How is the Scottish Government listening to the views and experiences of domestic abuse survivors in order to inform future policy and legislative plans?

I congratulate Richard Leonard on bringing to the chamber this members’ business debate on Mick McGahey, on the 25th anniversary of his death.

As a proud trade unionist for the whole of my working life, I am delighted to speak today—all the more so given that my Rutherglen constituency is so steeped in mining history. I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests, as I am a member of Unison.

As in much of Lanarkshire, the pits in Rutherglen, Cambuslang and Blantyre were key sources of employment, but sadly they were blighted by a history of disaster and loss of life, which has been forgotten to many over the years. Scotland’s worst mining disaster took place in Blantyre in 1877 and claimed the lives of almost 6 per cent of the total population of the town.

That catastrophe for the town and its surrounding area is commemorated by a memorial and an obelisk and by a new memorial that was unveiled on 4 February last year. In September, I was pleased to attend the unveiling of a new miners’ memorial on Rutherglen Main Street, which stands as a fitting reminder to all who worked in Rutherglen’s coal mines from the 1500s through to the 1930s.

Although my constituency has had a proud mining history over the centuries, one of the key local figures over the past 100 years was undoubtedly Mick McGahey. The Cambuslang miners’ memorial wheel bears an inscription that is dedicated to the man himself. As we heard in Richard Leonard’s speech, Mick McGahey was born in Shotts and then moved to England with his family before settling in Cambuslang, in my constituency, where he spent his formative years. He attended a local school; I understand that he left school on a Friday at the age of 14 and that, by the time that Monday morning came round, he was working at Cambuslang’s Gateside colliery—at the same pit as his father.

Just four years on from Mick McGahey’s starting work at Gateshead colliery, he became a union branch secretary at the age of just 18. Growing up in a family of miners shaped his outlook in his life and his politics. His work, his trade unionism and his political beliefs went hand in hand.

Mick McGahey was a giant in the trade union movement, serving as vice-president of the NUM for a period, and, as we have heard, a lifelong member of the Communist Party. He was a man who dedicated his life to improving the working conditions for his membership, and he played a key role in the formation of this Parliament. At the 1968 Scottish Trades Union Congress, he moved a motion to try to shift the labour movement’s constitutional position to one in support of devolution. Although it was not immediately successful, he played his part in changing minds and policy.

Although Mick McGahey was not alive to see our Scottish Parliament reconvened, I share the views of Richard Leonard and the NUM that there should be a permanent memorial installed here in his memory. In addition to the plaque on the Cambuslang miners’ wheel, as I mentioned, there is a street in the Whitlawburn area in my constituency, McGahey Drive, which, I understand, is named after him.

Mick McGahey must count as one of the most influential people to have come from my constituency in recent times. A lot has changed in the 25 years since he passed away, not least the formation of the Scottish Parliament and the closure of the last deep coal mine in Longannet. What have not changed are the attacks on workers’ rights and their terms and conditions, and tragically, as we remember every year on international workers memorial day, people being killed in accidents at work. The need for strong trade union voices and representation is just important today as it was in the past.

On this anniversary of Mick McGahey’s death, I can see that there is no more fitting tribute than the creation of a memorial to him here, in Parliament, and I am proud to add my name in support of such calls.

I thank the minister for her answer. No other members have indicated that they wish to ask a question, so we will move to agenda item 2, which is the formal debate on the document on which we have just taken evidence.

I ask the minister to speak to and move motion S6M-11905.

Good morning, and welcome to the second meeting in 2024 of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee. I have received no apologies for today’s meeting.

Our first agenda item is consideration of the draft Funeral Director Code of Practice, which is a document that is subject to parliamentary control. The purpose of the code is to set minimum standards for funeral director businesses in their care of the deceased, and related procedures and behaviours. The Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee considered the document at its meeting on 9 January 2024 and made no recommendations in relation to it.

We will have an evidence session on the document with the Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health, Jenni Minto, and her supporting Scottish Government officials. Once all our questions have been answered, we will proceed to a formal debate on the motion.

I welcome to the committee Jenni Minto; Elizabeth Sadler, deputy director of public health capabilities, Jo-anne Tinto, lawyer; and Alexandra Wright, burial and cremation team leader.

We will move straight to questions.

Given that we have moved to the debate on the motion, I ask you to read your statement and move the motion, please.

I remind members that they should not put questions to the minister during the formal debate and that officials may not speak in the debate.

I have had no indication that any member wishes to make a further contribution. Minister, do you wish to sum up?

That concludes consideration of the document.

Our meeting next week will be held fully in private to continue consideration of a draft stage 1 report on the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill. At our meeting on 6 February, we will take evidence from stakeholders as part of our post-legislative scrutiny of the Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012.

I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests, in that I hold a bank nurse contract with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Every child should get the best nutritional start in life, and families should be able to make fully informed choices on how they feed their baby. Understandably, during the debate, we have encouraged women to breastfeed and we have discussed a range of policy initiatives to drive up breastfeeding rates. However, I put on record, as some of my colleagues have done, that we should be mindful that some women find breastfeeding challenging, or cannot breastfeed even if they want to do so.

