Chamber and committees

I am delighted to contribute to this important debate celebrating 300 years of the Black Watch, and I thank my friend and colleague Liz Smith for bringing it to the chamber.

Seven generations of my family have been born and raised in Perthshire, and some of them have served in the ranks of the Black Watch during its history. Growing up in Perthshire, I was aware of the Black Watch from an early age and recognised the regiment’s cultural significance across many areas of Scotland. That awareness only grew stronger with age, as many local families had a connection and, often, lifelong involvement with the regiment.

Liz Smith spoke about the regiment’s reputation for fearlessness in many conflicts, which is renowned. Those sentiments are shared among all Black Watch families from many areas across Perthshire, Fife, Dundee and Angus. Each family has a strong story to tell about the bravery and dedication of individuals who served in the regiment.

Liz Smith also spoke about the Black Watch museum at Balhousie castle. I pay tribute to all the volunteers who keep that venue open. I am a regular attendee at Balhousie castle, and I was pleased that the museum marked its 10th anniversary in 2023. More than a million people have visited the museum since it opened, and the site has received multiple industry awards since the £3.5 million development was completed in 2013. I was privileged to serve as a councillor on Perth and Kinross Council when the museum was being developed, which I supported. The museum’s trustees and success remind us of the importance of showcasing local history. That legacy is alive, and we must ensure that it remains for future generations. The Black Watch certainly plays its role in that regard.

Many individuals visit the facility through the education programme that it provides. Our military history is vital and plays a huge part in maintaining our Scottish traditions. We should all ensure that there are opportunities for young people to learn about the hard work and the sacrifice of regiments such as the Black Watch, including in our classrooms.

In the four minutes that I have for my speech, I cannot even scratch the surface of the Black Watch’s history. Many members will impart their views, opinions and stories throughout the debate, and I look forward to hearing them.

It is important to reflect on the spirit, honour and dedication that have been fundamental to the regiment. A Black Watch historian once said:

“In a Highland Regiment every individual feels that his conduct is the subject of observation ... independently of his duty”.

I pay tribute to each and every individual who has served, has given their time and talent and has made sacrifices, including those who have lost their lives for the regiment. The Black Watch continues its historic legacy, and I wish it continued success. The regiment’s dedication and past reputation are still very relevant today, as they will be in the future.

Without clear adjustment, discretionary funding in capital figures risks appearing stable or even increased when the reality is that it is being artificially inflated. That undermines transparency and hampers scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s investment record. Will the cabinet secretary provide spending figures that are published on a like-for-like basis? If she does not do that, it can confuse Parliament and mislead the public.

It is a start.

If everybody buys one coffee, that is a start. The public understand. As I have said before, we go to various events and have the option of using fair trade. If people take that up, that is a step in the right direction.

In the past couple of decades, fair trade practices have become ingrained in communities across the country. Last year, in my Mid Scotland and Fife region, Fair Trade Stirling held its 20th anniversary event. The 20-year work of that group, combined with the efforts of Stirling Council, led to the city receiving fair trade status back in 2004. As other fair trade groups across Scotland have done, Fair Trade Stirling has taken part in many important projects to promote and facilitate fair practices around the world, and that should be commended and congratulated.

Fair Trade Stirling’s work included setting up the Stirling skills centre in Malawi almost 15 years ago. The centre helps young people to develop the skills that they need to find work, and Malawi is a shining example of the potential benefits of fair trade. The Deputy Presiding Officer and I are co-conveners of the cross-party group on Malawi and regularly see the outstanding work on fair trade that is done there.

The Scottish Fair Trade Forum, which was launched in 2007, has done much work on that. Back in 2018, I was pleased to be able to sign the international fair trade charter when the forum hosted the launch of that important agreement. The charter promises to use the vision and experience of over 250 organisations around the globe to help to reshape business and trade around the world. That remains a principle that I am happy to support.

