Seòmar agus comataidhean

I thank the cabinet secretary for his answer regarding local partners. Does the cabinet secretary have discussions or engagement with private and public sector employers regarding home working and, separately, regarding the provision, where practicable, of the 1,140 hours of free nursery care, including to home workers?

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is giving to bring people with children back into work. (S6O-02262)

A recent YouGov poll has disclosed that only 9 per cent consider that Brexit has been a success, while 62 per cent consider it a failure. I am happy to take an intervention from Stephen Kerr on that point. No—he is in his seat.

I welcome Scotland’s overseas network of offices in Beijing, Berlin, Brussels, Dublin, London, Ottawa, Paris and Washington, and the more than 30 Scottish Development International trade and investment offices in around 20 countries to promote co-operation in areas of devolved responsibility at the national and sub-national level.

I return to Scottish culture, one of Scotland’s greatest exports, which can support our wider international connections, including trading relationships. Tourism is based inextricably in our history and culture, and it is also a key economic contributor.

I will be a bit parochial here, representing, as I do, the Scottish Borders. We have the eclectic Abbotsford, home of the talented and colourful Sir Walter Scott, who did much to revive tartan, and Melrose abbey, where the heart of Robert the Bruce is buried. How many here know the weel-kent children’s song “Ally Bally Bee”, which, I would suggest, is the first-ever advertising jingle and was the creation of a Galashiels weaver, the mischievous confectionery trader Robert Coltart. Then there are the common ridings, which bring expats back to their communities.

We have the history, we have culture, we have those millions with Scottish ancestry across the globe, and we have the saltire, which is recognised the world over as the flag of Scotland, but we do not have our own voice.

I congratulate the Scottish Government on the international measures that it is taking, constrained as it is by devolution. However, I say gently to Willie Rennie—and certainly not gently to Stephen Kerr—how much more we could do with our independence.

Scotland, notwithstanding some dark moments in its history—its role in the slave trade and the British Empire, for example—has that lucky advantage on the world stage of being an instantly recognisable brand. It is identifiable as a nation even though we are not yet a completed nation—independent—and are therefore excluded from the United Nations and other international organisations and treaties.

It is not just about the piper on the shortbread tins, but do not underestimate shortbread or whisky: as Stephen Kerr indicated, global exports grew to more than £6 billion for the first time in 2022, according to figures released by the Scotch Whisky Association, up 37 per cent by value. All of that went into the UK Treasury coffers.

I hope that this is going to be worth while, Mr Kerr.

Mr Kerr has a strange idea of what a nation is when you have to stand outside a door and ask permission of another nation to have your voice heard.

The skirl of the pipes is a national identifier, as are the songs of Burns, the clans and their tartans and the internationally recognised “Auld Lang Syne”, none of which we should apologise for. It is also the landscape, urban and rural, and often used for film locations, that shouts that this is Scotland. Despite more than 300 years of the union, we have kept our identity strong. I speak as one being English by birth but a proud Scot.

Any advertising company would give its right arm for just one such internationally recognisable badge, let alone a whole cupboard-full. Add to that the upwards of 40 million people across the world claiming Scottish heritage, and we have an enviable foundation on which to expand and build international relations through all spheres.

Let me correct Maurice Golden. The current population of Scotland is around 5.5 million and we are the beneficiaries of net migration. In 2021, from the rest of the UK it was net 10,000, and from overseas it was net 20,000. However, I recall from the mid-1950s that families of neighbours on either side of our council house emigrated, some under the £10 scheme to Australia and others to Canada and New Zealand, in particular. It is therefore not surprising that, in Australia, stats from 2021 indicate that 130,000 residents were born in Scotland and 2 million residents claim Scottish ancestry.

In Canada, in 2016, nearly 4 million people—14 per cent of the population—claimed Scottish ancestry. Today, the figure is estimated to be as high as 25 per cent. You can add another four to that figure, Presiding Officer, as one of my sons and his family emigrated there just last year—to Nova Scotia, of all places. For family balance, the other son emigrated to London. In New Zealand, although it is difficult to get accurate data, it is estimated that between 1 and 2 million people claim part or whole Scottish ancestry.

All of that provides a ready-made base of good will towards Scotland, which can be—and is—translated into economic benefits. That good will extends to our European neighbours—whom, of course, we did not want to leave. Interestingly, even Nigel Farage considers that Brexit has been a failure with no economic benefits. One might add to that the damaging economic consequences.

I know simply from my casework about the pressure on mental health services. It is a pressure that, in my 24 years as an MSP, I have not seen before. Although I wish that referrals could be accelerated, I recognise that the volume of referrals has risen. Several factors are causing unforeseen pressure on services. One is Covid. Another is the cost of living and inflation in energy and food bills, with inflation on the price of food reaching almost 19 per cent. Another is that people are more likely—and this is a good thing—to identify that they have a mental health problem. Both the Labour motion and the Tory amendment would have more credibility if they even referenced those factors.

I will start with the devastating fallout from Covid. On the situation in Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, I received the following response from the chief executive of NHS Borders:

“Regrettably, the Community Mental Health Team were experiencing pressure from the Covid-19 backlog and the demand for the Neurodevelopmental Disorder assessments. As a result, NHS Borders are implementing the existing secondary care referral criteria. Therefore, only patients assessed as meeting level 4 (complex) will progress for assessment by the CMHT. This is in line with the National Autism Implementation Team recommendations”.

The Mental Health Foundation has said:

“National and localised ‘lockdowns’ ... removed the social connections and day to day support that significantly contribute to positive mental health and happiness.”

I move on to inequality. Of course, that takes me on to inflation, which is currently over 10 per cent generally, with food price inflation still running at over 19 per cent—those are Office for National Statistics figures. Added to that is the cost of heating and credit cards, never mind mortgages. The Tories’ cost of living crisis means that the poorest and most vulnerable in our society are more likely to experience poorer mental and physical wellbeing, lower life satisfaction and feelings of loneliness. That is supported by new research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which states:

“More than a quarter of adults in Scotland have accessed the NHS due to the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on their mental or physical health.”

That is further confirmed by the findings of See Me Scotland, which in February found that 59 per cent of people in Scotland say that the cost of living crisis is impacting on their mental health. A poll carried out for the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland found that 52 per cent of Scots are concerned about the impact of rising prices on their mental health. There was no mention of that from any of the Conservative speakers in the debate.

The impact of the pandemic was bad enough, especially for those who were already vulnerable, but it has been compounded by the highest inflation rates in generations. What is welcome, but challenging, is the gradual erosion of the stigmatisation of mental health issues. More people are therefore coming forward for assessment in the first instance, which is excellent. However, it is no wonder that, in that context, demands are high and pressures are unparalleled. The Opposition parties should at the very least acknowledge that and, in the case of the Tories, they should admit a modicum of responsibility, given the cost of living crisis.

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.

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