Chamber and committees

My question might tie in with what Heidi Vistisen said about data. The Scottish Government has data from the active Scotland outcomes indicator equality analysis. It is very complicated. The data shows that 77,000 people in Scotland describe their religion as Muslim and that there are 16,000 Hindus, 13,000 Buddhists and 15,000 from other religions. I will not go on but, when all those groups are combined, they still account for less than 3 per cent of the overall population. It is difficult to take apart all the aggregate data.

Heidi Vistisen talked about the need to engage with and develop folk at the grass-roots level. Is getting in about communities and supporting people to participate in whatever sport they choose what is important?

I was going to mention the Scottish graduate entry medicine programme as a success for us in the recruitment of GPs.

As far as Covid recovery goes, I know that there is not an overnight fix, and the NHS recovery plan progress update says that recovery from the pandemic will take place not in weeks or even months but in years. Therefore, I am interested in hearing your perspectives on Covid recovery. Innovation is being used—for example, NHS Near Me and digital appointments have been part of the recovery—but how do you feel that recovery from the pandemic is affecting remote and island areas specifically? Michael Dickson is nodding, so I will go to him first.

What I am going to ask is similar to what I asked earlier, and I will also come on to uniforms.

What are the particular challenges facing women and girls from ethnic minority groups in participating in sport? Obviously, there are real challenges; it is quite apparent from some of the statistics that have come out that ethnic minority girls and women do not have the opportunity to participate or even engage.

I will go to Ewelina Chin first.

I want to pick up on what Sandesh Gulhane said about social prescribing and third sector and independent organisations. In our social prescribing inquiry, we heard about some great work that is being done in Shetland on engaging people. It is about tackling isolation and loneliness and recognising that those issues are a problem. In turn, that supports mental health. My question is for Michael Dickson. How does each local authority and NHS board interface and engage to support all of that? We know how important our third sector organisations are. I am looking at an RSPB link with nature prescriptions that can help to support people to get outside and tackle isolation and loneliness, and to join groups or whatever. Do you see that happening on the ground?

I want to focus a wee bit on America, the Scottish diaspora in the US and our connections there. Having lived in Los Angeles in California for 14 years, and having had experience of work and travel in many other states, I know the depth of feeling for Scotland that exists among people right across America. Whether they be among people with family history that is traceable to Scotland, others who work in business, finance and the arts who have links to Scotland, or those who work in academia, science and innovation, we have great connections with the US.

It is right that the Scottish Government should build on such connections and work with our diaspora to learn skills, gain experiences and share achievements to enrich our culture and society. As the motion states, Scotland’s diaspora is

“an extension of Scotland itself”.

The framework that the cabinet secretary has described considers the diaspora to be a

“living bridge with people, organisations and communities around the world.”

Scotland has influenced America in the fields of economics, engineering, architecture, philosophy, business, medicine, geology, politics, law, chemistry and sociology. Many cities and towns there were named by Scots who, after arriving in America, named their new locale after their home town. For example, the USA has eight Aberdeens, seven toons named Glasgow, eight Edinburghs and eight towns that are simply called “Scotland”. There is even a Dumfries in Virginia. In politics, 35 of the 46 US presidents were either Scots or Ulster Scots.

Just recently, I had a meeting with the Department of Corrections and its staff from Massachusetts. After the business part of the meeting, the staff were very keen to talk about all things Scottish. They wanted to recall their previous trips and upcoming visits to Scotland. They were more interested in talking aboot Scotland than they were in the business that I had to attend to. It was great to hear about the DOC’s willingness to work with the Scottish Government so that we can continue our connections in the justice area.

Last week, here in Parliament, I hosted students from the University of South Carolina. Business minister George Adam, Paisley’s MSP, joined me in the session. The students and staff remarked on how the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government are directly in touch with people not only here in Scotland but right across America. If university students can pick that up after a few days travelling in the UK, it puts Scotland in incredibly good international standing. Indeed, in the most recent US census, more than 5 million Americans claimed Scottish ancestry.

The USA is both Scotland’s top international export destination and our largest inward investor. As co-convener of the Parliament’s USA cross-party group, I can say that we have heard many presentations regarding trade and Scotland over the past few years. Annual exports have been worth £6 billion in recent years, with sectors such as engineering and advanced manufacturing, food and drink—which other members have already mentioned—financial and business services, technology, digital and media, and energy all performing strongly. US companies account for around 25 per cent of total foreign inward investment in Scotland. More than 650 US-owned businesses employ around 115,000 people across Scotland. However, we do not just exchange goods; we also exchange ideas. The US is Scotland’s top global collaborator on research: 16 of our higher education institutions share 82 unique links with their US counterparts.

Unpaid carers provide vital support to the people they look after, as well as benefiting Scotland as a whole. Will the cabinet secretary reiterate how the decisions that the Scottish Government has made—for example, through investment in the carers allowance supplement—are helping to provide carers with the best package of support anywhere in the United Kingdom?

Scotland needs to be able to share ideas independently from other areas in the UK. We have a lot to offer and we should be allowed to be out there, right at the door and speaking to people so that our ideas can be conveyed—especially when we, in Scotland, are taking forward some fundamentally different ideas, such as the wellbeing economy.

We need to take every opportunity we have in Scotland to promote the strong cultural affinity between Scotland and the USA. Every year we welcome performers to the Edinburgh festivals and the world pipe band championships, as well as US military personnel who take part in the Edinburgh tattoo. Scots also make their mark in America, with innovative partnerships between National Theatre of Scotland and New York City’s Joyce theatre. Even our baby box has been on tour in the USA—it was featured as part of the designing motherhood exhibition. The muckle cultural ties between our countries are absolutely worth shoutin aboot.

As a Scot who has lived and worked in America, with many American friends, I support the framework and highlight its importance. I ask the cabinet secretary for a commitment that the Scottish Government will continue to take all action possible to support our Scottish-US connections and to work with the Scottish diaspora to share business, culture, science and innovation.

Finally, I had the privilege of meeting Jerry O’Donovan, the Irish consul general, a couple of times recently, and we discussed how to boost relations between our two countries, including through our minority languages Scots and Gaelic. It was insightful to hear from him. I look forward to continuing engagement, including through the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly, of which I am a member.

Working with the diaspora and with countries across the globe has a proven track record of improving our relationships with other countries. I look forward to Scotland taking on that challenge as we build our own independent nation.

I am relatively new to the committee, but it is really nice to read a short report.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I seek some further guidance. My understanding was that we were out of time, so I cut my speech short and did not take any interventions. I normally do, but the last time I took interventions, members went on and used up half of my speech time. I am conscious that I had some time in hand at the end. I seek clarity, as my understanding was that I did not have enough time.

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to lay regulations to restrict the marketing and advertising of vaping products, following the publication of the responses to its consultation, “Tightening rules on advertising and promoting vaping products”, on 27 September 2022. (S6O-02255)