For some women, breastfeeding is contraindicated due to the medication that they are prescribed for any of a variety of physical and mental illnesses. In my experience of working for more than a decade in perinatal mental health, some of my most difficult conversations with mums have been about the choice between medication for their illness or the continuation of breastfeeding—in particular, in cases in which mums were very depressed and felt that breastfeeding was the only thing that they were doing right.

However, no matter how someone feeds their baby, midwives and health visitors are there to help parents with lots of good advice, which is also online, including on the parentclub.scot website, in addition to the wealth of support that we have heard about during the debate—for example, through peer supporters and volunteers.

Breastfeeding provides the best nutrition for babies and young children and supports children’s health in the short and longer term. According to the World Health Organization:

“Protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding will save more lives of babies and children than any other single preventive intervention. Globally, exclusive and continued breastfeeding could help prevent 13% of deaths among children under five years old.”

There is strong evidence that breastfeeding reduces children’s risk of gut, chest, and ear infections and leads to a small but significant improvement in brain development and IQ.

Breastfeeding also benefits mothers’ health. It lowers the risk of developing breast cancer—particularly in mothers who had their children when they were younger—and, the longer mothers breastfeed, the more the risk is reduced.

A US study in 2019, which UNICEF cited on its website, found that, compared with never breastfeeding, breastfeeding a baby was associated with a 30 per cent reduction in epithelial ovarian cancer risk. In addition, there is some evidence that breastfeeding may promote maternal healthy weight and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

As the motion by the Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health states, breastfeeding rates have risen in the past few years. That is to be welcomed. Infant feeding statistics that were published in November 2023 found that two out of three babies born in Scotland in 2022-23 were breastfed for at least some time after their birth; and that, over the same time period, 57 per cent of babies were being breastfed at 10-14 days of age—an increase from 44 per cent in 2022-23.

However, in the UK, we have some of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world. Although many new mums start breastfeeding, some stop within a few months. Often, that is because they feel that there is a lack of support, particularly when they want to feed their baby outside of the home, or because they deem breastfeeding to be unnecessary, because formula milk is seen as a close second best.

There is therefore an understandable desire to increase breastfeeding rates through a number of interventions, some of which have been mentioned. They include interventions through education, peer support and within the health service itself, to ensure the availability and quality of breastfeeding support for new mums.

Part of ensuring that breastfeeding rates increase involves normalising breastfeeding in our public spaces and influencing public attitudes to it. The Scottish infant feeding survey in 2017 identified that mums understood that they could breastfeed in public areas, but almost half lacked the confidence to do so.

The Scottish Government launched the breastfeeding friendly Scotland scheme, which is implemented locally by NHS boards and aims to support families in a number of ways. The scheme helps to provide mums with positive experiences of breastfeeding when out and about to allow them to feel confident and supported. It raises awareness of the Breastfeeding etc (Scotland) Act 2005, which many colleagues have referred to in their speeches, and the Equality Act 2010, which protects mums who feed infants in public places or establishments that allow children access. The scheme also ensures that organisations are aware of their responsibilities under that legislation.

I am proud to say that, according to the online map that shows breastfeeding friendly Scotland scheme venues, around 40 venues in my Rutherglen constituency have signed up to the scheme. They include schools, pubs, pharmacies, community and third sector facilities and shops. I was delighted to sign up to the scheme in 2020. Finding a place to feel comfortable breastfeeding their baby can often make parents—particularly new parents—feel anxious. Signing up to the scheme is a small but simple way to support them on their breastfeeding journey. I want to ensure that my constituency office is an inclusive space for all staff, constituents and visitors, so it is important that that extends to babies who are being breastfed as well.

When I was the Minister for Children and Young People, having Scotland’s baby box as part of my portfolio was a highlight. In order to support parents with breastfeeding, the baby box contains nursing pads and information on breastfeeding. In 2021, Ipsos MORI undertook an evaluation to assess the impact of the baby box scheme in Scotland in respect of its short-term and medium-term outcomes. The study found that a quarter of parents felt that the box had helped to support breastfeeding, and 21 per cent said that it had informed them about breastfeeding. Higher numbers of respondents were positive about the inclusion of the leaflet on breastfeeding. Sixty-six per cent stated that they found it very or fairly useful.

I know that a lot of thought and work go into the items that are included in the baby box, but maybe the Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health could liaise with the Minister for Children, Young People and Keeping the Promise to see whether there is scope to further help mums to breastfeed through the contents of the baby box. Perhaps the minister could mention that in her summing up.

Positively, increases in breastfeeding over the past 10 years have been greatest among groups with historically lower rates, such as young women and those who live in more deprived areas. That could be a sign that interventions are working, but we should not ease up.

It is clear from the tone of the debate that we all share the commitment to give children the best possible start in life. We can help to realise that aim by giving mothers the cross-sectoral support that they require in their early days of parenthood.

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to encourage more people to use bus and rail services in the Rutherglen constituency. (S6O-02975)