Scottish Parliament, 19 September 2024

293 contributions from 78 members. The official report.

General Question Time

Alison Johnstone (Presiding Officer, Lothian)

Good morning. The first item of business is general question time. To get in as many members as possible, I would appreciate succinct questions and answers.

Foysol Choudhury (Labour, Lothian)

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the reported reduction to the investing in communities fund and any impact on its aim of addressing poverty and disadvantage. (S6O-03741)

Tom Arthur (Scottish National Party, Renfrewshire South)

In light of financial challenges, we have taken the difficult decision to reduce the budget for the investing in communities fund by 5 per cent. I acknowledge that that presents challenges for the delivery of important projects. Officials are working closely with community organisations to jointly agree where savings can be made and to minimise the impact on project delivery.

Foysol Choudhury (Labour, Lothian)

In July, third sector organisations were told, with little warning, that funding from the investing in communities fund would be cut by 5 per cent. Those organisations include the Larder in Edinburgh, which uses those funds to provide access to meals and to family and adult cookery classes.

Does cutting funds for third sector organisations align with the First Minister’s priority of tackling child poverty? Can the minister confirm whether there will be further cuts to the investing in communities fund?

Tom Arthur (Scottish National Party, Renfrewshire South)

I recognise that the matter is of interest to members across the chamber, because many organisations across Scotland have benefited directly from the fund, which has enabled them to deliver valuable projects. As I said in my original answer, the decision was not taken lightly, but it reflects the exceptionally challenging public finance landscape in which we find ourselves. As I also said, my officials are, and have been, working closely with organisations that have been impacted by the decision in order to minimise the impacts. Future funding decisions will be taken as part of the budget, which the Scottish Government is scheduled to set out in December.

Clare Adamson (Scottish National Party, Motherwell and Wishaw)

To ask the Scottish Government what impact it anticipates the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024 will have on local government procurement. (S6O-03742)

Ivan McKee (Scottish National Party, Glasgow Provan)

Measures that flow from the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024, such as the co-design with local authorities of a statutory code of practice for household waste recycling and the development of a circular economy strategy, may have implications for local authority procurement. We will engage with local authorities to understand the impact on them.

Procurement obligations for local authorities are covered by the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014. Under that act, local authorities have a responsibility to consider how they can improve the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of their areas.

Clare Adamson (Scottish National Party, Motherwell and Wishaw)

I recently met Danic Lighting, which is a Glasgow-based company that one of my constituents runs. The company specialises in repairable light fittings and works with some of the world’s biggest manufacturers, which are based in China. Suppliers are reportedly manufacturing repairable lighting for electrical wholesalers across continental Europe, but not for those in the United Kingdom, and the belief is that the UK is lagging behind the European Union in implementing the right to repair and in adhering to the standard that is set by the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers. How is the Scottish Government maintaining and promoting the CIBSE standard in public procurement so that we are building a circular economy with the right to repair at its heart?

Ivan McKee (Scottish National Party, Glasgow Provan)

Clare Adamson highlights one of the many ways in which Brexit is harming Scotland’s economy and making the reality of trade and manufacturing far more difficult for businesses. However, that is not stopping us from doing all that we can to encourage and enable innovative firms, such as Danic Lighting, to invest here in Scotland, which will create new clean and green jobs, grow our economy and create prosperity for employees and communities.

I reassure Ms Adamson that the Scottish Government is alert to those issues. We are developing policy to lead by example. We are compiling guidance that is aimed at public sector organisations on circular economy lighting that uses the CIBSE standard, which will integrate circular economy principles into public sector lighting projects. That will involve input from public agencies and businesses to ensure that we get the guidance right. I would be happy to involve Danic Lighting in that process.

Maurice Golden (Conservative, North East Scotland)

The reality is that the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024 should have delivered stronger action on public procurement, but the Scottish National Party voted down my attempt to do that. Why?

Ivan McKee (Scottish National Party, Glasgow Provan)

The Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024 establishes a legislative framework to support Scotland’s transition to a zero waste and circular economy. It will significantly increase reuse and recycling rates and modernise and improve waste and recycling services.

Procurement is an important aspect of developing a circular economy, and powers are already available under the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014. They include a sustainable procurement duty that requires contracting authorities to consider and act on opportunities to improve economic, social and environmental wellbeing. For the latest annual report on procurement activity in Scotland, 71 per cent of reporting bodies provided evidence of how they are addressing environmental wellbeing and climate change through procurement.

Claire Baker (Labour, Mid Scotland and Fife)

To ask the Scottish Government how it is improving access to national health service dentistry for patients in the Mid Scotland and Fife region. (S6O-03743)

Jenni Minto (Scottish National Party, Argyll and Bute)

The eligible areas for Scottish Government grants in NHS Fife have recently been reviewed and, to support access in local areas, they will be changing to Glenrothes, Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline to reflect the areas of highest need. The Scottish dental access initiative for establishing, extending or relocating practices’ premises pays up to £100,000 for the first surgery and £25,000 for subsequent surgeries. The recruitment and retention allowance pays qualifying dentists up to £37,500 in the first three years of practice.

Claire Baker (Labour, Mid Scotland and Fife)

Across Mid Scotland and Fife, patient lists are closed and waiting lists are extensive. When asked about future prospects, one dentist told me:

“There is no single event on the horizon which gives hope for the future of NHS dentistry. I am not sure it will survive five years.”

As the minister recognises, there seem to be particular issues with recruiting and retaining practitioners in Fife. Will the Government take further action such as expanding the support for rural and deprived areas or introducing incentives for practitioners, and particularly new graduates, to work in particular parts of the country?

Jenni Minto (Scottish National Party, Argyll and Bute)

The Scottish Government is working on the matter with bodies across the United Kingdom, because the issues that Claire Baker has highlighted are not specific to Scotland. Last week, I wrote to the new Minister of State for Care, Stephen Kinnock, to ask whether we could reconvene cross-Government meetings to look at how we can improve recruitment. We are also working through the General Dental Council to improve the UK workforce through recruiting international dentists. I am pleased that Mr Kinnock has responded positively to my letter and I look forward to meeting him as soon as possible. I would be happy to speak to Claire Baker further about the specific issues that she has raised regarding Fife.

Joe FitzPatrick (Scottish National Party, Dundee City West)

The challenges that Claire Baker outlined in her Mid Scotland and Fife region are not unique and are also experienced by my constituents in Dundee, so I am pleased that the Scottish Government has maintained a strong track record in growing Scotland’s NHS dental workforce. Will the minister provide an update on how many dentists currently operate in Scotland and how that figure compares with the figures for England and Wales under Labour Governments?

Jenni Minto (Scottish National Party, Argyll and Bute)

The latest data that is available shows that, at 31 March 2024, 3,436 dentists were operating in Scotland’s NHS. We have maintained an excellent track record in growing the NHS dental workforce in Scotland, with the same statistics showing that there are 57 dentists in Scotland per 100,000 of the population, compared with 43 in England and 46 in Wales.

Jamie Greene (Conservative, West Scotland)

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish its review of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland, following the Auditor General for Scotland’s decision to issue a section 22 report in relation to the audit of the organisation’s accounts. (S6O-03744)

Gillian Martin (Scottish National Party, Aberdeenshire East)

The independent review of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland is not yet finalised. Once ministers have sight of its findings, we will make a decision on the exact timescales for publication.

Jamie Greene (Conservative, West Scotland)

We need that review pretty quickly, because the evidence that we took in the Public Audit Committee this morning was damning—actually, it was astonishing.

That example of the mismanagement of a public body is one of the most egregious that I have come across since I joined the Parliament. Hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money were spent on corporate cards. There was a toxic environment. There was a section 22 report from Audit Scotland. A chief executive officer was paid off with six months’ salary, and no one seems to know who signed that off—there is still a dispute over that. I therefore ask for some reassurances that the Scottish Government is absolutely all over the issue. We need to restore faith in public bodies, and anyone in charge of one who is found to have misused public money must go.

Gillian Martin (Scottish National Party, Aberdeenshire East)

I thank Jamie Greene for his comments. I am indeed all over the issue, as was the previous cabinet secretary, Màiri McAllan. I have a letter from her to the chair, Donald MacRae, which outlines her extreme disappointment to learn, first, of the Auditor General for Scotland being required to issue a section 22 report and, also, of the failings that the Auditor General had identified.

I also want to mention the signing off of the settlement agreement. The former CEO resigned on 19 December, and a settlement agreement was signed by the chair on 4 January and by the former CEO on 5 January. However, the Government was not informed until we saw emails from WICS on 12 January asking for our sign-off on payment. That is not in line with the conditions and requirements set out in the Scottish public finance manual. Ms McAllan made that very clear to the chair at the time. I agree with Jamie Greene that—

Alison Johnstone (Presiding Officer, Lothian)

Briefly, cabinet secretary.

Gillian Martin (Scottish National Party, Aberdeenshire East)

—if there is anything to answer, we must act swiftly.

Jeremy Balfour (Conservative, Lothian)

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported comments by Glasgow Disability Alliance that the disability equality plan lacks the ambition, meaningful actions or commitments needed to improve disabled people’s lives. (S6O-03745)

Kaukab Stewart (Scottish National Party, Glasgow Kelvin)

I greatly value the expertise and advocacy provided by disabled people’s organisations including Glasgow Disability Alliance. We are absolutely committed to improving the lives of disabled people and furthering disability equality, and we will continue to work closely with them on the disability equality plan, which is aimed at tackling systemic barriers that affect the daily lives of disabled people.

We have already delivered progress by reopening the independent living fund to new applicants for the first time since 2010, investing £5 million of our equality and human rights fund to improve outcomes for disabled people, and working with energy suppliers on the co-design of a social tariff for energy.

