Skills
In 2007, the Scottish National Party launched a skills strategy. The strategy document said:
“A smarter Scotland is at the heart of everything we want to achieve for this country.”
Now, 17 years on, we have the report card on the SNP’s skills strategy. This week, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development published a report that says that there are multiple barriers to developing skills in Scotland, that the SNP Government’s engagement with employers is limited in outreach and that careers agencies remain fragmented. In a damning conclusion, the OECD states that the link between the SNP’s skills policies and economic development is “weak”. Does the First Minister agree with the OECD that his Government’s record on skills, after 17 years of the SNP being in power, is weak?
Obviously, the Government will look carefully at the OECD report, but I do not agree with that conclusion. The Government has invested heavily in the skills sector over many years. Engagement with business is work that has been undertaken by a range of organisations, not least Skills Development Scotland, to ensure that we undertake skills audits in localities. That involves engaging with employers to ensure that we understand the future skills needs of individual localities and that those are provided for by the skills development system in Scotland. When we look at the outcomes that have been achieved as a consequence of our investment, we see a record number of young people going on to positive destinations as a consequence of their participation in skills development in Scotland.
I am sorry, but the First Minister cannot just say that he disagrees with the outcome of a report. The damning assessment of 17 years is that this Government has been weak on skills.
Not surprisingly, the First Minister ended his answer by speaking about young people in positive destinations. Every year, the Government trumpets its success in the number of young people going to positive destinations, but the OECD report—which I do not believe that the First Minister has read, based on his first answer—says that
“Being in a positive destination ... shortly after finishing secondary school does not guarantee positive outcomes in the long run”,
and that we should be monitoring positive destinations not only after three months but after three years and even beyond. In its 2021 manifesto, the SNP pledged a young persons guarantee that would ensure that everyone between 16 and 24 years old would have the opportunity to access education, training or a job. How is that going? How many young Scottish people are currently economically inactive or not in education?
I do not have that specific figure in front of me now, but I can tell Douglas Ross that, in a whole variety of different sectors, there is provision available for young people to participate in developing their skills—whether that is in the provision of college places around the country, in the provision of modern apprenticeships, in the development of foundation and graduate apprenticeships, which are part of the Government’s reform programme, or through making available university places. We find that a record number of young people from Scotland are participating in higher education and, much to my satisfaction and to the satisfaction of the Government given its policy objectives, a record number of young people from deprived backgrounds are taking part in higher education.
I accept that we must always keep those issues under review, which is why we commissioned the Withers review, and we are taking forward the reform of post-school education as a consequence of that work to ensure that Scotland’s skills system meets the needs not only of the population of Scotland but of the businesses of Scotland, and in support of our approach to investment in our country, too.
If I thought it after his first answer, I am certain after the second that the First Minister has not read the extremely important OECD report, which is damning on his Government’s failure over 17 years.
The First Minister said that he was satisfied with what is happening. I am not satisfied by the fact that he cannot come to the chamber and answer a simple question. Let me tell him the answer that he should know, as First Minister and as a former education secretary, which is that 52,700 young Scots aged between 16 and 24 are economically inactive and not in education. Why should the First Minister know that? Because that is one in 10 16 to 24-year-olds, and it is the highest number on record—the highest number ever. I would have thought that the First Minister would have been aware of that.
The young persons guarantee was launched by John Swinney when he was education secretary. Just a few weeks ago, the minister in charge of the young persons guarantee said that its work had now been mainstreamed across Government. If we strip away the ministerial jargon, it is clear that this complacent Government thinks that the job is done. I remind the First Minister, however, that those alarming figures—the highest-ever number on record—tell a very different story. Is it not the case that the young persons guarantee is yet another broken SNP promise?
No. We take ideas and projects and make them available right across the country. The young persons guarantee started off as a proposition in the City of Edinburgh. It was a tremendously good idea, which was led by Sandy Begbie of Scottish Financial Enterprise, partnering with the City of Edinburgh Council. It was a very good proposition. We listened to that learning and we applied it across the country. That is the right thing to do.
