Chamber and committees

That answers what my next question was going to be, as I was going to ask about what else could be prioritised.

The Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport, Maree Todd, has spoken about

“the Scottish Government’s long-standing commitment to the principles of Fair Work, and more specifically, enhancing the experience of Scotland's social care workforce.”

We know that the social care workforce is skilled. When I visit local care organisations and speak to the staff, I hear that they are doing a lot—even more than their equivalent healthcare support workers would be doing in a secondary care setting. I would be interested to hear how further funding of fair work initiatives would help make improvements, and whether that should be focused nationally or locally.

Okay. Thank you.

I just want to identify the purpose of the instrument, which seems to be about supporting our being better able to procure data on organ transplantation, organ recipients and out-of-country transplantation. I am a former liver transplant nurse, and I have experience of kidney and pancreas transplants, too. We know that people move around the planet, and they might come to Scotland as the recipient, quite rightly, of organ donation, so I am interested in finding out how the instrument will support better information gathering.

My question is whether we should write to the Government to ask for clarification on the instrument’s purpose and the ability to gather information and to ask how we support clinicians to ensure that they are aware of it.

Gillian Mackay made a good point about the rural situation. I am always interested in rural issues and challenges in healthcare. We have some really good third sector organisations as part of the multidisciplinary team, such as WithYou in Stranraer, Dumfries and the Borders.

Does the bill omit anything that needs to be included to support or enhance care for people in rural areas? For example, I know that there are challenges with implementing the MAT standards in rural areas and that there are confidentiality issues with rural services. I am picking up on Gillian Mackay’s point by asking whether anything needs to be added.

The supplementary legislative consent memorandum is part of the process of our National Care Service (Scotland) Bill, which is now the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill. To what extent could a sectoral negotiating body for adult social care achieve the Scottish Government’s aspirations for a national care service in relation to embedding fair work principles?

I remind everybody that I am still a registered nurse.

I thank Beatrice Wishart for bringing this members’ business debate to the chamber. She has outlined extremely well the problems that will be caused for her constituents in the northern rural Shetland Islands, and I will highlight issues for Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders.

Beatrice Wishart highlighted that the RTS switch-off is due to the equipment coming to the end of its operational life, and she mentioned how that will affect the rates payable on some meters and, therefore, consumers’ energy bills.

The BBC first outlined its plans for closure of the long-wave broadcasts in 2011. More than a year ago, Radio 4 discontinued its long-wave opt-out programming. A year before that, it began running down opt-out programming on long wave. Extension after extension to the cut-off has been put in place over the years, in large part to allow the distribution companies the time that they claimed they needed to switch over the RTS meters. Yet, here we are, 14 years on and only six weeks from the long wave switch-off, and the most recent numbers that I have show that more than 7,500 households in Dumfries and Galloway and more than 6,000 in the Scottish Borders are at risk of cessation of the service or of receiving sky-high bills once the switch happens.

How do consumers know whether they have an RTS meter? There are a few things to look out for. Do they have a separate box near the meter with a radio switch label on it? Is their property heated using electricity or storage heaters? Is there no mains gas supply? That would apply to about 40 per cent of rural Dumfries and Galloway homes. Another aspect is whether their energy is cheaper at different times of the day, such as is the case with economy 7, economy 10 or total heating, total control tariffs. If people are unsure, they need to contact their energy supplier.

Just as we saw with the spike in energy prices a few years ago, it is householders and bill payers who will have to bear the consequence of the energy industry squeezing them for every penny and refusing to invest in the staffing capacity to switch the meters.

The UK-controlled regulator Ofgem has not so much taken its eye off the ball as kicked it through the nearest window. I know that the engineers will be working flat out to do what they can, but the people who work with the householders day to day have told us of their real concerns. We have heard from Citizens Advice Scotland and Age Concern Scotland about some of the problems that are being faced, such as suppliers needing to do more to increase the number of engineer appointments. Securing engineer visits can be a challenge. Once someone manages to secure one, is the appointment being honoured? People have been told that they need to replace their meters with smart meters. That might not be appropriate for them, but no alternative is offered.

Deputy Presiding Officer, I know that I am approaching the four-minute mark.

There have been 14 years to prepare, but here we are, with six weeks to go. The process sums up UK energy policy in a nutshell: it is short-termist, deregulated, last minute and profit maximising, with shareholder dividends being protected off the backs of consumers. The UK Government’s head is in the sand.

I ask the Scottish Government to do all that it can to support consumers ahead of the fast-approaching June 30 deadline. We need regulatory updating yesterday rather than in the future.

Rachael Hamilton has just highlighted the challenges that some really vulnerable people are facing, especially the 97-year-old person in Duns. Does she agree that many other vulnerable constituents will be facing the same issues?

Scotland’s renewable energy sector has the potential to be a great export opportunity for Scotland as part of the just transition and our climate ambitions. Can the cabinet secretary speak to the importance of redevelopment of energy sites, such as Chapelcross at Annan, in my South Scotland region, in ensuring that Scotland is equipped with the powers to harness our clean energy and with help to drive down emissions while encouraging growth in the renewables sector?

It is welcome that the Scottish Government’s nature restoration fund has now invested more than £65 million in hundreds of projects that are helping Scotland’s species, woodlands, rivers and seas back on the road to recovery. How will the extension of the fund, which was announced in the First Minister’s programme for government, build on that work and help to tackle the nature crisis?