Jeremy Balfour (Conservative, Lothian)

The minister will be aware that disabled people in Scotland feel terribly let down. A sum of £10 million was taken away from changing places toilets a couple of weeks ago, and two possible bills have been put into the long grass. More than ever, the disabled community feels left behind and marginalised in society. Will the minister commit to a cross-party meeting with some of the key stakeholders, so that we can put the issue back on track and move it forward quickly?

Kaukab Stewart (Scottish National Party, Glasgow Kelvin)

I thank Jeremy Balfour for highlighting the concerns of disabled people’s organisations, which I acknowledge. I also thank him for sharing my commitment to pursuing equality for disabled people and his offer of further engagement on a cross-party basis, which I accept. I encourage members from across parties to contact my office so that we can make that happen.

Willie Rennie (Liberal Democrat, North East Fife)

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to develop local flood plans, including natural flood prevention measures. (S6O-03746)

Gillian Martin (Scottish National Party, Aberdeenshire East)

Later this year, the Scottish Government will publish a flood resilience strategy, which will aim to set Scotland on a long-term course towards a sustainable level of flood resilience. The strategy will complement the statutory flood risk management planning process whereby the Scottish Environment Protection Agency produces flood risk management plans and local authorities produce local flood risk management plans every six years.

The current plans are valid until 2028. The Scottish Government is supporting delivery of the actions in the plans by providing £42 million annually and an additional £150 million during this parliamentary session.

Willie Rennie (Liberal Democrat, North East Fife)

I hope that the strategy works. In recent months, my frustration and annoyance have grown, because I cannot get local authorities or SEPA to accept any responsibility for developing a flood plan for my constituency. I understand that, earlier this year, a meeting with stakeholders was held. I would like to know the outcome of that meeting. People in Cupar and beyond are watching with frustration, because absolutely nothing is happening to prevent future flooding in their area.

Gillian Martin (Scottish National Party, Aberdeenshire East)

I will be happy to provide Mr Rennie with the outcome of that meeting. Further, I ask him to get in touch with my office so that we can have a sit-down conversation about his concerns, which I can then address directly with the local authority.

Kenneth Gibson (Scottish National Party, Cunninghame North)

Can the cabinet secretary confirm that, this year, the Scottish Government will invest a record amount in flood prevention measures, despite the current financial challenges, including £39.6 million for the £48 million Millport flood prevention scheme in my constituency? That compares favourably with the figure of only £12 million that was invested across Scotland in the final year of the previous Labour-Liberal Democrat Administration.

Gillian Martin (Scottish National Party, Aberdeenshire East)

The Scottish Government takes the issue of flood risk very seriously, as members will imagine. That is why we have ensured that local authorities have received all the requested funding to progress flood protection schemes. I can confirm that North Ayrshire Council received all the funding that it needs to complete construction of the Millport coastal flood protection scheme, which I understand is nearing completion. We have also invested significantly in nature-based solutions such as those for peatland restoration and woodland creation, which contribute to flood resilience alongside many other benefits across Scotland.

Paul O'Kane (Labour, West Scotland)

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to a recent report from the Scottish Health Equity Research Unit, which highlights that “Core outcomes related to inequalities and health are not improving significantly and some are getting worse”. (S6O-03747)

Neil Gray (Scottish National Party, Airdrie and Shotts)

The Scottish Government notes the findings of the report. We are determined to tackle poverty and reduce health inequalities in Scotland, and we continue to take wide-ranging action to deliver improved outcomes for families and individuals across the country and to address the root causes of such inequality.

Since 2022-23, we have allocated around £3 billion per year to tackle poverty. We are also progressing a range of actions, including those designed to reduce population health harming activities. We will continue to work with our partners to drive improvements in health, tackle poverty and embed health considerations in wider policy making. In response to significant economic challenges, such as Brexit, the pandemic, the on-going cost of living crisis and the continuing effects of the United Kingdom Government’s austerity policies, we will continue to use all the resources and powers available to us to tackle the socioeconomic drivers of ill health.

Paul O'Kane (Labour, West Scotland)

The report follows from a series of reports published by the Poverty and Inequality Commission earlier this year. Among the comments of the anti-poverty groups that responded to the programme for government were those of Save the Children, which said that there is

“nothing in this programme for government that truly shifts the dial on child poverty.”

It is also concerning that the SHERU report itself says:

“A lack of publicly available data of sufficient quality makes it very difficult for us to assess whether policies are working or not.”

Given that the Government has had to be reminded of the importance of accuracy in the model that it uses to measure progress on child poverty, and given that eradicating such poverty is the First Minister’s and the Government’s number 1 priority, is it not extremely concerning that an independent report seems to suggest that the Government does not know what is having an impact and what is not?

Neil Gray (Scottish National Party, Airdrie and Shotts)

The suggestion that the Scottish child payment is not having an impact is demonstrably untrue. The authors of the report note:

“A number of organisations, including the Scottish Government, have collected qualitative data that indicates that families who receive the payment have benefited from it.”

Other experts have also underlined the impact of the Scottish child payment. For example, Tom Wernham of the Institute for Fiscal Studies has said:

“The Scottish child payment will have significantly increased the incomes of people who are well below the poverty line, so even if it does not bring them past the poverty line, alleviating the depth of poverty will still be an achievement of the payment.”—[Official Report, Social Justice and Social Security Committee, 23 May 2024; c 4.]

Of course, we will continue to evaluate the impact of the policies that we introduce, but this Government is demonstrably investing in areas that will improve poverty. We need the UK Government to follow suit.

Alison Johnstone (Presiding Officer, Lothian)

We have a concise question 8 from Audrey Nicoll.

Audrey Nicoll (Scottish National Party, Aberdeen South and North Kincardine)

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the provision of psychotherapists. (S6O-03748)

Maree Todd (Scottish National Party, Caithness, Sutherland and Ross)

The mental health and wellbeing strategy and its workforce action plan recognise that psychotherapists are part of the core mental health and wellbeing workforce in Scotland. They provide an important role in supporting mental health.

Recruitment and training of registered mental health professionals, including psychotherapists, is a matter for employers such as national health service boards and local authorities. They make informed decisions about recruiting staff, such as psychotherapists, according to local needs, working with the relevant professional bodies and service providers. We expect employers to apply appropriate standards and frameworks when recruiting to specialisms such as psychotherapy.

Audrey Nicoll (Scottish National Party, Aberdeen South and North Kincardine)

Consultant medical psychotherapists play an important role in dealing with complex cases and in training and supporting other therapists. However, some of the advanced training for medical professionals who want to follow that career path is not available in Scotland. In view of the current emphasis on mental health and wellbeing—and although I recognise that the fiscal landscape is extremely challenging—can the minister outline what more can be done to support a review of training in psychotherapy and the funding provision that would enable health professionals to follow that important area of practice?

Maree Todd (Scottish National Party, Caithness, Sutherland and Ross)

The Scottish Government has met the Faculty of Medical Psychotherapy to discuss the training needs. Training is an important element in the mental health and wellbeing workforce action plan, which is why we are providing NHS Education Scotland with around £30 million to continue education, training and workforce expansion for staff who support adult and children’s mental health and psychological wellbeing. That includes funding for trainees undertaking a four-year professional doctorate in child and adolescent psychoanalytic psychotherapy.

Consideration of any new additional training reviews and funding requirements will be taken into account when the action plan is refreshed.

First Minister’s Question Time

Douglas Ross (Conservative, Highlands and Islands)

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?

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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.

Douglas Ross (Conservative, Highlands and Islands)

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?

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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.

Douglas Ross (Conservative, Highlands and Islands)

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?

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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.

Douglas Ross (Conservative, Highlands and Islands)

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?

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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 .]

Alison Johnstone (Presiding Officer, Lothian)

Let us hear the First Minister.

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

—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 .]

Alison Johnstone (Presiding Officer, Lothian)

Mr Ross, you have put your question. Please listen.

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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 .]

Alison Johnstone (Presiding Officer, Lothian)

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.

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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.

Anas Sarwar (Labour, Glasgow)

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?

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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.

Anas Sarwar (Labour, Glasgow)

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?

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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.

Anas Sarwar (Labour, Glasgow)

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?

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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—

Anas Sarwar (Labour, Glasgow)

It is always somebody else’s fault.

Alison Johnstone (Presiding Officer, Lothian)

Mr Sarwar.

Anas Sarwar (Labour, Glasgow)

It is always somebody else’s fault.

Alison Johnstone (Presiding Officer, Lothian)

Let us hear the First Minister.

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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 .]

Alison Johnstone (Presiding Officer, Lothian)

Members.

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

—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.

Alex Cole-Hamilton (Liberal Democrat, Edinburgh Western)

To ask the First Minister when the Cabinet will next meet. (S6F-03353)

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

The Cabinet will next meet on Tuesday.

Alex Cole-Hamilton (Liberal Democrat, Edinburgh Western)

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?

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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.

Emma Harper (Scottish National Party, South Scotland)

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)

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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.

Emma Harper (Scottish National Party, South Scotland)

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?

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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.

Carol Mochan (Labour, South Scotland)

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?

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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.

Brian Whittle (Conservative, South Scotland)

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?

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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.

Tim Eagle (Conservative, Highlands and Islands)

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)

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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.

Tim Eagle (Conservative, Highlands and Islands)

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?

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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 .]

Alison Johnstone (Presiding Officer, Lothian)

Members.

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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?

Evelyn Tweed (Scottish National Party, Stirling)

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 .]

Alison Johnstone (Presiding Officer, Lothian)

Let us hear Ms Tweed.

Evelyn Tweed (Scottish National Party, Stirling)

Will the First Minister set out some detail in that regard?

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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.

Ross Greer (Green, West Scotland)

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)

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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.

Ross Greer (Green, West Scotland)

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?

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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.

Pam Gosal (Conservative, West Scotland)

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?

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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.

Jackie Baillie (Labour, Dumbarton)

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?

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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.

Alison Johnstone (Presiding Officer, Lothian)

We move to constituency and general supplementary questions.

