I am pleased to contribute to this afternoon’s debate, and I thank Clare Adamson for bringing this important issue to the chamber.

Gambling addiction can affect many aspects of someone’s life, including their relationships, their finances and their physical and mental health. It can also affect others around them. Anyone who has seen a family member struggle with gambling addiction will know that all too well.

Data shows that more than 80 per cent of those with a gambling problem reported family or relationship difficulties. Other factors that can increase the risk of developing a gambling addiction include starting gambling at an early age, problems with drugs or alcohol or having a mental health condition.

As we have already heard, such addiction can be problematic for individuals and can lead to criminality. One of the biggest problems is that it can be easy for people to cover up their gambling addiction. In many cases, close friends or family members do not realise anything is wrong until thousands of pounds of debt have already built up.

The wider effects of gambling also extend to the whole economy. Estimates by the Institute for Public Policy Research suggest that problem gambling could be costing Scotland up to £60 million a year. It is also concerning that gambling problems are most common in young adults: it is estimated that 55,000 11 to 16-year-olds have a gambling problem.

A recent survey by the Gambling Commission highlights a worrying trend—that the number of 11 to 17-year olds with signs of problem gambling has more than doubled, compared with the previous year.

Yes, I do, and I will come on to that later in my speech. It is a massive issue. Some individuals, because they can see no way out of their gambling addiction and feel that they have nowhere to go, consider suicide, and it is problematic if they do not get the support that they require.

I welcome services such as those provided by GamCare and by organisations such as Gambling Leap, which was founded by Fife resident Colin Brown. Drawing on his own experience with gambling, which cost him more than £250,000, Colin launched Gambling Leap to support others and help free them from that addiction.

Organisations such as Gambling Leap are an important part of tackling the problem. We, and the Government, must consider our part in that. The introduction of a maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals in 2018 was a welcome step—but it was only a step.

I was pleased that, in 2020, the previous Conservative United Kingdom Government reviewed the Gambling Act 2005, and that, in 2023, it published a white paper on gambling. I welcome that the new Labour UK Government has looked at and is prepared to implement much of what is in the white paper.

However, the Scottish Government also has a role to play in tackling the issue. There has to be wider recognition of gambling and of NHS Scotland’s concerns when it comes to supporting individuals.

The suicide prevention action plan is about ensuring that people are able to access the correct treatment across health and social care services. However, it is a problem that we still do not have any specialist national health service clinics for people with a gambling addiction in Scotland.

I urge the Scottish Government to recognise the challenges of gambling addiction and the damage that it can cause to so many people’s lives, and to ensure that every community has access to the high-quality support services that will fully support their needs. I look forward to the minister saying that that is the case when she makes her speech.

Analysis that the Scottish Parliament information centre produced late last year shows that the value of international exports from Scotland remains below the Scottish Government’s target of 25 per cent, and that the rest of the UK still accounts for most of Scotland’s services and manufacturing exports. In the light of that, what action is the minister taking to strengthen our vital internal export market? How is he working with the Department for Business and Trade to ensure that Scottish products have access to competitive international markets?

I have listened to the cabinet secretary’s comments, and I am sure that Rachael Hamilton will reflect on them, but I would still like to press amendment 218.

Amendment 218 is consequential to amendment 219. Amendment 219 introduces flexibility to adjust rent mid-tenancy in response to significant changes in circumstances. That is particularly relevant in cases in which an employee leaves their job but remains within the property as the tenant or when a successor takes over the tenancy after a death, moving to a market rent from a nominal rent that is linked to employment.

When rent needs to be raised because of circumstances that are considered by ministers to be an emergency, amendment 219 would enable that to be done in an incremental manner, removing the limit on the number of times that rent can be increased.

Amendment 220 is consequential to amendment 214, which was debated previously. It amends proposed new section 43J of the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 to the same effect, but for tenancies that are situated in a rent control area.

In relation to amendments 138, 161, 162, 201, 202, 294 and 495, rent increase appeal processes must be fair, proportionate, time limited and bound to ensure timely resolutions that provide certainty for landlords and tenants. An open-ended system with no cost to tenants might inadvertently encourage speculative appeals, and that would put strain on adjudication bodies.

