Child Poverty
Yesterday, John Swinney said that eradicating child poverty would be his Government’s top priority. However, since his statement, we have heard the following.
Fiona King of Save the Children said:
“The reality is there is nothing in this programme for government that truly shifts the dial on child poverty.”
Dr Lindsey MacDonald of Magic Breakfast said:
“Far from a manifesto on the eradication of child poverty, this plan will struggle to make a significant dent in the child poverty crisis that Scotland faces.”
Mary Glasgow, chief executive of Children 1st, said that the charity was
“deeply concerned that the drastic cuts to public spending will throw many children and families already in crisis over the edge.”
So, who is right: John Swinney or the growing list of experts who say that his programme will fail to tackle child poverty?
I recognise the enormity of the challenge that we face on child poverty; that is why it is my Government’s central mission to eradicate child poverty. The reason why child poverty levels are so high is that Scotland has suffered from 14 years of Conservative austerity and welfare cuts that have forced families into poverty. That has resulted in the Scottish Government taking steps to spend more than £400 million on measures such as the Scottish child payment, which, along with our other measures, is keeping 100,000 children out of poverty.
I respect all the organisations and individuals that Douglas Ross raised with me. Those are people who care deeply about the eradication of poverty, as do I. I think that they would accept that child poverty has been made the crisis that it is in our country today because of the actions for which Douglas Ross voted when he supported the Conservative Government in the House of Commons.
John Swinney says that he respects and cares deeply about those experts. However, they were not speaking about previous decisions of the UK Government or current decisions of the Labour Government—they were commenting on his programme for government and, specifically, on the lack of action within it to tackle child poverty.
If the First Minister will not listen to those experts, perhaps John Swinney will listen to John Swinney. When he was Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, he announced the policy of free school meals for every primary school pupil in Scotland, and he said:
“we must not go back to kids going hungry in the classroom.”
First, that policy was supposed to happen in 2022; then it was delayed to 2026; and now the programme for government seems to have ditched it entirely. Can the First Minister be honest with people across Scotland? Will his Government deliver on its promise of free school meals to all primary school pupils during the current session of Parliament?
I in no way dismissed the expert commentary that Douglas Ross put to me. I will not have him misrepresenting my words in Parliament. I respect all those commentators, just as I respect the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which, in its “UK Poverty 2023” report, said:
“Divergence in policy across nations will probably drive greater disparity in poverty rates across”
the UK. It also said:
“Scotland has taken decisive action in defining child poverty targets in legislation and enhancing the benefits system with a Scottish child payment”.
The latest statistics show that the child poverty rate in Scotland is 24 per cent, compared with 30 per cent in England, 29 per cent in Wales and 23 per cent in Northern Ireland. I simply put that data on the record to demonstrate that we are taking action, but we are having to swim against a tide of austerity and welfare cuts that were inflicted on us by the previous Conservative Government, of which Douglas Ross was a supporter. That is before we get near the financial wreckage done by Liz Truss, which Douglas Ross wanted me to emulate. Thank goodness I did not do that.
The challenges that we face were well rehearsed to Parliament by the finance secretary on Tuesday. Cumulative inflation, which has been calculated at 18.9 per cent over the past three years, has undermined the value of the money that we have available. The Government will deliver the commitment that I set out yesterday, which is to ensure that free school meals are available for all primary 1 to primary 5 pupils on a universal basis, and for primary 6 and primary 7 pupils who are eligible for the Scottish child payment. We will deliver that in this parliamentary session.
I really do not know why Scottish National Party members are applauding that, because it was a very long answer that did not address my specific point. I will try again. Does John Swinney commit now to deliver the pledge, which he made as education secretary, to deliver free school meals to all primary school pupils by the end of this parliamentary session? That was a simple question that can surely get a simple yes-or-no answer.
