Seòmar agus comataidhean

In the 14 years that I have been an MSP, I have encountered many examples of environmental injustice. Perhaps the worst case that I have come across is at Burrowine moor quarry, near Kincardine, where the community has been suffering from silica dust pollution for many years, alongside noise and light pollution.

The community’s view is that SEPA’s and the council’s regulatory responsibilities are not working. Our planning process seems blind to the health issues, and the review of mineral permissions around quarries is stuck in the 1970s.

What further work can be done between the health and planning parts of the Scottish Government to ensure that those concerns are addressed and that the planning process puts health more centrally into its considerations during the next parliamentary session?

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any potential public health impact of silica air pollution. (S6O-05702)

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of NHS Tayside having stopped accepting referrals for children without coexisting mental health disorders in March 2025, what further action it has taken to support children in accessing timely autism spectrum disorder assessments. (S6O-05664)

I know that Tom Arthur gets it. We have had conversations in the past year and I have brought constituency cases to him, but I am distraught that, a year on, we still have families that are stuck with no pathway. I appreciate that schools can do a lot and I appreciate that they can put plans in place to help neurodiverse young people, but some people just need an assessment. Will the next Government put forward an appropriate strategy that will guarantee that those who really need an assessment can get one?

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I would have voted yes.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I would have voted yes.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I would have voted yes.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I would have voted yes.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I would have voted yes.

I thank the many members from all parties in the Parliament who have contributed to the passage of the bill. It is a shame that they were not all able to speak this afternoon.

I give special thanks to Clare Haughey, Rona Mackay, Christine Grahame, Karen Adam and the many other members who have been relentless in advocating for the bill.

I also thank Gill Docherty and Jax Brown, who came to my office in 2019 to educate me about the dangers of greyhound racing, and whose petition to Parliament was the inspiration behind the bill. Their work at the trackside alongside others, including Gill Donn and her team, has been critical, because they built the case for an end to greyhound racing in Scotland.

Now, the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Dogs Trust, OneKind, Blue Cross and many others have joined the fight, and we have been able to link to the campaigns of Grey2K to end greyhound racing globally. Over the years, thousands have joined us on that journey. Many joined us this morning outside Parliament with their dogs, and I thank them all.

In 2015, my family rehomed an ex-racing greyhound called Bert. He sadly passed over the rainbow bridge last year. He was a wonderful dog. He was kind and affectionate and so patient with kids—and even with cats. However, until I started working on this campaign, I did not fully understand the trauma that Bert had endured while racing.

The physical scars were obvious—the ear tattoos and the broken leg that constantly made him lame—but it was his mental trauma that we struggled with at the beginning. He could not sleep at night without a light on because he had been raised on a puppy farm. His separation anxiety was awful. He was scared of vans and loud noises from his days of kennelling and being shipped around the country to races.

It is only through love that these dogs heal from their years spent in an exploitative industry. Reading through the consultation responses to my bill, I learned about dozens and dozens of dogs like Bert—gentle souls who had been scarred—and the patient work of rehomers across Scotland to bring them into their lives and heal them.

For those who still ask where the evidence for a ban on greyhound racing is, I point to Bert and Bob, Sasha and Joy, Bluesy and countless other dogs who have been treated abysmally by a gambling industry that disposes of dozens of dogs every month of every year.

There is a challenge for the minister, because, although I warmly welcome his reconsideration of the evidence and his support for the bill so that it can become law, it must be only the first step. There will still be dogs who are kennelled and trained in Scotland and raced across the border when the bill becomes law.

It is for Westminster to end greyhound racing in England. There are passionate champions who will fight for that in Parliament, including the Green Party’s newly elected MP, Hannah Spencer. However, the Welsh Government, which had its Prohibition of Greyhound Racing (Wales) Bill passed in the Senedd last night, has pledged to end the suffering of Welsh greyhounds that continue to be raced over its border. I call on the Scottish Government and the minister to follow that lead and ensure that no dog is left behind in Scotland.

Finally, I thank my parliamentary team, past and present, who have been outstanding, and the Parliament’s non-Government bills unit for its professional and dedicated support, which has got me to this point. I also thank the minister and his officials for some constructive engagement throughout the passage of the bill.

Tonight, Scotland can ban greyhound racing for good. We will be a better, more compassionate country for that. Let us do this for the dogs. Let us pass the Greyhound Racing (Offences) (Scotland) Bill.