Chamber and committees

I thank the member for the intervention—it wisnae as short as I had hoped. In my engagement with the estates, they have been very respectful and polite. We have been frank in our discussions about how we take forward what we need to do on land use and other things that I will come on to.

The jobs that are supported by rural estates sustain populations in some of our most fragile rural communities, but the contribution that estates make to rural communities is wider than that. The evidence that has been presented by Scottish Land & Estates shows that rural estates provide homes for around 8,250 private tenants and around 4,700 agricultural tenants across Scotland. Those homes underpin many rural communities, enabling people to live in parts of Scotland where housing options would otherwise be limited. Rural estates also lease land to around 1,400 crofters and farmers. Those enterprises form the backbone of many Scottish communities and therefore play an important role in creating the thriving resilient communities that are envisaged in the Government’s national outcomes framework.

Since my election in 2021, I have been able to visit and engage with estate owners and managers of the land across Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders. Recently, during the October recess, I visited Dalswinton estate and met Peter Landale to discuss how Scotland’s estates work to support rural communities and rural housing and meet Scotland’s net zero targets in the face of the global climate and biodiversity emergencies. We discussed how to define sustainability, and Peter described efficiency of production, animal welfare, carbon sequestration, biodiversity, quality and community. The cabinet secretary, Màiri McAllan, took a question from me last week about the sustainability definition.

I am conscious of the time, but at Dalswinton estate, just like at Raehills estate near Moffat, which I visited early in the summer, we talked very frankly about what can be done for rural estates to support biodiversity and tackle the climate emergency. Dalswinton estate provides the local community cafe in the village to Emma Pagan rent free to provide a space for residents and visitors. Emma is also an amazing florist. Another thing that Dalswinton estate has been good at is providing business space for Claxton’s whisky production, so that Claxton’s can grow and expand its business in the south of Scotland.

I will stop there, but I welcome the debate. Mr Carson’s motion was very positive, and that is what I wanted to focus on today.

I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests, as I am a registered general nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

The vision for mental health rightly has a focus on promoting positive wellbeing. Across remote and rural Scotland, many people—particularly older people—experience social isolation and loneliness. Will the minister provide an update on how the plan will seek to tackle loneliness and isolation, particularly in remote and rural areas such as Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders?

The member mentioned that the only time that ferries are in the news is when there is an issue to do with CalMac. Does he not remember when P&O Ferries sacked its workers? That is a private company.

I do. I seek clarification on whether the member has got a school or a pub.

To ask the Scottish Government how it defines “sustainability” when creating policies aimed at reaching its net zero targets. (S6O-02666)

I visited Dalswinton Estate, in Dumfries and Galloway, to meet the owner, Peter Landale, and discuss how Scotland’s estates are working to support rural communities and housing and to meet Scotland’s net zero targets in the face of the global climate emergency. Peter described his six tenets of sustainability: efficiency of production, animal welfare, carbon sequestration, biodiversity, quality and community. Does the cabinet secretary agree that those tenets are important in ensuring that we have true sustainability that works for rural Scotland and our planet?

So you would promote a bill that supports the establishment of equity for social care workers, equivalent to national health service workers. I suppose that that is what I am driving at. If we are able to demonstrate in the bill that care workers will be given parity, and if the national care service was able to deliver a pathway that increased the visibility of social care, which is the career choice of some people—you are absolutely right that it is predominantly women and that it is not always full-time work—that would be something that you would support.

I have a quick supplementary question.

Cara Stevenson said that something needs to be done now. My understanding is that the Scottish Government published a winter preparedness plan on 24 October, which is a joint publication by the Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care and Councillor Paul Kelly, who is COSLA’s health spokesperson. The plan has eight priorities for care and how we support people over the winter.

The development of the bill is for the future, and the winter preparedness plan is action that is being taken right now. Do the eight priorities cover ensuring care at home as much as possible, consistent messaging to the public and supporting staff? There is a focus on recruitment, retention and wellbeing of staff as part of those priorities. I am interested in the priorities that will be delivered over this winter. If we reflect on what works, those priorities could go into the future regulations for the national care service bill. Should we also consider that? The winter preparedness plan is being delivered right now, and its priorities could be reflected on for the future.

Thank you.

Most of what I was gonnae ask about has already been covered. We have kind of covered this, too, but I want to ask about the current status of social care as far as esteem and career pathways go, and in relation to making sure that the public knows the contribution that our care workers make across Scotland. Over the summer, I heard from workers in Stewartry Care about the level of skill and experience involved in what they provide to people in their homes and in care homes. I am interested in what your current members think or perceive about their roles in social care. Does more work need to be done to demonstrate to everybody the value of social care?

I see that Cara’s microphone is on—and I see Lilian Macer nodding, too.