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Let me be honest: I do not want to play this game. I want us to have a proper discussion about how we change the lives of people who are living in poverty. In this debate, Labour has made it clear that it will do all that it can to review the dreadful, cruel welfare policies of the UK Government and bring in proper welfare for people. Despite what the cabinet secretary and back benchers have said, the SNP is unable to accept that Labour has a strong track record of lifting people—including many children—out of poverty. I have every confidence that Labour will do that again.

I hope that the member picked up from my speech that I am really keen for us to make progress on tackling child poverty. Therefore, I am keen to know what is discussed when the group meets in relation to what more can be done here and now on child poverty and how it ensures that it pushes members on the front benches in that regard.

Will the minister give way?

I, too, thank Edward Mountain for securing this debate and for making such a personal speech tonight, and I thank other members who have done so as well. I also take the opportunity to welcome those in the public gallery. It is called the people’s Parliament for a reason. It is really important that the public come along and bring to us the things that they want us to talk about. We in the Scottish Parliament can raise awareness of the issue of stoma care and of the team of experts helping to make life manageable for people who have been through what the motion describes—quite rightly—as “a life-changing event”.

We have heard about what a stoma is, how it affects lives, and, as Edward Mountain described, the “bumps in the road”. We have also heard that around 20,000 people in Scotland receive stoma support.

I, too, want to mention the exceptional teams around patients. There are so many different roles in those teams. I looked into what support people might need through that journey: the stoma care nurses who have been mentioned, community pharmacy and community care workers, general practitioners, practice nurses and family carers—the list is endless. We should all take the time to thank the people who support individuals through this journey and at different times in that journey.

In my career before I entered Parliament, I was fortunate enough to see many patients who had positive stories of going through this very difficult journey and reaching a place of acceptance, hope and understanding that life goes on. I want to make the point that, honestly, that was often possible through the support of the stoma care nurses, who really do help to change lives.

When we get the opportunity to raise issues with ministers, we have a responsibility to do that, so, in the short time that I have, I want to raise with the minister the need to secure that service for the future. We need to ensure that we have well-educated, skilled nurses in the future. That links to a point that Edward Mountain made earlier about ensuring that we have the skilled nurses and that we have a workforce plan for them, because, to get those extremely skilled stoma care nurses, we have to have people coming through training and into the profession.

Recently, I visited the Ayr campus of the University of the West of Scotland, in my South Scotland region, and had a tour of the absolutely cutting-edge facilities that are provided to nursing students. I also had an extremely useful discussion with the teaching team around the drop in the number of applications to nursing. With such facilities and such skilled nurses, I would hope that we could start to encourage many more students to come into the nursing profession. It is disappointing that the figures for June 2023 show a decline in the number of applicants to the Scottish programme—I think that there were 6,450 applicants as opposed to 7,930 in 2022. The Royal College of Nursing has asked the Scottish Government to work on how we make sure that nursing is seen as a valued career with good career choices, which, of course, it is. Having seen the university provision in Ayr, I think that we can all champion nursing as a profession.

I am interested to know what discussions you have had with the First Minister about the U-turns around school meals. Could you discuss with us how often you have discussed that with the First Minister?

Can the member tell me whether he and his colleagues accept that the Westminster Conservative Government’s approach to benefits means that many families find it difficult to make sense of and take part in the DWP’s processes that are there for them to access benefits and move on to work?

I make it absolutely clear that I do not want to play this game. I have given credit to the party in government in Scotland many times.

I will prove my point by quoting from a recent report:

“The scale of the financial difficulties families are facing greatly outstrips the financial assistance offered by the Scottish Government.”

That report, which was published by Save the Children this year, goes on to say:

“there is more the Scottish Government must do to protect young children from the impacts of poverty.”

It is the responsibility of all of us, including back benchers, to push the Government to do all that it can. Scottish Labour’s amendment—

I am clear that the two-child limit is a cruel, damaging and appalling Tory policy and I fully oppose it. I agree that it is a punitive measure that targets working families, kills hope and aspiration, and has no place in the modern, progressive society that we want to create. As I have made clear before, I deplore the Tory Government’s attack on working class people. The Tories are the friends of the rich and they show no interest in redistributing wealth to those people who are most in need.

Sadly, the Tories’ amendment further highlights their ignorance of the damage that they have caused to people’s lives and the economy. Given the Tory Government’s incompetence, any incoming Labour Government will have to analyse the financial position left by the Tories, which will undoubtedly be extremely challenging. However, I and many other members on the Labour benches will chap on the doors and call for that policy, along with many other cruel welfare policies, to be removed.

I want to understand what the conflict is. We will support the motion, and I have called on us to work together, but it seems that we are placing conflict in a place where it should not be.

Can the minister provide an update on the progress of the joint programme with NHS Education for Scotland and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, which is aimed at encouraging more students to consider careers in pharmacy? Specifically, given the challenges that rural pharmacies face, what cross-portfolio discussions has the minister had within Government to ensure that the appropriate choices are in place for young people in education in rural regions, such as my own, so that they can embark on a path towards pharmacy from school age?