Chamber and committees

Transport connectivity is important for people in the south-west of Scotland. How many free bus journeys have been made to date by young people in the south-west of Scotland as a result of the action of the Scottish National Party Government?

Marrying up hydrogen production with the clean renewables of which Scotland has an overwhelming abundance is not just the right thing to do in our quest for a just transition when we are aiming for net zero, but also means smarter and cleaner management of our natural resources, creating better places for our people and making sure that the economic dividends of the hydrogen industry are put to good use right here in Scotland.

The UK has spent decades wasting finite natural resources and putting our energy eggs in one basket, including with the dash for gas of the 1990s. Marrying up renewables generation with the production of hydrogen will provide load balancing across the grid just as pumped storage hydro does for peak demand, but it will do so across much longer periods of time. Using surplus electricity generation to produce and store hydrogen will allow for the reconversion of that stored hydrogen back into electricity and into the grid.

The technology is there, and it has been for decades, but only now is there the political and organisational will to make that a key priority for Scotland’s energy future. This cannot involve only the Government; we need business and industry to work collaboratively with the state to drive things forward. That is why last year alone, £7 million-worth of funding was on the table for businesses as seed money for green hydrogen projects

In my South Scotland region, schemes such as the Chapelcross initiative in Annan are repurposing the facilities of the 20th century nuclear power plant and putting in place the technology of the 21st century. It was great to hear colleagues mention Green Cat Hydrogen, at Creca, near Annan. In fact, it was positive to hear the south of Scotland mentioned in the chamber at all during the debate.

Just six weeks ago, Green Cat Hydrogen announced plans for a green hydrogen facility at the new energy transition zone at Chapelcross. If the plans get the go-ahead, 150 jobs will be created during construction and another 50 long-term, high-skilled jobs would be in place once the plant is complete. That is a large number of long-term, high-skilled jobs, and that amount of jobs is important for our rural region. Schemes like that would not even make it on to the drawing board without the support of the Scottish Government and South of Scotland Enterprise. That is only one example of how the Government’s backing of hydrogen is reaping economic dividends for Dumfries and Galloway, South Scotland and the rest of Scotland.

Anyone who knows the history of renewables on these islands and further afield knows of the opportunities for wind generation that the UK missed time after time. Meanwhile, small, independent Denmark was leading the way, and today the Danes remain world leaders in wind tech, which, importantly, has brought high-skilled, high-value jobs to that part of the world. If Scotland gets in early—and that is exactly what the Scottish Government plan for hydrogen aims to do—we can be for the hydrogen industry what Denmark has been for the wind industry for decades: we can be a world leader and an exporter of technology, industrial plants and expertise, with all of that boosting our industrial sectors and our economy.

Scotland has seen more than five decades of the dead hand of Westminster frittering away our energy future. We cannot allow the new energy technologies of the 21st century to suffer the same fate. Our green industrial strategy aims to harness the full benefits of our natural bounty to the betterment of our economy and ultimately the people of Scotland.

I want to highlight the carbon capture and storage work of The Carbon Removers at Crofthead farm, near Crocketford, just off the A75, which is making inroads into carbon capture and the sequestering of biogenic carbon. The cabinet secretary and the First Minister have visited that site to see for themselves the potential of what The Carbon Removers can achieve. That is another fantastic project based in the south-west of Scotland. Part of what it is doing is carbon sequestration of carbon dioxide for the whisky industry, and The Carbon Removers was a crucial business during the pandemic when it provided dry ice for vaccine storage and transfer. That is another project that it is worth us shouting from the treetops about to get Dumfries and Galloway on the map as part of the just transition. I am conscious that we often talk about the north and the north-east, and that is absolutely the right thing to do, but there are also places in the south that are doing a great job as part of the just transition.

Hydrogen is a key strand of the green industrial strategy, and I am delighted that the Scottish Government is taking that seriously rather than kow-towing to the interests of Whitehall and Westminster and the short-termism that was on display only this week from the former Prime Minister Tony Blair. I hope that ministers give his latest outburst all the respect it deserves, and I hope that colleagues will support the motion in Gillian Martin’s name at decision time.

Does the member agree that low-emission zones will help to contribute to cleaner air in our cities, which might benefit people who have asthma—especially those who might be triggered by poor air quality?

I thank colleagues for signing my motion, which has allowed us to bring the subject of world asthma day to the chamber. I thank Asthma and Lung UK Scotland for all its work as secretariat to the cross-party group on lung health, which I co-convene with my colleague Alexander Stewart, and for the briefing that it provided ahead of today’s debate. I also thank Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland for its briefing.

Asthma and Lung UK Scotland has campaigned, advocated and made great efforts that have been crucial in driving improvements in asthma care. As we approach world asthma day, which falls on 6 May this year, it is important to reflect on the progress that has been made in asthma care and on the challenges that remain.

This year’s theme from the Global Initiative for Asthma—GINA—is “Make Inhaled Treatments Accessible for ALL” and emphasises the need to ensure that everyone, regardless of their global location or socioeconomic status, has access to inhaled medications that they need both to control the underlying disease and to treat asthma attacks. That is one reason why having the right inhaler and the right inhaler technique feature in the advice for treatment, which I will come to.

Asthma is a pervasive condition that affects approximately 360,000 people in Scotland, including 72,000 children, although it was interesting to read a recent study in The BMJ that estimated that the prevalence in Scotland could be as much as 720,000. Asthma is the most common respiratory condition impacting individuals of all ages and its management requires a comprehensive and co-ordinated approach.

