Chamber and committees

I congratulate my colleague Christine Grahame on securing the debate. Although the subject of the debate is not directly relevant to Scottish Government policy, I absolutely agree that it is important for us as politicians, as role models and as leaders of society, to call out comments that are completely unacceptable. The Prime Minister’s comments regarding former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s decision to close the mines as having given the UK a “big early start” in tackling climate change are not only unacceptable but deeply offensive. They show nothing other than the contempt that the Prime Minister and the UK Government hold for former mining communities in Scotland.

Many of those communities are located in my South Scotland region. Christine Grahame has invited the Prime Minister to visit the National Mining Museum Scotland in her constituency, and I am sure that many members of former mining communities in my area would welcome a discussion with the Prime Minister on his views on the mine closures that happened under Mrs Thatcher.

The reality of what the mine closures meant has been highlighted by ex-miner Rab Wilson, who said that they had no bearing on tackling the climate emergency. Rab said:

“Kirkconnel, New Cumnock, Auchinleck—all these villages are only here because of the coal ... Socially and economically, it made these local communities. ... The Tories didn’t give a second thought to the social catastrophe they were creating.”

In his book of Scots language poems, “Accent o the Mind”, Rab said:

“The right tae work, that wis aa that we asked
Demands which the Tories said went too faur
Fir tellys, holidays, mibbes a caur ...
Ah’ll never forget it, it’s left its mark,
It festers there yet, somewhaur in the daurk.”

I have written to the Prime Minister to invite him to take part in the discussion that I have agreed to organise on the mine closures. Unsurprisingly, I have not had a response.

Christine Grahame laid out the detail in the report, which shows that billions of pounds should go to the miners. Annabelle Ewing mentioned the fact that the pension amount is as little as £65 per week.

The report talks about the privatisation of British Coal in 1994 and the arrangement that was made between the Government and the trustees of the mine workers pension scheme. In the 2000s, the coalfield communities campaign argued for a review of the surplus sharing arrangements on the grounds that the guarantee had been struck on actuarial advice and may, with hindsight, have been too cautious, and that a 50 per cent share of an unexpectedly large surplus was too much. The consequences of that caused problems for our miners. As Annabelle Ewing noted, not many are left now to benefit from reforms. I ask the minister to do whatever he can to support the miners in the continued effort to ensure that they benefit from anything that comes out of the select committee’s well-worked report.

I again thank Christine Grahame for today’s debate.

Thank you, convener, and thank you for having us at this morning’s committee meeting to discuss this important petition.

Like my colleague Finlay Carson, I have asked numerous questions in the chamber on this matter, and we had three debates on it in the previous five-year session. The issue is of great interest to people in the south-west of Scotland, given that the A75 and the A77 are the main arterial routes connecting us to the European Union, and I absolutely agree that they need to be improved.

I am therefore interested in finding out how we are going to move forward with the petition. I am aware that the south-west roads review has fed into the strategic transport review, which is due to be released imminently, and I am keen to see what improvements the Government will be committing to.

When Michael Matheson became cabinet secretary with responsibility for this issue, he visited Stranraer to meet members of the A75 and A77 action groups, and we were able to hear from him on the matter. From freedom of information requests that have been put in on this matter, we are aware of challenges with regard to safety, collisions, fatalities and so on, and we have tried to use that evidence to make the argument for investment in these roads. We also know how many lorries are on the roads when ferries arrive and depart.

I am keen to see what the committee can do to chivvy the Government along into taking action and making improvements on both roads.

I thank the convener for having me here, and the committee for considering the petition. I am aware of the petition, as I know Dr Gordon Baird very well. He lodged it on behalf of himself and the Galloway community hospital action group, and another retired GP, Dr Angela Armstrong.

The petition calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to create an agency to ensure that health boards offer fair and reasonable management of rural and remote healthcare issues. Dumfries and Galloway is part of my South Scotland region and Stranraer is the town where I was born and lived until moving to the Dumfries area when I was 12. I am very familiar with the rurality of the south-west part of my constituency. I often hear from constituents that they feel forgotten, as many people automatically look to places north of the central belt, and even to the islands, when providing examples of remote and rural places in Scotland.

I will share a couple of examples, one of which the convener has already touched on. NHS Dumfries and Galloway is part of the south-east Scotland cancer network, meaning that people who live in Wigtownshire, Dumfries, Canonbie and Lockerbie are included in cancer pathways and treatment plans such that they sometimes have to go to Edinburgh for some types of cancer care, such as radiotherapy. That is a 266-mile round trip for folk living in Stranraer.

Based on the response to questions raised with the previous health secretary about the cancer pathway issue, my understanding is that patients in Dumfries and Galloway are offered a choice of place to attend as part of their treatment. If their treatment choice is Glasgow, that would therefore be the place to attend. However, nowhere in Dumfries and Galloway is closer to Edinburgh by travel time than Glasgow and the Beatson, for instance.

A second example to highlight regarding fairness is that persons in other health board areas such as Ayrshire and Arran and Highlands and Islands are offered travel reimbursement for journeys of more than 30 miles. That is not the case in Dumfries and Galloway, where people are means tested for any travel costs to be reimbursed. Those are only two examples.

The Scottish National Party’s manifesto proposes a centre of excellence for remote and rural health and social care. I have already had a response from Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Humza Yousaf, regarding initial progress on that. I welcome the Government’s introduction of the Scottish graduate entry to medicine programme. We also passed the University of St. Andrews (Degrees in Medicine and Dentistry) Bill in the most recent session of Parliament. ScotGEM has a focus on increasing the number of graduate doctors with a rural focus.

I would be grateful to the petitions committee for progressing this petition. I would seek to be proactive and objective and to have those proactive and objective measures taken forward. We need to highlight the health challenges in remote and rural areas. I would therefore welcome the petitions committee’s continued progression of the petition.

