School Leaving Age (Reduction)
In recent weeks, I have had the privilege of meeting apprentices in businesses across Scotland, including at Thales in Govan, at Collins Aerospace in Prestwick and, yesterday, at Persimmon Homes in East Lothian, where I must report that it became clear that I will never make it as a brickie.
This week, my party started a public debate on reducing the school leaving age from 16. It has long been clear that far too many young people have been failed by the Scottish National Party’s education system, and we propose giving young people who are being left behind the opportunity of having a hybrid education with training in colleges and the workplace. Does John Swinney agree that that conversation is long overdue, and will he give any consideration to our proposals?
That is a bold approach to First Minister’s question time, given that, when Mr Findlay set out his proposals yesterday, he conceded in a television interview that he was, in fact, not certain that those proposals would get anywhere near a Conservative manifesto. After that interview, I am not sure that Mr Findlay has quite as much confidence in the policy that he has put to me today.
I do not agree with the proposals. We have spent a great deal of time and effort on trying to encourage young people to maximise their engagement with education. That has resulted in more young people staying on at school and, as a consequence, more young people going into positive destinations when they leave school. [Interruption.]
Let us hear the First Minister.
Indeed, the numbers of those going to positive destinations are at record levels, so I do not intend to follow the policy approach that has been proposed by Mr Findlay, but I do not think that he does, either.
Scotland’s business community can see that the issue needs proper political attention. Last night, I attended a think tank event where senior people from business and education voiced their support. They can see that, over the past 18 years of SNP rule, far too many young people have been left behind. Former SNP Government economic adviser Jim McColl said:
“A lot of these youngsters at school don’t want to be there ... They’re not interested in it. And all of a sudden you’re giving them an opportunity to learn a trade and be earning money. So I feel it’s a brilliant move.”
[Interruption.]
Let us hear Mr Findlay.
This Parliament needs to focus more on encouraging opportunity and aspiration and on giving pupils the chance to thrive. Does John Swinney not see that we need to do things differently?
I am all for encouraging young people to thrive and for taking opportunities to ensure that that is the case. That is why this Government has reformed the approach to apprenticeships. For example, while young people are school pupils, they can take up foundation apprenticeships as part of work-based learning in the senior phase. That can result in young people spending a day per week, during the senior phase, working with an employer. Since their introduction in 2016, 15,371 pupils have enrolled in a foundation apprenticeship and have benefited from the value of work-based learning, and 5,000 places are now available each year.
That is the pragmatic approach that this Government takes to make sure that we address the issue that Mr Findlay has raised with me. School does not suit everybody, so we are adapting the curriculum to make sure that it does suit young people through the use of foundation apprenticeships. That is one of the excellent reforms that this Government has introduced.
As a former education secretary, John Swinney knows fine well that far too many young people are being left behind, no matter what statistics he selectively quotes at me. One in seven Scottish pupils leave school without a single qualification, and he thinks that that is good enough. Last year, half a million days were lost to unexplained absences of secondary 4 pupils. Thousands of bright, talented and dynamic young people simply drop out of the system. Far too many are being failed by this complacent Government. Is John Swinney really telling us that he is content to deprive thousands of young Scots of a brighter and better future?
As I said in my earlier answer, I want young people to have the brightest possible future, which is why we have enabled schools to offer increased opportunities for young people to prepare for the world of work. Thirty-five per cent of 2023-24 school leavers gained a vocational or technical qualification at Scottish credit and qualifications framework level 5 or above, which is an increase of 7.3 per cent compared with the figure for 2013-14. That is the Government actually delivering practical steps to improve the work chances and life chances of young people in Scotland. This Government has reformed education to strengthen the opportunities for young people. As a consequence, young people are going on to positive destinations after leaving school at record levels in Scotland today.
The First Minister wants to quote statistics on standards, but we have the lowest rate of higher passes for a decade. [Interruption.] The education secretary is providing a running commentary from a seated position. She will have to stay behind for detention. She is setting a very bad example to the pupils who are in the chamber today. [Interruption.]
