Chamber and committees

I have a direct border question. Under the common travel area, Scotland, like Ireland, will retain freedom of movement across the British isles and Ireland. That means that people, such as my constituents who live on one side of the border but work on the other, will continue to be able to do so and will be able to move freely between Scotland and England. Can the cabinet secretary confirm that that will be the case? Can he indicate whether he expects the UK Government to try to mess with the CTA arrangements, which predate the European Union?

Here we are again, with another politically opportunistic motion from the Labour Party that is politicising our health service in Scotland. Contrary to the motion, the health secretary and the team are focused on ensuring that Scotland’s NHS is as well equipped as possible to tackle the huge challenges that we face.

I know that there are challenges in taking care of people, the processes and pathways, the prevention of acute admissions and the work in primary care. The work that my former colleagues undertake every day is complex, and the systems are challenging. For 30 years before becoming a member of Parliament, I was in the NHS in Scotland and England and a nurse in the USA, so I think that I know a wee bit about what is going on in our national health service. Sometimes, when I read such motions, I wonder if the Opposition ken diddly qua qua about what is actually going on.

I know that, over the past two years, the NHS has suffered the biggest shock in its 74 years of existence. I thank all the people who work in the NHS for their work, care, compassion and commitment, and for what they do every day. The Scottish Government’s recovery plan, which is backed by more than £1 billion of investment, sets out plans for health and care over the next five years, so it is not just for this winter. The plan will support in-patient, day case and out-patient activity, as well as implementation of sustainable improvements and new models of care through investing in a network of national treatment centres. That will increase capacity for additional specialties, including diagnostics, general surgery, orthopaedics and ophthalmology.

The plan also supports the mental health and wellbeing of the health and care workforce, which we have heard so much about in the past couple of years. We should get right behind looking at ways to support people using digital opportunities such as NHS Near Me.

It is crucial that we help to equip the NHS for the winter pressures, but we need to think beyond the winter as well.

On specific A and E challenges, I hear what is being said. In common with other health services across the UK and globally, Scottish A and E departments are working under significant pressure, and the pandemic continues to affect services. Mind that word “Covid”? We need to remember the impact that the Covid pandemic has had, and is still having, on our national health service.

The Scottish Government is taking action to improve A and E waiting times, and the £50 million urgent and unscheduled care collaborative will help to implement a range of measures to drive down those waiting times. The work includes offering alternatives to hospital, such as the hospital at home service; directing people to urgent care settings; and scheduling urgent appointments to avoid long waits in A and E departments. I know about the long waits in A and E. I hear about them directly from former colleagues and from folk working 12-hour shifts. It is hugely challenging.

In August, Scotland’s core A and E departments performed 8.1 percentage points better than England’s and 10.3 percentage points better than Wales’s. During that period, A and E waiting times in Labour-controlled Wales were worse than they were in Scotland, so I wonder whether Jackie Baillie or any other Labour member, when closing the debate, can clarify whether they are also calling on the Welsh Labour health secretary to resign. Labour’s performance in Wales does not inspire confidence that Labour would do any better here in Scotland.

I am conscious of the time, but I note what Gillian Martin said about potential solutions, and I welcome the steps that the Scottish Government is taking to support our NHS. I want the health secretary to listen to clinicians directly so that he can hear their ideas and suggestions for improving systems. We need to get right behind our NHS workforce and support staff in any way that we can in the future.

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the provision of community policing, including community safety patrols, in the South Scotland region. (S6O-01455)

At my recent surgery in Summerhill, in Dumfries, I heard concerns from local residents about what they believe to be increased levels of antisocial behaviour in that area. We know that engagement and education are the best ways to prevent crime and antisocial behaviour in the first place, so I have called for a multi-agency meeting with the police, the housing authority and the community safety team to address constituents’ concerns.

How is the Scottish Government supporting the police and the community safety team? Can the cabinet secretary urge them to engage with me and with the local residents on those matters?

Good morning to the convener and to everybody. I have a short wee introduction, which I will read out to keep myself accurate and on time.

It is braw tae be here tae propose the restert o the cross-pairty group on the Scots language, or the Scots leid, alang wi ma colleague Jackie Dunbar MSP, whae hersel is a fantastic native spikker o Scots Doric. This is in oor ain national Pairlament.

Scots is a language. It was ratified under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages by the United Kingdom Government in 2001 and it is recognised as an indigenous language by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

I pey tribute tae former MSP Rob Gibson, whae convened a Scots CPG in session fower o this place. He made great efforts tae advance Scots aa ower Scotland, and the statement of principles that were produced by his CPG—which I have here—are still relevant and valuable as a resource to build on.