The problem with the statistics that Douglas Ross puts to me is that, in the most recent economic inactivity data available, there was a significant fall in economic inactivity in Scotland and an increase in economic participation. The issues are challenging, and the work on tackling economic inactivity is fundamental to encouraging economic participation, but it commands the focus of Government to maximise the number of people taking part in the labour market and participating in Scotland’s economy.
The real problem with the figures is that Scotland’s First Minister does not know that 52,700 16 to 24-year-olds are economically inactive and not in education—the highest-ever number on record. That is the problem, and that is what John Swinney should be focusing on.
The OECD is not alone in highlighting how weak the SNP is in delivering for young people. Today, Audit Scotland issued a damning verdict on the funding cuts to Scotland’s colleges. The SNP’s underfunding of our college sector has left many institutions with a bleak and uncertain future. Audit Scotland predicts that the situation will only get worse, with further job losses and rising financial deficits.
Under the SNP, we have a skills strategy that does not help people to get jobs, an education reform agenda that does not lead to any reforms, colleges that are going bust and a young persons guarantee that does not guarantee anything. How is John Swinney, as First Minister, going to do a better job with any of that than he did as education secretary?
Obviously, I am very familiar with the contents of this morning’s Audit Scotland report. The Audit Scotland report highlights the challenges that exist in the public finances. The Government is supporting the college sector with £750 million-worth of investment in the current financial year. I welcome that commitment, because it has been delivered against the backdrop of a really difficult financial climate for the public services, which was created by the economic mismanagement of the public finances by the most recent Conservative Government—[Interruption.]
Let us hear the First Minister.
—for which Douglas Ross was a loyal foot soldier who wanted me to follow the budget of Liz Truss.
The problem that Douglas Ross has is that he perpetually comes along to this Parliament to ask me to spend more money—[Interruption.]
Mr Ross, you have put your question. Please listen.
Last week, he asked me to spend more money on peak rail fares and on free school meals for primary 6 and 7 pupils. Now, he is asking me to spend more money on colleges when he will not support—[Interruption.]
I ask those members whose voices I am aware that I can hear from here to resist the temptation to contribute at this point. You have not been called to speak.
Last week, Mr Ross asked me to spend more money on free school meals and on peak rail fares, and, today, he wants me to spend more money on colleges, at the same time as he wants me to reduce tax and take £1.5 billion out of the public finances, and to support the Liz Truss economic madness that has inflicted misery on our country. I am going to listen to nothing that Douglas Ross says to me in his remaining couple of weeks, because his record is one of absolute abject economic failure.
National Health Service (Staff Absence)
Yesterday, John Swinney admitted that his party had spent too long focusing on what it cannot do rather than on what it can do, so let us look at one area in which it has full control and the consequence of its failure to focus on it—our NHS.
On the Scottish National Party’s watch, one in six Scots is on an NHS waiting list, cancer treatment standards have been missed, almost 5,000 children are waiting for mental health treatment, people face dental waits of three years, and more than 1,100 nursing jobs have been cut since the start of the year, when we already have staff shortages. Our NHS staff have been left at breaking point. Does the First Minister know how many working hours were lost to NHS staff absence last year?
I would be the first to accept that there are challenges in the national health service, which are a consequence—none of us can deny this—of the pressures that now apply to it as a consequence of the Covid pandemic. As every other health system in the western world is doing, our health service is still wrestling with the challenges that come from that period.
What I can say to Mr Sarwar is that the latest figures show that there has been a 9.9 per cent increase in in-patient and day-case activity year on year and a 2.7 per cent increase in out-patient activity. In relation to planned care, there has been an increase in capacity as a consequence of the introduction of the national treatment centres, as a result of which 20,000 additional surgeries and a range of different interventions are being undertaken. On cancer treatment, which Mr Sarwar mentioned, we are treating more patients with cancer on time within the 62-day standard—3 per cent more compared with the same quarter a year ago, and 12.8 per cent more compared with the position 10 years ago.
