Chamber and committees

Under the current coronavirus legislation, regulations do not have to be proactively put before the Scottish Parliament if the Scottish ministers consider that they need to be made urgently. Does the minister agree that it is not acceptable to enact, or approve without a vote, regulations that affect everyone’s lives? Will he rule out the inclusion of provisions in that regard in any legislation under the temporary coronavirus powers?

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to ensuring that any legislation it introduces to support the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic does not seek to allow regulations to be made or changed without being subject to the affirmative parliamentary procedure. (S6O-00070)

Long Covid could be affecting more than 100,000 Scots, and it may have a major long-term impact on people’s health and on our public services and our economy. With general practitioners having to deal with the lion’s share of the extra workload, what is the First Minister’s response to the Royal College of General Practitioners, which is calling on her to boost the GP workforce?

The Government’s statement refers to working in partnership with local authorities, partners more widely and the third sector. Funding was set aside specifically to support disabled parents to access employment. Can the cabinet secretary say whether that funding has been distributed to all local authorities? If it has not, can she provide a timescale for that?

The Royal College of Psychiatrists has received figures that show that the number of referrals of children and young people with eating disorders soared to crisis levels during lockdown. Constituents in my region have been in touch to say that virtual appointments, loss of support structures, staff shortages and less activity in community services have fuelled the crisis. What action can the Scottish Government put in place to improve services and ensure that face-to-face consultations return as soon as is practically possible?

I am delighted that work is under way, through the survivors forum, on having support services in place for survivors when the scheme opens. That includes support during the application process and access to elements of non-financial redress, such as therapeutic support. Will the Deputy First Minister give a timescale for when such services will commence? Will emotional and psychological support be provided to those who require it?

Show Racism the Red Card’s chair wrote to the Scottish Government to call for anti-racism to be included in the national curriculum following announcements about a similar move in Wales earlier this year. Given that 93 per cent of respondents to Show Racism the Red Card’s consultation said that

“anti-racism must be included within the curriculum”,

will the cabinet secretary confirm that the Scottish Government will seriously consider that request in order to further protect children from harm?

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to a recent survey, which records that more than 2,000 incidents of racism have been reported in schools over the last three years. (S6T-00075)

Data from Show Racism the Red Card’s consultation shows that 48 per cent of teachers are aware of a pupil or pupils expressing negative attitudes relating to skin colour, 38 per cent relating to religion and 37 per cent relating to nationality. Although 61 per cent of teachers expressed a lack of confidence about educating pupils on anti-racism, only 24 per cent have received training on the subject.

Those are serious and worrying statistics. Given that 85 per cent of respondents said that tailored anti-racism workshops would be beneficial for all concerned, what urgent action can the Government take to ensure that that happens?

I welcome the cabinet secretary to his new post and congratulate Katy Clark on her maiden speech.

I am delighted to be able to participate in this afternoon’s debate on the recovery, renewal, and transformation of Scotland’s justice system. As has been the case across society, the Covid-19 pandemic and the necessary restrictions that followed have prevented changes and there have been severe challenges across our justice system. It is incumbent on the Parliament to work to ensure that our streets are safe, that those who break the social contract are punished and that we protect the rights of the victims in a timely and efficient manner.

The most pressing concern that the criminal justice system faces in Scotland is the court backlog. Although I acknowledge that there has been innovation—the cabinet secretary touched on that point earlier when he mentioned the use of cinemas as remote jury centres—there is still a lot to do to get the backlog sorted.

The criminal court trial backlog has doubled in the past year, and the SCTS has told us that the number of trials will not get back to normal levels until March 2025. The justice of the peace courts resume their work only this week, and they have a lot to manage too, so the Scottish Government needs to make a more concerted effort to tackle that backlog.

As someone who served on the Tayside joint police board, I find that some of the developments in recent years since the SNP’s merger of our local police forces have saddened me. My constituents have raised concerns about the loss of community policing in their area. The fact is that there are fewer officers on the streets and they have to work over much larger geographical areas—that is what is happening in our society, and it is important that we restore more bobbies on the beat.