Let us hear one another.
The problems with Scotland’s schools run even deeper than the scandal of so many young people being left behind. More than 80 per cent of teachers say that violent and abusive behaviour has increased. In a teaching union survey that was published this week, they told of being assaulted with knives, chairs and hockey sticks. They have been bitten, spat on, head-butted, punched and kicked. They have had fireworks thrown at them and their cars vandalised. Teachers say that they are at breaking point and that pupils’ education is suffering. What does the First Minister have to say to teachers about the breakdown in classroom discipline?
The first thing that I will say is that I take deadly seriously the findings of the NASUWT survey that were published this week. That is why the education secretary has been working with local authorities and trade unions on a series of interventions in relation to behaviour at school.
It is important that, for completeness, we hear all the issues that are raised by the NASUWT survey. The NASUWT said:
“a greater focus on exploring correlation between behaviour issues and poverty is required.”
The general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland said:
“since the onset of austerity, we have seen rising incidents of violent, aggressive, dysregulated, distressed behaviour in classrooms and growing incidents of additional support needs.”
I acknowledge that, in the atmosphere and environment since Covid, there has been an increase in challenging behaviour in schools, but that is not unique to Scotland—every education system in the western world is reporting the same evidence. The Government will take action, working with our local authority and trade union partners, to try to address the issue, because that dysregulated behaviour in our schools is unacceptable.
What I will not do is what Russell Findlay does, which is to characterise all young people as behaving badly. [Interruption.]
Thank you, members.
Most young people in our society behave well, and I compliment young people on the achievements that they make in our country.
National Health Service
I start by congratulating the First Minister on the wonderful news that he has become a grandfather. [Applause.] I emphasise that he is a young grandfather. [Laughter.] I am sure that everyone across the chamber sends their best wishes to all his family on the birth of baby Rua.
A national health service that is available and free when we need it is the founding principle of our NHS, but under the Scottish National Party, that principle and promise have been broken. Right now, more than 100,000 Scots have been waiting more than a year for hospital treatment, so it is not there when they need it. In the past nine months, more than 36,500 private procedures have been paid for by Scots, so treatment is not free when they need it. Why is the NHS no longer available and free at the point of need under John Swinney and the SNP?
First, I thank Mr Sarwar for his generous and kind comments about the birth of my first grandson. I also welcome his characterisation of me as “a young grandfather”. That is the most precious remark, and it is helping me to come to terms with all that is going on in my life just now. His kindness and good wishes are deeply appreciated by my daughter, her husband and Rua—as are those of many other members of the Parliament. I am grateful for them.
In relation to the NHS, Mr Sarwar knows from our exchanges that the issue commands my attention and is an absolute priority for me. I recognise that people are waiting too long for treatment in Scotland today, so the work that the health secretary and I are doing is very focused on reducing waiting list numbers—indeed, that was the subject of a lengthy discussion yesterday between me, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care and NHS chief officers from around the country.
We are in a position in which progress has been made. Figures that were published in February show a 4 per cent decrease in the total waiting list size for diagnostic tests, which is one illustration of the improvements that are being made. We are determined to focus on further improvements by ensuring that we increase the capacity of the national health service, increase productivity at the local level and are able to meet the needs of the population.
The point that Mr Sarwar put to me, in principle, of an NHS being available free at the point of need when people require it, is exactly what I want to deliver for the people of Scotland.
I think that that was an admission that the First Minister wants to deliver that, but that it does not exist for patients across the country.
The sad truth is that the NHS is not even free and available for all the people who work in it. Let us take the experience of an NHS support worker from the west of Scotland. She has worked in our NHS for 35 years. Due to being increasingly unable to walk because of her hip, she was left hobbling to work on crutches. She faced up to three years on an NHS waiting list and being forced to retire nine years early or paying to go private. She took the difficult decision of withdrawing from her modest pension to pay for a private hip operation. The total cost of that to her was £24,000. That was almost her entire annual salary spent on an operation that should have been free. That is scandalous.