Christine Grahame (Scottish National Party, Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale)

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?

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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.

Miles Briggs (Conservative, Lothian)

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?

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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.

Kevin Stewart (Scottish National Party, Aberdeen Central)

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?

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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.

Rhoda Grant (Labour, Highlands and Islands)

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?

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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.

George Adam (Scottish National Party, Paisley)

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?

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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.

Rachael Hamilton (Conservative, Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire)

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?

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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.

Michael Marra (Labour, North East Scotland)

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?

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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.

Clare Haughey (Scottish National Party, Rutherglen)

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?

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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.]

Alison Johnstone (Presiding Officer, Lothian)

Let us hear the First Minister.

John Swinney (Scottish National Party, Perthshire North)

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.

Alison Johnstone (Presiding Officer, Lothian)

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.

Retail Crime and Antisocial Behaviour

Liam McArthur (Liberal Democrat, Orkney Islands)

The next item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S6M-14053, in the name of Sharon Dowey, on addressing retail crime and antisocial behaviour. The debate will be concluded without any question being put. I encourage members who wish to participate to press their request-to-speak buttons.

Motion debated,

That the Parliament notes the view that addressing retail crime and antisocial behaviour should be a priority for both the Scottish and UK governments; acknowledges and deplores the reported significant increase in abuse and violence towards shop workers and rise in shoplifting, which it understands is often the main factor behind abuse and threats, with official data reportedly showing a 21% annual increase in shoplifting incidents; understands that the British Retail Consortium’s latest crime survey reveals that there are 1,300 incidents of violence or abuse against retail workers daily, double the number prior to the COVID-19 pandemic; expresses concern over the reported £1.8 billion cost of retail theft in the last reporting year and the £1.2 billion spent by shops on crime prevention measures such as CCTV and body-worn cameras; highlights what it sees as the importance of the Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-restricted Goods and Services) (Scotland) Act 2021 in improving visibility and legal protection for retail workers in Scotland, including in the South Scotland region; notes the Scottish Retail Consortium’s call for a greater prioritisation of retail crime by government and law enforcement; further notes the calls on the Scottish Government to provide the police and courts the necessary direction and resources to prosecute offenders; notes the calls for better reporting of incidents by retailers to ensure a fuller picture of the problem, and further notes what it sees as the need for public communication campaigns to explain any new mandated rules on the selling of regulated products in store, which can often be a common trigger for flashpoints, and to make clear that poor customer behaviour will not be tolerated.

Sharon Dowey (Conservative, South Scotland)

I am pleased to have the opportunity to raise this pressing issue in Parliament. Retail crime and antisocial behaviour are growing problems, and they must be urgently tackled as they have a hugely detrimental impact not only on workers but on businesses and communities across Scotland.

I am passionate about the issue. Before I became an MSP, I worked in retail for more than 30 years, so I am well aware of the impact on people’s physical and mental health, and of the damage that it causes to businesses and our economy. Abuse and violence were often part of the job then, but were far less common than they are now. Retailers paint a stark picture of the magnitude of the issues that they face and of the difficulties in tackling the problem without more support from the police or Government.

This morning, I was pleased to meet more than a dozen retailers, who told me about the scale of the challenges that they face and the level of antisocial behaviour that shop workers have to put up with, from littering, throwing food and verbal abuse to assault, knife threats and worse.

A recent report by the Scottish Grocers Federation highlights just how bad the situation has become. It reveals an incident in which staff had to confront a man who was wielding a dirty needle. Other incidents include a man throwing a bike and threatening to stab staff; a man hurling a glass bottle; a man pulling a knife on staff when he was asked to return bottles of vodka; and another man trying to bite a worker. In another incident, a group tried to run over a security team in a car when they were challenged in the car park. Those are all horrifying stories. Nobody should have to face such danger when they go to work.

The report also includes a survey of retailers that demonstrates that shoplifting has become a daily occurrence and that violence against staff happens every week. The recent recorded crime in Scotland statistics reveal just how much the problem has been allowed to escalate. When I lodged my motion, the increase in shoplifting was 21 per cent, but the most recent figures show a rise of 34 per cent. In the area that I represent, there was a 40 per cent rise in East Ayrshire and a 22 per cent rise in South Ayrshire—and worryingly, as I heard this morning, those figures only cover reported incidents. Many shops have given up reporting incidents to overstretched and underresourced police, so these criminal acts are allowed to happen without justice being delivered. Indeed, the report highlights that 76 per cent of SGF members are

“unlikely or very unlikely to report shoplifting incidents to the police.”

Behind all those statistics are real people who are simply trying to go about their work or run their businesses. They just want to earn a living, but they are being denied that opportunity, and the impact spreads across the communities that they serve and all of the people who rely on small shops.

On the recent recorded crime figures, David Lonsdale, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said:

“Shoplifting isn’t a victimless crime. Shoplifting is the main factor behind abuse and threats towards shop workers and we know from member feedback that thieves are becoming bolder and more aggressive.”

He added:

“The financial costs too are enormous and are ultimately borne by shoppers themselves; in some cases through higher prices on shop shelves.

With a swathe of new mandated rules in the pipeline or under consideration, and which may lead to more flashpoints in store, the SRC wants tackling crime against retailers to be made a greater priority by the authorities, including in the Scottish government’s Strategic Police Priorities, to ensure our shops are made safer.”

John Mason (Independent, Glasgow Shettleston)

The member lists the problems that we face. I think that we are all in agreement on those. I do not know whether she was at the cross-party group on independent convenience stores on Tuesday, when a lot of this was discussed, but does she have any practical solutions other than those that involve more money being spent or having higher taxes? How does she think that, in practice, we can deal with the issue?

Sharon Dowey (Conservative, South Scotland)

I am covering that in my speech, and there is more to come. We need to get more police on our streets and do more to retain the police officers that we already have. There are suggestions in my speech, if the member wants to listen.

The Scottish Retail Consortium previously pointed out that

“Thieves are becoming more brazen and aggressive”,

and it said:

“This isn’t just affecting convenience stores but chemists, garden centres, fashion stores, and retailers more widely. The impact is being felt across all retail destinations.”

That is all happening despite stores taking real action to try to prevent it. They have spent fortunes on closed-circuit television, body-worn cameras and other attempts to protect workers. Some stores supply their security guards with stab-proof vests. However, those things are not making much of a difference, because the problem is so widespread.

The consequences for criminals are almost non-existent. Not only do offenders get away with it, but they are almost encouraged to keep doing it because there are no repercussions. This Government must face the reality that allowing police officer numbers to fall to the lowest level in more than a decade has real-world consequences. It is sending a message to criminals that they can get away with crimes or face very little punishment—or, as I heard this morning, no punishment.

What needs to happen to change that and to give retail workers the protection that they deserve? First, Police Scotland needs more resources. The aim should be to increase front-line officer numbers and retain those officers that we already have. Without more officers responding quickly to these crimes, thieves will never be caught and shops will be—as they are—discouraged from even reporting abusive or violent behaviour.

As I heard at this morning’s meeting, 70 per cent of the crimes are caused by 10 per cent of the offenders, so there needs to be more investigation of the crimes and we must ensure that there are consequences for those who commit them.

I also stress that we need to keep our officers safe by issuing them with body-worn cameras. We have already heard that that would be a game changer. Anything that we can do to improve officers’ safety should be implemented as soon as possible. That could also help retain the officers that we already have.

Secondly, there must be better means of reporting incidents by retailers so that problem areas can be quickly identified and targeted, and crimes prevented. As it stands, retailers do not believe that that is happening.

Thirdly, more consideration needs to be given to the pressures that the Government is imposing on workers and businesses. Rules on the selling of products are often a flashpoint for abuse or violence, and the Government is looking to expand the use of those rules in the future. For instance, the challenges that the SRC has cited include September’s rise in the minimum unit price for alcohol, upcoming restrictions on the sale of vapes and tobacco, proposed new rules on the location in-store of alcohol products and a disposable cup levy. If those proposals are to go ahead, they should be communicated clearly to the public at large. The rules must be explained, because I heard this morning that retailers are already concerned about the imminent increase in MUP and the lack of public awareness through Scottish Government communication. Clear signals must be sent that abusive or violent customer behaviour is unacceptable and will face punishment.

So far, the Scottish Government has not acted decisively on retail crime. The issues that were raised this morning included a lack of police officers, police response times, making it easier to log incidents and on-going issues with bus passes. The Government has let down workers and businesses through inaction.

I hope that the debate will shed more light on the challenges that front-line staff face, and that it will kick-start not only a conversation but action on how we can solve the issues, so that nobody faces threats in their workplace every day.

Liam McArthur (Liberal Democrat, Orkney Islands)

Because of the 2 o’clock restart for afternoon business, we are a little tight for time, so I would be grateful if members could stick to their speaking time allocations. We move to the open debate.

Ben Macpherson (Scottish National Party, Edinburgh Northern and Leith)

I commend Sharon Dowey for bringing this important debate to the chamber. Similarly, I commend Bob Doris, who brought a related debate—on tackling the misuse of off-road vehicles—just last week. Those issues affect constituencies across Scotland, particularly in urban areas, and should not be underestimated.

The importance of retail to the economy has already been well stated by Sharon Dowey. The issues of retail crime and antisocial behaviour that she highlighted are of concern in my constituency. I have met a number of leading supermarkets, which have briefed me on the problems that they have faced and the issues that their staff have been confronting for some time, as well as the fact that those issues have been on the rise.

The same issues affect small businesses. Not too far from the Parliament, I visited businesses in my constituency that have dealt with a number of issues across the summer, in order to help them to secure a more regular police presence to address the matter.

We in the Parliament celebrated small businesses just a few days ago, when Audrey Nicoll brought a debate on the 50th anniversary of the Federation of Small Businesses to the chamber. If our big supermarkets and other big retailers are struggling with the issue, I ask members to imagine what it is like for one or two people to deal with.