On amendments 139 and 140, rent setting is inherently subjective and it reflects the market and what tenants are willing to pay. Therefore, rent officers or tribunals should not be allowed to vary rent determination.

On amendments 496 and 499, the repairing standard clearly establishes that, under the enforcement baseline for property conditions, it is a criminal offence to let a property that fails to meet the standards. The amendments are not only unnecessary but would introduce subjectivity to a well-defined framework.

On amendments 238 and 240, the existing costs of dealing with appeals are already seen as a deterrent against misuse by landlords. Penalties will only have a negative impact on the supply of small landlords by discouraging them from the sector.

I move amendment 218.

Amendment 226 would introduce a full rural impact assessment of the provisions of the bill on rural and island communities.

It is too late to put a pre-legislative impact assessment into the bill, although it would have been welcome, given the Scottish Government’s track record. Rural and island communities face fundamentally different housing challenges, and a one-size-fits-all approach simply does not work. In those areas, housing delivery is already constrained by limited infrastructure, higher build costs and a lack of available land.

Policies that are designed for urban centres, however well intentioned, have a limited impact in rural settings, and they can stall development and make homes less viable to rent out or build.

As highlighted by Scottish Land & Estates:

“Applying a rural impact assessment to this Bill could ensure that it enhances the rural rented sector rather than inadvertently causing harm.”

Without a clear understanding of how the bill will affect rural and island areas, we risk deepening the urban-rural divide in housing access, affordability and opportunity.

Scottish Land & Estates has also rightly noted:

“It is particularly difficult to appreciate the full impact the Housing Bill may, or may not have, on rural and island areas of Scotland due to the lack of detail within. The private rented sector, homelessness and fuel poverty all exhibit different characteristics across the regions of Scotland and for the impact of the Housing Bill to be fully understood ... it is essential for legislation to be fully considered in a Rural Impact Assessment”.

A rural and island impact assessment would ensure that the bill supports, rather than hinders, housing delivery in those communities. It would also give policy makers the evidence that they need to tailor solutions that work, not just in cities but across Scotland.

It is not about special treatment; it is about fair treatment, and it is essential if we want a housing system that truly serves all of Scotland.

Can the cabinet secretary confirm whether the energy strategy will be issued before the summer recess—yes or no?

You are calling for the budget to be ring fenced in order to support and save drama production. How likely do you think that is from the communications that you have had with the BBC? We have had the BBC here and, as you have said, there is a lot of smoke and mirrors when it indicates what it is trying to achieve or what its proposals are. When you scrape below the surface, things are not quite as rosy or as pleasant as it is trying to portray. If you were to have that funding in some capacity, do you believe that that would give you opportunities to develop and progress?

Good morning. Thank you for your briefing note, and for your frankness and honesty so far in this session. You have already identified the crux of the matter: culture in Scotland is being eroded, or it appears to be being eroded, and this situation is another step in that process.

The broader picture is ensuring that BBC Scotland recognises that it has a public broadcasting duty to fulfil, as you have explained already. I think that most of us around the table get that and understand where you are coming from, but the issue is how to take that message further. You have identified the potential loss of opportunities for young people, including training and apprenticeships, in all parts of the process. The issue is how we ensure that we keep those opportunities—I think that that is where we are all coming from. That might be by showing how detrimental the loss of that would be to the sector.

My initial question is, how should we galvanise as a Parliament to provide support? We can bring people here, ask questions and probe—we can do all that—but, at the end of the day, if there is a campaign or a process to be carried out, where do we take that? How do we manage that to ensure that we achieve success? If we lose “River City”, what is next to be lost and what will be lost after that?

The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers and the Scottish Chambers of Commerce have written to the Scottish Government to highlight their concerns and to suggest constructive solutions for the review of the policy. Given the importance of self-catering to the Scottish tourism economy, to which it contributes almost £1 billion, does the cabinet secretary agree that the current unfortunate situation needs to be addressed rapidly, before long-term damage is done to the sector?