Is John Swinney proud that even NHS workers are being forced to pay thousands of pounds of their own money to get the treatment that they need?
I do not want that to be the case. I want individuals—particularly those who are in circumstances such as Mr Sarwar has put to me—to be able to access healthcare services when they require them. That is why the health secretary and I are working so intensively with health boards to increase the capacity and capability of health boards around the country to deliver more procedures. It comes down to their being able to deliver more hip and knee operations, and to undertake more diagnostic activity. The investment that has been made available through the Government’s budget for the next financial year will help us to strengthen delivery through increased numbers of procedures.
As Mr Sarwar will know, there has been a significant expansion in waiting lists because of the interruption that was caused by Covid, which disrupted our healthcare services. We are working to recover from that as quickly as we can. I give him my assurance that ministers are entirely focused on that, and that we have put in place the financial support to ensure that we will be able to undertake more procedures than we have been able to undertake in the current financial year.
That NHS worker is not alone. Based on the data for the first nine months of 2024, Scots have had to pay an estimated £17.6 million of their own money on cataract treatment, £30.8 million of their own money on hip replacements and an estimated £16 million of their own money on knee replacements.
Most shocking of all is that Scots have had to pay thousands of pounds of their own money to fund 700 rounds of chemotherapy: Scots have had to pay for cancer care under John Swinney and the SNP. That cannot go on. That is why, as First Minister, I will declare a waiting times emergency. [Interruption.]
It is their constituents whom I am talking about, who are having to pay thousands of pounds for care, so SNP members should reflect on why they are groaning.
I will declare a waiting times emergency and do whatever it takes to cut waiting lists across the country, so that Scots get the care that they need. Is it not the case that the SNP broke our NHS, but can never be the party to fix it?
I think that Mr Sarwar has used that line on me once or twice before, and I dare say that I will hear it a few more times between now and the elections in May 2026.
I will try to address the substance of Mr Sarwar’s points. I am concerned about those points, and I will happily look in more detail at the issues that he has raised. On cancer care, under the 31-day standard, 94.3 per cent of patients were treated within 31 days of a decision to treat, with a median wait for treatment of just four days. That is exceptional performance. We are finding difficulty in meeting the 62-day standard, but the median wait is 49 days from urgent suspicion of cancer referral to first treatment.
In addition, through the work that is under way, the Government is putting in place provisions to deliver more than 150,000 extra appointments and procedures. In relation to some of the additional sites that we are bringing forward to undertake orthopaedic appointments—which Mr Sarwar asked me about—we expect to be able to deliver more than 2,500 extra procedures in those sites. That is possible only because the Government’s budget has been approved by Parliament and will invest a record amount of money in the national health service.
Briefly, please, First Minister.
Mr Sarwar can talk to the Parliament all he wants about his intentions for the years to come—if he gets that opportunity—but in the here and now, when Parliament was faced with deciding whether to fund the NHS to the required level, Mr Sarwar was posted missing.
Energy (Heat in Buildings)
Happy news is a rare and precious thing in these times, so I echo the congratulations to the First Minister and his family on their new arrival.
In April, energy bills are set to rise for the third time in less than a year, and people across Scotland are worried about those bills. At the same time, energy companies are raking in vast profits at the expense of people and the planet. Our energy markets are broken. We could both say what we think the United Kingdom Government should do to fix those markets, but the Scottish Government has also promised action that has not been taken.
My most recent question to the First Minister was nearly three months ago. I asked him about his promise of a new law to end our reliance on gas for home heating—law that is vital to tackling the climate emergency and cutting people’s bills. The proposed law was, without explanation, already overdue back in December. Here we are in March, but there is still no legislation and no explanation.
Question, please.
Where is it?
The Government is considering all the issues that were raised in the consultation on heat in buildings. We will respond as soon as we can.