Let me ask about another pledge that the SNP made to the poorest children in Scotland. This year’s exam results showed that, at higher level, the attainment gap is wider than ever. As education secretary, John Swinney vowed to eradicate the attainment gap completely, yet John Swinney the First Minister’s bold ambition is merely to seek to reduce it—and he is even failing at that. Is he proud that his legacy will be Scotland’s poorest children falling further behind?
The Government is facing very challenging financial times. Yesterday, I set out that we will deliver on our commitment to ensure that free school meals are available for primary 6 and primary 7 pupils who are eligible for the Scottish child payment.
It should be for all primary 6 and all primary 7 pupils.
Let us hear the First Minister.
We will not be able, in this parliamentary session, to roll out universal eligibility across primary 6 and primary 7 pupils, because our budget has been eroded by the fiscal mismanagement and the sky-high inflation that Douglas Ross was party to creating as part of his support for the United Kingdom Government.
On the question of the attainment gap, the Scottish Government has given steadfast support to the education system through the delivery of the Scottish attainment challenge and the provision of pupil equity funding. What do we see? We see that, among young people who are leaving school and going into positive destinations, the attainment gap has reduced by 60 per cent. That is transformational for the lives of young people in Scotland, and I am glad that the Scottish Government has delivered on those commitments.
I am glad that, at my second attempt, I was able to get an honest answer out of John Swinney. He has confirmed that the SNP is breaking its promise to deliver free school meals to all primary school pupils in Scotland. That is movement from the position of his Deputy First Minister, who, when asked about it on the radio just this morning, suggested that it might still be possible and that the Government would do so during this session of Parliament if budgets allowed. John Swinney has ruled that out. He is now announcing to people across Scotland that the promise that he made as education secretary—[Interruption.]
Let us hear Mr Ross.
—in asking people to support the SNP in order to get it into government has now been broken. Eradicating the attainment gap was supposed to be the SNP’s number 1 priority, but the gap is as wide as ever. Now it is clear that the top priority of eradicating child poverty is going to go the same way, because the First Minister has just announced that the Government has abandoned its pledge to provide free school meals for all.
For 17 years, this Government has overpromised and underdelivered for Scotland’s children. No one will believe yet another SNP empty promise to add to the pile.
This week’s programme for government was supposed to be John Swinney’s big relaunch, but instead we got more of the same from an SNP Government that is out of ideas and out of ambition. Are broken promises such as the one that John Swinney has just announced today the best that he has to offer Scotland’s children?
My commitment to eradicating child poverty is steadfast in the programme for government, and the Government is putting in the resources to make sure that we can achieve that objective. More than £400 million has been spent on the Scottish child payment, which is keeping 100,000 children out of poverty. That is what is happening on this Government’s watch. We have a lower child poverty rate in Scotland—it is far too high for my liking, but it has been made worse by 14 years of the folly and actions of the Conservative Government.
Your choices and your decisions.
As usual, Douglas Ross, from his front-bench seat, shouts and interrupts me, and he says that it is my choices.
You’re getting angry.
Mr Ross!
Yes, it is my choice, Mr Ross. It is my choice to make sure that we invest in the future of Scotland, which the Conservative Government destroyed with the austerity agenda that was supported by all the Conservative members over there.
What the people of Scotland will hear from this Government is a determination to ensure that we deliver on our commitments to lift children out of poverty, whereas the Tories have made the situation worse.
Before we move to question 2, I remind members of the requirement that they conduct themselves in a courteous and respectful manner, and that includes respecting the authority of the Presiding Officer when they are asked to desist from behaviour that is neither.
National Health Service Waiting Lists
I take the opportunity to welcome the election of a new United Kingdom Labour Government and to congratulate Keir Starmer on becoming Prime Minister. I am sure that all members in the chamber will want to congratulate all of Scotland’s MPs, new or returning, regardless of their party, who have been elected to represent and deliver for the people of Scotland.