That is a story of the national health service—and our committed staff the length and breadth of the country—doing everything that they can to ensure that we meet the needs of individuals in very difficult and challenging circumstances. That will remain the focus of the Government.
The fact of the matter is that NHS waiting lists are getting longer, not shorter, on this Government’s watch. The answer that the First Minister was looking for is that more than 15.3 million working hours were lost in a single year in the middle of an NHS crisis. That is the equivalent of 640,000 days lost in our NHS when one in six Scots is on an NHS waiting list.
That has real consequences. Let us take the example of the experience of Karen Campbell, a national health service dental nurse of 25 years, who has been forced to quit after waiting for years for prolapse and hip surgery. Karen just wanted to get back to the job that she loved, but she could not because of her untreated condition. Karen said this:
“It would have been so much easier if they’d fixed me up and kept me working, but now I feel let down. I still appreciate the NHS, but my experience shows how broken the system is.”
Can the First Minister explain why an NHS dental nurse has been forced to quit due to NHS waiting lists, when we have NHS staff shortages and an NHS crisis?
I very much regret the circumstances that Anas Sarwar puts to me about Karen Campbell’s case, because it is obviously in the interests of the national health service for its employees to be treated timeously, as is the case in all walks of economic life, to ensure that people can get back to their work. Therefore, I fundamentally accept the importance of the point that has been put to me.
However, there are legitimate challenges that are being wrestled with in relation to the impact as a consequence of the increased demand on services that arose from the Covid pandemic. The Government has expanded national health service staff resources over a number of years. Nursing and midwifery staffing is up 17.5 per cent since the Government came to power. We have seen a 68 per cent increase in the number of medical and dental consultants who have been recruited since this Government came to power.
Therefore, the Government has been investing. We have taken decisions to allocate more investment than would have been the case had we just passed on Barnett consequentials, because we have been prepared to take the decisions that Mr Sarwar no longer supports with regard to taxation in order that we have more resources available in the national health service. One of the Government’s key interventions has been to ensure that we focus at all times on maximising the number of staff that we have available, despite the challenges of increasing demand on the service.
Some 15.3 million working hours were lost in our NHS in one year, and that is the First Minister’s answer. That is simply not good enough, because Scots deserve an NHS that is there when they need it. However, under this SNP Government, even our NHS staff cannot get the treatment that they need in time to get back to work and treat others. That has created a doom loop of delays in which everyone loses out. The simple truth is that our NHS is not safe with the SNP, and no amount of warm words will cut it. The record shows that it cannot be trusted, because this Government has lost its way. It is incompetent, and it now admits that it has spent too long focusing on campaigning rather than governing. Why are NHS patients and staff being forced to pay the price of this SNP Government’s neglect?
There are challenges in the national health service, and there is not an occasion when I am questioned on the subject when I do not accept that point, but there are also a couple of realities that we have to wrestle with. The first is the increased demand that was created as a consequence of the Covid pandemic. Our health service staff are working as hard as they possibly can, and I admire them for all that they are doing to try to deal with that situation.
The second reality is the financial context in which we are operating. This Government has taken some pretty difficult decisions to increase the money that is available to the national health service so that, for example, we can afford pay deals in order that we avoid industrial action. That has been such an important element of sustaining the national health service in Scotland, and I welcome the positive dialogue that has taken place.
However, the problem here is the perpetuation of austerity. Mr Sarwar told me during the election campaign that there would be “No austerity under Labour”, so Mr Sarwar can try—
It is always somebody else’s fault.
Mr Sarwar.
It is always somebody else’s fault.
Let us hear the First Minister.
Mr Sarwar can make all the gesticulations he wants at me. Those were his words: “No austerity under Labour”, and we are getting austerity under the Labour Party as we speak. So my message to Mr Sarwar—[Interruption.]
Members.
—is that, if he wants to help the situation, he should say to his UK masters to end the austerity because, as he well knows, all roads lead back to Westminster on NHS funding.
