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To ask the Scottish Government what value it places on resourcing community sport as part of efforts to eradicate health inequalities. (S6O-02352)

I thank Jeremy Balfour for bringing this important debate to the chamber, and I also thank everyone across all parties. It seems that we all agree that we need to work together to make changes here.

As we know, the paediatric audiology service at NHS Lothian has failed a great many children and their families. As well as increasing awareness of the impact of those failures on the children and their continuing struggle to get the support that they need, I hope that this debate, along with the meetings with parents and service managers, might help to reassure families. MSPs are identifying the steps that we can take to support the affected families and draw the attention of authorities, which I think continue to lack the urgency that is required to fix this problem.

We have had the privilege of meeting some parents here in Parliament and, as other members have said, the families failed by Lothian audiology action group is truly an inspiration to us all and a model for such campaigns in the future. When we encounter such determined campaigns, we cannot fail to be impressed and listen, and I think that the group has caused us to jump to take action. We wish that more had been done at the time to help parents to approach and get some action from the authorities that were tasked with the protection of patients and their families. Fiona Hyslop’s contribution was excellent in recognising that that is the case.

During the period of this scandal, the audiology department provided care to more than 22,000 children. An audit of some of the children identified moderate or significant concerns about the way in which they had been treated in almost 34 per cent of cases. However, as we have heard, that audit did not include any children who were seen after 2018, so we can be fairly certain that there are a great many more. We must consider that when thinking about the way forward.

The parents feel that there has been no acceptance that the original review was a sample, which is a crucial point. Given that it was a sample, there are children out there who might not have been identified. We must consider that possibility.

From other cases, we know that, if treatment opportunities are missed during a child’s key development stage, it can cause difficulties that can rarely be corrected later in life. Karen Adam’s contribution helped us to understand that we must support the children as they are developing. It is astounding that no account was taken of the fact that those children had missed an essential part of their development.

Although a lot of the political focus has rightly been on NHS Lothian, we must also seriously consider the help and assistance that the families need right now, because that is what will make a difference to the children we are talking about. Families report that a number of those children still require access to BSL tutors. That is a fact; parents are reporting that to us.

The Government’s manifesto contained a commitment to additional funds for local authorities for free BSL tuition for deaf children from the age of five. It is important that we get some feedback on that. I spoke to a family member who explained to me that it is very expensive to get BSL tuition, because it is not just about training the individual who needs to use BSL; it is about the whole family unit. If we want children to develop and have the same excitement in learning as other children, we must have wider access to free BSL training.

I will stop there. I thank everybody for their contributions to the debate.

Scotland needs change. It needs change now.

I recognise the serious shocks and challenges that our tourism industry has overcome and is having to overcome. From the pandemic to the subsequent financial pressures, it has been an extremely tough time, and we must give the tourism sector the reassurance that it requires.

I wish to look at the reality for many working in the tourism sector. It is one of low pay, inconvenient hours and poor conditions. Despite the efforts of some, such as Living Wage Scotland and many in the industry, the uncertainty that the pandemic brought will live long in the memory of those impacted. The abrupt end to employment, people living in fear about when the next pay packet might arrive and concerns about whether food could be put on the table were too much for some. We know that many did not return—that is understandable, because the sector often feels a bit like that all the time.

If we want a thriving tourism sector, we need to support a well-paid workforce and we need to value the skill and effort that so many put into ensuring that the sector continues to survive.

I note from the cabinet secretary’s self-congratulatory amendment that he takes no responsibility for the Government’s inaction in this area. He is right to attack the Tories for their reckless decision making, their dismal management of the economy and their failure to address problems that are linked to labour shortages. However, the reality is that the Scottish Government has failed to connect our rural areas to our international and regional transport hubs, and it has cut the budgets of local authorities, meaning that it is increasingly challenging to invest in local sites that are of interest to Scots and tourists alike. Scotland’s tourism sector has two Governments that are letting it down: a reckless Tory one at Westminster and an often incompetent SNP one here at Holyrood. Scotland needs change.

I look to the historic area of Ayrshire, in my South Scotland region, and I look at the beaches, the castles and the museums. I love the fact that Willie Rennie brought in some of the other aspects of tourism such as food, culture and cycling. Those places are loved and visited by many, but they are inaccessible to so many others because of the poor connectivity and transport links and the investment that is needed at local community levels.

We are incredibly lucky to have so many historic sites in villages, towns and cities. We have a country with sites of interest at every corner. We have a brand, and we do not need to market it—it is there—but we are falling short of the mark when it comes to supporting the communities that support tourism if we do not offer strong career prospects in the sector and boost that essential connectivity.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the importance of properly supporting our rural college sector, to show that we truly prioritise our rural tourism sector where much of the training for that sector takes place. Last month, I had the honour of visiting the Borders College Newtown St Boswells campus, where I heard staff and students alike express the severe and desperate challenges that colleges face, particularly in rural areas. When it is combined with the challenges that are linked to labour shortages, the Scottish Government’s inaction as our tourism sector in rural areas is crying out for skills is apparent. Those colleges can help our rural areas boost our tourism sector.

It is right that we debate this topic this evening. As I mentioned, I understand the cabinet secretary’s will to focus on the shocking policies and decisions of the Tory Government at Westminster. There is no doubt that its actions are having a direct impact on our tourism sector. However, the Scottish Government consistently fails to recognise its own role in the challenges that many sectors in Scotland face. It fails to invest in local authorities.

Something has been raised with me on a couple of occasions by long-term staff who have worked in core services. They have mentioned that some of the challenges that they face in their teams are related to the way in which modern funding streams work. Specific pieces of work are funded, which drains out some of the really experienced nursing staff into specialties that are then fixed. The core teams sometimes struggle with getting experienced staff, which has a knock-on effect on their ability to support new staff who are coming through. Do you recognise that in your services? Are there particular areas where that seems to be happening?

Are you confident that people are well supported on whistleblowing? Do you feel that they would do it if it was necessary?

It is a point that has been well made before—the estate is open but it is not being accessed. Do you have any insight into why that might be? Has the Government had feedback on that?

I am interested in dignity at work. We no longer carry out the staff survey, so I ask each of the health board representatives to feed back on how they ensure that staff have the ability to feed into the system and on the overall trends in their board. Through your staff governance, how do you monitor that and ensure that changes happen if they need to?

We have already touched a wee bit on community sport in our discussion on leisure centres, and I am interested in some of the questions that we have asked other witnesses about how we try to engage women.

There are three main difficulties in that respect, the first of which is safety and going to and from venues, particularly if there are no local activities for young women. The second is childcare facilities at sports and leisure centres. Have you had any thoughts about that? Thirdly, there is use of the school estate, which has been raised not just recently but in the committee’s previous discussions about sport. It is an important point that we keep coming back to. What work have you done—or do you intend to do—on that issue?

When Humza Yousaf was health secretary, in a written response to a question from me, he said that the previous financial package ensured the

“continuous expansion in the quality and number of services that can be offered by community pharmacy contractors to local communities.”—[Written Answers, 7 December 2021; S6W-04404.]

Following a new offer made by the Government that he now leads, we are being warned that opening hours may reduce and services may be cut back. How has it gone so badly wrong on his watch, yet again? Will he personally meet community pharmacy representatives to resolve this important issue?