Yesterday, the First Minister outlined his programme for government—a statement with no vision, no strategy and no plan. Nowhere was that more glaring than it was for our national health service. On the Government’s watch, more than 864,000 Scots are on an NHS waiting list, which is one in six people across the country. The two previous First Ministers promised a catch-up plan and things got worse, but this First Minister did not even mention it. Unbelievably, despite growing demand and lengthening waiting lists, our NHS is performing 50,000 fewer operations a year than it did before the pandemic.
By what date does John Swinney expect patients to receive the standard of care that they deserve and that they are legally entitled to?
I echo Anas Sarwar’s words of welcome for Keir Starmer as the new Prime Minister. The Prime Minister telephoned me on the day of his election and he came to see me on the Sunday after the election. I very much welcome the efforts that the Prime Minister has made to create a better relationship between the Scottish Government and the United Kingdom Government—[Interruption.] Frankly, it couldnae have been any worse than it was before, but I acknowledge that effort. There have been a series of other engagements, and on some of the really significant issues that both Governments are wrestling with, there has been deep engagement, which I welcome. The Scottish Government will engage in all of that activity.
We face significant challenges in the NHS, as Mr Sarwar knows. The programme for government set out a range of interventions that we are making—this is where Mr Sarwar was incorrect in his question—to reduce waiting times in the NHS, expand the capacity for undertaking treatment and improve performance in a number of key areas, particularly diagnostic information. I put on the record yesterday information about cancer diagnosis, which is significant in improving the outcomes for individuals in Scotland.
We are working very hard to overcome the waiting lists that have been created as a consequence of Covid, and the health service is being resourced to enable it to do so.
I thank the First Minister for that answer, but I do not think that he understands that waiting lists are actually getting longer. Let us take a single example. Mark Rodgers is a former footballer. Mark has had prostate problems for years. In April, he was told that he needed urgent surgery, and he has been using a catheter for five months when it was only meant to be for weeks. He is in unbearable pain and has been having suicidal thoughts. Despite being told that his treatment is urgent, he has been told that he could have to wait for over another year. He said:
“I’m in constant threat of the life-threatening side effects and potential organ damage ... I haven’t acted on my suicidal thoughts, but I’m terrified where depression is leading me.”
NHS Lothian has confirmed that it will not meet the treatment time guarantee for Mark and has apologised. However, saying sorry does not cut waiting lists, so when will the Government stop failing Mark and the thousands of patients like him?
First, I am sorry about the detail that Mr Sarwar puts on the record on behalf of Mark Rodgers. If Mr Sarwar wishes to pass particular details to me, I will explore the case and determine whether anything more can be done to support the treatment of Mr Rodgers.
It is important to put on record the fact that we are still dealing with the aftermath of the Covid pandemic. We are resourcing the health service to a greater degree than would have been possible had we simply replicated the financial settlement from the United Kingdom Government. That has come about as a consequence of the decisions that the Government in Scotland has taken about taxation. We have asked those on higher incomes to contribute slightly more in taxes and we have invested a large proportion of that amount in the national health service.
I give Mr Sarwar the assurance that the Government will continue to invest in the national health service to expand capacity. We are trying to deliver the treatment that individuals require as timeously as possible. There are many examples of that happening, but I accept—and Mr Sarwar has put such a case on the record—that there will be cases in which that has not happened. I will endeavour to do all that I can to resolve those issues on behalf of Mr Rodgers and patients like him.
The frustrating thing is that, week after week, the First Minister says sorry. Week after week, those sorrys do not cut waiting lists and people are still failed by the Government.
Mark is just one example among thousands of examples right across our NHS, which is in crisis. The statistics are so bad and the stories of patient failure are so regular that it feels as though the Government has become desensitised to the crisis. Some 37,000 Scots who are now on a waiting list for an operation have already waited for more than a year. Right now, almost 5,000 children are waiting for mental health care. Thousands of families have already been forced to empty their savings or borrow money to pay for private care, all while the NHS carries out 50,000 fewer operations a year.