I confirmed to Parliament that tackling the climate emergency is one of my key priorities—it is one of the four priorities of the Government. Heating our homes and workplaces causes around 20 per cent of our emissions, and we cannot achieve net zero without ending our use of gas boilers.
The Government was considering the consultation a year ago, and the real concern is that it has been spending that time watering it down. That is my fear and the fear of the green-heat industry.
The reality is that Scotland is already well behind many other European countries on the issue. France and Germany have been accelerating their action, and Scandinavian countries are decades ahead of us. The only way to catch up and to give Scottish households the benefit of affordable and reliable heat, and to cut the pollution that is destroying our environment, is for the Government to act decisively and to show leadership. However, just as the Government has slowed down on other green measures by hiking rail fares and watering down rent controls, progress on clean heat has been stalled.
Will the First Minister commit to getting the overdue proposed legislation published this month, so that we get the clarity and leadership that have been lacking?
I am very happy to confirm to the Parliament that there will be leadership to take that issue forward, as there is on a wide variety of climate measures. That is evidenced by the financial commitments that the Government has introduced in the budget, which I was delighted that Mr Harvie and his colleagues were able to support.
I recognise the urgency and seriousness of the issue. Fuel poverty in our country is one of the key issues that underpins the question that Mr Harvie has put to me. The impact of changes in energy prices on fuel poverty rates in Scotland is clear, as those rates have almost doubled between 2019 and 2023. We must acknowledge the significance of the impact of fuel and energy prices on fuel poverty. That is why we must take action on the climate, which Mr Harvie has raised with me, why the matter is central to the Government’s agenda and why we will deliver progress as quickly as we can.
International Women’s Day
To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government will mark international women’s day, and its theme of “Accelerating Action” to reach gender equality. (S6F-03867)
The Scottish Government is accelerating action for a fairer Scotland for women and girls, working to ensure that women and girls have equal rights and opportunities and equitable access to resources and can live their lives free from abuse. That work includes delivering the women’s health plan, investing to tackle domestic violence against women and girls and survivors of abuse, supporting women to access fair work and helping to reduce the gender pay gap.
The Government will leave no stone unturned in our work towards equality. I know that many members will be attending events this international women’s day, which are taking place in local communities across the country. I wish everyone a successful day of celebration and action.
I am privileged to have already spoken at two fantastic international women’s day events in Clydebank, with Moments of Freedom and the Isaro Community Initiative, both of which are led by formidable women who push for the social and economic integration of new Scots in our communities.
Will the First Minister join me in welcoming the contributions that local groups in Clydebank and Milngavie are making and advise us what steps the Scottish Government is taking to accelerate action on gender equality for all women, in particular those who face overlapping forms of oppression based on their identity?
I am very happy to welcome the contribution of Moments of Freedom women and the Isaro Community Initiative to welcome new Scots. I know that Moments of Freedom was one of more than 80 organisations that hosted a community consultation as part of the work to update the “New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy” last year.
Through our cross-policy working on the “New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy Delivery Plan 2024-26”, we are taking account of intersectional approaches to gender equality, including engaging new Scots in the delivery of Scotland’s equally safe strategy and the wider work on violence against women and girls to ensure that the needs of new Scots are addressed. Intersectionality is key to our work with the National Advisory Council on Women and Girls for accelerating action on gender equality.
I call Rachael Hamilton.
My constituent has been told that, based on the current outpatient waiting list, he is required to wait 59 weeks for an orthopaedic appointment.
I am sorry, Ms Hamilton, but is your question in relation to question 4?
Oh, no. Well, the First Minister will have got the idea.
We will get to general constituency supplementaries later. I call Tess White.
