Seòmar agus comataidhean

In closing for Scottish Labour, I thank everyone who has taken part in this very informative debate. I thank members for sharing the often heartfelt stories about constituents across Scotland. It is important that we discuss such matters in the chamber and that we thank people for their contributions to looking after us all. We know so much about the importance of that at this time.

I share the thoughts and wishes of members across the chamber as we pay our respects to those who have fallen in war or have suffered injury and particularly the often-hidden pain that is associated with mental health issues, which today is rightly receiving the attention that it deserves. As we have stated, Scottish Labour supports the action plan and feels that it is important that the actions in it happen as quickly as possible. As my colleague Paul O’Kane mentioned, it is important that we pin down on-going financial support to make the actions happen for people.

We have all watched the terrible scenes from Ukraine this week with increasing horror, and they have been an apt reminder of the brutal and unforgiving nature of war. Many people in our communities remain victims of war, and those who have served perhaps feel it most acutely, and will be doing so at the moment. As we have heard from many members, the struggles that follow can continue for decades. We know that a great many people who have left the military are at heightened risk of suicide because of their experiences and perhaps the lack of support that they have received. That needs to be a thing of the past and, as we have heard today, we can take steps forward.

I thank Finlay Carson for mentioning all the work that Archie Dryburgh has done. As an MSP for South Scotland, I, too, know Archie, who is a serving councillor. I will certainly take Mr Carson’s comments back to him to let him know that we appreciate all the work that he does for veterans in the area.

Like many other members, over the years, I have met and worked alongside members of our armed forces community during campaigns and outreach work and, in that time, I have been struck by their deep sense of commitment and dedication not only to their country but to those who went before them. They also have a great commitment to the places where they live, which Audrey Nicoll expressed very well.

Many of the charities and community groups that we all work with on a daily basis have people with a forces background at their heart who are using the skills that they have learned to improve the places where they live. If we can reflect that sense of commitment and help them to get the fair treatment that they deserve, we will have given something worth while back to those people, who have done so much for our country.

With that in mind, my party believes that it is important that the Scottish Government includes considerations relating to veterans more prominently in the new suicide prevention strategy. I was glad to hear the minister make a commitment on that. Specifically, we want the strategy to deliver veteran-specific suicide-prevention training and to improve access to mental health support for veterans. Currently, the offer is far from adequate in many places. We have heard that the situation can be different around the country, but it is only fair that people receive a parity of service. That could save lives in the short term and in the years to come. I therefore reiterate the importance of supporting Scottish Labour’s amendment and I join my colleagues in asking the Government to update the Parliament on that issue as soon as is practically possible.

Achieving those reforms will help us to recognise the significance of the physical and mental effects of war on those who fought and on their families. With that in mind, I support the action plan and believe that we should look more holistically at the situation for veterans and do more to ensure that they have better access to employment and health services, as many members and the minister have said. We all know that that has to happen to make things better for people.

Crucially, we need an understanding that many people who leave the forces face a very uncertain housing future. That is an important point that has been raised many times in the chamber previously and today. Uncertainty about housing has a direct and lasting impact on anyone’s mental health. Of course, for our veterans, who have moved about so much, it is important that they have a sense of where their home is. I recognise and welcome the debate about housing, but I hope that we can have further clarity on how we will support people who face housing issues. The situation is not acceptable, and we should reflect that across the UK.

Reaching out involves giving veterans and their families a place to talk. I therefore welcome the work of groups such as Veterans First Point Ayrshire and Arran in my community, which helps people with a forces background to find jobs and housing while providing a supportive outlet for them to share their experiences.

Equally, in my area, there are many active chapters of the SSAFA—the armed forces charity—and the Royal British Legion, and we have heard about the work that is going on in other constituencies. Those organisations do exceptional charity work for their own members and those in need across the region. All those groups play a massive part in helping to solve the issues that we have been speaking about today, and many members have mentioned and congratulated them. However, as with all things, decisive funding from central Government is required too, and I hope that we can ensure that funding for those important charitable organisations continues.

I close by drawing attention to a more recent struggle with which the armed forces have helped us. I refer, of course, to their vital role in the pandemic.

I am aware that I am out of time, Presiding Officer, but I thought that it was important to share that contemporary aspect—

I thank Emma Harper for bringing this important debate to the chamber. Like other parties, Scottish Labour supports the aims and objectives of eating disorder awareness week 2022. I welcome the guests from Beat who are in the gallery—it is so nice to see youse here.