We have to prioritise the issue—and the misuse of off-road vehicles—which is of growing concern. Although perpetrated by a very small group of people, the economic and social impacts are significant, and it is becoming a growing trend. In addition to today’s debate, I encourage the Government to have a debate in Government time as a follow-up on those matters. Although, in many ways, this is an operational issue for Police Scotland—and there is a question of resource and the allocation of resource—does it need to be prioritised more in dense urban areas such as the constituency that I represent and the region that Sharon Dowey represents, to try to get on top of the issue and to suppress it as a trend?

Our approach should also involve other smart justice interventions such as youth work to help the minority of young people who engage in such behaviour. They are sometimes utilised by organised crime organisations, because their age makes a difference as to how they are treated in the criminal justice system.

According to figures from the Scottish Grocers Federation, 49 per cent of shop theft is committed by repeat offenders who have drug or alcohol addictions. That shows that the issue overlaps with our approach to supporting people out of such addictions. For example, I increasingly believe that we need to introduce a safe consumption room, or perhaps more than one, in Edinburgh. We need to work across Government on this difficult issue and adopt a multifaceted approach to achieving solutions. Another example would be the idea of removing offenders’ use of bus passes where required, which we debated some time ago. We must seriously consider whether passes should be removed from offenders for a period if they continue to engage in criminal and antisocial behaviour.

Retail crime and antisocial behaviour are growing concerns. If we do not get on top of them, they will not only continue to cause real problems for shop workers and our communities but undermine the concept of the rule of law. That would be a real problem for all of us.

Pam Gosal (Conservative, West Scotland)

I thank my friend and colleague Sharon Dowey for bringing this important issue to the Scottish Parliament. I also thank all the organisations that supplied members’ briefings for the debate. I welcome to the public gallery David Lonsdale, who is director of the Scottish Retail Consortium.

Retail crime and antisocial behaviour represent a significant issue in Scotland. Figures from Police Scotland show that, between August 2021 and January 2024, 10,295 incidents of shoplifting were reported. In addition, 92.8 per cent of respondents to a survey conducted by the Scottish Grocers Federation reported that violence against staff occurs weekly. The same survey found that more than a third of businesses that responded had experienced incidents of violence involving perpetrators who used weapons.

This morning, I attended a round-table meeting on retail crime, which was hosted by my colleague Sharon Dowey and chaired by David Lonsdale. We heard that businesses are having to combat not only shoplifting but violent crimes, which often involve the use of dangerous weapons, such as knives. I will share some of the issues that were highlighted at that meeting. One representative referred to the psychological harm that is caused to retailers, and they gave the example of a retail worker who had suffered a miscarriage. Others expressed concerns about the young age of perpetrators, many of whom are under the age of 16, who engage in violent behaviour that has no consequences. Another representative said that bookshop staff often face violence from perpetrators who are opposed to certain books being sold there, while another highlighted that only one police officer is responsible for investigating retail crime across Scotland.

Shoplifting and antisocial behaviour remain issues in my West Scotland region. Recently, I was contacted by two business improvement districts that represent a substantial number of businesses across the area. The Kirkintilloch and Milngavie BIDs informed me that they have experienced an increase in shoplifting, and that shoplifters are becoming more brazen and aggressive, yet the police response is ineffective. A major supermarket in Milngavie has had to close one of its main entrances due to shoplifters walking out, and along the main street, with baskets full of shopping. Another retailer said that it experiences people shoplifting every day. The BIDs also expressed concerns that such activity will become worse as we approach the Christmas period.

At the same time, the roll-out of upgraded CCTV across East Dunbartonshire has been talked about for more than two years, but has still not been delivered by East Dunbartonshire Council. Thieves seem to know where all the cameras are, and plenty of blind spots still exist, despite the Milngavie BID’s offer to the council to fund additional cameras to integrate with the main CCTV system that is currently in place.

Shopkeepers should not have to go through the stress of having to constantly monitor their merchandise. I recently raised the issue in a letter to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs. I asked her to outline what action her Government is taking to prevent retail crime and whether it has formulated a strategy with Police Scotland to clamp down on shoplifters.

The SNP’s soft-touch approach to justice and its failure to provide suitable resources are a root cause of shoplifting and antisocial behaviour in retail.

Ben Macpherson (Scottish National Party, Edinburgh Northern and Leith)

Will the member take an intervention?

Pam Gosal (Conservative, West Scotland)

Police numbers have fallen to their lowest in 17 years, and I was disappointed to hear that certain crimes will no longer be investigated due to the Government’s “proportionate response to crime” approach.

Similarly, high taxes mean that businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, find installing new security equipment challenging. That is why, as mentioned during Tuesday’s members’ business debate, I said that I was disappointed that the SNP Government did not pass on the 75 per cent business rates relief from the previous UK Conservative Government.

I hope that, in her closing speech, the minister will outline a detailed strategy to tackle retail crime that includes an increase in policing and support for businesses that will help to enhance their security.

Due to time, I could not take an intervention from Ben Macpherson—I am sorry.

Daniel Johnson (Labour, Edinburgh Southern)

I, too, thank Sharon Dowey for securing time to debate something that I hope that other members know is close to my heart. She is absolutely right to highlight the human impact of the issue. However, let me be clear that I had hoped that we would not have to have this debate. I had hoped that something had changed through the course of the Covid pandemic. During that period, we all stood here a number of times and said that we needed to understand that retail workers were front-line workers and are undervalued, and that we had an opportunity to re-evaluate their importance because, ultimately, we are dependent on retail and retail workers in order to secure the necessities and essentials for life. However, since then, we have regressed.

In the previous session of Parliament, I lodged a member’s bill that is now an act of Parliament—the Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-restricted Goods and Services) (Scotland) Act 2021—and that has had some impact. Now, we at least know some of the relevant numbers: according to the latest figures, under that legislation there have been more than 10,000 reports, a 61 per cent detection rate and 1,200 convictions, and more than 1,000 cases are proceeding through the courts. However, clearly, that is not enough, because we are seeing an escalation.

Let us also be clear about the human impact of such crime. Anyone who has had to challenge a shoplifter or ask someone to leave their shop knows what it is like to have that physical confrontation. They know what it is like to have their heart pound and their nerves jangle. Even if they successfully get the person out of their store without any harm to themselves, they are left stunned and reeling for the rest of that day and then they have to go back there the next day—they have to return to that place of stress and trauma. I can only imagine what it must be like for someone who is a victim of violence to return to the place where they were assaulted.

Let us be clear: this is a problem that is getting worse. Before continuing, I remind the chamber of my entry in the register of members’ interests, which states that I am a member of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers and am the owner of a business that has retail interests. According to USDAW’s most recent survey, 18 per cent of shop workers—one in five—who were surveyed had experienced violence in the past year. What makes that worse is that it is a dramatic increase, as the figure was 8 per cent in the year before and only 5 per cent in 2019. That is an extraordinary rise and one that we should all find unacceptable.

I absolutely agree with what Ben Macpherson said. These are serious issues. All of us recognise that there are no easy answers, but we need a debate on Government time to allow us to discuss the issues. I agree with Ben Macpherson’s point about bus passes. The approach does not need to be all or nothing. I have spoken with Lothian Buses and others, and I think that there are technical possibilities, such as time-limited restrictions and so on, so I ask the Government to look into that.

It is also absolutely right to highlight the point about organised crime. It is clear to me from having spoken to Retailers Against Crime and retailers themselves that there is a growing pattern of organised crime, using vulnerable people to steal to order, with the proceeds from that cycling around the black economy, financing drug dealers, human traffickers and other, far more serious criminals. It is not a trivial crime or a victimless crime, and it certainly has consequences in far more serious areas.

We should also consider the pattern of policing. First, we need the police to be far more engaged with retailers, in order to consider solutions and more effective reporting. Above all else, because of the creation of Police Scotland, the balance of policing has gone away from response officers. Having more police officers is one thing, but specialised units have taken police officers, and we need to question whether the balance is correct.

Gordon MacDonald (Scottish National Party, Edinburgh Pentlands)

I thank Sharon Dowey for securing this important debate on retail crime. I bring to the attention of the Parliament the fact that I am the convener of the cross-party group on independent convenience stores. On Tuesday, we had presentations from organisations and retailers on this very subject. I take this opportunity to thank John Mason, Foysol Choudhury and Murdo Fraser, who attended and discussed the subject with more than 20 representatives of the sector.

There is no doubt that shoplifting is on the rise across the United Kingdom, with the British Retail Consortium highlighting that there were 5.6 million incidents of shop theft recorded in 2023, compared with 1.1 million in 2022. Over the past 10 years—since 2014—there has been a 41 per cent rise in shoplifting in Scotland, costing store owners anything between £5,000 and £12,000 each year.

The Scottish Grocers Federation’s Scottish crime report for 2023-24 suggests that cases of shoplifting have doubled in the past year. The report highlights that many retailers are reluctant to report cases of shoplifting to the police due to slow response times, which undermines the effectiveness of reporting the crime and solving it.

A constituent of mine who attended the cross-party group meeting on Tuesday night highlighted that, on top of the regular cases of shoplifting, they had, for the first time in more than 20 years, been robbed of a large quantity of high-value goods while the store was open. They had to wait more than a week for the police to attend. Another retailer highlighted how two incidents back in 2016 had had a traumatic impact on their health. That was because they had been broken into overnight twice in a 21-day period, when organised crime gangs stole high-value items. They then had to bear the cost of carrying out repairs and the expense of upgrading security, only to find that their insurance companies would not pay out. The result was that the cost was borne by a family business that provides a service to the community and employs 16 people. Shoplifting or theft is not a victimless crime.