Although we can be proud of the work that has been done, much more needs to be done to ensure that Scotland and the United Kingdom are seen as world leaders on the issue, as we have heard. Scottish Fair Trade’s report highlights the “enormous effort” that will be needed to keep the fair trade movement going and enhance public awareness. We need to ensure that more people are aware of fair trade, including by embedding its importance in our education system. Many education authorities are already taking steps on the issue, and many schools take part in Fairtrade fortnight and attempt to purchase fair trade products.

However, it is important that the Scottish Government looks for opportunities to ensure that fair trade principles become commonplace in Scottish classrooms. We have heard this afternoon about what more we need to do to achieve that. One of the long-standing criteria for a fair trade nation is that there must be widespread awareness of fair trade. We now have more awareness of its importance, but we need to ensure that younger generations are actively aware of what is happening.

It is important we speak up for fair trade practices around the world, but it is also important that we highlight local and home-grown processes, as we heard from Murdo Fraser. Across Scotland, we have great examples of councils ensuring that local food producers are fully utilised, which reduces transport costs and helps to protect local jobs. However, that is still not standard practice throughout Scotland, and there are clear opportunities for the Scottish Government to show national leadership on the issue.

Our amendment recognises that

“free and fair trade is the most powerful engine for poverty reduction and global prosperity”,

and that is what we want to see. Given the current global climate and the situation that we are in, we want to highlight the opportunities that are out there, but we are in a changing world, and we need to be alive to that.

Fair trade is less about what we buy as consumers and more about who we are as a nation. I hope that this debate is an opportunity for Parliament to highlight that. Our amendment makes it clear that we, on the Conservative benches, are committed to the fair trade principles because fair trade is good for communities, individuals, the supply chain and our nation.

I am pleased to contribute on behalf of the Scottish Conservatives, and I will be supporting the amendment in the name of Murdo Fraser. We strongly welcome the recent news that Scotland has retained its status as a fair trade nation, reflecting Scotland’s national commitment to ethical trade across the globe as we work towards an economy that is fair for everyone.

The concept of fair trade is not only welcomed across this chamber but has received widespread public support. Data from a recent report confirms that 97 per cent of Scots are aware of the concept of fair trade; that 85 per cent purchase fair trade items at least once a year, with 66 per cent purchasing at least once a month; and that almost 70 per cent of local councils agree with fair trade. Those are strong commitments, and they are vitally important.

This week, evening bus services through Tillicoultry’s main bus stance have been suspended from 7 pm due to incidents of antisocial behaviour. McGill’s and Midland Bluebird have taken that action due to a rise in violent incidents that have occurred this month. Such services are a lifeline for night-time workers, among others, and such behaviour is completely unacceptable. What urgent action can be taken to ensure the safety of bus drivers, passengers and the general public so that they are protected from needless violence?

I am pleased to contribute to this evening’s debate, and I thank my colleague Tess White for bringing this important issue to the chamber. I also congratulate Mary Howden and Carolyn Brown on publishing the report.

The stark point is that, as we have heard, between 2019 and 2024, 276 sexual assaults and 23 rapes took place in 57 hospitals in Scotland. Those incidents included 11 cases of sexual assault in NHS Forth Valley, 34 in NHS Fife and 17 in NHS Tayside, all of which fall within my region. However, the Women’s Rights Network report points out that those incidents are just the ones that we know about and that there are many that we do not know about. When we debate the threat to single-sex spaces and the need to protect those spaces in settings such as hospitals, we must take into account the wider context. We will continue to highlight that issue in the chamber, even if the Government would rather not debate and discuss it.

One of my biggest issues with sexual violence in hospitals is the lack of reporting. The Women’s Rights Network report reveals that data on sexual assault is not routinely kept by NHS boards or Police Scotland. The report sets out that 67 per cent of hospitals simply did not collect the data and that a further 4 per cent refused to reveal the data on the grounds of privacy. That means that many of those situations are not known about.

What is the true extent of the issue in our health boards across Scotland? What procedures and guidance are in place for Police Scotland to deal with those incidents? The report concludes that there is no evidence of a coherent data-keeping system and that the recording of data on sexual assaults has to improve. That should be the case—it has to improve.