Cabinet (Meetings)
To ask the First Minister when the Cabinet will next meet. (S6F-03353)
The Cabinet will next meet on Tuesday.
Last night, I chaired a packed town-hall meeting in South Queensferry. For four years, my constituents have had their quality of life destroyed by hundreds of high-performance, illegally modified cars and motorbikes racing around their beautiful town. The drivers of those vehicles will abuse and intimidate anyone who approaches them where they gather, in the car park at the foot of the iconic Forth bridge.
Pets have been killed, hotels have lost trade and nobody is getting any sleep. Residents such as pensioner Andy Scott are really worried about road safety. In fact, just as our meeting was concluding, there was a collision right outside our venue, with a motorcyclist rushed to hospital. Police are appealing for information about that.
The racing and the antisocial behaviour is happening in Inverness, parts of Glasgow, Crail and many other areas. Will the First Minister meet me and agree to establish a national task force to examine what more can be done to address such criminal behaviour, which is blighting so many lives?
First, I am very sorry to hear of the circumstances in South Queensferry. It is a beautiful part of our country and an iconic location, and I am sorry that members of the public are experiencing what they are experiencing.
The Government engages substantively on the question of road safety. The Cabinet Secretary for Transport has been briefing Cabinet on her concerns about road fatalities, which are a very serious and current problem, so that issue is very much on the Cabinet’s agenda. I am very happy to have discussions with Mr Cole-Hamilton on the subject and to determine what further action can be taken.
The incident last night that Alex Cole-Hamilton raised will have involved police interaction, and I am sure that the police will have been involved in other instances of that kind. I am happy to host discussions to see what more can be done to address the situation.
There may be some legislative issues that may be worth considering. I fear that some of those will not be within our areas of responsibility because they are road traffic issues, but I am happy to explore all possibilities.
Junk Food Advertising Ban
To ask the First Minister what the implications are for public health in Scotland of the United Kingdom Government’s announcement that it plans to ban junk food advertising before 9 pm. (S6F-03358)
Improving diet and reducing health inequalities remains a public health priority for the Government. We know that food advertising is significantly skewed towards food that is high in fat, sugar and salt in comparison with healthier options such as fruit and vegetables. That is why the Scottish Government has long advocated for restrictions on the broadcast advertising of less healthy food and drink to children before 9 pm. I welcome the United Kingdom Government’s announcement that it intends to introduce those restrictions next year.
I have been following closely the work of food experts Henry Dimbleby and Dr Chris van Tulleken regarding ultra-processed foods and foods that are high in fat, sugar or salt. I am aware that the Scottish Government has been calling for such a move from the UK Government, but can the First Minister comment specifically on whether he believes that that move will help to address issues such as childhood obesity, and can he provide an update on how that work will complement the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022?
The Scottish Government remains committed to using the latest scientific consensus of established evidence to inform our view on ultra-processed foods. Many ultra-processed foods are high in fat, sugar or salt, which can contribute to diet-related conditions. However, some food that is classed as ultra-processed, such as wholegrain breads and breakfast cereals, can be consumed as part of a balanced diet.
We continue to endorse a healthy balanced diet as represented by the “Eatwell Guide”. That guide will support progress towards achieving our Scottish dietary goals, and it complements our vision for Scotland to be a good food nation where people from every walk of life can take pride and pleasure in, and benefit from, the food that they produce, buy, cook, serve and eat each day. There are significant issues, and opportunities in the education system to enable a deep understanding of the nutritional value of particular types of food.
It is welcome that the UK Government has hit the ground running with the delivery of its child health action plan, which includes action on childhood obesity.
Given that a recent Scottish health survey found that one third of Scottish children are at risk of being overweight, does the First Minister accept that the UK Government action is an opportunity to act with urgency to use the devolved powers that we have in Scotland?
The issues that Carol Mochan raises are very much at the heart of the Government’s response and intervention on these questions. As I have indicated, the UK Government approach is welcome and it obviously complements many of the measures that we are taking, which are being progressed through the curriculum in Scottish education. There is an opportunity to take forward our commitment to ensuring that people have a balanced, healthy diet, which is essential for individuals’ wellbeing.