Another aspect of retail crime is the threat of violence. The Association of Convenience Stores reported that, in the past year, there were 76,000 incidents of violence and 1.2 million cases of verbal abuse across the UK. One of the ways in which we have tried to address the issue in Scotland was thanks to the Scottish Grocers Federation, which, working across the political spectrum, put in place the Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-restricted Goods and Services) (Scotland) Act 2021, which came into force in August 2021. We now have a record of the number of cases of abuse, threats and violence towards shop workers in Scotland—but that is not enough.

While I welcome the fact that there are 20 per cent more police officers in Scotland than in England, and 22 per cent more than in Wales, we need to do more. On Tuesday, the cross-party group highlighted a number of actions that could be taken to help retailers to combat shoplifting. One is to establish a self-reporting scheme so that low-level crime is measured, highlighting hotspots and helping retailers to support each other and to be on the alert when incidents happen in their neighbourhood. A second is to investigate the possibility of introducing small grants to independent convenience stores to partly cover the cost of better security, which will help to deter crime. A third is to revise the guidance on the use of CCTV covering the front of premises in order that cameras are more effective in gathering evidence and can be used as a deterrent to would-be shoplifters.

Across the shopping areas in our towns, villages and neighbourhoods, local people are dependent on the independent convenience store sector to provide the everyday necessities of living in the area. We need to address shoplifting in our communities before it becomes an epidemic and threatens the viability of many of those stores.

Russell Findlay (Conservative, West Scotland)

I congratulate my colleague Sharon Dowey on securing this important debate.

This morning, Conservative members sat down with senior representatives of Scottish retailers and companies that are at the heart of our communities—companies on which we all rely and which drive our economy and employ many people.

The financial cost of retail crime is impossible to calculate, but of much greater concern is the impact on shop workers. Violence is rife and some staff have already been killed. Many of those tragic cases have not been reported in the media. Only last week, I raised the case of a Glasgow shopkeeper who was stabbed. The police quickly arrested the teenage assailant, who was then released back on to the streets. Within half an hour, he had murdered an innocent man.

I will not talk about statistics. As one of the attendees at this morning’s meeting said, the figures have become almost irrelevant, partly because of underreporting. Suffice it to say that retail crime is out of control in Scotland. It is not me saying that: it is the retailers and the police.

The Government has systematically weakened the justice system to the extent that shoplifting has been decriminalised by stealth. What do I mean by that? If retailers call the police and they do not attend, there is no consequence. If a thief is caught but given a recorded police warning instead of being charged, there is no consequence. If they are charged, the chance of a conviction has become close to non-existent so, again, there are no consequences. If consequences are deliberately and systematically removed, there is no deterrent. That leads to the inevitable consequence of criminals who believe that they can act with impunity.

A significant amount of retail crime is committed by organised criminal gangs. Last week, I heard about a group of teenagers who are based in the Glasgow area. They use free bus passes to travel around Scotland and commit large-scale thefts. That is targeted and organised. The gang members are brazen. They make no attempt to hide their faces and they sweep high-value items from the shelves—the primary target is alcoholic spirits. It is suspected that the group is under the direction of adult organised criminals.

Such gangs are increasingly violent, because they know that there are no consequences. I have seen numerous sickening CCTV videos of those people spitting on staff, punching them, threatening them and doing what they want with no consequence. It is inevitable that more people will end up dead.

The police tell the retailers that their hands are tied. I speak with police officers who often feel powerless and frustrated. It seems that the Scottish Government is content to subcontract retail security on to the shoulders of retailers. Retailers already invest huge sums of money in protecting their staff and stock. It says a lot about the Government’s priorities that Police Scotland officers still do not have body-worn cameras, although they are standard kit in almost every shop.

At this morning’s meeting, I told the retailers that my party is on their side and on the side of their staff. We believe that crime should have consequences. Retailers can be assured that I and my colleagues will continue to challenge the Government’s relentless weakening of our justice system.

Richard Leonard (Labour, Central Scotland)

I begin by reminding members of my voluntary entry in the register of members’ interests.

I thank Sharon Dowey for lodging the motion for today’s debate. She is one of the members of this Parliament who bring real-world experience to bear on issues and so deserves to be listened to.

There is no question but that violence, theft and the abuse of shop workers is on the rise: the Scottish Retail Consortium tells us; the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers tells us; and the front-line workers I speak to tell me.

Today’s motion echoes the calls that we have heard from the industry for the Scottish Government to

“provide the police and courts the necessary direction and resources to prosecute offenders”.

Well, the fact is that the police are not routinely arresting offenders at all. According to shop workers I have spoken to, Police Scotland will only charge people for shoplifting, for example, if they have a previous record or they are known to the police, which begs the question, “How do you get a previous record if you are never cautioned, never charged, never prosecuted and never sentenced?”

But conversely, the other side of this approach is that, for some people, there is a revolving door in and out of prison for minor offences, often including shoplifting and the non-payment of fines. I spoke just recently to one bright, engaged and engaging young person who told me in his own words that he was an addict and he had spent most of the last few years in and out of prison for minor offences related to his addiction, including shoplifting. In my view, he clearly needed a helping hand, not an iron fist, so I do think we need to have balance in this debate.

USDAW, in its 2023 annual “Freedom From Fear” survey, describes

“a shoplifting epidemic driven by the cost of living crisis and organised crime.”

USDAW reports that, among its retail membership, seven out of 10 respondents reported verbal abuse, 46 per cent received threats of violence and, as Daniel Johnson said, 18 per cent were physically assaulted. We know that the biggest single cause of retail crime occurs when somebody is being confronted for shoplifting, and shoplifting has risen by over 40 per cent in the last decade. The annual crime in Scotland report also records that almost a quarter of retail crimes occurred in one of Scotland’s top 15 per cent most deprived areas, and that 41 per cent of perpetrators resided in Scotland’s most deprived areas. So, there is clearly a link to poverty and inequality, to hopelessness and to powerlessness.

Finally, this Parliament passes legislation on alcohol minimum unit pricing, on vapes and tobacco, on the shelving and display of alcohol and on fireworks, but the enforcement of those laws that we pass invariably falls to those low-paid shop workers out on the front line, which is why they need protection, which is why we passed a law in this Parliament to do just that. But, like any other piece of protective legislation, it needs to be enforced, and that places a requirement on retailers to take their duty of care to their staff seriously; that demands the police treat these incidents not as occupational hazards but as crimes; that means we as a society need to get to the root causes which lie behind this rise in retail crime; and it underlines the important role of trade unions in enforcing the rights of working people, which also means we need to challenge those employers, amongst them some of the biggest supermarket chains, which continue to resist trade union membership and organisation.

So, this is about dignity at work, but it is also about democracy at work. This is about workers’ rights, but it is also about human rights.

Alexander Stewart (Conservative, Mid Scotland and Fife)

I am pleased to be able to speak in the debate, and I commend and congratulate my colleague Sharon Dowey on bringing this important issue to the chamber. Retailers play an increasingly important role in communities across the country and are the lifeblood of many sectors of our economy. We can all agree that it is unacceptable for those working in retail settings to find themselves subject to any kind of abuse.

Unfortunately, as we have heard from many speakers in the debate, the reality is that abuse is continually happening the length and breadth of the country and the motion rightly highlights those alarming trends.

Earlier this year, a report from the Scottish Grocers’ Federation found that 100 per cent of retailers reported an increase in shoplifting in the past year, and 99 per cent said that it happened daily in their stores. The report also found that the cost of the crime was up to £12,000 per store, totalling £62.9 million across Scotland during a year. Perhaps the most shocking statistic was that 92 per cent of stores reported that violence against staff occurred at least once a week.

Clearly, it is a serious problem and serious action and solutions are required. In recent years, the implementation of the Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-restricted Goods and Services) (Scotland) Act 2021 has been a welcome step; but it is only a step. Under the act, more than 10,000 incidents have already been reported to the police since August 2021, which shows the scale of the problem that we are facing. However, more needs to be done to ensure that the perpetrators are prosecuted. As we have already heard, there need to be consequences. Despite Police Scotland identifying the person responsible in 60 per cent of cases, only 11 per cent of those result in a conviction. On top of that, the SGF has highlighted that the lack of response from the police and the lack of confidence that retailers have in them is affecting the situation. It found that 90 per cent of retailers believe that the response to shoplifting is unsatisfactory or insufficiently delayed. There should not be delays; there should be consequences for these actions.

The low conviction rate shows that we are not addressing the problem in the right way, and 75 per cent of retailers say that they are unlikely to report incidents to the police because of it. That is having a massive effect on the sector and the individuals who work in it. The true extent of those crimes is not clear as the raw data is not being uncovered. Although the legislation is there to protect workers, which is a step forward, much more needs to be done.

For example, the motion speaks about the Scottish Retail Consortium’s call for greater focus on retail crime from Police Scotland, and for the Scottish Government to take the issue much more seriously. We cannot tolerate a situation in which the police are unable to investigate supposedly minor incidents of shoplifting simply because of a lack of resources from the Government. Instead, we should be aiming for a system that does not hesitate to support individuals who report or have experienced shoplifting.

For the individuals who are working in retail up and down the country, and those who suffer the reality of it each and every day and week, a no-tolerance approach to retail crime and abuse is the least that they deserve. We should support them in that.

Siobhian Brown (Scottish National Party, Ayr)

I thank Sharon Dowey for raising this important issue. I am aware that, earlier this week, the cross-party group on independent convenience stores met to discuss many of these issues, too.

As the member notes, shoplifting and violence and abuse towards retail workers are part of a worrying trend across the UK—it is not unique to Scotland—that is, rightly, causing concern among our retailers. The latest police recorded crime statistics, for the year ending this June, suggest that shoplifting is up by more than a third on the previous year. That is not acceptable, and neither is the violence and threatening behaviour that often accompanies such incidents. I thank all members for their contributions to the debate. I know that the issue is very emotive, and I think that all of us in the chamber, regardless of our political colour, want to tackle it.