Women’s human rights are being abused in Scotland due to the treatment of biological males as females. A report was published this week by the Women’s Rights Network with spine-chilling figures on rapes and sexual assaults in Scottish hospitals. It is not only in our hospitals—women are being placed in harm’s way, both physically and psychologically, in Scottish prisons, rape crisis centres, toilets and changing rooms. In this week of international women’s day, if the First Minister is not alarmed by that, shame on him. If he wants to do something about it to accelerate action, which is this year’s theme for international women’s day, will he meet me and cross-party MSPs as a matter of urgency? How can any progress on women’s equality be made without that?
Anyone who has listened to anything that I have said during my tenure as First Minister will know that I am absolutely committed to protecting and asserting the safety of women and girls in our society.
I am exercising leadership, as I have done from the moment I became First Minister, to challenge the underpinning issue that affects the safety of women and girls in society, which is the behaviour of men. I will be unapologetic in setting out that point of view from my position as a male First Minister, and in exercising leadership to make sure that men face up to their responsibilities to ensure that women and girls can live safely in our society today.
It has recently been reported that almost 10 per cent of the 2,000 women who have died at the hands of men in the United Kingdom over the past 15 years have been killed by their own sons. What more does the First Minister believe the Scottish Government can do to raise awareness of that risk and improve support for women?
Katy Clark puts an incredibly serious point to me. It comes back to the answer that I have just given, which is that there is a responsibility on all society to try to help boys and men to improve their conduct and actions. That will be the route to addressing the fundamental issue that Katy Clark puts to me, which will result in the protection of mothers and women who face danger. She has my absolute assurance, and I am very happy to work across the political spectrum to do all that we can to improve the cultural attitudes and approaches of men and boys in our society, because I believe that to be fundamental to addressing the serious issue that she puts to me.
Despite the First Minister’s warm words during the answer to the question, I feel that he is woefully out of touch on the situation of women’s rights across Scotland. Therefore, it is utterly impossible to accelerate action towards gender equality when women’s human rights are under attack.
The Scottish Government must now apologise for its role in that and break from those state-sanctioned abuses. Will the First Minister make a clear commitment today to uphold the internationally protected human rights of women and girls in Scotland?
I will not accept the charge—I reject it entirely—of state-sanctioned abuses. I will not accept that charge from Ash Regan in any way, shape or form. I have put on the record my absolute commitment to the protection of women and girls in our society. That underpins the policy agenda of my Government and it will underpin my conduct as First Minister.
Drug Driving
To ask the First Minister what plans the Scottish Government has to tackle the reported rising number of cases of drug driving. (S6F-03870)
In 2019, a new drug driving offence was introduced, which added to the powers that are available to keep Scotland’s roads safe. Although I was concerned by the increase in the number of positive tests by Police Scotland, it is clear that its focused enforcement approach is helping to tackle the scourge of drug driving using the new law. We fully support the enforcement efforts of Police Scotland in addressing drug driving, and the budget will increase police funding by £70 million to £1.62 billion in order to support capacity and capability.
Earlier this week, The Scottish Sun reported that drug driving in Scotland now eclipses drink driving by around three to one. It is even more incredible that when the police pull over someone suspected of drug driving, subsequent testing proves their suspicions correct on more than 50 per cent of occasions. In contrast, for drink driving, such tests are positive in only around one in 20 cases.
Over the years, drink driving initiatives have been hailed for their positive impact and their role in making drink driving far less socially accepted than it was in past generations, saving lives in the process. Does the First Minister have plans to do something similar with drug driving?
Yes—I agree with what Annie Wells puts to me. During the festive period just a few months ago, Police Scotland strengthened the drink and drug driving campaign. I hope that that gives Annie Wells assurance that it will now be woven into the approach that the Government and Police Scotland are taking.
I reassure Annie Wells that there is a very high conviction rate for drug driving. In 2022-23, 95 per cent, which is a very high level, of those who were accused were convicted as a consequence of charges being brought. I accept unreservedly the member’s point about the necessity of raising awareness of the dangers of drug driving. We will ensure that that is reflected in the overall messaging on the issue.
