Chamber and committees

I thank the member for the intervention—it wisnae as short as I had hoped. In my engagement with the estates, they have been very respectful and polite. We have been frank in our discussions about how we take forward what we need to do on land use and other things that I will come on to.

The jobs that are supported by rural estates sustain populations in some of our most fragile rural communities, but the contribution that estates make to rural communities is wider than that. The evidence that has been presented by Scottish Land & Estates shows that rural estates provide homes for around 8,250 private tenants and around 4,700 agricultural tenants across Scotland. Those homes underpin many rural communities, enabling people to live in parts of Scotland where housing options would otherwise be limited. Rural estates also lease land to around 1,400 crofters and farmers. Those enterprises form the backbone of many Scottish communities and therefore play an important role in creating the thriving resilient communities that are envisaged in the Government’s national outcomes framework.

Since my election in 2021, I have been able to visit and engage with estate owners and managers of the land across Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders. Recently, during the October recess, I visited Dalswinton estate and met Peter Landale to discuss how Scotland’s estates work to support rural communities and rural housing and meet Scotland’s net zero targets in the face of the global climate and biodiversity emergencies. We discussed how to define sustainability, and Peter described efficiency of production, animal welfare, carbon sequestration, biodiversity, quality and community. The cabinet secretary, Màiri McAllan, took a question from me last week about the sustainability definition.

I am conscious of the time, but at Dalswinton estate, just like at Raehills estate near Moffat, which I visited early in the summer, we talked very frankly about what can be done for rural estates to support biodiversity and tackle the climate emergency. Dalswinton estate provides the local community cafe in the village to Emma Pagan rent free to provide a space for residents and visitors. Emma is also an amazing florist. Another thing that Dalswinton estate has been good at is providing business space for Claxton’s whisky production, so that Claxton’s can grow and expand its business in the south of Scotland.

I will stop there, but I welcome the debate. Mr Carson’s motion was very positive, and that is what I wanted to focus on today.

In addition to what we witnessed in Edinburgh, there were also antisocial behaviour incidents involving fireworks in Dumfries. They included fireworks being set off in the town centre, which almost hit the historic Robert Burns statue. In addition, Heathhall in Dumfries has recently experienced an increase in antisocial behaviour, with windows being egged and damage being done to cars. Can the minister outline how the Scottish Government is supporting Police Scotland to deal with those issues, and can she confirm that antisocial behaviour issues are being dealt with seriously?

It is interesting that Mr Whittle makes a blanket statement about the SNP and the Greens talking down the rural sector, but never once in this chamber have I talked down our rural economy. I would like you to acknowledge that.

To ask the Scottish Government how it defines “sustainability” when creating policies aimed at reaching its net zero targets. (S6O-02666)

I visited Dalswinton Estate, in Dumfries and Galloway, to meet the owner, Peter Landale, and discuss how Scotland’s estates are working to support rural communities and housing and to meet Scotland’s net zero targets in the face of the global climate emergency. Peter described his six tenets of sustainability: efficiency of production, animal welfare, carbon sequestration, biodiversity, quality and community. Does the cabinet secretary agree that those tenets are important in ensuring that we have true sustainability that works for rural Scotland and our planet?

Thank you.

Most of what I was gonnae ask about has already been covered. We have kind of covered this, too, but I want to ask about the current status of social care as far as esteem and career pathways go, and in relation to making sure that the public knows the contribution that our care workers make across Scotland. Over the summer, I heard from workers in Stewartry Care about the level of skill and experience involved in what they provide to people in their homes and in care homes. I am interested in what your current members think or perceive about their roles in social care. Does more work need to be done to demonstrate to everybody the value of social care?

I see that Cara’s microphone is on—and I see Lilian Macer nodding, too.

I have a quick question about self-directed support. It is 10 years since the Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013 was passed, and the committee has heard questions about how self-directed support is working or not working. Donald Macaskill has said that 70 per cent of care involves third sector organisations. I am interested in the difference that the bill can make in addressing immediate challenges in social care, such as improving self-directed support, which is all about people taking control and making choices for themselves.

I am not sure who wants to answer that first.

Good morning. My question is kind of on the back of Sandesh Gulhane’s question. Will establishing a national care service increase the visibility of social care and give it equal weighting and equal standing? In previous scrutiny of the bill, I was keen to look at standardised education, career pathways, increasing social care’s visibility and establishing a process for recognising social care as a professional career pathway, because we see the work that social care providers do when they go into people’s homes, for instance.

I declare an interest, as I am still a registered nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Council. I am interested in whether you agree that, if the national care service is nationally managed, it will improve the visibility of our care workers.

You have given some good examples, such as PEG tube feeding and caring for people who have stomas, and I was also thinking of the support provided to people for, say, reablement and recovery from stroke. That sort of support involves mobility, moving and handling, all of which requires lots of skill.

Are we confident that at the moment we have a multidisciplinary approach to assessing people’s needs so that care can be delivered effectively? Could we reflect in the bill that need for the right assessment to deliver the right care to the right person?