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I listed them in my first response. Before departure, the international relations office actively confers with delegates on how the visit will be publicised—for example, asking members to sign off any social media content and whether to tag them personally. It also offers robust comms and support for committees.

As I said in my first reply, what support there is really depends on the nature of the visit. If some extraordinary support needs to be provided by the SPCB, that would be considered.

Regarding communications, the IRO, ahead of external visits, will discuss any proactive or reactive comms that may be required; I am aware that sometimes bad publicity that is undeserved is conferred on some of those visits.

Like many in the chamber, I welcome—[Interruption.]

It is reported that the rise in national insurance contributions for employers will overwhelm the finances of charities such as the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which will face an estimated increased cost of £400,000 per annum—that is twice the cost of feeding all the animals in its care. I declare an interest as an SSPCA member. Have there been any discussions with the UK Government on the financial damage to the charitable sector in Scotland? Organisations such as the SSPCA cannot pass those costs on to anybody, so they must cut what they deliver.

I, too, welcome the debate, which was unfortunately prompted by dreadful, tragic circumstances, and I send my condolences to Keith Rollinson’s family and friends.

I note that the focus is on the impact of the concessionary bus pass for young people, which was introduced in January 2022. I recognise that any threat and aggression from, or anxiety caused by, passenger to driver and, indeed, other passengers are to be deplored. However, to give some context, more than 2.3 million people in Scotland have a concessionary pass—everyone under 22 or over 60 and disabled people and carers can now all benefit from free bus travel. Therefore, as other members have said, the overwhelming majority—young and old—use their pass responsibly. However, it is a privilege and, when abused, remedies are required.

Sometimes, crimes are being committed, so existing remedies can be used. They include diversionary and early intervention activities, if appropriate, alongside the use of police-issued formal warnings, fixed-penalty notices, antisocial behaviour orders and, indeed, prosecution. However, those activities happen post the event.

CCTV, which I know is on Borders buses and most Lothian regional transport buses, has its uses and might act as a limited deterrent, but there are those to whom it means nothing—in extreme cases, they might even see it as offering a challenge.

The briefing from the Confederation of Passenger Transport says that the under 22s free bus travel scheme is widely viewed as a success. There is, however, an acknowledgement that one unintended consequence has been a perceived rise in antisocial behaviour in and around buses in Scotland, observed by bus operators but also by young people themselves, other passengers and representative groups.

The year 1 evaluation of the young persons free bus travel scheme highlighted

“the perceived need to introduce some mechanism to police the use of the scheme and implement consequences for inappropriate behaviour.”

I agree.

Let me focus on the minority of those—with or without a concessionary bus pass, young or old—who abuse. Although bus operators have their own conditions of carriage, those conditions apply to all passengers and include legal obligations regarding passenger conduct and, indeed, the right to refuse access to someone who wants to board.

It has been suggested that hotlisting passes would send a strong message and could be used to stop people boarding another bus, but that would mean that the driver still had a policing role and that confrontation would be possible. Protection and respect for the driver and other passengers are paramount.

I understand that Transport Scotland has the authority to remove the free bus travel benefit. Presently, it is revoked if the card is used fraudulently but not when an individual assaults a bus driver—that is surely wrong.

Finally, I have reviewed my own case files and found only one complaint regarding youth behaviour, which was in Midlothian on Lothian buses in 2023. I contacted the police, and the Midlothian community action team carried out additional patrols in the affected areas. A combination of high-visibility and plain-clothes patrols were also deployed on buses to deter and disrupt antisocial behaviour and identify those who were responsible. Although no criminal behaviour was identified, a number of youths were taken home to be warned about their behaviour in front of their parents.

I have had nothing from Borders buses in respect of young people. It may be that the drivers are local and know their passengers, and the passengers know their drivers. That perhaps lends itself to a more responsible culture and respect. It may be different in rural areas because culprits can be easily identified—I do not know.

I note the progress on a code in relation to receiving a concessionary bus pass, which I would welcome—I have a bus pass myself—and I support progress on restricting the passes of those who abuse them, whoever they are. It is a privilege to have one, and it should be used appropriately.

I, too, welcome the debate, which was unfortunately prompted by dreadful, tragic circumstances, and I send my condolences to Keith Rollinson’s family and friends.

I note that the focus is on the impact of the concessionary bus pass for young people, which was introduced in January 2022. I recognise that any threat and aggression from, or anxiety caused by, passenger to driver and, indeed, other passengers are to be deplored. However, to give some context, more than 2.3 million people in Scotland have a concessionary pass—everyone under 22 or over 60 and disabled people and carers can now all benefit from free bus travel. Therefore, as other members have said, the overwhelming majority—young and old—use their pass responsibly. However, it is a privilege and, when abused, remedies are required.