Can the First Minister not see that behind every one of those cases is a patient in pain, an anxious family and a workforce at breaking point, and that we need a Government in Scotland that is serious about saving our NHS so that it is there for people when they need it?
I reassure Mr Sarwar that nobody in the Government—certainly not me and certainly not the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care—is desensitised to the scale of the challenge. We are very much focused on improving the performance of the national health service.
One of the examples that Mr Sarwar cited was children’s access to mental health services. Stronger performance is being delivered there, and I welcome that. That has come about because of the commitment and dedication of staff and the ability to expand the capacity to do that work.
We are taking steps to improve capacity in the health service. On cancer, for example, there is strong performance in terms of the median waits for individuals to receive treatment. Obviously, there will be people who wait longer—I accept that—but we are trying to reduce those waiting times as quickly as we possibly can. Doing so will remain the focus of policy making and decision making in the Scottish Government, and it commands the full attention of the health secretary and myself.
Free School Meals
Free school meals for all primary school children were a commitment that the Scottish Greens secured back in 2021. That was being delivered when we were in government. The policy right up until April this year was to universally roll out meals to all children in primary 6 and 7 by 2026.
The Scottish Greens champion free school meals for all because we know that getting school meals to all kids is an effective way to mitigate the impacts of and stigma around child poverty. Yet, as soon as the Greens are out of the room, the Scottish Government drops the policy. Can the First Minister therefore explain how we are supposed to take seriously his commitment to tackling child poverty?
The Government is facing acute financial challenges because of the persistence of the austerity agenda and the cumulative effect of inflation, which have eroded our budgets by a value of about one fifth in the past three years, and because we are having to find about £800 million in this financial year to meet public sector pay claims.
Lorna Slater will know from her experience in government that, once the financial year starts, the Government cannot expand the resources that are available to it. We have a fixed sum of money available to us once the financial year starts. All that we can do is either receive consequential funding from the United Kingdom Government, which might expand those resources, or reallocate resources within the budget.
The Government has reluctantly undertaken to take some decisions that will ensure that free school meals are available to young people whose families are in receipt of the Scottish child payment, which absolutely focuses our work on tackling poverty at a time when we are facing acute financial pressure. That is the difficult decision that the Government has had to make.
Lorna Slater will appreciate from her period in government that the Government regularly has to face up to difficult financial choices, particularly given the persistence of the austerity climate that we thought we had seen the back of with the Conservatives.
During our time in government, the Scottish Greens scrapped peak rail fares and introduced a groundbreaking fund to restore nature and create jobs across rural Scotland. We introduced legislation for a robust system of rent controls. We were on track to ban conversion practices and roll out free bus travel to asylum seekers. All that work is being undone, slashed, watered down or shelved, and now there is the betrayal of free school meals.
The message of this week’s programme for government is that, if people want progressive green policies, they need to vote to have Greens in the room. What does the First Minister have to say to voters who backed those policies and now feel let down?
Lorna Slater’s question gives me the opportunity to make clear that the Government is progressing with the legislation to ban conversion therapy in Scotland. However, we think it a pragmatic step to work with the United Kingdom Government to determine whether there is a UK-wide approach to that, which would enable us to avoid some of the difficulties in which we found ourselves in relation to the gender recognition legislation. That is not walking away from the commitment to end conversion therapy but is a pragmatic step to try to avoid some of the legislative difficulties in which the Parliament found itself in relation to gender recognition. I hope that that provides some degree of reassurance.
Lorna Slater asked me what my message is to people at this particular time. We can look at that in a number of ways. The Government has put in place, agreed and supported pay deals that will lift families out of poverty. Household incomes will increase substantially and poverty will be eroded because of the above-inflation pay increases that the Government is prepared to sanction. Although I understand the anguish that people feel about those choices, I cannot spend the same money twice.
The Government believes that avoiding industrial action in our public services, so that we can address the issues that Mr Sarwar has—fairly—put to me about the performance of the health service, by ensuring that we deliver pay deals that are commensurate is important. However, at the same time as delivering those pay deals in a fixed budget, I cannot afford some of the policy commitments that I would dearly love to introduce, because we are still bound by the shackles of austerity.
