Chamber and committees

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.

We have had a couple of meetings online. Because Scots is spoke fae Shetland tae Stranraer, we find that meeting online, rather than bringing everybody here, means that people can participate and engage. We have had great attendance so far, and we disseminate information through email engagement and support.

Our secretariat, which is the Scots Language Centre, helps to supply us with all the connections and the people. It already has contact with the 128 potential individual members and groups. I am confident that we will be able to continue to support online and electronic engagement, to make sure that we keep folk up to date with what is going on.

I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate, and I thank Mark Ruskell for securing it. I am also happy to support his motion. I associate myself with his comments, and I thank all the groups that he has mentioned for the action that they have taken.

Greyhound racing is legal in just seven countries in the world. As many speakers have mentioned, only two tracks now remain in Scotland: Shawfield, in Rutherglen, which has not been operational since 2020; and Thornton, in Fife. Colin Smyth has just mentioned Halcrow stadium in Gretna, which is in my South Scotland region. It closed in 2018, and housing has since been built on the site.

The number of greyhounds intended for racing is currently at its lowest in Scotland and, as the Scottish SPCA has highlighted, if implemented in a phased manner, with full communication with all involved, a ban at this time would place the smallest possible burden on rescue organisations in relation to ensuring that all dogs currently racing can be rehomed responsibly.

Ultimately, I agree that we need legislative change to ban racing in our country in order to tackle the high number of injuries, deaths and positive drug tests that are reported in the industry and to reflect the lack of public support for this unsavoury use of animals for human entertainment and gambling profit.

The regulatory body for greyhound racing, the Greyhound Board of Great Britain, has been required to publish injury and death statistics since 2017. In 2018, the board introduced a greyhound commitment, with the aim of improving welfare and reducing injuries. Despite that, according to the board’s injury retirement data for 2018, across the UK, just short of 5,000 dogs were injured—an increase on the previous year. The figures also state that more than 2,000 dogs died or were killed in the racing industry in 2018-19. The GBGB also reported nine positive drug tests in dogs at Shawfield in 2018 alone, as reported in various issues of its Calendar publication. Information that is published by the GBGB demonstrates that there continued to be positive drug tests with class A drugs in 2019. Those tests show that dogs were drugged with cocaine, methamphetamine and other drugs, as Ruth Maguire and Rona Mackay have described. In reality, the rates of drugging are likely to be much higher, as only about 3 per cent of dogs who are running are tested.

There have been 119 entries and 15 deaths at Shawfield alone. As the Scottish SPCA reports, we do not have the numbers for the unlicensed Thornton track. Those numbers speak volumes and demonstrate the need for a ban.

Anyone who has a greyhound will know that they love comfort and attention. As a dog owner, and as a proponent of dog-friendly policies, I know how much love our four-legged companions bring. As Colin Smyth described, great rehoming work is being done by Dumfriesshire and Cumbria Greyhound Rescue, which has a shop in Lockerbie. I commended it for its rehoming work.

It is absolutely not right that those dogs are forced to run in a practice that is simply for human entertainment and monetary gain, and I absolutely agree that there must be a ban. A Scottish animal welfare charity, the Scottish SPCA, has reported that greyhound racing is a significant animal welfare issue, and one that needs to be stopped.

The question is not whether there should be a ban but when the ban should happen. Again, I thank Mark Ruskell for his motion.

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle rural isolation and loneliness, particularly in the approach to the winter period. (S6O-01433)

The Tory-made cost of living crisis will do nothing other than exacerbate social isolation and loneliness, particularly for those living in rural areas such as Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders. People are being forced to choose between eating and heating, and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has stated that 19 per cent of people in Scotland currently say that they cannot afford social outings.

Will the minister outline what further action the Scottish Government is taking to support people’s wellbeing this winter? Does she agree with me that, ultimately, Scotland must have independence to be free from constantly mitigating the harms that the United Kingdom Government creates?