Chamber and committees

Despite the context of today’s previous debate on the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, I thank Gordon MacDonald for bringing this important debate to the chamber. I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests in relation to construction, as I am a non-executive director and shareholder of a house-building company. It is with that knowledge of the sector that I highlight the serious decline in certain skills and point out the bleak reality that is facing the sector and the Scottish Government’s chances of meeting its housing targets.

In the past month, I have attended the retirement of two hard-working individuals who had been with our family firm for more than half a century between them. Andy Paterson retired as a bricklayer after 35 years, and Bruce Innes has retired after more than 20 years as a joiner. I wish them both the very best in their retirement and thank them for their service.

Now, as more professionals retire and fewer young people enter the industry, we are faced with a doom loop in which there are not enough trained workers in the pipeline to make up the shortfall and to mentor their successors. Bricklayers are the most difficult to employ, as the skill set is simply not out there in the way that it used to be. I believe that, with regard to workers, the bricklaying sector is down nearly 30 per cent from where it needs to be. It is, sadly, not as much of a chosen trade for apprenticeships, and the Chartered Institute of Building highlights that urgent action is needed to address the worsening skills gap.

Worryingly, I was told last week that nobody has signed up for the bricklaying course in Aberdeen. In the past, that course had more than 40 students, but the numbers are—shockingly—now at zero. Joinery, too, is not receiving the same number of applicants as in previous years, and the impact of that can be felt in construction companies.

In our company, for example, we used to have more than 10 apprentices in joinery and bricklaying, and now we have only half that number. A further problem is that companies that would normally carry out training cannot do so because they are short of mentors in their own businesses to support apprentices. Unfortunately, the comments from Gordon MacDonald that SMEs need to take on more apprentices only serve to demonstrate how little the Government understands of how the sector actually works.

Aside from sub-contractors, we employ nine bricklayers and 11 joiners, and so, without an adequate number of mentors, there is limited capacity for us to be able to take on more apprentices. However, as we hear from those on all sides of the chamber, we need to support traditional skills and encourage more young people to pursue a career in the construction industry.

Bricklaying can be a rewarding career, with bricklayers earning more than £40,000 a year, and I am glad to see from the motion that 74 per cent of young people

“hold a positive view of construction careers”.

However, unless those skills are passed on, there will be no such pay packets and no houses built. Inspiring more people into the sector not only supports both the local and national economy—it will also see more homes being built, at a time when there is a national housing emergency in Scotland and 13 local authorities have declared their own housing emergencies.

We currently have the highest recorded numbers of children living in temporary accommodation, and it has been made clear today that encouraging more people into the construction industry will play a key part in tackling that crisis.

I would like to hear from the minister today if he actually knows how many workers we have in the construction industry for each of those skills, and, more importantly, if he knows what numbers of people with those skills are going to be needed in order to meet the annual housing targets. If the Scottish National Party Government does not get a better understanding of the employment problems facing the sector, the housing crisis is going to get a whole lot worse.

As the minister knows, it was announced just before Easter that four nurseries in Aberdeenshire would be mothballed. When the issue was raised in the chamber, the First Minister and the minister stated that there was a requirement for local consultation. No consultation has taken place with any of the communities affected, and parents are experiencing poor communication with council officers. We have also received the impact assessment of the decision for one of the nursery closures, which was approved on 30 April, more than a month after the closures were announced on 28 March.

Will the minister outline what action the Scottish Government will take to ensure that the national mothballing guidance is followed? What can parents do when councils do not follow their own processes?

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the First Minister’s recent comments regarding the mothballing of nurseries, what systems are in place to ensure local authorities comply with national guidance. (S6O-04626)

There are currently four nurseries being mothballed in Aberdeenshire, just as Tullynessle school was last year, even though it was expected to be full. Parents report that closures are being pursued despite the nurseries being at nearly 80 per cent capacity, which goes against national guidance. Families now face longer journeys, higher childcare costs and, for some, a need to reduce working hours.

Losing a nursery in a rural area is not just a childcare issue—it is a death knell for local communities. Can the minister confirm that the legislation and existing guidance cover nurseries? How is the Scottish Government supporting councils to maintain provision and ensure that rural communities and families are protected?

To ask the Scottish Government how it is ensuring access to early learning and childcare for families in rural areas, in light of reports of recent nursery closures. (S6O-04569)

I thank Daniel Johnson for bringing the debate to the chamber.

Even during my campaign to be elected back in 2016, it was clear that more support was needed to help autistic and neurodivergent people in all walks of life. Many members will be aware that, in 2017, Annie Wells and I co-founded the cross-party group on autism, and I remain its convener. The CPG remains one of the most well-attended groups, and I am delighted to welcome some of its members to the public gallery today. Unfortunately, however, the improvement in attendance at the CPG has been inversely proportional to the decline in service provision, and the recent cuts will only make the situation worse.

The proposed LDAN bill has been a key topic at the CPG, and many members took part in the Government’s consultation last year. It was a great disappointment, therefore, when the Scottish Government dropped the bill from its programme for government, kicking it beyond the 2026 Holyrood election. It was even more disappointing that the minister declined an invitation from the CPG to discuss the bill’s future. CPG members feel abandoned by the Scottish National Party over its lack of accountability and clarity about whether there will be any real action by the Government to improve support and services for autistic people and those with learning disabilities. I take this opportunity to again invite the minister to meet with the CPG on autism.

The debate comes at a time of an unfolding national crisis in autism and ADHD assessments. Delays in waiting times for assessments for both adults and children and a growing backlog of referrals to child and adolescent mental health services mean that the service has now reached boiling point, with assessments being withdrawn altogether.