Russell Findlay (Conservative, West Scotland)

Does the minister accept that this shocking rise that she accepts is happening is in any way due to the fact that there are no consequences for those who are committing the crimes?

Liam McArthur (Liberal Democrat, Orkney Islands)

Could the minister adjust her microphone slightly?

Siobhian Brown (Scottish National Party, Ayr)

I will come on to some of the issues that have been raised later in my speech.

I heard concerns about these issues first hand when I attended meetings of the retail industry leadership group on 14 March and the Scottish Retail Consortium on 19 March. At those meetings, I heard about the work that retailers are doing to cope with these issues, including introducing extra security measures and support for staff, as well as their views on what is driving the upward trend.

I appreciate Ms Dowey’s comments on her previous career and her experience of violence in the retail sector in a past life. I have also personally experienced it.

Although the increase cannot be entirely attributed to the cost of living, Police Scotland has been clear with me that that is undoubtedly a major driver. These incidents are deeply concerning, which is why I urge all retailers to keep reporting crimes. I appreciate that some will not, but I will come later in my speech to a Police Scotland initiative that could encourage them to do so.

Each crime report aids our collective understanding of who is doing this and why, and means that police officers may also have intelligence that they can use to catch the perpetrators. Policing in Scotland continues to be a priority for the Scottish Government. Our budget for 2024-25 includes record total police funding of £1.55 billion, which is an increase of £92.7 million on the previous year, despite exceptionally difficult financial circumstances due to the UK Government’s austerity.

Daniel Johnson (Labour, Edinburgh Southern)

I wonder whether the minister might respond to the point that I made on that in my speech. It is not about the numbers or the funding but about the model of policing that we have adopted. We prioritise central specialist units over response units, which means that we have fewer response officers than we did prior to police reorganisation. That contributes to the issue.

Liam McArthur (Liberal Democrat, Orkney Islands)

Minister, I can give you the time back for the intervention.

Siobhian Brown (Scottish National Party, Ayr)

I believe—and we discussed this in a debate last week—that there is an issue in local authorities with collaborative working with the police. I had a meeting last week with my local police and they told me that they could identify all the shoplifters in Ayr town centre and knew how to get in touch with them. There has to be a collaborative approach between local authorities, because it is not just up to the police. There has to be collaborative working between the council, antisocial behaviour services and the police.

I return to Police Scotland funding. That funding will allow the chief constable to deliver on her commitment to strengthen the force through her plans for a revised model of policing, including enabling the service to restart recruitment and increase officer numbers. I note that a few members have called for more police. I am glad to report that Police Scotland has welcomed more than 690 new officers since March and more than 1,280 new recruits since the beginning of 2023. Further intakes are planned throughout this year, with Police Scotland set to take on more recruits this year than at any time since 2013. Police Scotland described the number of candidates and applicants looking to join up as really positive. I hope that members welcome that.

I am encouraged by the approach that Police Scotland is taking to tackling shoplifting and addressing these recent trends. Central to that work is the innovative Scottish partnership against acquisitive crime strategy, also known as SPAACE, which is led by Police Scotland. It works with retailers and other organisations, including Retailers Against Crime and Neighbourhood Watch Scotland. Its focus is on prevention, deterrence and, where appropriate, enforcement.

I note that the motion raises a point about the protection of retail workers in the South Scotland region. Officers have engaged directly with retailers of various sizes across the whole country on how to minimise opportunities for this type of crime, protect individuals and businesses and deliver clear advice and guidance for prevention. I ask that retailers take advantage of Police Scotland’s advice in this area. Although the problem must also be tackled through enforcement, ensuring that premises are not an easy target for shoplifters is important.

The Scottish Government underlines its support for the SPAACE approach in our programme for government, which was published earlier this month, and I would like to draw members’ attention to a specific pilot project that Police Scotland has initiated in Fife. Statistics on the number of retailers who are not willing to report crime were given, and work on that is being undertaken. Police Scotland, together with partners and information technology providers—

Sharon Dowey (Conservative, South Scotland)

I mentioned the pilot project taking place in Fife in a previous question. It is not in my region, and I was not able to find out much information about it, but I got feedback from one group that is involved that crimes are being reported—there is a new way to report them—but no action is being taken by the police. The on-going issue seems to be that the retailers are not reporting any incidents to the police because the police do not have the capacity to respond.

Siobhian Brown (Scottish National Party, Ayr)

I will have to look into that. I will give the member further information, but I have been told that reports have been submitted to the procurator fiscal as a result of the pilot.

To go back to the pilot, Police Scotland, together with partners and information technology providers, have helped to develop a platform allowing staff in stores to send details of crime directly to Police Scotland, so that offences can be investigated. That happens in other parts of the United Kingdom and it is also happening in New Zealand. There has been engagement with businesses across the local authority area encouraging participation in the pilot.

Following a soft launch earlier this year, the go live in September 2024 saw more retailers join the platform, which has already resulted in the positive identification of offenders and a number of reports submitted to the procurator fiscal. The ability for stores to compile their own crime reports and submit those directly to the police not only empowers businesses to take action against criminals but frees up police time to investigate incidents. Lead officers hope to see further arrests being made as part of the pilot, and I would join them in encouraging as many retailers as possible in Fife to get involved. I really hope that the scheme will be rolled out throughout Scotland.

The debate has raised an important point about the use of criminal law in attacks against retail workers. Retail workers are already protected by a wide range of criminal laws, including the protection of workers legislation, which came into force in August 2021 and which was based on a member’s bill by Daniel Johnson. Today’s motion rightly highlights the impact that legislation has had on improving visibility and legal protection for retail workers. Although it is always shocking to hear that retail workers are being threatened and abused, they should feel confident in reporting such offences, as they are being taken seriously by the police.

I am very conscious of time, but one issue that I want to raise is bus passes. [ Interruption. ] I am sorry, but I am not going to take any more interventions, as we are running too short of time.

Work is on-going with stakeholders, including the bus industry, to develop specific actions to tackle antisocial behaviour on the bus network. Work to develop a process for temporary suspension or withdrawal of concessionary travel entitlement through the national concessionary travel scheme is being progressed for consideration in the medium term, including an assessment of the most appropriate route to enable that within the statutory scheme. Work is on-going on that.

I welcome the opportunity to have this debate about these important issues and I again thank Sharon Dowey for lodging the motion.

Liam McArthur (Liberal Democrat, Orkney Islands)

That concludes the debate, and I suspend this meeting of Parliament until 2 o’clock.

Portfolio Question Time

Annabelle Ewing (Scottish National Party, Cowdenbeath)

Good afternoon. The first item of business is portfolio question time, and today’s portfolio is education and skills. As ever, I would appreciate succinct questions and answers in order to get in as many members as possible.

Fulton MacGregor (Scottish National Party, Coatbridge and Chryston)

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that qualified teachers are able to find suitable employment through permanent teaching posts in Scottish schools. (S6O-03733)

Jenny Gilruth (Scottish National Party, Mid Fife and Glenrothes)

Local councils are responsible for the recruitment and deployment of their staff. That includes providing a complement of teachers that best meets the needs of each of their schools and their pupils.

Although the employment of teachers is a matter for local authorities, the Scottish Government remains committed to protecting teacher numbers and ensuring that qualified teachers are able to find suitable employment through permanent teaching posts. In this year’s budget, we are providing local authorities with £145.5 million for that purpose.

Fulton MacGregor (Scottish National Party, Coatbridge and Chryston)

Over the past couple of years and this year, in particular, an increasing number of constituents who are teachers have come to me on the issue. They have advised me that they cannot get permanent posts in North Lanarkshire Council or other councils and that they are having to rely on supply teaching. What more can be done to ensure that those people who are trained to teach our children to the high standards that we can be proud to have here in Scotland are able to do so? What further discussions will the cabinet secretary have with councils, including North Lanarkshire Council, to further realise that potential?

Jenny Gilruth (Scottish National Party, Mid Fife and Glenrothes)

It is worth noting that the teacher induction scheme provides a one-year probationary placement to allow teachers to meet the standard for full registration. Although that does not provide a guarantee of future employment with a particular council, the scheme is fully funded by the Scottish Government.

Teaching posts require to be advertised and filled in a fair and transparent manner. It is also worth reflecting on the fact that, over the past 10 years, since 2014, the percentage of teachers who are in permanent posts has remained relatively stable at about 80 per cent. Although we cannot direct teachers with regard to where they should work—nor would I want us to—we will continue to do everything that we can to maximise the number of jobs that are available for teachers, including permanent posts.

To that end, I have had substantive discussions with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. I have also asked the strategic board for teacher education to provide me with advice on how we can better understand and tackle the challenge at local authority level. I will meet the board next week to talk about the progress that it has made, and I expect to receive an initial report from it by the end of this year. I am also happy to discuss the issue directly with North Lanarkshire Council, as I have done with other councils. It is worth saying that councils have responsibility for the employment of teachers.

Annabelle Ewing (Scottish National Party, Cowdenbeath)

A number of members wish to ask supplementary questions. We will try to get through as many as we can in the time available.

Karen Adam (Scottish National Party, Banffshire and Buchan Coast)

In my constituency, we are seriously struggling to attract and retain teachers. The Scottish Government’s incentives to encourage newly qualified staff to take up posts in rural areas are having limited success there. Parent councils in Aberdeenshire are calling for a summit to address the issue. Will the cabinet secretary please meet me and the parents who are concerned about the situation to discuss it further?

Jenny Gilruth (Scottish National Party, Mid Fife and Glenrothes)

I met parent council representatives from Aberdeenshire earlier this year. I have also met the local authority directly. This year, we have looked at the way in which we make allocations through the preference waiver scheme. This year, by doing that manually, we have sought to increase the number of probationers who are going to Aberdeenshire.