Winter Fuel Payments
To ask the First Minister what analysis the Scottish Government is undertaking of any impact that reductions to winter fuel payments will have on people in Scotland. (S6F-03302)
Our analysis suggests that between 110,000 and 130,000 pensioners will remain eligible for a payment in Scotland this winter, which is a reduction of around 900,000 pensioners. The United Kingdom Government’s decision to restrict eligibility for winter fuel payments, which was taken without any consultation with the Scottish Government, will have a devastating impact on the pension age winter heating payment. It represents a 90 per cent cut to our devolved budget for delivering a universal payment and is another example of Scotland being at the mercy of Westminster decisions, because we are left with no choice but to follow the UK Government’s decision.
Of my Aberdeen Central constituents, 9,078 are pensioners, and many of them are living in poverty. They are worried about the impact on them of Labour austerity. Does the First Minister share my view that Labour’s brutal cutting of winter fuel payments is not only an attack on older people but an attack on devolution, because the Chancellor of the Exchequer showed no interest whatever in consulting the Scottish Government ahead of her decision?
Kevin Stewart makes an absolutely valid point about the impact of the winter fuel payment cut. There will be pensioners who are not in an affluent position and who will be suffering significantly as a consequence of the cut. There was a commitment from the incoming Labour Government to reduce fuel bills by an average of £300. In fact, people will see their fuel bills increase by an average of £149, which will compound the damage that will be done to those pensioners. I do not underestimate the scale of the difficulty. If there was an alternative, I would have liked to have taken it, but Mr Stewart will appreciate, from his experience in Government, that I cannot, as much as I would like, find £160 million to enable us to continue that payment on a universal basis.
On the intergovernmental relations question, I accept that decisions get taken abruptly by Governments. Sometimes, my Government has to do that, too. I encourage the United Kingdom Government to engage in deeper dialogue with the Scottish Government as we try to resolve the very difficult circumstances that we all face.
“Education Outcomes for Looked After Children 2022/23”
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to the recently published report, “Education Outcomes for Looked After Children 2022/23”. (S6F-03289)
The Scottish Government is resolute in our commitment to keep the Promise. The attainment gap between care-experienced school leavers and all children has been narrowing at all levels since 2009-10. That gap continues to narrow at the highest levels of achievement and, for lower-level qualifications, it remains narrower than it was pre-Covid.
Although overall figures indicate that there is more to be done on exclusions and attendance, with support through the care-experienced children and young people fund and the virtual headteacher network we have seen real successes in those areas in schools across Scotland. Working with Education Scotland, local government and The Promise Scotland, we must learn and build on that work to continue to improve outcomes for children and young people with care experience.
I thank the First Minister for that response, but I am surprised. The key findings of the report are deeply concerning. Educational attainment has fallen, school attendance rates are declining and the exclusion rate for looked-after children has risen for the first time in 12 years and is almost six times the exclusion rate for all pupils. Despite the commitments of the Promise, which, for example, include a promise to scrap the exclusions for care-experienced children, it is clear from the report that the Scottish Government is failing in that mission.
The chances of success of young people throughout Scotland are increasingly being determined by their circumstances, which is shameful. What has gone wrong? What more will the Government do to ensure that our care-experienced community gets what was promised?
The Government’s commitment to the Promise is absolute. I was in Government when the commitment was originally given, and it will remain steadfast in any Government that I lead.
However, I also recognise the challenges that we face in this regard. Just at the start of the school year, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills published the steps that have been taken in relation to behaviour and attendance in our schools, because we recognise—prompted by constructive discussion in the Parliament—that, in the Covid aftermath, there are significant implications in relation to school attendance and behaviour as a consequence of Covid’s disruptive effect. That affects all young people, and it will have an effect on care-experienced young people into the bargain.