Islamophobia
To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on how the Scottish Government is working to tackle Islamophobia in Scotland, in light of reports that anti-Muslim hate incidents across the United Kingdom reached record levels in 2024. (S6F-03871)
The rise in anti-Muslim hate incidents is of serious concern. The Scottish Government unequivocally condemns all forms of Islamophobia and the impact that it has on individuals, families and communities. That is why we work co-operatively with a range of partners to tackle such pernicious behaviour. Our hate crime strategy and the associated delivery plan include strategic priorities for tackling hate crime and Islamophobia in Scotland. Importantly, the strategy was informed by those with lived experience of Islamophobia, which is central to understanding the challenges that we face.
The First Minister will know that last Friday was the beginning of Ramadan, which is a time of reflection, peace and hope for Muslims in Scotland and worldwide. However, Muslim communities across the UK and Scotland are now facing hatred at a higher level than ever. The UK Labour Government has convened a working group on Islamophobia, which will create a definition of it. Will the Scottish Government adopt that definition? When will we see real progress on the implementation of the recommendations from the inquiry into Islamophobia from the cross-party group on tackling Islamophobia?
Two recommendations were levelled at the Scottish Government in the cross-party group’s report. One was to increase the understanding of Islamophobia in the curriculum in our schools, and the other was to ensure that the public sector equality duty was enforced in schools. I assure Mr Choudhury that those priorities are being taken forward by the Scottish Government. It is vital that we do all that we can to ensure that we take steps on the issue. We will consider any decision that is made by the United Kingdom Government on the definition of Islamophobia and will consider any implications of that decision for our approach to adopting a definition.
The growing levels of Islamophobia in the UK are deeply concerning. It is vital that we recognise that more must be done. Will the First Minister further outline how he hopes that the gathering of representatives from key organisations with the leaders of Scotland’s parliamentary parties, which was announced last week, will assist in creating a more cohesive society in which everyone feels at home?
Last week, I set out my aspiration to draw together leaders from across Scotland, including from our parliamentary parties, to consider how we can agree a common approach to asserting the values of our country in order to bring people together and create a cohesive society where everyone feels safe and at home. I am heartened by the response from civic society and parliamentary party leaders, and I hope that we will be able to convene that gathering on 23 April. My objective is to draw people together to encourage community cohesion, which will involve working to tackle the hatred and prejudice that Mr Choudhury raised—Audrey Nicoll echoed what he said. I look forward to using that gathering to create a firm foundation for the values of Scottish society.
We move to constituency and general supplementary questions. If we are all concise, more members will have an opportunity for scrutiny.
Police Officers (Working Conditions)
Police officers in my region and across Scotland are suffering from burnout and low morale and are working in desperate conditions, according to a report that was published this week. The report showed that 68,000 rest days were cancelled in just six months. The pressure that is being put on police officers to meet the demands that are placed on them is clearly unsustainable. What measures will the Scottish Government put in place to ensure that hard-pressed and pressured officers are given the support that they rightly deserve?
I value the work that police officers undertake in Scotland, and we support Police Scotland with the financial resources to enable it to deliver its services across the country. The chief constable has put in place a variety of measures to support the mental health and wellbeing of police officers. That is undertaken through an employee assistance programme, which focuses on mental health support and provides enhanced occupational health services for police officers. The your wellbeing matters programme offers a range of services to care for the psychological, physical, social and financial wellbeing of police officers, and I welcome the impact that that has on supporting police officers.
Concessionary Bus Travel Scheme
Figures that were released this week show that more than 200 million free bus journeys have been made across Scotland by under-22s. As this is Scottish apprenticeship week, will the First Minister provide further detail about how the scheme is supporting apprentices in Paisley and across Scotland to work, learn and earn?
The concessionary bus travel scheme has been an unparalleled success. It has, crucially, given young people much greater mobility in our society and has enabled them to access a much wider range of employment and training opportunities around the country. That will have a profound effect in all communities in the country, and I know that the effect that it has had in the Paisley constituency will be precious to Mr Adam. From my dialogue with young people, I know about the positive impact of the policy instrument and the way in which it has increased opportunities and life chances for young people in Scotland.