It is also worth saying that fewer teachers are engaging with that scheme post-pandemic. I have asked officials for advice on how we might be able to reflect on, review and update the scheme, because it is not working as I think it was intended to work. There are local challenges in Aberdeenshire, but, as Ms Adam will know, schools such as Banff academy are using pragmatic approaches to filling vacancies. I will be more than happy to meet the member and her constituents.

Liam Kerr (Conservative, North East Scotland)

In Angus, it has been reported that newly qualified primary teachers have next to no hope of getting permanent jobs. Only 10.5 per cent of them have a permanent job after a year. They are stuck in a limbo of supply work, in which they are unable to buy a house. Some report being unable to have a family, and some have been offered a refuse collection job as an alternative to a teaching post.

Local figures suggest that Angus Council cannot afford to employ the number of teachers that it needs. Does the cabinet secretary recognise that the Government urgently needs to rethink how it resources education departments in Angus and take practical action of the sort that was absent from her previous answers, to avoid further letting teachers and pupils down?

Jenny Gilruth (Scottish National Party, Mid Fife and Glenrothes)

I thank the member for his interest. I actually did outline practical action that I have taken in the past year, which is that, where teachers have ticked the box to go anywhere, they have been sent to authorities such as Karen Adam’s constituency, where there are vacancies. Therefore, that is a practical measure that we have taken this year, which has sent more probationers to that part of the country.

I am more than happy to engage with the member on the issues in Angus. Every local authority in Scotland is responsible for its own employment of teachers, and they all have different practices. I see the member gesticulating at me about money, and I again remind him that, in this year’s budget, which his party voted against, we are providing an extra £145.5 million, ring fenced, to protect teacher numbers. If he wants me to put additional funding into that, I am sure that he will engage with me and members across the Government throughout the budget process on where that additionality might come from.

Pam Duncan-Glancy (Labour, Glasgow)

The fact that teaching has become a precarious job is not something that most of us in Scotland ever thought would be the case, and yet, in 2016, half of post-induction teachers got jobs and, in 2022-23, that had fallen to under a quarter. Pupils and teachers need stability, so I ask the cabinet secretary: how did it get to this, and what will she do to ensure that those who train as teachers get jobs?

Jenny Gilruth (Scottish National Party, Mid Fife and Glenrothes)

I go back to the point that I made in response to a previous question. The number of teachers in permanent posts today is roughly the same as it was in 2014. I recognise some of the challenges in this regard, and it is important that we work with local authorities such as Angus, which has specific challenges, and Aberdeenshire, which has challenges with regard to subject areas.

I have previously provided an update to the chamber on some of the work that we have done on supporting bursaries for certain subject areas, and I think that we will have to consider that again. I also intimated in my response to a previous question that I am meeting with the strategic board for teacher education next week to hear advice from it on how we can try to change some of the mood music around here.

However, I would again reflect on the additionality that the Scottish Government is putting in to protect teacher numbers, which is helping to sustain permanence in many parts of the country. Without that, we would see a much more challenging picture. I am more than happy to work with members of the Opposition on that and to hear any ideas that they might have.

Willie Rennie (Liberal Democrat, North East Fife)

I genuinely cannot understand the Government’s policy. It says that it wants to recruit 3,500 teachers, even though local councils just cannot afford that, but it then floats the idea that it could reduce teacher contact time without the 3,500 extra teachers. The result is unemployed and underemployed teachers right across the country, so what is the Government’s policy? Does it want 3,500 teachers or not?

Jenny Gilruth (Scottish National Party, Mid Fife and Glenrothes)

As Mr Rennie knows, we invest in Scotland’s teachers. I am sure that he welcomed the acceptance from the teaching trade unions only last week of the pay offer that will put an extra £29 million into the pockets of teachers across the country. We invest in Scotland’s teachers. The national numbers show that, since 2018, we have seen thousands more teachers in Scotland’s schools—there were more than 2,000 more teachers in 2018 alone. I also responded to a previous question about the additionality that we are ring fencing. However, I recognise the challenges. They are local and often vary in relation to subject areas. For example, we need to look at the probationer scheme, which is directly funded by this Government. I look forward to working with the strategic board for teacher education, which I will meet next week.

Liam McArthur (Liberal Democrat, Orkney Islands)

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its work to explore the feasibility of an islands scholarship to support higher education students studying in Scotland’s islands. (S6O-03734)

Graeme Dey (Scottish National Party, Angus South)

The Scottish Government is aware of the important contribution that students bring to our island communities, and we want to create opportunities for them to apply their skills and remain on our islands after graduating. During my recent visit to Orkney, I spoke with Professor Sandy Kerr, who has been working with officials on the idea of an islands scholarship. While mindful of the current pressures on public finances, we agreed that the proposal merits further consideration, and I requested more information, which he provided earlier this week.

Liam McArthur (Liberal Democrat, Orkney Islands)

I thank the minister for that response and for the time that he spent in Orkney last month. Orkney is an important and growing hub of renewables innovation, hosting world-leading firms that provide jobs and benefits to the local community, as well as supporting efforts to meet Scotland’s wider just transition goals. However, since the recent withdrawal of the Scottish Funding Council grants for priority postgraduate taught courses, the local energy sector is facing challenges in recruiting skilled staff. Those grants provided huge benefits for relatively modest investment. I urge the minister to give those proposals, which he now has in more detail, positive consideration, to ensure that skills shortages and the risk of depopulation can be addressed through that investment.

Graeme Dey (Scottish National Party, Angus South)

I give Liam McArthur the assurance that the updated proposal from Professor Kerr, which reached me only in the past few days, will be given appropriate consideration. The public finances are in the most challenging state since devolution. On my first read through, I think that there might be one or two other potential issues with regard to what is being proposed. However, as with any suggestion of that type, I am prepared to consider it on its merits. I recognise the genuine interest on the part of Professor Kerr and Liam McArthur, and I will seek to keep the member updated on the matter.

Miles Briggs (Conservative, Lothian)

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to deliver better outcomes for children and young people with learning disabilities, autism and neurodiversity, in light of its decision not to include the introduction of its proposed learning disabilities, autism and neurodivergence bill in the programme for government 2024-25. (S6O-03735)

The Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise (Natalie Don-Innes)

Although it has not been possible to include the learning disabilities, autism and neurodivergence bill in the year 4 programme, we remain absolutely committed to the bill and to the need for legislation. We will continue with our work to develop the bill, and we have committed to publishing draft bill provisions.

Maree Todd will meet the bill lived experience panel and stakeholders shortly to discuss the next steps and their involvement. In addition to developing the bill, we will continue with a range of work that is important to both younger people and adults who are neurodivergent or who have learning disabilities. That includes the roll-out of learning disability annual health checks, our work on neurodevelopmental pathways, and work across Government on the issues that were raised in the consultation on the proposed bill, including employment, education and transport.

Miles Briggs (Conservative, Lothian)

Many autistic people and families are disappointed that the LDAN bill has been delayed in this way. That is especially the case for the parents of autistic young people who are denied their rights in education because of a lack of support.

Will the minister commit to bringing forward mandatory training for teachers, regardless of whether the bill progresses? I am pleased to see that the Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport is in the chamber as well today. A cross-party group of Lothian MSPs has written to the Government to outline our concerns about waiting times for children in Lothian to receive a diagnosis and medication, so I hope that those issues can be discussed across portfolios for constituents in Lothian.

Natalie Don-Innes

Absolutely—we are aware of the issues that have been raised in the letter and we are sorry to hear of those concerns. We want to ensure that neurodivergent people are getting the support that they need. We acknowledge the need for better access and support for people who may have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, that private assessments can lead to issues with medication and that there are still UK-wide ADHD medicine shortages.

We are working with all national health service boards to improve neurodevelopmental support and pathways and will engage with NHS Lothian on the contents of the letter. Both I and Ms Todd would be happy to meet to discuss that further.

Mandatory training is being considered in approaches to the additional support for learning action plan, and I will be happy to update the member as that progresses further.

Foysol Choudhury (Labour, Lothian)

Last year’s Hayward review, which we should hear about later today, noted that the impact on learners with disabilities and those with additional support needs should be considered in the creation of any new Scottish qualification. Can the minister outline whether the Scottish Government plans to review educational bodies to ensure that they are delivering a positive outcome for pupils with disabilities and those with additional support needs in developing that qualification?

Natalie Don-Innes

Mr Choudhury raises an important issue. Work is being undertaken on that—I understand that the cabinet secretary will provide an update on that shortly, and I will allow her to do so.

Mark Ruskell (Green, Mid Scotland and Fife)

I am sure that both the minister and Jenny Gilruth are aware of the Fife neurodevelopmental assessment pathway project, which is a multi-agency approach that enables children and families to get the support that they need while they are waiting for an assessment.

When I visited a Fife school that was involved in the pilot, a couple of years ago, it was clear that that was transforming the learning environment for young people and helping neurodiverse children to unlock their potential. Has the Government reviewed the impacts of that pilot? What consideration is being given to rolling out that type of approach in other parts of Scotland?

Natalie Don-Innes

I am not aware of the current position on that, but I would be happy to look into it and get back to the member.

Annie Wells (Conservative, Glasgow)

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage teacher retention during the current academic year. (S6O-03736)

Jenny Gilruth (Scottish National Party, Mid Fife and Glenrothes)

The enhanced pay deal that was agreed last week ensures that Scotland’s classroom teachers will continue to be the best paid in the United Kingdom, thereby helping to support teacher retention and ensuring that children and young people’s education will not be disrupted. Despite a challenging fiscal position, we have been able to support the deal this year with an additional £29 million being made available to allow for that improved offer, in recognition of the hard work that teachers put into supporting our pupils across Scotland. Ultimately, local authorities have statutory obligations in respect of education and should ensure that they employ the right number of teachers to meet local requirements.