I listened with interest to the exchange between the First Minister and Emma Harper. He knows my interest in improving nutritional standards in our country. There are two sides to that. There is the side that Emma Harper raised, but the other side is how we promote healthy food. Does the First Minister agree that the place to start is in our school meals system?
The place to start is in the home and in our schools. We need to make sure that everybody is aware of the nutritional value of food, as well as of the dangers of some foods and the damage that they can do.
Work can also be done to encourage an active lifestyle, which is very important. I can report to Mr Whittle that I was out running this morning.
Mr Whittle is gesticulating to me that he was also out running this morning, so I had better put that on the record to protect his international reputation.
The fact that he has asked me that question gives me the opportunity to say that I welcomed his question last week about the Commonwealth games, and I hope that he welcomes the announcement that the Government made on Tuesday about our support for the work of Commonwealth Games Scotland. Having the Commonwealth games in Glasgow in 2026 is a very visual signal of the opportunities to lead a healthy and active lifestyle.
A83 Rest and Be Thankful Project
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reports that Transport Scotland has spent more than £16 million on consultancy fees in relation to the A83 Rest and Be Thankful project. (S6F-03373)
The Government remains absolutely committed to keeping Argyll and Bute open for business, and we are acutely aware of the importance of the A83 to the communities and economy of the area. That is why we are delivering a range of measures in the short, medium and long terms to reduce the risk and impact of landslides at the Rest and Be Thankful, and the money that we have spent on consultancy will help us to achieve that. The costs that have been incurred reflect the complexity and challenges of the scheme and cover essential assessment, survey and development work, which will allow the project to progress at pace.
Last Sunday, the A83 was, once again, closed, and I am told by a constituent that it has been closed yet again this morning.
In the 17 years that the Scottish National Party Government has been in office, it has neglected not just the A83 but the A82, the A9 and the A96—I could go on. Residents and businesses are beyond exasperated. Whether it is ferries, the reaching 100 per cent—R100—programme, hospital projects or the A83, am I to assume that the neglect of that work shows that the Government does not care about rural Scotland? Can the First Minister confirm when the works on the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful will actually commence?
The work that has been undertaken on the Rest and Be Thankful, which is the focus of Mr Eagle’s question, is essential to ensuring that we have a long-term solution to an extremely challenging route. Anyone who has driven on the A83 knows how challenging the route is because of its exposed nature.
On 15 September, a movement on the hill resulted in 500 tonnes of material coming down and the closure of the A83. The Government has put in place the alternative route of the old military road, which avoids an extensive and lengthy detour, because there are no other options. That is a measure of the approach that the Government has taken to make sure that Argyll and Bute remains connected at all times.
Mr Eagle went through a range of different issues. I simply point out that, for example, on the R100 contract, digital broadband is a reserved responsibility of the United Kingdom Government, and rural—[Interruption.]
Members.
Rural Scotland is connected only because of the investment of the Scottish Government.
In relation to the A9, we have completed the stretches between Luncarty and the Pass of Birnam and between Kincraig and Dalraddy, we have concluded the Crubenmore stage, and we have just concluded the tendering process and shall start work on site for the Moy to Tomatin section. All those developments are under way. Why do the Conservatives moan about everything?
I think that the Tories are missing the point here. The A83 Rest and Be Thankful is a vital route in Argyll and Bute, and road users want to know how the permanent solution that is being devised by the Scottish Government will benefit them. Will the First Minister set out some detail—[Interruption.]
Let us hear Ms Tweed.
Will the First Minister set out some detail in that regard?
The Scottish Government is taking forward the improvement work on the A83, and a task force is supervising that work. The Cabinet Secretary for Transport leads the task force, which will meet this afternoon as part of the routine work that is under way to ensure that the permanent solution improves the resilience and operational safety of the route, which is designed to improve access to employment, education and healthcare services and to protect the interests of the people of Argyll and Bute. That matters very significantly to the Government.