As we have already heard, eating disorders are not uncommon: one in 50 people in Scotland and the wider UK is affected by them. We know that, tragically, their impact can be fatal—more people lose their lives to eating disorders than lose their lives to any other mental health condition. That is shocking, but it acts as a reminder to us all that eating disorders are both prominent and serious. We must raise greater awareness of eating disorders, their treatments, causes and symptoms.

It is important to consider raising awareness from different angles. It is crucial that individuals are aware of the signs of having an eating disorder, so that they can make informed judgments and reach out for support themselves. It is also important—although very difficult—to be able to recognise an eating disorder in someone else, so that support can be offered and a conversation can be had. For the individual who is suffering, talking may be a challenge or even a step too far.

As is highlighted in the motion, the issues around eating disorders are wide ranging. As we have heard from Beat, an organisation that is focused on raising awareness of eating disorders and providing support, the average GP student will receive less than two hours’ training on eating disorders during their entire medical degree. That is less than two hours on a condition that impacts more than a million people across the UK—let us take a moment to take that in. It is of even more concern that, as we have heard from other members, a fifth of UK medical students are not provided with any training on eating disorders. That is simply unacceptable.

I spent many years working in the NHS as a dietician, as part of the allied health professions team, so I know only too well the importance of raising awareness of conditions and disorders, and of training future health professionals. When I speak in the chamber, I like to mention the allied health professions when I can, because they have an important contribution to make. Professionals in that group often discuss the importance of training and how we should ensure that people are aware of the various conditions across the spectrum. I give my full support to Beat, which is calling for more training on eating disorders to be provided during medical training at UK universities.

We also know about the struggles that Scotland’s mental health services face. We know about the non-discriminatory nature of eating disorders. We know that, from children and adolescent mental health services to mental health support in later life, the Scottish Government needs to take more action. Looking to the future, although the 15 recommendations for improving eating disorders awareness and services have been accepted by the Scottish Government, it must also address the calls from the Royal College of Psychiatrists to go that bit further, including outlining how it will evaluate progress towards the delivery of the recommendations and ensuring that research into eating disorders in Scotland addresses our gaps in understanding the impact of such conditions on minority communities. I hope that the minister will give due consideration to those requests.

It is clear from the speeches so far that the research work and contributions made by charities, experts and others are important, but there is more to do. With cross-party support, that work can be done and we can start to address the real concerns of individuals, charities and others across the country.

Thank you, Presiding Officer.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app seems to have frozen. I would have voted no.

Not at the moment, thank you. The Government does not have the solutions to the significant problems that we face, as we have heard today. That is not good enough. Thousands of people would have to choose between paying for such procedures and simply persevering, often in pain. We have all heard such stories, which are not a thing of the past, as we might have thought.

I am sad to say that I will return to an issue that I raise in the chamber almost every day that I attend—inequality. As the Scottish Labour amendment notes, thousands of Scots

“in the most deprived areas have not seen a dentist in over two years”.

Only 55 per cent of the poorest young people have been able to see a dentist, compared with 73 per cent from wealthier areas. That deficit will increase mortality later in life, and we must address that now. The situation is simply unacceptable. The worst-off in our society are being left open to serious decay, loss of teeth and, in some cases, unidentified mouth cancers. That is not simply cosmetic; that is fundamental.

In essence, we are being left with a two-tier dental system in which those with the ability to pay their way out of problems maintain their oral health, while those with no means to do so are exposed to greater risk. Is that the legacy that the Government wants to leave? Labour will fight against that.

As my colleagues have noted, the SNP Administration is presiding over the near collapse of NHS dentistry—[Interruption.] It is the near collapse; more than 3.5 million NHS dental appointments have been lost since the first lockdown. Amid all that, why is the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care announcing that the additional funding that was given to dental practices during the pandemic is to conclude at the end of this financial year? Is this an appropriate time to do that? This is a serious health crisis, and the Government must change direction.

I think that we will leave here today having made it absolutely clear that there is a serious crisis in dentistry, which has been caused by Government indecision and ineffectiveness. All of us in the chamber know and agree that the cost of living is a constant source of concern in our communities. However, also of concern are the anxiety and stress that are caused by the uncertainty about health. For many people, that includes their own and their loved ones’ oral health.

Many parents have expressed to me on-going worry about accessing a local NHS dentist for their children. That is simply unacceptable. Covid is a serious contributing factor to the issue that dentistry faces, but we cannot frame everything in that context. Before Covid, there were many concerns about the pressures on dentistry and dental surgeries and about the availability of appointments. The truth is that, if something is not done, the same problems will be around for a lot longer. That is the stark reality that we face.