Islands (Resilience Fund)
The First Minister will be aware that communities in South Uist and Barra are suffering a fifth year of extreme ferry failure, which is causing irreversible damage to the local economy. What resource can be set aside for a resilience fund for businesses and communities that are on the brink of collapse due to that failure?
I am very familiar with the issues that Rhoda Grant raises with me. I had discussions about that question when I was in South Uist some years ago, and I saw correspondence last night, which was sent to me by the local member, Dr Alasdair Allan, in relation to the very issues that have been raised by the South Uist business community.
I am sorry for the disruption that is being felt. We believed that, at this point, we would be in a stronger position with the resilience of the ferry network, but there have been delays regarding some of the ferries that we expected to be delivered—Rhoda Grant will be familiar with those issues, and Parliament has been advised of them.
I am considering the proposals that have been put to me by the South Uist business community, as is the Cabinet Secretary for Transport. We will update members, including Rhoda Grant, on any response from the Government to those proposals.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
I remind members that I hold a bank nurse contract with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
New figures show that child and adolescent mental health services targets were met in the final quarter of 2024, with 90.6 per cent of patients being seen within 18 weeks of referral. Although there is still more to be done to build on that progress, can the First Minister advise how his Government’s investment in mental health services in the 2025-26 budget will ensure that that target is consistently met in the future, to deliver the best possible outcomes for young people who rely on those services?
It is important that we continue to make progress on the issue. I welcome the fact that the 18-week target was met in the final quarter of 2024.
To respond to the specific question that Clare Haughey put to me, £123 million has been allocated through the enhanced mental health outcomes framework in the budget for next year, which I hope will help to continue to build on the progress that has been made in the current financial year.
NHS Highland (Vascular Surgery)
NHS Highland’s vascular services have been in terminal decline for years. Sadly, our last vascular surgeon has just resigned because he feels that the way that the service is delivered is a threat to life and limb.
Given that NHS Highland has hospital beds and vascular surgery theatres available, will the First Minister ask his health secretary to review the situation? It is unacceptable that patients in the Highlands are being put in taxis and ambulances late at night to get to the central belt in order to get surgery.
Mr Mountain raises an important point. Indeed, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care and I discussed not that specific issue but the general question of how we deliver healthcare in areas where recruitment and employment can be a challenge but where, as Mr Mountain correctly puts to me, there is physical capacity to undertake some of that surgical activity in the health board facilities.
Part of what we are trying to work on is how we work collaboratively in health boards to address the circumstances that Mr Mountain puts to me, so that we can use that capacity to help us to reduce waiting times and meet the needs of his constituents and others. It is very much a live part of the activity that the health secretary and I are taking forward to ensure that the needs of constituents around the country are met.
Two-child Benefit Cap
This week, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights called on the United Kingdom Labour Government to immediately repeal its two-child cap, as it violates children’s rights and exacerbates poverty and social inequality. In that context, will the First Minister give an update on the work of our Scottish National Party Government to end the two-child cap in Scotland? Will he join my calls—yet again—for Westminster to scrap at source Labour’s cruel two-child cap, which, let us not forget, is deliberately designed to deny 1.6 million children in low-income families enough money simply to live on?
I reassure Mr Doris that the Government is taking forward work that involves the design of systems to enable us to lift the two-child cap, which is one of the policy priorities and commitments in the Government’s budget for the coming year. That is under way and we are making the necessary progress on it.
Obviously, that measure will help us to lift children out of poverty. That will not be assisted by some of the speculation that we have heard over the past few days about significant reductions in the welfare budget, which will undoubtedly have the effect of jeopardising the incomes of households in Scotland and, particularly, affect child poverty levels in our country.
Scottish Water (Strike Action)
I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests.