Flamingo Land Lomond Banks
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to the decision by Loch Lomond and the Trossachs national park regarding the Flamingo Land Lomond Banks planning application. (S6F-03376)
I am aware of the decision made by the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority board to refuse planning permission for a development at West Riverside and Woodbank house in Balloch. Given that the applicants have a right of appeal and that such an appeal could come before Scottish ministers in the future, it would not be appropriate for me to make any further comments.
I appreciate the First Minister’s answer and the constraints. I had to lodge that question a few hours before the decision was made.
I am delighted by the unanimous rejection by the park board after a decade of attempts by Flamingo Land to force this daft mega resort on Balloch. More than 154,000 people joined our campaign and objected. They were joined by the Woodland Trust, Ramblers Scotland, the National Trust for Scotland and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. However, at its core, this was a community campaign. My constituents in Balloch and the Haldane want to turn the page.
I have written to the First Minister to request that the Scottish Government terminate Flamingo Land’s exclusive contract with the Government agency that owns most of the site. The agreement was renewed after its first failed application in 2019. It is the key reason why the threat has hung over the people of Balloch for a decade, and it is what has prevented more appropriate development proposals from coming forward. Will the Scottish Government end rather than renew the agreement? Will it review the use of exclusivity agreements and the impact that they have on communities such as Balloch?
There are two elements to the question that Mr Greer has asked, and I understand entirely why he is raising the issue with me. The first element relates specifically to the Flamingo Land development. I had better not say anything specific about that, because a potential appeal could be made.
The second element is about the provision of exclusivity agreements in principle. There will, of course, be mixed opinions about that, but part of the purpose of exclusivity arrangements is to accelerate planning developments that, in other circumstances, many of us might approve of. For example, renewable energy developments might be speeded up as a consequence of exclusivity arrangements that can be arrived at. We must take a broad view of such questions, because developments and opportunities that would be beneficial to the national interest might be able to be supported by moves of that type.
However, I hear Mr Greer, and the important points that he has made are on the record.
I was pleased with the decision to reject Flamingo Land’s planning application. From day 1, I was against the plans, as it was clear to me that too many local residents were concerned about the impact that Flamingo Land would have on them. Does the First Minister acknowledge the importance of considering the views and concerns of local residents when planning decisions are made?
That should be an essential part of any consideration in the planning process. It is in the interests of all parties, including communities and developers, to have good community engagement. In my experience, it is more likely that developments will be enabled if community concerns and interests have been properly taken into account when thinking about development propositions that are brought forward.
The First Minister will be aware that there is a clause in the exclusivity agreement that allows Flamingo Land a further year to obtain planning permission. That can happen through either an appeal or a fresh application, neither of which can be achieved in that timeframe. Will the First Minister therefore end the exclusivity agreement now or, at the very least, not extend it?
Jackie Baillie, whose interest in the matter I understand, encourages me to get into specific issues that could be material to any appeal that comes to ministers. She has long enough experience in the Parliament to know that I have to be very careful not to prejudice the position of Scottish ministers. I hear what she has said, and the Government will consider all relevant issues when any matters that might come to ministers have to be addressed.
We move to constituency and general supplementary questions.
South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project
I declare an interest as the golden eagle champion—not many members know that.
The South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project in my constituency has increased the number of golden eagles in the south of Scotland from 10 to nearly 50 over six years, with relatively small calls on public money. It has now advised me that it is at serious risk of closure at the end of the year unless it can access new sources of funding. Will the First Minister look into the matter to ensure that that valuable project, which has increased the population of an iconic bird, can continue?
The South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project is very successful. It began in 2018, when there were only four to eight golden eagles across Dumfries and Galloway, and there are now more golden eagles in the south of Scotland than have been recorded at any time in the past 200 years.
I hear the issue that Christine Grahame has raised, and I will ask the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands to discuss with her what steps can be taken to secure the project’s future.
Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion
On Tuesday, NHS Lothian announced that urgent major repair works will have to be undertaken at the Princess Alexandra eye pavilion. All patient appointments that are scheduled to take place from 28 October will be moved, and it is expected to be six months before the hospital can reopen. In 2014, the current eye pavilion was declared not fit for purpose. There is now real anger about the latest situation, which demonstrates, yet again, the need for a new eye hospital.
Ministers need to take responsibility. They have cancelled the new hospital on two occasions. Will the First Minister personally meet campaigners and cross-party MSPs to get the replacement hospital back on track?
I appreciate the anxiety that will be felt because of the issues relating to the eye pavilion in Edinburgh. As we would expect it to, the health board is working to ensure that there is no diminution of the service and support that are available to patients, so that they can have their needs met.
Obviously, the Government is wrestling with capital funding pressures. Mr Briggs will be familiar with the statements that the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government has made about the reduction in our capital budget. That, combined with the significant increase in construction costs that has arisen because of sky-high inflation, has had a consequential effect on our ability to afford projects. Those are the realities that we are wrestling with.
I assure Mr Briggs that the Government is doing everything that we can to deliver that capital programme, but we cannot deliver it as timeously as we would like to because of the effect of inflation and the cuts to our capital budget. I assure him that the Government is focused on finding solutions to those challenging issues.
Hydrogen Industry
As the First Minister knows, I played a part in helping to establish the Aberdeen hydrogen project, so I am very pleased this week to hear of £7 million of Scottish Government funding to kick-start green hydrogen projects in Scotland. What more can we do to support the industry and make it thrive? Would it not be better if we had all the economic levers of power to drive forward our net zero agenda?
I agree with Kevin Stewart, and I very much welcome the initiative that he took to encourage the development of the green hydrogen project in the north-east of Scotland, which is a significant economic opportunity. I want to ensure that Scotland is able to realise the benefits of our enormous energy generation potential. The Government’s focus on the development of renewable energy—offshore wind resources in particular—will help develop the hydrogen sector, which will contribute to the strengthening of Scotland’s economic wellbeing.
I expect to discuss many of those issues at the Scottish energy advisory board meeting that I will co-chair tomorrow to take forward many of those developments.
Funding for Legal Advisers (Island Communities)
The First Minister will be aware that the Scottish Legal Aid Board is removing funding for legal advisers from citizens advice bureaux across Scotland. In island communities such as the Western Isles, the removal of those posts will have a disproportional impact, as there are no alternative free sources of legal advice with expertise on local issues, such as crofting. That service will be lost next month. Even at the 11th hour, can the First Minister intervene and save those vital jobs and services?
I will look closely at the issue that Rhoda Grant has put to me. Indeed, we touched on it at yesterday’s Conveners Group meeting, at which I was questioned by parliamentary committee conveners. The question was put to me by—I think—my colleague Karen Adam, convener of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, who raised the issue of the distinctive needs of island communities in accessing services when no other tangible alternative is available. Rhoda Grant’s question about those services comes directly into that territory.
I undertook to the Conveners Group yesterday to reflect on those questions about the availability of services. I will take away the point that Rhoda Grant has raised with me and I will write to her in due course.
Brexit (Impact)
A report by economists at Aston University has warned that the United Kingdom’s Brexit deal has caused a “sharp decline” in trade between the UK and the European Union, and it is likely to get worse. Does the First Minister share my concerns that the UK Labour Government is intent on ignoring that evidence of the harm that Brexit is doing to our economy? Does he agree that the best way of improving our economic outlook would be for us to rejoin the EU as an independent nation?
I am absolutely stunned that the UK political consensus now seems to be an acceptance that we just have to resign ourselves to the damage of Brexit. I saw a very impactful and significant interview yesterday with former Prime Minister Sir John Major, in which he highlighted the deep and corrosive damage that Brexit has done to the economy of the United Kingdom. It has had that effect on the Scottish economy, too, where it is more challenging for our businesses to trade with Europe and for us to benefit from the positive economic effects of free movement of the population.