We need to ensure that there is robust transparency when it comes to that issue in our hospitals, and the report rightly calls for measures in that regard to be introduced. However, several reports from the Care Quality Commission have already made the same recommendations, only to be ignored. How many more incidents will it take to force the Scottish Government to take the issue seriously and take action?

As well as improving records, we must ensure that safeguarding measures are put in place and that they are transparent for patients in hospitals. Regardless of the law surrounding the issue, the proven track record is complex. We understand that, but urgent action needs to be taken to address the scourge of sexual violence in Scotland’s hospitals. It is time for the denial to stop and for information to be clarified.

My party will continue to display the leadership and the drive to ensure that public sector organisations and health boards have some direction on this issue. Directives should require them to prepare single-sex spaces for biological women and girls. That should be the minimum that we are looking at. In most cases, that would simply remind organisations of their legal obligation—something that even the First Minister has accepted is crystal clear.

Women and girls deserve nothing less than a clear, commonsense approach when it comes to hospital safety. I urge the Scottish Government to seek the data and ensure that it is provided. We must take action to ensure that that data is required to be produced. Hospitals should be a safe place for treatment, not an environment for sexual violence.

I am pleased to be able to bring this important issue to the chamber, and I thank those members who supported my motion.

When it comes to Scotland’s education system, many of the Scottish National Party’s failures are well known. Those include a decline in international rankings, a widening attainment gap and falling teacher numbers, all of which have been discussed in the chamber many times.

However, the Government’s failure on the issue of additional support needs deserves far more parliamentary time. My motion lays bare the crisis that is developing in Scottish schools for children and young people who have ASN. Last month’s report from Audit Scotland, entitled “Additional support for learning”, painted a truly grim picture. The number of young people who are recorded as receiving additional support for learning is now higher than 284,000. Why is that? It is because we have much better diagnosis, but diagnosis requires support and assistance. That figure not only represents 40 per cent of all pupils in Scotland; it is an eightfold increase from where we were when the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 was passed. The number of those who are being supported is already high, but councils expect it to rise even further, and that means that funding is needed.

The Audit Scotland report highlights the poor situation with data, which means that the scale of the problem is not fully understood. We should also acknowledge that the issue is complex, as ASN pupils can include those who have motor or sensory impairments or learning difficulties and issues such as dyslexia, as well as those who experience emotional or social difficulties. The fact remains, however, that every one of those ASN pupils is a young person who needs extra help to reach their full potential, and the Government is failing catastrophically on that.

Audit Scotland’s report highlights that young people who are receiving ASL are at a disadvantage. Their rate of attendance at school is lower than average, and individuals with ASN are

“five times more likely to be excluded from school”.

Their performance in literacy and numeracy is much lower, and they have less of an opportunity to reach those positive destinations that we hear so much about from the Scottish Government. Without that opportunity, they cannot get to a positive destination.

The report is a truly damning assessment, but the Scottish Government should have known about those issues for many years, because this is not the first time that we have heard about the situation. Back in 2020, the report of the Morgan review of additional support for learning, “Support for Learning: All our Children and All their Potential”, highlighted that the issue was simply not a priority for the Scottish Government’s education system. It also highlighted the problems with the 2004 ASN act and its implementation, which it described as “fragmented” and “inconsistent”.

The review also spoke about a failure of cultures, whereby people saw

“Additional Support for Learning... as ‘Somebody else’s problem’ and ‘not their responsibility’.”

The review spoke about the countless parents and carers who feel so badly let down on the issue. Many of these individuals felt that their concerns about their young people were “ignored or dismissed”, and they felt hurt as a result. Teachers and support assistants said that they felt “under siege” and undervalued.

Back in 2020, more than 30 per cent of children needed support. ASN was a big issue five years ago, but it is an even bigger issue today. Audit Scotland points out that the Government has made very little progress against several of the recommendations from the 2020 report. In December’s budget, the Government finally committed to funding a £29 million ASN plan. However, across 32 local authorities—

The complete budget, including other aspects, was not good for Scotland. In any case, how can £29 million support 32 local authorities? It is a drop in the ocean when it comes to support for those individuals.

Absolutely.