Chamber and committees

Scotland’s national mission to improve the lives of those who are impacted by drugs is, of course, not just for people in communities but for those in prisons. With that in mind, will the cabinet secretary outline the Scottish Government’s work with partners to embed that work in prisons throughout Scotland?

In addition to the health concerns, there are clear short-term and long-term environmental impacts of single-use vapes, with communities, including communities in Dumfries and Galloway, being blighted by them, as they are dumped and discarded on our streets. Does the minister agree with me and charities such as Keep Scotland Beautiful that the ban on single-use vapes will benefit our environment, as well as keeping our communities safer and cleaner?

I have been really concerned by the dramatic rise in levels of youth vaping, given the evidence from experts, including physicians and ASH Scotland, on the health impact of e-cigarettes and vaping and the negative impact of nicotine on young people.

As the founder and, now, the co-convener of the Parliament’s cross-party group on lung health, I recently heard from a mother how her school-age daughter has experienced anxiety, aggression, agitation, depression, withdrawal and shortness of breath since starting vaping. She has also missed school. What steps will be taken to minimise the health impacts of youth vaping, given the announced ban on single-use vapes?

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the announcement from the United Kingdom Government that it plans to ban single-use vapes to protect children’s health, whether it will outline what action is being taken in Scotland. (S6T-01768)

I appreciate your taking the intervention. I am a substitute member of the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee. Do you agree that the convener of that committee, who happens to be a Conservative member, has tried to delay a bill and the passing of legislation in this Parliament? Despite that, you are blaming the Scottish Government.

As we know, diabetes technology can significantly enhance people’s quality of life. I remind members that I have type 1 diabetes and am a tech and pump user. However, there is disparity among health boards in Scotland in term of availability of diabetes technology. Will the minister comment on how the Scottish Government is supporting health boards to deliver diabetes technology to those who would benefit from it?

Scotland is creating the most woodland in the UK, and it will continue to do so, despite the Tories savaging our budget by cutting our capital allocation. Does the minister share my view that, if that is what we can hope to achieve in the current fiscal nightmare, there would be no limit to what the forestry sector could achieve if the Scottish Tories put Scotland first and took a stand against the 10 per cent cut to our budget?

Will the member take a wee intervention?

You mentioned the site at Chapelcross. I have been involved with the letter writing on that as well. Do you agree that highlighting the opportunities in South Scotland for a just transition demonstrates that a just transition is for the whole of Scotland and not just the north-east?

I welcome the opportunity to lead an important members’ business debate that focuses on the role of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly. The Assembly enhances the scrutiny of each legislature’s policy making and decision making, and—as I mentioned in a debate in the chamber last week—it fosters positive intergovernmental relationships. I thank all the members on all sides of the chamber who have supported my motion. I welcome the fact that there was cross-party support for it, and that there is consensus on the positive role of BIPA.

I thank the BIPA clerks for the amazing work that they do, and I thank Jennie Chinembiri—I hope that I got that right; I have to say it really slowly—and Steven Bell from the Parliament’s international relations office. They are absolutely amazing—they support us MSPs and co-ordinate our visits, and Steven Bell provided us with an excellent briefing ahead of tonight’s debate. The current BIPA chairs, Brendan Smith TD and Karen Bradley MP, are excellent, and they guide us through our business and events at all the plenary sessions.

BIPA was originally established in 1990, as the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body, to create a link between the Houses of Parliament and the Houses of the Oireachtas. The first plenary session took place in London in 1990, and in 2001, the membership was enlarged to include the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the legislature of the Isle of Man and the States of Guernsey and Jersey.

The name “British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly” was adopted in 2008 to reflect the new era of relations between Britain and Ireland. BIPA’s mission is to promote co-operation between elected representatives across the UK and Ireland and BIPA members, which benefits the people whom we all represent.

BIPA wants to build on the close relationships that have been established in recent years between politicians throughout Britain and Ireland. BIPA members engage in a wide range of non-legislative parliamentary activities, through biannual plenary meetings and on-going committee work. The venue for plenaries alternates among BIPA countries. The sessions involve debating topical issues and committee reports and include a question period with a senior minister from the host country. I was fortunate to meet Micheál Martin, when he was the Taoiseach, at one of our Dublin sessions.

The four current BIPA committees are the Steering Committee, the European Affairs Committee, the Economic Committee and the Environment and Social Committee. They meet regularly, both online and in person, and take oral and written evidence on specific issues. At the sessions, BIPA members sit in alphabetical order rather than as delegations of their respective legislatures, and national representation is relevant only for the purposes of the quorum and the tabling of certain motions and amendments. It seems to me that sitting next to a colleague from a different party, even an Opposition party, actually enhances our interparliamentary relationships.

The Parliaments, regional Assemblies and devolved institutions that are represented all share a common tradition and style of debate, and those common roots are reflected in the way in which the Assembly operates. On 6 March 2023, members held an extraordinary plenary meeting in Belfast, at Stormont, to mark the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday agreement. The Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont granted the use of its chamber and meeting rooms for that special plenary. The former Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, and Sir John Holmes, who was principal private secretary to Tony Blair when he was Prime Minister, were directly involved in the Good Friday agreement negotiations. They addressed the Assembly on the significance of the historic peace agreement and responded to questions.

Former members of the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition—Kate Fearon, Bronagh Hinds, Dr Avila Kilmurray and Jane Morrice—followed up with a presentation in which they conveyed the significance of having women involved in creating the peace process and promoting lasting peace.

Attending the session on 6 March was extremely impactful for everyone. When I was growing up in Stranraer in the late 1970s, I was all too aware of the troubles, which were happening just across the water—across the Irish Sea. In my view, not enough is said about the role that women play in peace negotiations in any conflict, including what was happening in Ireland and Northern Ireland at that time. That relates to my previous work in promoting United Nations resolution 1325, which aims to promote the importance of women being at the forefront of peace talks.

In addition to specific debates and motions, recommendations are made to lawmakers across the areas that are represented in BIPA. In May, we had a plenary in Jersey, where we heard from Jersey’s first woman Chief Minister, Kristina Moore. She took questions from me regarding whether Jersey is considering the wellbeing economy as part of its financial policy, and she agreed that wellbeing, and not just gross domestic product, should be considered.

For me and my BIPA colleagues, excellent relationships have been created. Senator Emer Currie and Mairéad Farrell TD both subsequently invited me to visit Leinster house, which I did last summer. I was able to attend Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s leader’s questions, and I found the whole visit to be extremely welcoming and enjoyable.

The plenary sessions allow us to share experiences. We have heard, for example, that Ireland has challenges that are similar to Scotland’s with regard to general practitioner recruitment in rural areas, and I was able to provide an insight into how the unique ScotGEM—Scottish graduate entry medicine—programme that was created by the Scottish Government has helped to increase the GP workforce in rural areas in Scotland. Ireland will perhaps be able to take that forward, reflecting on the work that the Scottish Government has done in promoting ScotGEM.

The BIPA Economic Committee, of which I am a member, is currently carrying out an energy inquiry, which has shown how energy policy differs in each of the legislatures. It is becoming increasingly apparent from that inquiry that energy policy in the UK is having a disproportionately negative impact on Scotland.

This is a good place for me to stop, as I am conscious of the time. In closing, I again welcome the opportunity to lead the debate. I am not asking the Government to do anything, which is probably a first for me. BIPA has really benefited me, as it has allowed me to build intra-parliamentary relationships, to meet and learn from other members, and to act on good policy to enhance the lives of the people whom we represent. I look forward to hearing contributions from other members.