Sometimes, crimes are being committed, so existing remedies can be used. They include diversionary and early intervention activities, if appropriate, alongside the use of police-issued formal warnings, fixed-penalty notices, antisocial behaviour orders and, indeed, prosecution. However, those activities happen post the event.

CCTV, which I know is on Borders buses and most Lothian regional transport buses, has its uses and might act as a limited deterrent, but there are those to whom it means nothing—in extreme cases, they might even see it as offering a challenge.

The briefing from the Confederation of Passenger Transport says:

“The under 22s Free Bus Travel Scheme is widely viewed as a success.”

It continues:

“There is however an acknowledgement that one unintended consequence has been a perceived rise in antisocial behaviour in and around buses in Scotland, observed by bus operators, but also by young people themselves, other passengers and representative groups. The Year 1 Evaluation of the Young Person’s Free Bus Travel Scheme highlighted ‘the perceived need to introduce some mechanism to police the use of the scheme and implement consequences for inappropriate behaviour.’”

I agree.

Let me focus on the minority of those—with or without a concessionary bus pass, young or old—who abuse. Although bus operators have their own conditions of carriage, those conditions apply to all passengers and include legal obligations regarding passenger conduct and, indeed, the right to refuse access to someone who wants to board.

It has been suggested that hotlisting passes would send a strong message and could be used to stop people boarding another bus, but that would mean that the driver still had a policing role and that confrontation would be possible. Protection and respect for the driver and other passengers are paramount.

I understand that Transport Scotland has the authority to remove the free bus travel benefit. Presently, it is revoked if the card is used fraudulently but not when an individual assaults a bus driver—that is surely wrong.

Finally, I have reviewed my own case files and found only one complaint regarding youth behaviour, which was in Midlothian on Lothian buses in 2023. I contacted the police, and the Midlothian community action team carried out additional patrols in the affected areas. A combination of high-visibility and plain-clothes patrols were also deployed on buses to deter and disrupt antisocial behaviour and identify those who were responsible. Although no criminal behaviour was identified, a number of youths were taken home to be warned about their behaviour in front of their parents.

I have had nothing from Borders buses in respect of young people. It may be that the drivers are local and know their passengers, and the passengers know their drivers. That perhaps lends itself to a more responsible culture and respect. It may be different in rural areas because culprits can be easily identified—I do not know.

I note the progress on a code in relation to receiving a concessionary bus pass, which I would welcome—I have a bus pass myself—and I support progress on restricting the passes of those who abuse them, whoever they are. It is a privilege to have one, and it should be used appropriately.

I, too, congratulate Richard Leonard on securing the debate. As we both know, this is not the first debate we have taken part in—and it will possibly not be the last—not just on the strike of 1984 but on the miners’ pension fund, the Miners’ Strike Pardon (Scotland) Act 2022, the Coalfields Regeneration Trust and, in fact, Mick McGahey.

I am older than other speakers and saw the charges on the miners by the mounted police, the women manning barricades at the picket lines and collecting for their communities, and communities—and, indeed, some families—being torn apart. I listened to Arthur Scargill and Mick McGahey.

During that long strike, the voice of Mick McGahey was more measured than that of Arthur Scargill, although, right to the end, Mick McGahey insisted that the 1984 strike was unavoidable and that the union’s tactics had been correct in the circumstances. I understand that there was a failed attempt to solve the dispute involving secret talks between Lord Whitelaw, the Tory deputy leader, and Mick McGahey, but Thatcher was out to avenge the demise of her predecessor, Edward Heath, who had taken on the miners with the resulting three-day week, failed and lost an election. When she came into government, she was hellbent on emasculating the unions, starting with the miners, and she succeeded.

It was the first time that I had witnessed British police attacking British people who were simply defending their jobs and their communities. I watched the scenes on the news bulletins with my late mother, who was a formidable advocate for the miners because, for her, it was personal. Her father was a Welsh coal miner. I never met him. He died in his early 40s from a head injury that he sustained when a pit prop fell on him. In those days, surgery was not so sophisticated, and a steel plate had been inserted. He left his large family of children, including my late mother—a Derbyshire woman—orphaned, as his wife had died in childbirth. My mother never let us forget the hardships of mining, and the fact that he left those 10 orphan children. His death had an enduring effect on the way she led her life, as a committed socialist, and on how she saw coal mining, and she passed that on to me.

