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Scottish Labour’s position is that amendment 42 is a reasonable amendment, but we are not sure that it is particularly necessary to include it in that part of the bill, as the bill’s intention is evident throughout.

The First Minister has set out tackling child poverty as his key mission and has acknowledged that almost one in four children in Scotland are still living in poverty. Given the importance that the cabinet secretary and the First Minister place on tackling hunger, will the Government listen to key stakeholders such as Aberlour Child Care Trust and increase the free school meals income threshold for pupils in years when free entitlement does not yet exist?

I thank the cabinet secretary for the information on this important issue. I am aware that one of the key issues in relation to AHPs is the link with universities and the provision of a flexible model. Have you had any discussion with universities or other portfolio holders that might help with that?

I, too, thank Marie McNair for bringing this important debate to the chamber. On behalf of Scottish Labour, I welcome national epilepsy week 2024, and recognise—as other members have said—its importance in raising awareness of epilepsy and the challenges that are faced by those who are living with the condition.

As the motion states, and as other members have mentioned, epilepsy

“is the most prevalent of the main neurological conditions”,

impacting around 58,000 people across Scotland. It is right, therefore, that we use this week to draw attention to the condition and have conversations about epilepsy, and perhaps to have a look ourselves at what to do when someone has a seizure, which Marie McNair explained. Awareness of how to respond is key, and I pay tribute to Epilepsy Scotland and local epilepsy support groups in Ayrshire and Arran and across the South Scotland region for the work that they do. Their work in raising awareness and in providing individual and family support and care, and their level of expertise, are absolutely critical, and they are deservedly recognised in the motion.

I also thank our NHS nurses and doctors, and epilepsy specialists, who diagnose epilepsy, provide first-class healthcare and family support where it is required and respond in emergency situations, including when someone has their first seizure. As we all know, our NHS is under significant pressure, but the determination of our NHS staff to provide the best level of service is greater now than it ever has been, and it is right that members have recognised their contribution in the chamber today.

I turn to Epilepsy Scotland’s #BeyondSeizure campaign, and reiterate its broader points surrounding the wider impacts of epilepsy—as other members have highlighted—in respect of mental health, memory, feelings of isolation, employment and driving. As we know, epilepsy is not defined simply by having seizures; it is much more than that. It can completely change an individual’s day-to-day life, their abilities and their mental and physical health. Support must, therefore, not be restricted to raising awareness of seizures and how to respond—it must cover the other impacts that may not immediately come to mind for people.

Although I recognise the need for Epilepsy Scotland’s funding to match the service delivery that it provides and enable it to extend the support that it offers, I believe—as has been said many times by members across the chamber—that the Scottish Government has to reflect on how the third sector is funded. It is easy for the Scottish Government to pin responsibility on the NHS and local government, but in reality those bodies are absolutely cash-strapped as a result of decisions that have been made by Governments across the UK.

This is an important debate, and I believe that it has achieved its aim of raising awareness in the chamber of the wider impacts of epilepsy and the need for better resources to ensure that support can be delivered. Epilepsy is a topic that we must speak about more. The scale of its prevalence in Scotland and across the UK confirms that, and I hope that this national epilepsy week will go some way towards achieving that.

As I said, Scottish Labour welcomes Epilepsy Scotland and epilepsy support groups across Scotland and within the NHS, and we hope that this week helps to deliver some long-term stability and progress in the area. I thank all my colleagues for their contributions, and I thank Marie McNair once again for bringing the debate to the chamber.

To ask the Scottish Government when it will next review the income threshold for free school meals for those pupils not in a year where provision is currently free. (S6O-03442)

As has been said, statistics from England and Wales show that the uptake of immunisation against whooping cough during pregnancy has reduced sharply. As the First Minister has indicated, immunisation is important for expectant mothers. Do we know whether the trend is similar in Scotland? The First Minister mentioned some relevant responses, but will he work with Public Health Scotland to ensure that specific statistics on that are published, so that we can properly scrutinise the uptake by pregnant mothers?

There is not one Labour member who does not share the First Minister’s priority of ending child poverty. However, the reality is that, even allowing for what the cabinet secretary has said, in Scotland some children are still going hungry. Key stakeholders, including Aberlour, have argued that we could make further changes to the income threshold per pupil in years where the provision is not free, which would improve even further families’ access to free school meals. Will the Government commit to looking at how much further it could increase the threshold so that more families would be able to access that provision?

I thank Clare Adamson for bringing this important debate to the chamber. I also thank the two speakers before me, both of whose contributions I enjoyed.

On behalf of Scottish Labour, I welcome no falls week 2024 and restate our commitment to promoting safe working at height. I also reaffirm our support for and solidarity with all workers who have been injured in employment, their families, and families who have tragically lost loved ones due to workplace incidents. It is so important that we talk about such matters in the Parliament.