Our focus on addressing those issues will continue. There are, of course, other aspects of work that we are doing that are being implemented as part of our commitment to the Promise. One of them was the enactment of the provisions of the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Act 2024, which ends the placement of children in young offenders institutions in Scotland. I am glad that that came into force on 28 August, and I am deeply grateful to everybody across our system who has made that possible. That is just one other commitment in the Promise that the Government has delivered, and we will deliver more.
More concise questions and responses will enable more members to have an opportunity to put questions.
The gap in secondary school attendance rates between looked-after pupils and all pupils has widened to eight percentage points in 2022-23. That means that actions that have been taken previously have not made a positive difference in getting those young people to school. What specifically will the First Minister change to get attendance for care-experienced young people up?
I recognise the point that Mr Whitfield makes. Some measures are contained in the work that I set out in my original answer to Roz McCall. We will try to ensure that we maintain young people’s engagement in education in all circumstances. Obviously, attendance would be desirable and ideal—
Essential.
Mr Whitfield shouts to say that it is essential. I would like it to be essential, which would be ideal, but there are other ways of reaching children with education, such as by taking their education to them, if there is a difficulty in getting them into school. That is part of the measures that are being exhausted to ensure that we establish the connection with young people to maintain their education. That approach will lie at the heart of the steps that we take.
Nursing and Midwifery Vacancies
To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking in response to reports that newly qualified nurses are unable to find employment in the national health service despite there being over 3,300 whole-time equivalent unfilled nursing and midwifery vacancies. (S6F-03298)
The Scottish Government hugely values the work of nurses and midwives. We continue to support our health boards to ensure that graduates can secure jobs in available roles in the national health service, and we work with boards to ensure that we reinforce their commitment to maximising the opportunities for newly qualified nurses to find employment.
Just yesterday, the First Minister promised women more support from pregnancy through birth, yet, in the past few weeks, my office has been inundated with emails from distressed midwifery graduates and newly qualified paediatric nurses who are unable to get jobs.
Workforce planning needs to deliver safe staffing levels, yet hundreds of midwives and paediatric nurses are unemployed this year when we know that there are serious staff shortages. At least £12 million has been spent on their training, but cuts and vacancy freezes mean that they do not have jobs. Existing staff are burnt out and are leaving, patient outcomes are worse and the Government is in breach of its own legislation on safe staffing.
Is this yet another case of Scottish National Party financial incompetence, with the First Minister’s words yesterday just empty rhetoric, or will he act to ensure that these nurses fill the vacancies that we know exist in midwifery and paediatrics?
I want to ensure that the skills and talents of individuals are properly used in our health service. Under this Government, the number of qualified nurses and midwives has increased by 16.1 per cent. In paediatric nursing, the number of qualified nurses has also increased—it is up by 1.7 per cent in the past year. Across qualified midwife jobs, there has been an increase of 4.5 per cent in the past year. Those are some of the commitments that we are delivering.
As I said in my original answer, I want to encourage health boards to ensure that they have the resources and staffing available to deliver the services and support that I talked about in the programme for government statement yesterday. I recognise that constancy and consistency of support is essential in supporting women during pregnancy, and I want to ensure that the best outcomes can be achieved by that approach.
I am sure that members, including Jackie Baillie, will welcome the First Minister’s comments about the fact that the number of nursing and midwifery posts has increased by 4.5 per cent since last year. What further steps are being taken, in particular by the nursing and midwifery task force, to ensure that qualified nurses continue to be supported through the hiring process?
The nursing and midwifery task force is working collaboratively with stakeholders, including the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Midwives, to develop actions that will help us to build a sustainable, attractive and respected nursing and midwifery workforce. That is the workforce planning that is being undertaken, which I was asked about a moment ago.
As part of the task force’s activity, the work plan will be shaped by the voices of the current and future nursing and midwifery workforce. We expect the final report and the work plan to be published later this year.
We move to constituency questions and general supplementaries.
