Seòmar agus comataidhean

This is a path that we are taking; we will not get there tomorrow, which is obvious from what the minister said.

Your headline news is very good for the tabloids. “Preventing the collapse of NHS dentistry in Scotland”—what a headline. [Interruption.] I will come to that in a minute.

Mr Gulhane made an interesting point. Although, along with other medical professions, dentists received a 3 per cent pay rise last year—in recognition of their efforts during the pandemic and in line with the recommendation of the independent United Kingdom review body on doctors and dentists remuneration—as Mr Gulhane reminded us, their practices are businesses, not services. That is not a criticism of dentists but a fact. They are in contracts with the NHS and there is a conflict—[Interruption.]

They are businesses, just as many general practices are. You used the term, Mr Gulhane.

I thank all those in the medical services, but I will focus on dentists, who have been endeavouring to deliver essential services in the unique and difficult situation of the past two years, which continues. It is obvious that dentists, in particular, with their necessary use of aerosol procedures, as well as the intimacy of dental contact with patients and the design of their facilities, have found it particularly difficult to tend to their patients. People are also avoiding treatment, for fear of Covid.

As in other areas—this is not confined to the health service—the backlog has been unavoidable, although none of us could have predicted how far it would go. However, the pace is picking up in delivery of services. Our concern about and understanding of why we are here now should be agreed. However, the hyperbolic nature of the Conservative motion reminds me more of “We’re all doomed! We’re all doomed!” from “Dad’s Army”. God bless Private Frazer.

I have only four minutes but, if you are going to say something interesting, I will take your intervention.

I beg your pardon. The member used the term “businesses” to describe dental practices. That is what I am reflecting on; it is not a criticism. We have a hybrid situation, where the NHS is contracting to provide services through professionals who also have to make profits, take on partners and run businesses. There is the same conflict in GP practices, and we must be frank about that and address it.

The minister addressed the fact that, if we add together everything that she said at the beginning of her speech, £112.5 million of public funding has already gone out to dentists. Finlay Carson talked about his constituency, which is in Dumfries and Galloway. Where the provision of dentists is insufficient, from 7 February, there has been an offer of £25,000 over two years for dentists to go into areas where there is a difficulty with retention, such as Kelso and Berwickshire—not my patch, but in the Borders—and parts of Dumfries and Galloway. That offer is subject to certain criteria around recruitment and retention. I accept that there is a difficulty, but the Government is endeavouring to address that.

In the real world, which I live in, we have fixed budgets. Every time I hear Conservative and Labour members call for funding, I ask myself, “Where is your money tree that neither I nor the Government have in our back gardens?” If, collectively, those parties want such things, they should say where the money is coming from and have it in their budgets.

Douglas Ross referred to “personal responsibility” but, in my supermarket at the weekend, there was more than one group without face coverings. By no stretch of the imagination were they all exempt—so much for their personal responsibility!

Will the First Minister remind us all that wearing face coverings in public places, lateral flow testing and isolation, rather than being for the person who does those things, are for others and that they protect not only that person’s family and friends and work colleagues but, more important, people whom they pass by, whom they will never know, who may be very vulnerable to the virus that they may give them?

What is the First Minister’s response to the actions of Kurt Zouma, the Premier League footballer for West Ham, who tormented one of his cats for fun and posted a video of his actions on social media for the entertainment of others? Does she consider that the laws on animal welfare in Scotland are sufficiently robust to deal with such horrific actions should they occur here?

There has been a shift, post-Covid, from a commuting business model to a balance of commuting and tourism and leisure travel. Will the Scottish Government consider investigating the provision of integrated ticketing that offers discounted access to tourism destinations? On the Borders railway, that could include the National Mining Museum, the great tapestry of Scotland and Abbotsford. Co-ordination with the management of those places might increase travel on the railway.

I congratulate Alex Cole-Hamilton on securing the debate, particularly as this is the centenary year of the BBC, which first broadcast on 14 November 1922. Although that is before my time, I predate television. My early childhood involved gathering around the family wireless—that is the radio, to members—listening to “Dan Dare”, “Life with the Lyons” and “Two-Way Family Favourites”. Somewhere out there, somebody remembers them. My mother would recount how she listened to Winston Churchill’s broadcast that said

“We shall fight on the beaches”,

which resonated through family homes throughout the country. The radio was the communicator by the fire. It was the entertainer and educator, and it still is.