I know that the transport secretary met petitioners here in Parliament and also at the meeting in Stranraer that I organised and to which all colleagues were invited. I wanted to make it clear that this is not a political issue; instead, it is about safety, transport and access.

If publication of the strategic transport review is imminent, I think that it would be worth while hearing about that first instead of having another round-table meeting. I know how concerned the transport secretary is right now and I know that he is aware that people in the south-west of Scotland, too, have a high level of concern.

The First Minister has rightly, on the basis of clinical and medical advice, decided to continue the requirement to wear face coverings when in indoor public spaces. Will she reiterate the importance of the continued need for face coverings and their benefit in helping to stop the spread of Covid-19? Will she comment on whether there is any clinical advice that suggests that, particularly as we approach winter, when people will be indoors more often, the use of FFP2 face masks and appropriately fitted face coverings is the best way for people to protect themselves and others?

I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate and congratulate Brian Whittle on securing it. He has outlined the number of medals won by our Olympians and has name-checked many of our outstanding team members.

I congratulate team GB on their outstanding achievements at Tokyo 2020. Olympic captain Dina Asher-Smith and Paralympic captain Jim Roberts led their teams to great success. Their achievements in a range of sports cannot be understated and every athlete can take pride in the inspiration that they provide to people across Scotland.

The idea behind the modern Olympics, as expressed by the International Olympics Committee, is

“the elevation of the mind and soul, overcoming differences between nationalities and cultures, embracing friendship, a sense of solidarity, and fair play; ultimately leading to the contribution towards world peace”.

Brian Whittle has clearly outlined the positives for health and education that sport brings, but as well as supporting positive health and wellbeing, we need to support the international forum focusing on sport, which rightly strives to build relationships between nations of the world and takes a progressive stand on humanitarian issues. For example, to highlight the fact that more than 65.3 million people across the world have been displaced from their homes and are classed as refugees under the United Nations definition, the International Olympic Committee supported the creation of the IOC refugee team, which featured 29 talented athletes across 12 sports in this year’s games. Such steps should be acknowledged and welcomed.

Dumfries and Galloway, in my region of South Scotland, is home to one member of team GB, modern pentathlete, 26-year-old Jo Muir from the Haugh of Urr, near Castle Douglas. She competed in the modern pentathlon alongside fellow team member, Kate French. Jo’s take-home message from the games is that, regardless of their ability, everyone should try a sport, whether it is sprints in the local park, planks in the living room or even a walk around the neighbourhood. Residents of the Haugh could not be prouder of their Olympian. They produced a wee video showing their support for her during the Olympics, which can be viewed online.

The Tokyo Olympics inspired many people across Scotland to try a new sport, from traditional sports such as running, cycling or swimming to new sports such as speed climbing, skateboarding and mountain biking. I welcome the fact that, to aid access to those sports, the Scottish Government has funded, and plans to double investment in, access to sporting facilities for younger people, particularly those in the most deprived areas of Scotland.

Across the South Scotland region, we have fantastic mountain biking, BMX and skating facilities. Mountain bikers can go to the 7stanes and there are various skate parks and pump tracks in the region. There is a brand-new pump track at Glentrool park in Lochside in Dumfries, a skate park in Kirkcudbright, a BMX arena in Berwickshire and a BMX track in Newton Stewart. The 7stanes mountain biking trails at the forests of Mabie and Ae, Kirroughtree, Dalbeattie, Glentress, Glentrool, Innerleithen and Newcastleton are all world renowned and are all in the South Scotland region. They offer a perfect training ground for all those who are interested in taking up mountain biking, and who could be our future Olympians.

However, I have been contacted by constituents who think that we are missing an opportunity to market those facilities better. I have written to Forestry and Land Scotland and VisitScotland in the past, but I also ask the minister whether the Government would consider a national marketing campaign based on Scotland’s 7stanes, which would enhance access to and promotion of those fantastic assets.

Finally, I want to mention Raiders Gravel Galloway, which is an international gravel cycle festival. The event seeks to attract people from across the globe and has various opportunities for local people to try gravel cycling. It also proposes to have accessible cycling at the event, which takes place from 7-10 October. The event could be a fantastic way to inspire our future Olympians.

I welcome the fact that we have had the debate. I congratulate all athletes on both teams in team GB for all that they do.

I have a question on what the cabinet secretary said about cancer pathways and the modernising patient pathways approach. The diagnostic centre in Dumfries and Galloway is one of the first such centres and I believe that it is doing really well in fast-tracking people who do not have concrete symptoms of cancer. That is something that has been introduced that is working quite well, I understand.

I am interested in whether the modernising patient pathways programme is looking at cancer pathways in general. As an example, I note that people in Stranraer and Wigtownshire go to Edinburgh for their radiotherapy, which involves longer journey and travel times than if they were going to the Beatson west of Scotland cancer centre, which they basically drive past. Is the programme looking at shorter journeys and travel times and a different overall approach to the cancer pathway programme?

I guess that the instruments breached section 28(2) of the Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 because of Covid. Is that right?

As others have mentioned their interests, I should say that I am still a registered nurse. I want to ensure that that is on the record.

I want to pick up on what Paul O’Kane said earlier about yesterday’s report, by charities including the British Heart Foundation, on non-communicable disease priorities. Prevention of ill health is something that we could be focusing on. In the previous session, we received evidence about £90 million having been spent on complications due to type 2 diabetes. Preventing such complications in the first place, perhaps through social prescribing, would be a way of keeping people out of hospital.

We could also look at pulmonary rehabilitation. Will you continue to support wider implementation of pulmonary rehab, and what work will be done to consider social prescribing as a way to reduce ill-health in the first place?