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We need to make things fair for people, but the current economic model is not fair. The Labour Government has increased the living wage, yet we had complaints from Conservative members about that.

We know that almost one in four children in Scotland are growing up in poverty. We need solutions to ensure that children have a fair chance to live free from hardship and with opportunities. We need a good social security system to allow children and families to have the opportunity to flourish. If we can do that for children and families, there will be a ripple effect that helps society. That is the key point—it will benefit us all. By investing in social security and children, we will make a difference for everybody in society.

That is why Scottish Labour was pleased to lodge our amendment that welcomes the removal of the two-child limit for universal credit in the 2025 budget. As other members have said, about 450,000 children across the UK will be lifted out of poverty, 95,000 of whom are estimated to be in Scotland.

There is always a debate about what we can afford to give to the very poorest in our society. We are told time and again that welfare spending is wasteful. However, what is really wasteful is having children grow up in poverty. To be clear: tackling child poverty is an investment in our society.

I have made it clear before and I make it clear once again that I deplore the previous Tory Government’s attack on working-class people. The approach that was taken by the Tory Government was to benefit those who have the most wealth and power, embedding poverty in our society. That poverty is what we must tackle. The Tories on the benches opposite must accept that their party played a big part in the poverty that our constituents are experiencing today. We know that many children who live in poverty have families with at least one adult who is working, but that adult is often on low pay and in insecure work.

Labour believes that the Scottish Government must take steps to ensure that we maximise people’s potential. That comes back to the point that Willie Rennie made about ensuring that there are stable paths for people to get out of poverty. By tackling structural barriers, improving pay and hours, increasing progression and supporting the realisation of workers’ rights, people’s outcomes can be changed.

I do not have much time left, but I will point out that the Scottish Government has a responsibility to tell us how it will do those things. We on the Labour benches believe that that will help us to address the funding gap, which the Audit Scotland report provided us information about.

I thank Keith Brown for lodging the motion. As others have said, what a moment for Scotland, for sport and for football. We are a nation of football fans, and on that night in November, many of us were on the edge of our seats. The motion says that the game was “thrilling”, but my husband and my children said that it was more nerve-wracking than thrilling.

Over the next six months, we will discuss our chances, debate the draw, look at who we will be playing, where we will be playing, how we get tickets and how those of us who are in Scotland will manage the time difference—I am sure that many of us will need to set timers and alarms to make sure that we see all the games, as the United States has various time zones.

What a moment it was for Scottish sport, but also what a moment it is for health, wellbeing and football right across Scotland, not just for the elite sport that we see in our men’s football. Seeing role models like the players who took part in the game that night on our televisions, on social media, in magazines and at events is important. I hope that the Scottish football authorities, our elite footballers and the Government will use this great opportunity to make decisions that support our communities to be active, healthy and quite hopeful. I hope that all involved will see that they have a responsibility to use this chance to promote wellbeing and, as Keith Brown has said, the work of our volunteers across football and other sports. It is important to recognise everybody who comes together to make sure that all those things happen for our nation.

I have really enjoyed everybody’s speeches. I congratulate the national men’s team, thank them for the joy and ask them to ensure that their participation in the world cup leaves a long-lasting legacy for the health and wellbeing of Scotland as a nation.

Retailers are often the largest employers of young people in our communities, yet more high street shops in my region are closing, or choosing not to open, because of high business rates, and that trend is contributing to our growing youth unemployment. Our current rates put us at a disadvantage compared with other parts of the United Kingdom. What will the Scottish Government do to provide relief to get our local economies moving?

Will the member take an intervention?

Will the member take an intervention?

I want to speak about the way in which we approach this issue. We cannot accuse people. I knock on doors every day, and the reality is that many people understand that people who require social security are in need. If we want to make things fairer, we need to look at the way in which the economic model runs in this country.

Health boards across the country are facing a sharp increase in cases, with hospital admissions as a result of flu increasing by 70 per cent. NHS Ayrshire and Arran has been forced to suspend routine visits across all hospitals; some hospital wards in NHS Dumfries and Galloway have closed to new admissions; and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has told patients with flu symptoms to stay at home and treat themselves. The situation is worsening. What support has the cabinet secretary put in place to support staff who are dealing with that early, and very sharp, rise in cases?

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of NHS Ayrshire and Arran suspending routine hospital visits due to a sharp increase in flu cases, whether it will provide an update on the action that it is taking to support NHS boards in relation to increasing winter pressures. (S6T-02794)

As the cabinet secretary outlined in his answer, vaccinations are the best way of protecting oneself from flu. Last year, the uptake of vaccinations was poorer, so why has uptake been so low this year? There are more than 300,000 fewer adults vaccinated now in comparison with the figure two years ago. Children’s vaccination rates are down, and some areas have had delays in administering vaccinations. Public Health Scotland has reported that all age groups are now affected at levels not previously seen at this time of year, and it has confirmed that cases of flu in Scotland have

“more than doubled in the past week”.

As the cabinet secretary said, prevention is key, so why were there delays in administering vaccinations, and why are vaccination rates significantly lower than they were two years ago?

I appreciate that expanding the apprenticeship model and earn-as-you-learn routes for healthcare workers across professions creates opportunities for people who might not have had the chance to attend university. It also offers the chance to grow skills in local areas. In the past, when I have asked about the apprenticeship model for allied health professions, the Government has pointed to the development of the next generation higher national certificate for AHP subjects, which could offer people a recognised pay-as-you-earn route into those professions. Has progress been made on that since the start of the year? When might we see those routes across the allied health professions?