Chamber and committees

Teacher recruitment and retention is an issue in many rural areas across Scotland. Will the Scottish Government provide an update on how it will encourage teachers to work in areas in which there are difficulties in recruiting teachers?

Good morning, cabinet secretary. I will ask you, as I have asked practically all our witnesses on the bill, about section 23D of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995. You spoke about that in your opening statement. I was having difficulty understanding the support for the removal of that section, but after our session with our adviser earlier this morning, I am much clearer about it. He described section 23D as a kind of red flag that is used as a marker. He also said that if bail was refused under sections 23B and 23C, section 23D would be almost redundant.

I put it to our adviser that the message going out to women’s organisations, and to domestic abuse victims in particular, was not a good one and that their perception of the removal of that section would not be good. You spoke about one safety test being applied with the removal of section 23D. Would one safety test apply to the unique nature of domestic abuse, where there is individual risk and not necessarily public risk? I wish to reflect the concerns that there are around the issue.

I want to ask you about emergency release. Restrictions were added to the Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill during the stage 3 proceedings to restrict the period of early release to no more than 180 days and to prevent the release of prisoners who were serving sentences for domestic abuse offences. Will the Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Bill be amended in any way to reflect that? I wonder why those restrictions are not in the bill.

That is important. It is about getting out the message of reassurance because, at first glance, the perception is that the red flag that I mentioned and the safety net are being removed, but, when you drill down into it, you see that that is not the case. That is helpful. Thank you very much.

I am pleased to speak in this very important debate. I thank my friend and colleague Siobhian Brown for bringing it to the chamber and for her very informative speech.

We are discussing an issue that has three components. First, vapes can be beneficial to adults who are attempting to quit smoking. Anything that helps to beat a nicotine addiction must be good, although the jury is still out on whether vapes are an entirely safe way of giving up.

Secondly, there is the serious issue of the harm that disposable vapes are doing to our parks, rivers and beaches. It has been estimated that, every week across the United Kingdom, a staggering 1.3 million disposable vapes pollute our land with single-use plastic and lithium batteries—which, incidentally, are very hazardous to children and pets. I know that my Green colleagues in the Parliament are running a very effective campaign against those along with the Daily Record campaign, and that the Scottish Government is very supportive of that.

The third component, which is the subject of the debate, is the one that I want to focus on: the harmful effects of vaping on our young people. We know that, in recent years, there has been an alarming rise in the number of children who are taking up the habit, as Siobhian Brown expertly articulated. Crucially, vapes are not recommended for non-smokers, and they cannot be sold to people who are under 18, but that has been cynically undermined by an insidious and aggressive marketing campaign. As Siobhian Brown said, there is an extensive range of sweet, fruit-flavoured vapes in bright, so-called “cool” packaging that is designed to get youngsters hooked. Does that remind members of anything? Alcopops perhaps?

Children as young as seven have been found with vapes at school. Doctors have warned of the long-term damage to developing lungs. There is also evidence that second-hand vaping increases the risk of bronchial damage in young people.

In researching for the debate, I was shocked to discover low-priced hoodies, online backpacks, watches and pens that are designed to help youths to vape undetected by parents or teachers. Those are the so-called “cool” products that are clearly targeted at young people. What on earth is going on? Tobacco companies are targeting youngsters to buy products that harm them by producing merchandise to entice them. I do not know about other members, but I think that parents these days have enough to worry about regarding the protection of their children without global companies weighing in to make money.

We know that more and more countries throughout the world are banning youth-targeted vapes—Siobhian Brown listed those. Vapes or e-cigarettes are devices that allow people to inhale nicotine in a vapour rather than smoke. E-cigarettes do not burn tobacco and they do not produce tar or carbon monoxide, which are two of the most damaging elements in tobacco smoke. However, a lot of work has been done globally to try to prevent people—particularly young people—from starting to smoke. The Scottish Government’s smoking ban has been particularly effective in that regard.

What can we do about the issue? Asthma + Lung UK Scotland and other organisations have called on the Government to restrict in-store displays, advertising and sponsorship among other measures. Who could argue with that? Despite Scotland’s restricted powers over consumer law, there are measures that we can take. I agree with Siobhian Brown that we should take them immediately. We should take them before another generation gets hooked on yet another drug.

The evidence that vapes are harmful to the young is growing every day. I suspect that, when the full effects of vapes are known, it may well be too late for too many young people.

Will the cabinet secretary clarify whether any legislation is needed to implement any changes in policy direction following the review, or whether any legislation has an impact on the review?

Right. Are you in agreement with that?

I will come to Kenny Donnelly first. At the risk of repeating myself, what is your view on the repeal of section 23D of the 1995 act?

No, I understand that. It is a mystery.

Does the bill change any of the information that you get from the Scottish Prison Service? Will that interaction be the same?