When I speak to constituents, dentistry is one of the issues about which I hear the most complaints, yet it rarely receives the attention that other forms of healthcare get. Any assessment of the Government’s stewardship over more than a decade would be far from positive. Its record on delivering positive healthcare outcomes for the people of this country in dentistry and beyond is poor, and it cannot get away with that any longer. It often seems that we have an implied belief that dentistry truly is a secondary concern and that, if people are particularly concerned, they should go private.

Fiona Collie mentioned carers a number of times, and they are an important part of the discussion. We know that unpaid carers provide the bulk of our social care. There is a thought that some carers are unaware of exactly what their rights are, or of what is in place to support them. Will the witnesses, particularly Fiona Collie, share some of their thoughts on that with us? What are the key things that we should be thinking about in relation to providing a new strategy for supporting carers to ensure that they get what they are entitled to?

The Labour Party has costed that out and we have had that discussion. It is about choices. If the SNP Government had the political will, it would do it—[Interruption.]

The budget is lacking in ambition and it is full of the usual unnecessary compromises that leave people wondering why public funds are not being utilised effectively to help us to recover from the pandemic and tackle the looming cost of living crisis. It will simply not help individuals enough. It has little to offer our hard-working NHS and social care workforce and, on top of that, councils are being left to suffer once again as the Government passes difficult decisions down the line and forces local authorities to take on yet another round of real-terms cuts.

COSLA suggests that the real-terms core funding cuts amount to £371 million of lost funds. That is a story that my council colleagues have been forced to hear year after year. I will be interested to speak to the councillors on the ground, from all parties, about the announcements that are made and the way in which the budget process is conducted. However, we know that the local government funding position means that many of the targets and priorities around care, exercise and social isolation that the Government brings to the chamber and covers in various reports week after week will never get off the starting block in local communities.

Local authorities simply do not have the capacity to meet their populations’ needs, and they cannot commit to funding beyond very basic provision. They cannot commit to funding additional care, exercise and green-space areas, housing improvements, roads or bin collections, because they cannot afford to do that. I hear from council colleagues and residents all the time about the lack of local services but, yet again, the Government simply does not listen. It finds it convenient to blame councils, claiming that they have the choice to prioritise what they deem suitable and that they can raise their own revenue in some cases. In reality, the decisions that are made here in the chamber will be fatal for large chunks of locally run services.

In April, many people will see their energy costs rise by as much as 50 per cent. Even for relatively comfortable families, that is a serious load to bear, but for those who are already living from month to month, it is potentially life destroying. I understand that the £290 million that was announced by the chancellor will go towards that, which is welcome and the correct thing to do. However, the £290 million should not lead to a squeeze on other expenditure in Scotland’s budget and it should not be assumed that that is even close to enough for those families. I join my colleagues in calling for an additional £400 payment to be given to those families who will be hit the hardest by the crisis.

The ballooning energy costs, which have been caused by poor energy infrastructure planning, Governments putting profit before people and greedy oil and gas companies that clearly have done everything in their power to lobby those at the top against Labour’s windfall tax on their profits, will disproportionately impact the most vulnerable. Most people around the country believe that such profitable and gigantic companies should be made to pay more towards the countries that they benefit from. A windfall tax is justified and the right action to take. I am glad that the First Minister appears to have now backed something similar to the windfall tax—although, as is often the case, it has not been made clear exactly what she is backing—but it would also be helpful if she could make her MPs do the same and walk into the lobbies to support people over profit.

The budget is simply not enough even to meet the Government’s child poverty targets and to fund our councils—I do not need to reiterate the very cogent points made by my colleagues about education, health and social care.

I come back to a point that I raised earlier about our undervalued social care staff, who are a severely low-paid workforce. At the very least, the Scottish Government should commit to a £15 minimum wage for social care staff, who have worked especially hard during the pandemic and have not been valued by the Scottish Government. Scottish Labour has costed an immediate pay increase to £12 an hour, rising to £15 an hour.

Where is the ambitious funding to help our NHS recover and prevent so many staff leaving? We know that a recent report indicated that six in 10 nursing professionals are thinking of leaving the NHS at a time when we can ill afford to lose them. Urgent action is needed from the Government to value NHS staff and to maintain staff numbers.

Without a commitment to funding our councils, paying our social care staff properly and giving our NHS the resource that it needs and deserves, it is impossible for anyone who is committed to helping Scotland to recover from the pandemic to back the budget. This budget represents a Government bereft of ideas and lacking a desire to support those most in need. It simply is just not enough.

I was hoping for an intervention from Mr Gibson. I hope that he will join us in Glasgow or Edinburgh on Saturday to campaign and fight to stop the cost of living crisis.