We want tae restert the CPG acause Scots is an important pairt o Scotland’s culture and heritage, appearin in sangs, poyums and leeteratur as weel as in modern-day yaise fae Shetland tae Stranraer. Quite simply, the Scots language is o a wheen importance tae Scottish identity. Scots wis the state language here afore 1603. Its importance, and the need tae continue tae protect and promote Scots, is clear and cannae be denied.

In the 2011 Scottish census, 1.5 million people reported that they could speak Scots. I look forrit tae the census results next year, tae see whether the nummers are mair.

Scots is baith a historical language and a vibrant, modern language. Literary giants sic as Robert Burns, Hugh MacDiarmid and Walter Scott wrote in Scots, and there are monie modern screivers whae mak me prood, tae, when I see whit they write and their confidence in takkin Scots forrit.

However, Scots needs mair national attention, focus and political support. The cross-pairty group will, therefore, bring thegither folk fae the Scots community tae focus national attention—here and across the country—fur tae advance and promote speirin and scrievin in Scots. We want tae raise questions o, and provide clarity and guidance tae, the Scottish Government as it taks forrit the promised Scots language legislation in this session.

Mair important, the CPG will work tae ensure that Scots is here fur generations aheid. We will work tae ensure that young folk hae the opportunity tae yaise Scots at schule, which has awready been shown tae lead tae mair than a scantie increase in attainment.

We want tae inspire confidence in weans and bairns across wir country so that they can be chuffed when they yaise Scots, whether they are native speakers or no.

As the main custodians o Scots, here where oor mither tongue and indigenous language stertit monie years ago, we hae a really important duty tae promote, protect and celebrate its contribution tae Scotland’s identity and future, even as Scots continues tae evolve.

I therefore ask the staunnarts committee tae approve the CPG. We are happy tae tak onie questions fae memmers.

That is one of the things that we were speaking about. I am learning about the language and the grammar—particularly the grammar that makes Scots different fae English. I will give an example. Where I come fae, there is a place called Portpatrick and Lochans, but everybody calls it “the Port” and “the Lochans”, or they say, “Ah’m goin tae the toon.” When I was speaking to Joe FitzPatrick about it the other night, he said that that is replicated in Dundee, where folk use “the” in front of whatever place they are talking about.

That shows that Scots is broad and is spread across Scotland, including Orkney and Shetland. It is not that we have got all these different minority languages; it is because that is the way that Scots evolved out of Old English and Danish, with Norse influence, even. We have a language that is vibrant and needs to be promoted. When we start speaking to each other about the history and grammar that makes Scots different fae English, it reinforces to me the need to promote it.

That is right.

As well as men, we have people from diverse backgrounds. We have people whose first language mibbe wisnae Scots or who moved to this country from South Asia or wherever. We hear them every day when we are out and about. There is an opportunity to make it not just for the lassies, but for a wider audience as well.

My understanding is that the Scottish Government is proposing legislation relating to the Scots language. There is currently a consultation on Gaelic and Scots and how to—I suppose—revive Gaelic. Part of the conversation is about how we have a Bòrd na Gàidhlig and whether we need an equivalent for Scots or whether we should take a different path that helps to promote Scots in another way.

Over the past couple of years, I have met loads of experts who have ideas about how we should take Scots forward, whether that is in schools, in public or at cultural events. The CPG would allow us to have discussions about the best way to suggest how the Government can support Scots.

I am aware that there are already 118 cross-party groups. I tried to merge a few of them, so that we would have better capacity. If we plan carefully, we will make the diaries work. We have already identified that Jackie and I can be co-conveners. Ariane Burgess and Sarah Boyack will be deputy conveners. We therefore have capacity for others to step in if there are problems with our diaries. We plan to meet four times a year, which seems realistic to me.

Of course, there are also cultural events throughout the calendar that will help to promote the work of the cross-party group. I am confident that it will be a fun cross-party group for any member to join, whether they are a native speaker or not—or a learner.

Thanks for that question. We have worked with the Scots Language Centre to see the work that it does and how it promotes and supports raising awareness of Scots. We also have a Scots language policy in the Parliament. We have members of the official report staff who are really supportive of ensuring that the words that we use in the chamber, in debate or in questions—or even in committee—are transcribed properly, so that, when we look back at the Official Report, we can see that Scots is used here.

I met the chief executive of the Parliament before the recess, because I was keen to talk about how we could promote the use of Scots in the Parliament. We now have a wee poster with a QR code that takes you directly to the Scots Language Centre website, so that folk who are in and about the campus can learn about the resources out there to help to raise awareness. There are loads of folk working together, such as Wee Windaes, Oor Vyce, the Scots Language Centre and many others. If we help to share their information on social media, the people who are using everyday Scots might realise that that is what they are doing, even though they were not aware of it.