Does the First Minister share my concern that industrial action is set to begin at Scottish Water this weekend? What does he say to the Scottish Water trade union representatives who are gathered in the public gallery about his ministers sanctioning bonuses to the bosses of Scottish Water that are more than 10 times greater than the pay rise that is now offered to the workers of Scottish Water?
The first thing that I will say is that I saw during the week news that Mr Leonard intends not to seek re-election to Parliament. I express my warmest wishes to him and commend him for his service in the Scottish Parliament, which has been full of impact on many issues—including some of the issues that he puts to me on behalf of employees in Scotland today—for which I have the greatest respect.
Strike action at Scottish Water is obviously a matter for Scottish Water. I encourage the Scottish Water leadership and trade unions to try to find a solution that avoids disruption.
On the question of bonuses, because we have explained all the details to Parliament, Mr Leonard will be familiar with the point that, when it comes to the recruitment of leadership for Scottish Water, we are invariably in competition with other water companies around the United Kingdom. In that competition, the element of bonuses is part of the fabric of the financial settlements that are available to attract employees. Comparatively, bonus payments for the leadership of Scottish Water are much lower than those in other parts of the United Kingdom and the performance of Scottish Water is much higher than that of companies in other parts of the United Kingdom.
I acknowledge that those are difficult comparisons to make, but they are part of the judgments that the Government has to arrive at on how we attract the leadership to safeguard the important asset that is Scottish Water.
Orthopaedics Waiting Times
My constituent has been told that, based on current out-patient waiting times, he is required to wait 59 weeks for an orthopaedics appointment. If he then requires surgery, he will have to be added to the in-patient waiting queue and, currently, wait up to 91 weeks.
In response to Anna Sarwar’s question on waiting times, the First Minister said that progress had been made, but it has not, has it? Will the First Minister apologise personally to my constituent, who will wait for weeks in agony?
Progress is being made. As I said in my answer to Mr Sarwar and as I repeat in my answer to Rachael Hamilton, figures that were published in February show a 4 per cent decrease in the total waiting list for diagnostic tests, so we are making progress. For example, there has been a 44 per cent decrease in imaging waiting times at NHS Fife and a 22 per cent decrease in neurology waiting times at NHS Forth Valley.
Progress is being made, and it will be helped by the investment that the Government is making in the national health service, which I point out that Rachael Hamilton did not support. It is all very well coming here and complaining about issues in the national health service, but Rachael Hamilton is not prepared to support that financial investment; in fact, she represents a position of wanting to reduce public expenditure by £1 billion to afford a tax cut. How that will get orthopaedic appointments undertaken is beyond me. The Government is investing, and we are making much progress to reduce waiting lists. I will be happy to update Rachael Hamilton on the progress that we make in the weeks to come.
Speed Awareness Courses
According to Police Scotland, between April last year and February this year, there have been 132 road casualties in Renfrewshire. That is up by more than a quarter compared with the same period the year before. Since 2007, speed awareness courses have been in operation in England and Wales to help the police, but, as Chris Musson of The Sun wrote this week, there is still none available in Scotland, despite the Scottish Government first looking at the matter 16 years ago, in 2009.
In 2023, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs stated that
“The Scottish Government agrees that speed awareness courses will have a positive impact on driver behaviour”
and that research on the matter
“shows that such interventions reduce reoffending”.—[Official Report, 7 September 2023; c 3.]
Does the Scottish Government still support speed awareness courses? Why are we still waiting for them to be rolled out, and when will they start?
I accept Mr Bibby’s point, and I will look at the question to see what action the Government can take to address that. Fundamentally, we have in place speed limits that are very clearly and manifestly advertised to individuals, so there is a level of personal responsibility at the start of all this. However, if there are speed awareness courses that can help to address the issue, I will happily consider the matter, and I will write to Mr Bibby about the steps that the Government is prepared to take.
That concludes First Minister’s questions. There will be a short suspension to allow those leaving the chamber and the public gallery to do so before the next item of business begins.
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