TV came into our home in 1952, with a screen that was no bigger than that of my Surface encased in a clumsy large wooden structure. It was black and white TV with received pronunciation Queen’s English and newsreaders in evening dress, and broadcasts were for a few hours a day. We invited neighbours in to watch, with the accompaniment of Shippam’s paste sandwiches and the luxury of a glass of lemonade.

In later years, the BBC pioneered “Play for Today”, in which upcoming writers could exercise their literary muscles with a 30-minute slot. That is where Dennis Potter cut his teeth and progressed to writing the absolutely magnificent TV miniseries “The Singing Detective”.

The BBC has produced the most extraordinary drama documentaries, such as “Cathy Come Home” by Ken Loach, which led to the establishing of Shelter and was the beginning for a renowned director. It has produced period adaptations, such as “Pride and Prejudice”. Such productions make lots of money for it. It has produced documentaries such as “Natural World”. Its current production “The Green Planet”, which is narrated by David Attenborough, educates and engages. That was preceded by documentaries such as “Civilisation” by Kenneth Clark in the 1960s. Those are just a few examples. I also highlight the BBC World Service, which others have mentioned.

There are too many game shows on some BBC channels, so I switch to BBC Four and Channel 4. I also listen to BBC Radio 4, where people can find short dramas that are missed from television now. I listen to the “Last Word”, to political satire and even, I confess, to “The Archers”.

To be frank, sometimes, the BBC appears to be close to the establishment. Only now is it beginning to respond to the fact that we have devolution, because Covid has meant that it has had to distinguish between legislation in England and that in the other nations. That has been some time coming. However, the BBC is a public service, whose accountability is important and precious and must not be eroded.

I suggest that the BBC should reintroduce the sponsoring of new writers and documentary makers. That should not be through—heaven forfend—another competition or game show, which I am fed up to the back teeth with, but by giving them space to exhibit and develop their skills. The investment in that should be fairly distributed across the four nations. The licence fee should be invested in that way. That will pay back not only in quality but in returns, as the BBC sells the developed products abroad. Such creators can contribute to the public service. However, they are missing now, which they were not in previous decades.

I hope that somebody from the BBC is listening to my plea for support for writers and documentary makers. They might make mistakes in their 30-minute slot, but we can remember what came from Dennis Potter and Ken Loach’s programmes.

I very much welcome progress in overcoming Covid. However, it is now important that the public—particularly those over 65—are reminded of the importance of the flu vaccine. I therefore ask, if someone is over 65 and did not receive their flu vaccination along with a Covid vaccination, how do they now access it?

One issue that is not listed in the motion is the failure of successive UK Governments in management of the economy. That is of fundamental relevance in a debate about the cost of living crisis and the people who will bear the brunt of it, many of whom are pensioners. I go back to Harold Wilson devaluing the pound in the 1960s and to Tony Benn trashing alternative green energy wave power in favour of nuclear power—although he later recanted.

As for oil and gas, the UK Government sold it off cheap to international companies and only Shetland negotiated benefits for itself. Norway launched its own national company and now also leads in green energy. The oil off Scotland’s shores was squandered by successive UK Governments. In 2020, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund was worth £923 billion—£170,000 for every Norwegian—and in that same year it gained £8 billion in value. That is some rainy-day fund.

The UK has no oil fund. Zilch. The banks’ collapse in 2008 led to the creature called quantitative easing—otherwise known as printing money. That cash was supposed to trickle down to us, but instead it flooded to those who have substantial assets—the people who are already wealthy.

Then, Covid came along. The UK Government has had to write off more than £9 billion that was spent on useless personal protective equipment contracts, which were often divvied out to Tory pals.

The UK Government was already borrowing; now it has to borrow more. The UK national debt now stands at more than 100 per cent of GDP—in other words, we are up to our ears in debt and, with interest charges, the debt is increasing hourly. Norway is the polar opposite. It does not have to borrow. It was able to ride out the banks’ collapse, Covid and even spiralling energy costs by introducing a universal scheme to help consumers. Norway had the cash—unlike the Tory Government, which is simply deferring some costs that we will pay for later.

That is the context: squandering our assets and embedding inequalities in our society, in which for decades the rich have got richer and the poor have got poorer. That matters. Pensioner poverty is not new. Women whose working lives have often been interrupted by motherhood and caring responsibilities do not even receive the measly basic pension.