Chamber and committees

I will speak to Shirley-Anne Somerville’s amendment, which makes it crystal clear that the Scottish Government takes seriously its responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010. It is absolutely a requirement that we meet those responsibilities, including the specific provisions on separate and single-sex exceptions. This Government, and, in fairness, the previous Labour-Lib Dem Executives, have been absolutely clear in their determination to make sure that women and girls of the future are born into a society that is fairer than the environment in which their mothers and grandmothers lived.

One of the strengths of this Parliament is that we have consistently heard more from the voices of women in this place—from the very top down, since the Parliament’s first days—than we expect to hear in Westminster.

Does that mean that we do not have a wheen of work to do? Of course not, but the commitment to equality and the mainstreaming of feminism in our nation’s work is at the core of the Scottish Government’s approach. I hope that, at decision time, the Parliament will support it, rather than the grandstanding party opposite.

Total spending on equality, inclusion and human rights has increased by 32 per cent over the past two years, including the £42 million that directly supports our equality and human rights infrastructure and the organisations that promote it. That is not enough if we, and society as a whole, treat the status that women continue to occupy in society as a women’s issue, rather than an issue for everyone. Women’s rights are human rights. That is why international standards such as the European Convention on Human Rights under the Council of Europe, which is a body that the Conservative Party seems to object to, are so important. They hold our and every other country to higher standards and, in turn, make progress in protecting and extending the rights of everyone in our society, not least women.

That is also why the Scottish Government is working hard to ensure that the incorporation of four separate international treaties into domestic law works the way that it is intended to. It is disappointing to everyone that the constraints of the Scotland Act 1998 mean that the introduction of the proposed human rights bill, as originally intended, has had to be paused. I know that the cabinet secretary and her colleagues continue to work to find a way forward that embeds the principles of those treaties in our public services and civil society.

Give me a wee second.

I will say a word or two about those members who are standing behind the motion and what their policies when they occupied number 10 said about their attitude to, in their own words, the “safety, dignity, and privacy” of women.

I am coming to that. I know that the legislation is clear that single-sex spaces need to be offered in a “legitimate” and “proportionate” manner, which I will come to in a wee bit more detail.

When those in number 10 were forcing women to declare that they had been victims of rape and sexual assault so that they could access social security benefits for their children, we did not hear much about dignity from members on the Conservative benches then. When they were driving mothers to food banks to feed their weans after slashing universal credit, we didnae hear much about dignity from the members on the Opposition benches then. When they imposed austerity on steroids over 14 miserable years, which had a greater impact on women than men, we did not hear much about dignity from the Conservative and Unionist Party then. The party’s current leader, a former Minister for Equalities, is cosying up to the US President, whose view of women starts and stops with how they can be controlled and how they can gratify him. Yet here we are: with their simple sword of truth and trusty shield of British fair play, they tell us that they are on the side of women in Scotland in order to try to distract people from their record on equality for women and girls in our country. Women who are watching the debate outside the chamber arenae daft: they have been at the sharp end of Tory policy for years and years, over and over, despite an unparalleled track record of electoral failure, failure in Scotland, and failure in the Parliament.

Where and when single-sex spaces are provided legally under the Equality Act 2010 is a complex area of law and precedent. As I said a minute ago, the language that is used is “legitimate” and “proportionate”. As with most public policy, there are no easy answers or actions that will fit into a soundbite, but that is exactly the approach that the Tories have taken with their motion, and it is to be deplored. I support the amendment in the name of the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice.

I know that sportscotland has invested £424,000 for Dumfries and Galloway Council to offer an active schools programme, community sports hubs, community cycling and coaching. We have five of the 7stanes cycle routes in Dumfries and Galloway. Cycling is another sport that can be accessed, and sportscotland has supported those facilities.

I am also interested in the research that is under way to understand the transport and travel barriers that people in island communities and remote places face, and Maureen Campbell mentioned support for that. Can you tell us when the research will be completed, and when will it be published?

I would be interested in getting further information on what common staffing methods are. I know that, in intensive care units, one-to-one care is often provided—that is, one nurse to one patient—whereas, in a recovery room, it is two-to-one care. In the operating room department, no one can cut skin until a certain number of people from the department are present. Staffing levels are based on, for example, the type of anaesthetic and surgery, and whether the patient is awake. That is based on my experience in the perioperative environment, but we also have new roles with physician associates, anaesthesia associates and surgical assistants.

I would be interested in fleshing out the detail on what the instrument means, rather than looking at reducing work hours. I do not think the cabinet secretary has betrayed anybody—that aspect is in process; it is an on-going discussion.

Good morning. What action is sportscotland taking to support sport taking place in rural, remote and island areas?

Is there variation between regions or between rural and urban areas in the sports that people pick up? For example, Stranraer and Dumfries have Olympic and world-class curling. Dumfries has an ice hockey team, the Solway Sharks, but the women’s and men’s teams have to play in England, because it is easier to get to Sheffield, for example. There are teams there, whereas there are no teams nearby in Scotland.

Stranraer is developing a water sports hub, which is great because we will have people on the water paddle boarding and sea kayaking, which I have done down there—it is amazing, and it is good for your mental health. Is there a regional aspect to what gets funded or is it based on what sport is taken up?

Okay. I have a final wee question. The six nations rugby is on now, and it is pretty exciting to watch. I am meeting Scottish Rugby on Thursday, with a specific focus on girls in rugby. You can be any body shape and have a position on the rugby field, which is absolutely fab. Does sportscotland collaborate with Scottish Rugby on promotion and engagement so that more young women can play rugby?

It is not necessarily sportscotland’s responsibility to do such a wide sweep of the physical activity out there. Yesterday, I was at the convention of the south of Scotland, and we focused on transport and getting folk on their bikes to the bus or on their bikes to a train, but there did not seem to be a lot of people asking whether they can hang their bike on the train or the bus somewhere. It is about agencies collaborating and working together, so that is not sportscotland’s responsibility.

That is what Maureen Campbell seems to be saying about local authorities working together in collaboration, getting out of silos and so on. We have had lung health choirs singing in the Parliament. That is a physical activity but it is not within sportscotland’s remit. The people who perform in the lung health choirs say that they are so much more physically able because of how singing helps their lung health when they have conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. I am interested in your thoughts on that.

My point is that it is a wider issue that is not just your responsibility. It is about everybody collaborating and working together to improve physical activity for folk in Scotland.

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to support increased levels of sport and physical activity in Dumfries and Galloway. (S6O-04398)