Seòmar agus comataidhean

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I seek your guidance on a general point. In my time in Parliament we have had several instances of standards recommendations and discipline of various members, but I am concerned that the issue raised by Ross Greer has merit in that we do not appear to keep a note of precedent. In any court proceedings, there is a note of precedent of the kind of penalties that have been imposed in similar circumstances.

All that I ask is about who and why and whether we should keep a note of precedents of decisions made in the circumstances and the various disciplinary consequences that occur for members. I think that that is fair. The issue does not influence my decision in this case, but we have to take a view on it in fairness to any member who may subsequently be subject to disciplinary proceedings.

I, too, offer my condolences to people who lost family, friends and neighbours because of Covid, and I recognise the situation of people who are still suffering from long Covid. For them all, none of this is over and Covid is still very much with us. A colleague whom I met at the weekend has just come down with it. I, myself, evaded the virus until late last year.

I also record my thanks to everyone who has been involved in delivery of health services and in caring settings. We might not be clapping and rattling pot lids at 8 pm any more, but I have not forgotten—and never will forget—the debt that our society owes them and Governments across the globe for their joint efforts to combat the virus. I also record the enormous commitment of the former First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, whose daily updates were valued by many people, whether they supported her Government or not.

However, I must take Sandesh Gulhane and other members to task over what they presented as the purer-than-pure role of the UK Government during the Covid pandemic. What about Randox Laboratories, for example? Owen Paterson MP, who is a former Cabinet minister, received £500,000 to advise Randox, which—strangely—was awarded, without competition, a £137 million contract for Covid-19 testing. That contract was later renewed despite 750,000 Covid tests having to be recalled because of safety concerns.

What, too, of the contracts for personal protective equipment that went to the Tories’ pals on the VIP fast-track list, who had no experience of PPE, and what of the some £4 billion-worth of unusable PPE that was bought in the first year and had to be incinerated?

Who can forget the scandal in which a company that was associated with Michelle Mone, who had previously been elevated to the House of Lords, was awarded a PPE contract worth more than £100 million, which shocked even Rishi Sunak? Let us put some context around how the UK Government acted during the pandemic.

I turn to the vaccines, which have been our saviours. As other members have said, we were told that developing and testing vaccines for application would take a decade at the very least, as had been the case in the past. It took a global pandemic for Governments, together with the scientific community, to have Covid vaccines developed in a highly accelerated fashion. That shows that it can be done and, perhaps, could be done in other areas of medicine. Where there is a will there is a way.

As others have said, that underlined how much we should thank our scientific communities. It is not breaking news that they collaborate on research. My son is a research scientist—although not in the field that we are debating—and he collaborates internationally. I give those communities my gratitude.

I am in the over-75 age group, so I benefit from the vaccine programme. Just yesterday, when I also had the pneumococcal vaccine, I received my sixth Covid vaccination. My previous Covid vaccinations were accompanied by shingles and flu vaccines—I have arms like a colander. Only with the first vaccination did I have a reaction, which was to shiver violently for hours. That was then, and I have had no reaction since. I say to others—especially people in my age group, and people who are not in my age group who are frightened of vaccines—please get vaccinated and, like me, take the other vaccines that are on offer, if they are suitable.

Delivery is much improved. In the early days, I found myself in a long queue with a two-hour delay before people were being taken in, so I left and came back on another date. Those days are gone; yesterday, I went straight through.

I agree with the minister that there is more adaptability applied to what constitutes a convenient place for vaccinations. However, my vaccination yesterday was at Ocean Terminal, where signage was poor and there was quite a long walk to the facility. That was fine for me, but it proved to be a challenge for some people with mobility issues. Also, locating the site became a bit of a mystery tour for me and others. Perhaps the NHS could ensure that the authorities review signage and accessibility.

As for the future, I note that the World Health Organization has downgraded Covid so that it is no longer a global emergency, although I believe that some nations are working on an international protocol to prepare for an outbreak—I hope that one does not occur—in autumn and winter. Given that health is a devolved issue, has the Scottish Government been engaging with the UK Government, along with the other UK nations, on that protocol?

When I was isolated at home for 12 weeks, I wrote a Covid diary—partly as therapy, but also to remind me of what it was like for me and others and to remind me to be grateful that, somehow, we collectively worked our way through it. One day, my grandchildren might find it interesting.

I thank the cabinet secretary for her answer. As the main witness in a trial for threatening behaviour to me, I had to give evidence on incidents spanning from 2017 to 2020, the trial having been deferred from 2022 to earlier this year. The case against Peter Morris was found to be not proven. No one can determine that the outcome was due to delays in prosecution, but what data is there regarding a possible connection between delays in the prosecution process and conviction rates?

To ask the Scottish Government what measures can be taken to accelerate the prosecution of criminal cases. (S6O-02221)

Who provides that data to you?

We are looking to get actual data. You could go in and say, “Well, the fish are not too bad today,” but I have seen sea lice, and they can do horrible things to the fish. How do you know that the figures are right? That is what I am getting at. This is very important. You have given a figure of 15 to 25 per cent, which is a loss of quarter of the stock.

How do you reduce the level?

I want to pick up on the mortality rate, which you mentioned. It is connected to what Edward Mountain said about the use of antibiotics. What is the mortality rate as a percentage over whatever time?

It is a bit unfair if it is just an official, because, if anything quasi-political came up, they would be in an invidious position. It is up to the Government to send somebody—if not a cabinet secretary, a minister, and if they are accompanied by officials, that is all good and well.

I want to pick up on Jim Fairlie’s comments. Fish are sentient, and they feel pain. It is not a sudden death. I am not talking about them having a heart attack and dying; it is a painful process when fish die in factory farms. If there was 25 per cent mortality in a flock of 400 sheep, that would mean saying goodbye to 100 of them. That puts the dynamics of it into some kind of perspective.

I absolutely support salmon farming in Scotland, but I want it to be done with the welfare of the animals at heart as well as the production of a good product. There are then the ancillary matters that Edward Mountain mentioned—we have accidentally become a team. The antibiotics that are put in to combat the conditions in which the fish are kept and that lead to an increase in the lice are, in fact, a bad thing in themselves.

I just wanted to make that comment in reflecting on what my colleague Jim Fairlie said, because I do not find the figure of 25 per cent acceptable. Convener, if there is a 10 per cent drop off in livestock, out of 400 sheep, we would have 40 of them perishing. I cannot imagine that that is correct by a long shot.