I pay tribute to the No Falls Foundation, which organises no falls week and, as other members have said, promotes this critical work, which forms a base from which campaigns can grow and deliver results. As the motion states, across Great Britain, in the year 2022-23, 40 people lost their lives due to falls from height. That statistic is absolutely devastating, as all members across the chamber will agree. Falls from height accounted for almost a third of all workplace deaths, which confirms how important it is that we make progress on preventing them.

The workplace environment is different for everyone; some people work in more precarious and challenging conditions than others. Regardless of the workplace environment, though, the safety of workers is absolutely paramount. It has been wonderful that, in the past few weeks, we have discussed these matters so often across the Parliament. At the very least, every worker should expect that their place of work is safe, that precautions are in place and that safety features are explained in all detailed information there. Where that is not the case, we must redouble our efforts to ensure that employers recognise the importance of employees’ safety and wellbeing, and that the expected standards are not only met but exceeded.

As a member of the Opposition, that leads me to a key point, which is the need not only to raise issues with the Government but, at times, to challenge it. My colleague Mark Griffin recently proposed an excellent new bill, which was brought to the Parliament just last month. It would have created an industrial injuries council of experts and a new employment injury benefit. It would have been a landmark bill that would have set Scotland apart in recognising the impact of workplace injuries, including falls from height, as well as long Covid, dementia among footballers and cancer among firefighters. That proposal underlines how the Parliament can demonstrate its dedication to the wellbeing of workers across Scotland.

At times, the Opposition’s role is to raise—again and again—what the Parliament can do to make a difference. I recognise that everybody is working to ensure that we can make a difference, and I am sure that we can do it by working together. Safety at work is absolutely paramount. I am proud that my party stands with the trade unions and with workers in an effort to reduce incidences of falls and other health and safety matters at work. I hope that Scotland will lead the way on legislating on such issues and that I can play my part in holding the Government to account on them.

I again thank Clare Adamson, who lodged the motion, and the other speakers in the debate.

I thank Emma Harper for bringing this important debate to the chamber. I recognise the knowledge and skills that she has in this area and I praise the on-going work that she is committed to doing in the Parliament and beyond. I have heard her speak about this subject many times, and it is much appreciated.

Scottish Labour welcomes, as my colleague Jackie Baillie does, world asthma day 2024, which is supported by the World Health Organization and took place yesterday. We recognise this year’s theme of “Asthma Education Empowers”.

As far as prevalence is concerned, asthma in Scotland affects, as we have heard, around 368,000, 71,000 of whom are children. An important point that has been raised by Asthma and Lung UK as well as by members relates to the collection and recording of information. Currently we do not have an accurate collection method or an agreed reporting system across health boards and the Scottish Government, and given that, according to the Royal College of Physicians report, two thirds of asthma-related deaths could be preventable, I ask the minister whether the Scottish Government is looking at that issue. Perhaps she will say something about that in her closing remarks.

As other members have said, medical advisers and professionals who work in the field have identified key risk factors in managing the condition, including the overuse of relief inhalers, the underuse of preventer inhalers and recent emergency hospital visits with no follow-up. Such factors give great insight into the reasons for this year’s theme of education empowering people; it makes it clear that it is important to teach people with asthma about their condition and that, by learning about it, they can manage their symptoms better. That helps the patient, the doctors and the NHS.

When I did some research for the debate, it became clear that we need strong will and a strong commitment from the Government to prioritise this lifelong condition. According to recent Asthma and Lung UK research, many Scots with asthma are falling short on the basic care guidelines. We know that there is pressure on NHS staff, so I ask the minister to tell us how she believes that the Government can help to reverse that pressure on staff and offer asthma sufferers some hope that the outcomes from that condition can be changed.

We have heard about three things: an annual review, an inhaler technique check and a written action plan. The research shows that only 24 per cent of Scots received all three; 25 per cent received one; and 17 per cent reported receiving none. This is an important matter, and I know that the minister will consider it to be so. We would, I think, all agree that every person with an asthma diagnosis should be offered all three elements; they should know that that is their basic treatment plan and entitlement.

In my final minute, I ask the minister, as others have done, to update us on the care action plan and to point to some specific points of action that the Government has undertaken, so that people with asthma can feel that moves are being made and improvements for their care are being put in place.

Again, I thank Emma Harper for securing the debate and all the members who have contributed to it.

Figures that were obtained by Scottish Labour for my region show that the longest turnaround times for ambulances at Ayr hospital and Dumfries and Galloway royal infirmary were more than 24 hours. In addition, waits of well over an hour have been recorded for critical purple-code call-outs. Does the minister agree that, although our paramedics and NHS staff are working hard and are under pressure, this Government’s mismanagement of the NHS is failing patients and staff? Will the minister explain what work—beyond holding meetings—it will do collaboratively across the NHS to address the pressures on ambulance services?