Mr O’Kelly, do you want to answer some of that question?

Following on from the comments from both the minister and Mr O’Kelly, do we have some understanding of mesh itself? Different types of mesh may well undergo different processes. How have we been investigating and taking steps to analyse some of the mesh products themselves, to look at what defects they might have?

Has the Government, or have clinicians themselves, had a look at any of the history to find out whether there are defects that occur with specific types of mesh products, which might be more susceptible or more problematic for individuals? If we are aware that certain products might be more susceptible than others, that might reassure people in the future that the mesh that is being put in will be better, because it is not of a type that has a track record of causing issues in the past.

Minister, perhaps you can answer first.

I agree with David Torrance. This petition requires to come to an end, as we have gone through that journey. As we have already heard, over the next three to five years, things will improve, but, as you indicated, convener, there might be fresh issues to be considered and, if there are issues that Rhoda Grant and the community want to explore, that could be done via a new petition.

We have heard that, in some situations, individuals had one mesh for a hernia put in but it had to be removed; they then had a second one put in and, since the second attempt, things have been better. They have not experienced the same complications since the first mesh was removed and the second one was implanted. Is there evidence, in your experience or that of others, of that happening when one mesh is removed and then replaced with a new one? Is it common or just an ad hoc situation that occurs with certain individuals?

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in support of the motion in the name of my colleague Liz Smith.

As Scotland continues to recover from the economic damage of the past two years, careful management of the economy should be one of the highest priorities for the Scottish Government in the coming years. The debate is an important opportunity to highlight some of the SNP Government’s failures in that area. As the recent analysis by the Scottish Fiscal Commission confirms, the economy is an area in which the Government’s record is one of wasted potential and failure.

One area where such failure is abundantly clear is income tax. As with so many areas, income tax is one over which the Scottish Government has received substantial new powers only to fail to use them properly. The introduction of two additional income tax bands in Scotland was supposed to have been done to create a more progressive tax system. Regardless of the Government’s intentions, that does not justify the creation of a system that has been described by the Institute for Fiscal Studies as “unnecessarily complicated”.

Of course, the Government may claim that having a more progressive tax system means that lower-income households pay less tax than they otherwise would, but, given that analysis by the IFS finds any savings for those households to be “barely apparent”, it is clear that the current system fails to achieve that.

What does the Scottish Government have to show for all its fiscal meddling with Scotland’s tax system? According to the most recent analysis, it has more than £400 million less than it would have done if it had simply stuck with the UK tax bands. That is yet another example of the Scottish Government receiving significant new powers, only to completely misuse them. It was perhaps the IFS that best summarised the situation when it stated that the SNP’s income tax changes had achieved little more than making a “political statement”—a political statement that is affecting poor individuals the length and breadth of this country and is resulting in hard-working families paying more.

We know from all the economic statistics that there is a substantial black hole in the public finances. That is despite the UK Government’s block grant providing real-terms increases in funding for every year of the parliamentary session. While IFS analysis suggests that the deficit could turn out to be significant, we already know about the cuts that vital public services are facing as a result of that black hole.

Education and policing budgets are set to be hit with real-terms cuts over the course of the parliamentary session. Unsurprisingly, local government will, once again, bear the brunt of those cutbacks. The Scottish Fiscal Commission’s analysis suggests that local government budgets will be cut by 7 per cent in real terms by 2027. Even taken by itself, a figure of such magnitude should set alarm bells ringing for the Government.

We must not forget that that follows on from a period in which councils have had their budgets slashed. Between 2014 and 2021, funding for local government fell by 2.4 per cent in real terms, and it received a £250 million real-terms cut in the 2022-23 budget.

More and more often, the councils of communities across Scotland are faced with no choice but to provide only the services that they are legally obliged to provide. On current forecasts, I fear that that trend is set to continue, with money being removed from local government budgets, facilities being closed and families losing opportunities in their communities, despite what the Government says that it wants to achieve for those communities and our constituents.

We have now had 15 years in which to learn about the SNP’s economic priorities in Government, and it is clear that local government has never been one of them. As the spending review makes clear, disappointingly, that is unlikely to change.

This is the first opportunity that I have had to highlight such issues in my new role as shadow minister for just transition, employment and fair work, but it will certainly not be the last time that I highlight the SNP’s failures in this area. The Scottish Government has a lot of work to do to get Scotland’s economy back on track and to deliver budgets that are truly reflective of the Scottish public’s priorities.

The Scottish Government should commit to aligning income tax rates with those for the rest of the UK. It must also work alongside the UK Government to capitalise on the potential for both of Scotland’s Governments to work together. The city region and growth deals, which now cover nearly every part of Scotland, have shown what can be achieved through cross-Government co-operation, and the Scottish public will rightly expect to see more of that in the coming years.

The SNP should drop its plans for a divisive and desperate independence referendum that the Scottish public simply do not want. We had a choice and we made our choice. To put £20 million aside for another referendum is an absolute insult to hard-working families the length and breadth of the country.

I support the motion in Liz Smith’s name, and I urge members across the chamber to do likewise.

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the roll-out of superfast broadband. (S6O-01160)

There is an inequality across my region when it comes to supporting children with complex needs during the summer. Rob Holland from the National Autistic Society Scotland said:

“The lack of services heaps further pressure on families and risks pushing them to breaking point. The availability of short break services should not be wholly reliant on where autistic children live.”

What action is the Scottish Government taking to rectify the postcode lottery that autistic children have to endure?

With the R100—reaching 100 per cent—roll-out being delayed from 2021 to 2027, the Scottish Government has a long way to go to convince communities. The voucher scheme for R100 has also been disappointing in the extreme, with only 497 households in my region having applied from the more than 41,000 that are eligible. How can the Scottish Government address connectivity problems when it is clearly failing communities the length and breadth of the country?

It seems that every time that Scotland’s social security benefits are debated in the chamber, the Scottish Government is able to report a small amount of progress on the issue, but that is never the amount of progress that it should be reporting. Despite the progress that we have seen over the past year, which I welcome, it remains the case that the Government will not have finished taking control of all devolved benefits until nearly a decade after it first received some of those powers.

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work of Scotland’s welcome hubs for Ukrainian refugees. (S6O-01140)