In Aberdeenshire, the IJB has pulled out of the current adult autism and ADHD assessment service due to a lack of funding from the Scottish Government. A total of 1,800 adults, some of whom have already waited for nearly four years for an assessment, now have no idea when or even if they will get one. NHS Tayside has halted new CAMHS referrals for autism and ADHD, leaving vulnerable children at risk of getting no support, adding insult to injury by announcing it on Facebook. I am glad that, at First Minister’s question time last week, the First Minister had the grace to admit that that was poor communication.

Services are screaming for more money from the SNP Government, which, instead, spends millions on trivial pursuits rather than the real issues facing the people of Scotland. Late diagnosis and a failure to provide support only cost individuals and Scotland more in the long run, but it is no surprise that the economically illiterate SNP is unable to see that. I therefore ask the minister to confirm today what action she will take to ensure that there will be access to diagnostic services and not a postcode lottery in support.

The minister will also be aware that I have an autistic constituent who has been held in the state hospital for more than 15 years. Despite years of pressure and the publication of the SNP’s own “Coming Home Implementation: A report from the working group on complex care and delayed discharge”, the Government is still sending autistic people to the state hospital, more than doubling the number of vulnerable adults who are being locked away with some of Scotland’s most hardened criminals. That remains a national scandal.

From the motion for debate today, it is clear that the SNP Government has had its eye off the ball for years, standing by as services are now being removed altogether. Some of our most vulnerable children and adults are at risk, and that simply cannot continue.

I recently met Aberdeenshire responders for care at home in Huntly and Banchory. Seventy per cent of responders now face reduced hours, demotion to lower-paid and junior roles or—even worse—redundancy. Despite that, the responders’ concern was for the people for whom they care. Many had suggestions for savings but were never asked. Now, they are gagged from social media, and some are even forbidden from coming to see me, their MSP.

Every integration joint board in Scotland has told Neil Gray that it will not be possible to sustain existing levels of care across all services. Has the Government given up caring?

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I apologise for interrupting the debate but I seek to move a motion without notice under rule 17.2 of standing orders, to make a variation in the standing orders for today only. Rule 13.8.1 states that an urgent question must be submitted by 10 am in order to be taken on that day. I propose to move that deadline for today only, following the vote earlier, which showed that at least 47 MSPs believe that there should be a full statement on the issue of single-sex spaces for public sector workers.

My colleagues have already correctly highlighted the lack of opportunity for this national news story to be debated in Scotland’s Parliament. The 47 MSPs who voted in favour of my colleague Tess White’s amendment included members from different parties, regions and constituencies all over Scotland. That, I believe, highlights the national significance of the issue. Moreover, the vote on the amendment specifically called for a statement today, which underlines the urgent nature and topicality of the issue.

I therefore seek your permission to move a motion without notice proposing that the 10 am deadline be removed for today only, which would allow for an urgent question to be submitted and taken on the issue. If you grant this request, I urge all members to support the motion.

I thank Tim Eagle for this important debate. Like my colleagues, I also thank our exceptional healthcare workers. My daughter was recently taken into Aberdeen royal infirmary, so I know that staff are working extremely hard and doing a fantastic job under pressure.

I take this opportunity to raise some of the concerns about our declining health services that I hear of every single day as the constituency MSP for Aberdeenshire West. Our local services are at risk of collapse and our GPs are crying out for help. The cabinet secretary will be aware that I have long campaigned to keep our community hospitals open, particularly Insch war memorial hospital, which was closed at the start of Covid and remains so, despite broken promises made by two First Ministers.

Elsewhere, closures such as that of the Scolty ward dementia unit at Glen O’Dee in Banchory see services removed. The minor injuries unit in Huntly has had its overnight provision slashed, which causes a serious worry that GMED services will also soon face cuts. Those local units would relieve pressure on ambulances and the ARI, but the health board simply does not have the funds to keep them open. As has been mentioned, NHS Grampian was escalated to stage 3 of the finance framework today, which will no doubt lead to further cuts and closures.

Like others, we have also seen a reduction in services being provided locally. The SNP Government’s one-size-fits-all approach simply does not recognise the reality of our rural communities, and that has very real consequences in people’s lives. Centralisation has resulted in elderly constituents being forced to make lengthy journeys, often in areas without public transport, for something as routine as a flu jab. Some residents in Alford were even told that they should organise taxis with other patients, which is a ridiculous suggestion, considering that they would not know other patients’ appointment times due to the general data protection regulation.

As others have touched on, ambulance provision affects my whole constituency. In October, a baby was delivered under traumatic circumstances, and the family had to do CPR for half an hour on a newborn baby before an ambulance arrived.

Although I am grateful that the health secretary has agreed to meet me, I have little confidence that the SNP will implement any meaningful change after mismanaging our NHS for 18 years. Where communities find solutions—such as covering the capital cost of a new 4x4 first responder vehicle in Braemar—the Scottish Ambulance Service rejects them, saying that it will not cover the maintenance costs. I look forward to the cabinet secretary’s response to that when we meet; it is a decade after the Braemar ambulance was stripped from the community.

For rural communities, the decline of healthcare provision is now literally a matter of life and death.

Scottish National Party cuts have now created an eye-watering £26 million black hole for Aberdeenshire Council, which is part of what Audit Scotland calls a “significant increase” in the local authority “funding gap”. That has impacted on every aspect of local services: schools, libraries, bins, bridges, roads, and much more.

Across a large rural area, 16,500 street lights—