Seòmar agus comataidhean

As the cabinet secretary is aware, I wrote to her last year to raise many of the concerns that have been iterated today, so I welcome her statement. However, £200 is an optimistic figure, even for just the kit. Some people are paying £500 for supply and fit for a two-up, two-down property.

How can vulnerable and elderly people access the financial support from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service that the cabinet secretary mentioned? I was not aware that it was providing such support.

I note those mitigations, but added to the misery of skyrocketing energy bills are the five per cent increase in the cost of living, the £20 cut to universal credit and the national insurance hike, which all push more Scots into poverty and desperation. All those issues are reserved to Westminster, but the impact and fallout lands on our devolved public services. Does the First Minister agree that only with independence and full power over our economy could we prevent that economic tsunami? While I am at it, I invite Douglas Ross to join us in that, because I am sure that he would have a better political future in an independent Scotland.

To ask the First Minister what support the Scottish Government can provide to people struggling to pay their energy bills. (S6F-00662)

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has taken to prevent the casual purchase of pets for Christmas. (S6O-00586)

Campaigns and advice have their place and are very important. However, as the cabinet secretary has said, illegal trading from horrendous puppy factory farms and online purchasing continue. Those practices often involve sick animals and cause a great deal of distress and unhappiness for owners.

Will the cabinet secretary support, in principle, my new welfare of dogs (Scotland) bill—a version of which fell during the previous session of Parliament because of time pressures—which I intend to introduce early in the new year in order to encourage, in law, responsible dog ownership? A “Yes” from the cabinet secretary would make my Christmas.

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to the recent survey by the Educational Institute of Scotland, which found that at least 50 per cent of teachers said their wellbeing was poor or very poor. (S6F-00612)

As a former secondary teacher—albeit that it was a wee whilie ago—and with teachers past and current in the family, I am aware of the dedication to the job and the stresses that go with it. With the priority to keep schools open and, as I understand it, to reintroduce exams in 2022, can more support be given to the profession, which is key to Scotland’s future?

I note from the motion that the Lord Lieutenant of Dumfries supports the bid. Do you disagree with her?

How depressing the Conservative contributions have been.

I congratulate my colleague Emma Harper on securing the debate, and I support her call for Dumfries to succeed in its application for city status—a campaign that Emma Harper has long been involved in. I congratulate Colin Smyth, too—a colleague on the other side of the chamber who is also in that camp. It seems that it is only the Conservatives who oppose the bid. Goodness knows why.

Those members are both Conservatives, so it is political. I have campaigned on many issues—