As someone who is still a nurse and has a sister who was a respiratory nurse consultant during her time in the national health service, I recognise the critical importance of providing the basic elements of asthma care, which are an annual asthma review, inhaler technique check and written asthma action plan. Those elements empower individuals to manage their condition effectively. Asthma and Lung UK reported that 30 per cent of asthma patients received all three of those essential components in 2025, which is an increase from the 24 per cent figure that was stated in my motion and came from 2024. It is good to see that that number is increasing.

The 30 per cent figure highlights the need for concerted efforts to improve the delivery and accessibility of basic asthma care. I know a number of the clinicians who are involved in taking forward work on lung health improvement. Dundee’s Dr Tom Fardon led the creation of the respiratory care action plan and that work is now being delivered by the centre for sustainable delivery. In November 2024, significant strides were made with the launch of new asthma guidelines by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence along with the British Thoracic Society and the Scottish intercollegiate guidelines network, which is known as SIGN. Those guidelines are a collaborative effort to update practice in asthma management.

One key aspect of the asthma pathway is diagnosis, and the pathway includes recommendations for initial clinical assessments and objective tests to diagnose asthma in adults, young people and children. Testing recommendations include the use of fractional exhaled nitric oxide, which supports the diagnosis and management of asthma by measuring nitric oxide levels in exhaled breath. Elevated FeNO levels can indicate airway inflammation, which is a hallmark of asthma, and can help to guide treatment decisions. The pathway also includes monitoring, which is important in adjusting treatment plans and making interventions.

The new guidelines from SIGN and the BTS cover managing chronic asthma by using pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies, with inhaler device selection and strategies for improving adherence to prescribed inhalational medication, and the management of acute asthma, with recommendations for those managing exacerbations.

The pathway includes the management of difficult and severe asthma with specialist therapies and has specific management guidelines covering issues during pregnancy and labour or while breastfeeding, as well as asthma in adolescence.

I hope that I have covered enough of those guidelines, which I know are detailed and complex.

I will now touch on the environmental impact of inhaler devices and the reduction of environmental harm. One inhaler manufacturer is transitioning its pressurised metered-dose inhalers—PMDIs—to a new propellant called HFO-1234z, whose global warming potential is 99.9 per cent lower than those of the propellants that are used in conventional inhalers. That change of propellant for multidose inhalers aims to reduce the environmental impact of respiratory medicines.

We must also consider the recycling potential of inhalers. Some do not have a lot of components and are relatively easy to recycle, but some have multiple plastic components that are glued or fixed and some are manufactured thousands of miles away from the end user.

Although the new guidelines offer a road map for improved asthma care, challenges persist.

I turn to deaths from asthma. In 2023, Scotland recorded the highest number of asthma deaths in over 30 years, which is a sobering reminder of asthma’s potential severity. That situation underscores the need for continued vigilance and dedication to improving asthma prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care across the country, including in NHS Dumfries and Galloway and NHS Borders.

There is a lot to cover, and in the few minutes that I have in this debate I cannot do justice to all the work that expert national health service clinicians do every day to support their patients. However, I thank them for that.

I look forward to hearing an update from the minister. She has been excellent in engaging with the cross-party group on lung health and she has kindly provided us with much of her time at the health events that I have hosted in Parliament, including those on asthma.

This year’s world asthma day is an opportunity to recommit ourselves to ensuring that everyone with asthma has access to the care, treatment and support that they need to live life as fully and healthily as possible.

We are not talking about south of the central belt, because, the last time we took evidence, we heard that lowland deer management included Perth, and Perth is not south of the central belt.

I have a quick thought about the potential for Quality Meat Scotland to be part of the engagement and support of venison as red meat, given that it already provides confidence in beef, lamb and selected pork. Does more work need to be done with Quality Meat Scotland to convey confidence and integrity in the venison food supply chain?

Good morning. You have already touched a little bit on the criteria for managing deer, but I note, for example, that different species of deer occupy the same habitat. NatureScot’s website mentions the deer working group’s recommendation that NatureScot adopt an upper benchmark of 10 red deer per square kilometre; however, that is just in the Highlands, and we know that there are deer in the Borders and in Dumfries and Galloway, and that there are peri-urban deer, too.

What I am seeking to understand is the need for deer management protocols or policies to be flexible, given that different habitats are being occupied and farmland is being affected. Of course, that is all about damage to property rather than peatland restoration. Is there a need for flexibility in the bill to ensure the creation of guidance that would work for the diverse habitat areas that need to be protected and restored? Is that correct?

I do not know whether my question will take us backwards, but I am thinking about what was said about the fact that we do not have numbers that accurately reflect the deer population. Duncan Orr-Ewing said that it was 10 deer per square kilometre, but that is the figure for red deer. Tom Turnbull mentioned the fact that we do not have accurate numbers, although we do, to an extent, in the Highlands. We measure what action is needed when there is deer damage and restoration is required. On top of that, there are all the different deer species. Does it matter whether we have accurate data if we measure the extent of the issue by looking at interventions that are based on damage or restoration requirements?

Thanks.

Baseline data is going be collected and co-ordinated. I assume, therefore, that NatureScot will need to work with, say, Forestry and Land Scotland to ensure that everybody is aware of how the data is being collected and that it is being measured or analysed, or the level of damage assessed, to see whether a tipping point has been reached and a section 8 order is required. Am I correct in saying that partnership working will be required to collect that data?