I agree with Mr Adam that the issue has to be addressed, because the United Kingdom has inflicted significant economic damage on Scotland, which voted to stay in the European Union. The only way of reversing that damage is through Scotland becoming an independent member of the European Union.
Wood-burning Stoves Ban
This morning, the Scottish National Party Government has caved in to pressure from the Scottish Conservatives to abandon its misguided ban on wood-burning stoves, which would have stopped the installation of wood-burning stoves in new homes. Hundreds of constituents who rely on those heating systems have shared with me the harmful impact of such a ban, particularly on those who live in rural communities and those facing extreme winter conditions.
Will the First Minister now commit to a permanent ban of the policy that he has introduced? Will he also consider looking at the businesses that have been affected and offer them compensation for their job losses?
The Government has set out its position. If Rachael Hamilton’s response is a supposed welcome to the Government’s agreeing with her, I would hate to hear what her reaction would be if we said that we disagreed with her.
NHS Tayside (Strathmartine Centre)
Yesterday, I met the chief executive of the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland to discuss the condition of NHS Tayside’s Strathmartine learning disability unit. In the hour before our meeting, an overdue inspection report on the unit was released. The Dickensian conditions that it describes include rats falling from ceilings, mould on walls, rainwater pouring through cracks, insect infestations and the stench of urine throughout.
As far back as 2017, a Mental Welfare Commission report called for a decision “as soon as possible”. More reports saying the same followed in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024. David Strang’s devastating reviews of mental welfare in Tayside have sat on Government shelves for four years. Why does nothing ever, ever change?
I am very familiar with the issue, because I have constituents who are supported by the Strathmartine centre, and, as Mr Marra well knows, I have engaged personally and directly on the question in my constituency capacity. Mr Marra’s characterisation of the response to the report by David Strang is not an appropriate one. Update reports have been given to local members of Parliament about the steps that are being taken to improve mental health services in the Tayside area as a consequence of Mr Strang’s report.
As I set out in my response to Miles Briggs on the issue of capital investment in Edinburgh, there are capital challenges in the health service. There are existing plans to relocate to a single site for learning disability services at Moray royal hospital in Perth, in my constituency, and I look to NHS Tayside to advance those proposals as sustainably as it can in the current financial context. It is not fair for Mr Marra to characterise the report and the response in the fashion that he has.
Universal Winter Fuel Payment
Despite Anas Sarwar’s promise to voters that there would be “no austerity under Labour”, Labour MPs have voted to scrap the universal winter fuel payment, while the energy price cap is set to rise by 10 per cent. That is causing fear and worry for pensioners in my Rutherglen constituency. Does the First Minister share my concern that Labour MPs have hammered the Scottish Government’s spending ability by putting party before pensioners? Does he agree that independence is the solution to avoiding yet another decade of Westminster austerity?
I am deeply concerned by the impact of the decision by the United Kingdom Government to abruptly end the universal provision of winter fuel payments to the pensioner population in the UK, which will result in 900,000 pensioners in Scotland losing access to their winter fuel payment. I would dearly love to be able to maintain the payment as a universal provision—[Interruption.] I am being shouted at by Conservative members saying that I can. Let me go back to where I left off with Douglas Ross. In the past couple of weeks, Conservative members have asked the Government to spend more money on colleges, more money on free school meals, more money on peak fares and more money on winter fuel payments than we will have—[Interruption.]
Let us hear the First Minister.
Our budget will be cut by £160 million as a consequence of changes by the Labour Government. The Conservatives and the Labour Party want us to reduce taxation, which will further reduce the money that is available. Clare Haughey’s question reminded me of the commitment that Anas Sarwar gave to the people of Scotland—he gave it directly to me—that there would be “no austerity under Labour”. We are now getting austerity under Labour, and Labour should be ashamed of itself.
That concludes First Minister’s question time. There will be a short suspension to allow those leaving the chamber and the public gallery to do so.
12:49 Meeting suspended.Air ais
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Retail Crime and Antisocial Behaviour