Engagement with Libya (Eljamel)
Yesterday’s exclusive article in The Courier made it very clear that, to date, the Scottish Government has not had any engagement with the Libyan authorities about the disgraced surgeon Professor Eljamel, but it also put it on record that the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care has now suggested that that might be possible. Could the First Minister confirm that that is the case?
Obviously, there is widespread concern about the Eljamel case, which is the subject of a public inquiry that is under way. The health secretary is looking carefully at the issue to determine what approach we can take to ensure that any of the concerns that have been raised in the news article can be addressed as effectively as possible and that any of the information that we hold can be made available to the Libyan authorities as appropriate.
Winter Fuel Payments (Funding Allocation)
The First Minister will share my astonishment that the United Kingdom Labour Government has shamefully cut £140 million to £160 million in winter fuel payments to Scottish pensioners this year, while reportedly providing the Scotland Office with a similar sum—£150 million—with which to undermine devolution. What does the First Minister believe that that says about Labour’s priorities and its approach to and respect for Scotland?
I was surprised by those reports, because I thought that we would be entering an era in which, after the damage that was done to the powers of the Scottish Parliament by the most recent Conservative Government in the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 and the Subsidy Control Act 2022—damage that was resisted by the Labour Party while it was in opposition—we would see those provisions being reversed. It would be a good thing if those provisions were to be reversed, because they directly erode the powers of this Parliament. The public were never asked. Brexit was used as an excuse for eroding the powers of this Parliament.
Where there is proper and effective devolution, this Parliament should have the responsibility to take forward work in those areas for which it has responsibility. It should not be possible for those powers to be undermined by the actions of the United Kingdom Government. I hope that the UK Government will take the lead from Mr Gibson’s question and reverse those undesirable provisions.
University of Dundee (Life Sciences Research)
I know that the First Minister will want to join me in welcoming today’s superb news of the provision by the new United Kingdom Labour Government of £30 million of funding for life sciences research at the University of Dundee. That research work is extraordinary and vital. It is delivering breakthroughs in the treatment of skin cancer, and there is now the prospect of the new funding advancing the fight against Parkinson’s and Crohn’s disease.
The University of Dundee has been the leading life sciences university in the UK for two decades, and I know that the Parliament will want to recognise that. Does the First Minister agree that the diversity of our world-leading universities across Scotland is a vital national strength? What can he do to continue to support that work and the diversity of all our universities in conducting groundbreaking research in science?
As Mr Marra will not be surprised to hear, I am very familiar with the life sciences work of the University of Dundee. Over my parliamentary career, it has been my privilege to talk about the issue on many occasions with individuals such as Professor Mike Ferguson, who has done such superb work in developing the resources at the University of Dundee. Of course, that work has been built on very strong foundations over many years. The University of Dundee has taken a significant role in life science research over many years. It is an area of critical strength that has attracted a lot of support from Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Government for many years. The Deputy First Minister visited those facilities in the summer. I wish the University of Dundee every success and the Government will work collaboratively to ensure that that is enhanced.
Mitsubishi Electric (Risk to Jobs)
The First Minister will be aware of reports that more than 400 jobs are at risk at the Mitsubishi Electric plant in Livingston. That announcement could have a significant social and economic impact for my constituents in neighbouring Edinburgh Pentlands and beyond. Will the First Minister outline what engagement the Scottish Government has had with Mitsubishi and what support is in place for those who are at risk of redundancy?
I was concerned to hear the reports about the proposals from Mitsubishi Electric. The factory is a significant and highly specialised asset in Scotland, and it is one that I have visited in the past. The Minister for Employment and Investment has spoken with Mitsubishi Electric to understand the rationale behind the company’s position. Scottish Enterprise is working closely with the company to consider all viable options. If we reach a point where there is any loss of employment, we will, of course, be in a position to support employees, but the intervention by Scottish Enterprise is designed to create a pathway to avoid that situation. The focused activities of Scottish Enterprise will be at the company’s disposal in order to avoid any loss of employment.