Annie Wells (Conservative, Glasgow)

Teachers in Glasgow are currently voting on industrial action in response to the Scottish National Party city council’s decision to cut 450 teaching posts over three years, a move that the Educational Institute of Scotland has described as “damaging and dangerous”. That comes as newly qualified teachers in the Glasgow region struggle to get jobs. Does the cabinet secretary accept that the SNP’s underfunding of councils and failure to support the teaching profession will have an irreversible impact on pupils in Glasgow?

Jenny Gilruth (Scottish National Party, Mid Fife and Glenrothes)

I thank the member for her interest in that matter. It is important to say that any legal challenge will be a matter for the council.

Fundamentally, my view is that we do not want teacher numbers to reduce in Glasgow or anywhere else in the country. That is why we are making available £145.5 million to councils to maintain teacher numbers this year; Glasgow has been offered funding of £16.5 million for this financial year to maintain teacher numbers, which is its share of the funding that I spoke of. In 2024-25, Glasgow City Council will receive more than £1.6 billion to fund local services, which equates to an extra £74.9 million to support vital day-to-day services, or an additional 14.9 per cent compared with 2023-24.

I do not accept the second part of the member’s question. However, I do recognise the challenge, and she, too, will recognise that there is an on-going legal challenge that I cannot comment on.

As cabinet secretary, I am very much focused on protecting the funding, because protecting teacher numbers is really important in improving outcomes for our children and young people.

Annabelle Ewing (Scottish National Party, Cowdenbeath)

Stuart McMillan has a brief supplementary question.

Stuart McMillan (Scottish National Party, Greenock and Inverclyde)

The recruitment and retention of teachers are a matter for local authorities, as Annie Wells and the Tories know. How is the Scottish Government investing in the education system to empower local authorities in that regard?

Jenny Gilruth (Scottish National Party, Mid Fife and Glenrothes)

Stuart McMillan is correct. Fundamentally, councils are responsible for making sure that they have the right numbers of staff in place to meet local needs. However, as I have mentioned, we are supporting councils to ensure that Scotland continues to have the most teachers per pupil and the highest-paid classroom teachers in the United Kingdom.

We have provided record funding of more than £14 billion to local councils this year alone—a real-terms increase of 2.5 per cent compared with the previous year. That includes the £145.5 million that has been ring fenced to protect teacher numbers and £242 million to support the previous teachers’ pay deals. As I set out in my answer to Annie Wells, we have also made available £29 million during this financial year to support the teachers’ pay deal.

Stephen Kerr (Conservative, Central Scotland)

I hear very clearly what the cabinet secretary has said about protecting teacher numbers, but I ask her directly whether that means that the SNP has abandoned its manifesto commitment to add an additional 3,500 new teachers. Has that policy been abandoned—yes or no?

Jenny Gilruth (Scottish National Party, Mid Fife and Glenrothes)

I have set out the investment that this Government is putting into maintaining teacher numbers at the current time. I would like to go further, and I look forward to hearing the budget proposals from the Conservatives to support that additionality.

Stephen Kerr (Conservative, Central Scotland)

It is in your manifesto.

Jenny Gilruth (Scottish National Party, Mid Fife and Glenrothes)

I hear the member heckling from a sedentary position but, if he wants me to put in extra funding to support extra teacher numbers—as, of course, the new Labour Government has committed to doing elsewhere—he will have to identify where in the Scottish Government budget that additionality should come from. [ Interruption .]

Annabelle Ewing (Scottish National Party, Cowdenbeath)

Excuse me, members—could we please not have all this chuntering? Let us make some progress.

Brian Whittle (Conservative, South Scotland)

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that green skills are embedded in the provision of further education. (S6O-03737)

Graeme Dey (Scottish National Party, Angus South)

Further education and the work of our colleges are critical to ensuring that we have the skills to deliver on our climate goals. The Scottish Funding Council’s net zero and sustainability framework is supporting the sector’s work to enable Scotland’s workforce to develop the high-quality, lifelong skills that are needed for the transition.

With funding from the Scottish Funding Council, the Energy Skills Partnership acts as the college sector lead for the transition to net zero and supports institutions in developing their capability, capacity and curriculum pathways. Our work on skills planning will further develop the approach to green skills.

Brian Whittle (Conservative, South Scotland)

Key to meeting climate change targets will be the delivery of a future workforce that matches that delivery need, and the further education sector has the capability to deliver the apprenticeships that businesses across the engineering and trade sectors are crying out for, as well as upskilling people who are transferring to the renewables sector.

The Audit Scotland report on colleges that has just been published says that there is a lack of leadership and direction on reform from the Scottish Government. What can the Scottish Government do to better align future Scottish Government policy with FE sector delivery and ensure that the output from colleges matches the workforce needs for future green economy skills?

Graeme Dey (Scottish National Party, Angus South)

Green skills provision is already part of the offering of the FE sector in Scotland, with colleges such as West Lothian and South Lanarkshire being excellent examples of that.

However, it is imperative that the green skills offer aligns with the needs of what is an evolving sector—Brian Whittle is right about that. To that end, when I attended a meeting yesterday of the Scottish offshore wind energy council, I was greatly encouraged to hear about the very detailed and advanced work of its skills and energy group in identifying current and predicted skills needs, particularly in the offshore arena. That work is being carried out in conjunction with the university and college sectors, and that very direct partnership working, which is actively encouraged and supported by this Government, will ensure that the right green skills are on offer from our institutions.

Colin Beattie (Scottish National Party, Midlothian North and Musselburgh)

How are organisations such as Lantra Scotland assisting with the provision of green skills-related courses in the further education sector, and how does the Scottish Government support that?

Graeme Dey (Scottish National Party, Angus South)

Lantra plays a key role in delivering green skills by supporting the skilling, upskilling and retraining of workers in the land-based, aquaculture and environmental conservation sectors. Those sectors contribute to the just transition to net zero by increased carbon capture through regenerative farming practices, forestry and restoration of our peatlands.

The Scottish Government funds Lantra Scotland’s 2024-25 work plan, which will enable the organisation, among other things, to distribute practical training funds—for example, the women in forestry and future forester funds—to support applicants in acquiring the green skills that they need to develop their careers.

Roz McCall (Conservative, Mid Scotland and Fife)

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve the school attendance of care-experienced young people. (S6O-03738)

Jenny Gilruth (Scottish National Party, Mid Fife and Glenrothes)

I am committed to supporting improved school attendance for all young people. I recently asked Education Scotland to undertake a deep dive to support greater understanding of the issue, and its report includes five recommendations for improving practice. Education Scotland and the Scottish Government are working together to support those actions, including on an online package of support, designed with local authorities and schools.

In addition, Education Scotland is working with councils on providing practical support, with the first cohort of the improving attendance quality improvement programme beginning shortly. I have also asked the chief inspector of education to identify successful approaches that can be shared more widely, as part of inspections.

Finally, I read with interest the Children’s Commissioner for England’s report on children and young people’s attendance, and I hope to meet Dame Rachel de Souza to discuss it soon. Officials have been working with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland on the development of a framework for education to support improved educational outcomes for care-experienced children and young people, including their attendance.

Roz McCall (Conservative, Mid Scotland and Fife)

The findings contained in the University of Stirling report “Permanently Progressing? Building Secure Futures for Children in Scotland” are deeply concerning. Its study found that, out of the 1,836 participants, it was not possible to link educational attendance, exclusion and absence data for a whopping 1,086. Moreover, 60 per cent did not have a Scottish candidate number. The cabinet secretary will be aware that children are issued with an SCN when they start school, but because that number was not available for the majority of the cohort, linkage with educational data was not possible.

What more is the Scottish Government doing to ensure that our data gathering is robust and includes all children who have experienced care? How can we ensure that the Promise is fulfilled if we do not have the appropriate data set—

Annabelle Ewing (Scottish National Party, Cowdenbeath)

Thank you. I think that the cabinet secretary has got the gist.

Jenny Gilruth (Scottish National Party, Mid Fife and Glenrothes)

I thank the member for raising the issue. It is a hugely important point, and I very much recognise the importance of using the SCN as a data set to gather information on young people and to track their progress through the educational system. I am concerned by what the member has outlined to me today, and I am more than happy to engage with her directly on that. However, I should put it on the record that, in relation to the Promise, I am recused, as my wife sits on the implementation board.

Annabelle Ewing (Scottish National Party, Cowdenbeath)

I will take two supplementary questions, if both members can be very brief.

Audrey Nicoll (Scottish National Party, Aberdeen South and North Kincardine)

Will the cabinet secretary set out some of the reasons why there has been an increase in anxiety and other factors that have caused young people to be less able to engage in their education than was previously the case?

Jenny Gilruth (Scottish National Party, Mid Fife and Glenrothes)

As we have discussed across the chamber in recent months, it is clear that the pandemic continues to have an impact on behaviour in schools and has impacted children and young people in lots of different ways. It was a very significant life event, impacting social and emotional development, affecting the transition between primary and secondary schools and causing an increase in anxiety about physically attending school.

We also know from the behaviour in Scottish schools research that other impacts include increased mobile phone use; indeed, I set out some of the response to that in the weeks prior to our returning to Parliament. I will continue to work with our school leaders on how we can best support our young people and our teachers post the pandemic, as those effects are still being felt in our schools today.

Annabelle Ewing (Scottish National Party, Cowdenbeath)

I will take a brief supplementary from Martin Whitfield.

Martin Whitfield (Labour, South Scotland)

I have no intention of embarrassing the cabinet secretary, so I will just ask that, following the publication today of the update on keeping the Promise, her department write to me on what work is being done on the Promise in education framework that deals with the absenteeism of care-experienced children.

Jenny Gilruth (Scottish National Party, Mid Fife and Glenrothes)

I am more than happy to have my minister write to the member with that information.

Annabelle Ewing (Scottish National Party, Cowdenbeath)

I can squeeze in questions 7 and 8, but I will need brief questions and answers.

Maurice Golden (Conservative, North East Scotland)

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the levels of funding for tertiary education are adequate to support a thriving sector. (S6O-03739)