My mother raged against the Tory Government for its ruthless treatment of the miners, their families and their communities, and I, too, was shocked when police on horseback were sent charging into men who were simply demonstrating for their livelihoods. Often, those officers were shipped in from outside the community, because the local police could not be used or would not be used.

Little did I know that, one day, I would represent mining communities in Midlothian, in particular, Newtongrange, Gorebridge and Penicuick. The footprint of the mines in my constituency is there for all to see. It includes the mining museum in Newtongrange; the memorial high above Gorebridge to the miners who lost their lives in the pits; and the Shottstown miners welfare club in Penicuick. That is just a snapshot.

Convictions were to follow the strike, with 1,300 or more people being charged and more than 400 convicted but, at last, two years ago, this Parliament passed the Miners’ Strike (Pardons) (Scotland) Act 2022. I absolutely agree with that symbolic and collective blanket pardon. Because the act does not get rid of the conviction, I appreciate that we still have the effect of the prerogative of mercy. However, the act is good enough, and, in any event, in practical terms, that issue might not be relevant, as convictions might now have lapsed through time, and records might be lost.

What is sad is that the UK Government has not followed the Scottish Parliament in introducing a collective pardon, although I commend it for, at long last, tackling the issue of the miners’ pension fund. That is an issue that I and Richard Leonard, as well as others, have campaigned on.

In particular—here I share Mr Leonard’s concern—there must be an inquiry into whether there was political interference in policing and the actions of the judiciary during that period.

I disagree with much of the point that the member makes—as he would expect. Does the member have any qualms about the manner of policing during that period? Would he perhaps address that?

I seek clarification, Deputy Presiding Officer. I am certainly not challenging you in any way, but I do not know whether Mr Griffin said that he was not taking interventions. I just want to know whether that is the case, so that I do not waste my time trying to intervene.

The Labour manifesto proposed to

“deliver economic stability with tough spending rules so that we can grow our economy and keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible.”

Then there was the notorious promise that working people would see no difference in their pay packets, because there would be no increase in income tax or national insurance for those “working people”, which, apparently, did not include any employer, no matter whether they ran a humble corner shop with a couple of employees.

What is the impact of increases in employers’ national insurance? More than 7,000 charities in Scotland employ more than 133,000 people, which is 5 per cent of Scotland’s workforce. As already referenced, the SCVO has estimated that it could cost the sector £75 million. The third sector cannot pass increased costs to service users, so cuts to services must follow. My inbox is full of briefings from charities, large and small, confirming that. For example, the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals—I declare an interest as I am a member—is set to lose £400,000 a year due to the measure, which is almost double the cost of feeding all the animals in its care across Scotland for one year.

In the health service, there are currently 35 GP practices in my constituency. The tax hike from the UK Government will impact their services and is unavoidable. Heaven knows what the additional cost will be to the NHS Borders across all its services, let alone the care sector.

Among local businesses, I have been advised that the wage bill of Borders Buses will rise by at least 6 per cent, which will restrict its investment in future recruitment and training and might force it to cut back on marginal services, potentially impacting the local communities that it serves.

In the retail sector, more than 80 businesses, including supermarkets such as Asda and Tesco, have written to Rachel Reeves, saying:

“For any retailer, large or small, it will not be possible to absorb such significant cost increases over such a short timescale.

The effect will be to increase inflation, slow pay growth, cause shop closures, and reduce jobs, especially at the entry level. This will impact high streets and customers right across the country.”

All of that was predictable: higher prices for essentials, cutbacks and job losses. Indeed, the independent OBR has projected that approximately 50,000 jobs could be lost due to the increase in national insurance contributions.

Someone’s pay packet might look the same, but it certainly will not buy as much as it used to—that is if they still have a pay packet, having avoided losing their job due to one of those cutbacks. I ask Ms Mochan, how is that protecting working people?

I return to that Labour manifesto promise to

“grow our economy and keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible.”

How is that going? Is a predicted figure of 50,000 job losses growing the economy? We have higher prices and mortgage increases—is that keeping mortgages and inflation “as low as possible”?

We have a depressed economy, people are unable to afford essentials, and there are cuts to public services and charities. No wonder Jackie Baillie sounded so rattled, defending the indefensible. No wonder the Labour benches are practically empty. No wonder Labour had spare speaking slots. Shameful.

On the OBR’s prediction, does the member accept, as I do, that 50,000 jobs could be lost across the UK economy simply because of employer contributions to national insurance rising—something that the Labour Party would not let me intervene to say?