Land Restoration Projects (Waste Dumping)
Residents of New Cumnock have raised concerns about raw sewage being dumped in the area, under the guise of a land restoration project. Locals believe that to be a health and safety hazard that is contaminating watercourses and affecting businesses, forcing them to close their doors due to the stench. This is not the first time that the issue of waste dumping has been raised in the area. I have been raising the issue of Tarbolton Moss landfill site for more than three years, but little progress has been made. I therefore ask the First Minister what checks are made on land that has been designated for restoration projects and what measures are in place to ensure that discarded waste materials comply with regulations?
Sharon Dowey has put on the record some very concerning points that sound to me to be wholly unacceptable. The regulatory authorities—Scottish Water and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency—should undertake scrutiny of those issues, along with the local authority. If Sharon Dowey would like to furnish me with more information, I will certainly raise it with the relevant regulatory authorities, because her constituents should not have to endure that experience.
People with Disabilities (Human Rights Legislation and Support)
Human rights organisations such as the Scottish Human Rights Commission, Amnesty and the Human Rights Consortium have described the Government’s abandonment of human rights legislation during this session of Parliament as “disappointing”, “unjustifiable” and “a breach of trust”. That is coupled with the apparent abandonment of the Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill and with decisions such as the one to reprofile £10 million of money for changing places toilets. What does the First Minister think that that says to disabled people? What does he think it says more widely to people whose human rights are often most at risk? What will his Government do about that?
The Government takes a number of steps to ensure that rights and support for disabled people are taken forward. During the summer, along with the Minister for Equalities, I met the Glasgow Disability Alliance and a number of other organisations representing people with disabilities and we had a very open conversation about some of the issues that must be addressed. I assure Mr O’Kane, and stakeholders, that the Government take those issues very seriously and will take all practical steps that we can to address the issues that are of concern.
School Transport (North Lanarkshire)
Parents, carers and pupils in Motherwell and Wishaw have repeatedly raised concerns after the Labour administration in North Lanarkshire, with support from the Conservatives, cut school transport provision. I share those concerns, having walked some of those routes with families and watched Sean Ferrie’s brilliant video about his walk to school, detailing the hazards that he will face if that cut is rolled out to primary schools, as planned, next year. What processes are in place for parents, carers and pupils to challenge decisions on safety grounds and to challenge the local authority’s refusal to review those walking routes?
The issues at stake here are properly a matter for the local authority to determine, but it has a duty to make the arrangements that it considers necessary for the transport of pupils between home and school and to have regard to their safety. That commitment is a significant element of the guidance that is available, which has to be addressed by the local authority. The local authority’s engagement processes should be designed to ensure that parents and carers can make representations where they are concerned about the safety of their children, and the local authority should take those seriously.
Proposed Galloway National Park
As the First Minister will be aware, since plans for a new Galloway national park were announced over the summer, there has been significant and growing opposition to the proposal, which now spills into my Dumfriesshire constituency. Many fear that this promises to be yet another example of urban do-gooders imposing their sanitised, overregulated idea of the countryside on already fragile rural and agricultural communities. The proposal is not supported by the local NFU Scotland branch, and hundreds of people are concerned about what is planned. Can the First Minister give a guarantee today that, if local people say no to the proposal, it will not go ahead?
There is an aspiration for there to be national parks. Part of my constituency is in a national park, and a lot of good work is undertaken there. The process of taking forward the proposals in relation to a Galloway national park requires engagement and consultation, and the Government stands ready to undertake that dialogue and discussion. We will listen to the points that are put forward by Mr Mundell and his constituents who are affected and the process will come to its conclusion. I simply encourage anyone who has a view to express about the proposal to take part in the consultation process.
That concludes First Minister’s questions. Before we move to the next item of business, there will be a short suspension to allow people to leave the chamber and the public gallery.
12:47 Meeting suspended.Air ais
General Question Time