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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.

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.

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.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I would have voted no.

I am grateful that, in the busy final hours of this parliamentary session, a moment has been found to consider a law to alleviate the suffering of animals.

The true mark of a society is the way in which it treats its animals. The case against greyhound racing is plain to see. The numbers speak for themselves. Since the industry started recording figures in 2017, there have been nearly 4,000 deaths and a staggering 35,000 injuries across the United Kingdom.

The reasons for that are clear. Racing greyhounds at speeds of up to 40 miles per hour on an oval track results in catastrophic injuries and deaths. The dogs slow down as they enter the first bend, bunching together and crashing as they jostle for position. Centrifugal forces pull the dogs towards the outside of the track, resulting in crashes on the fence. Dogs break their legs, break their backs and end up paralysed and with serious head trauma. I am sickened by the images from racetracks that show deaths and injuries day in, day out on social media. It is time that that stops. Today, we have the chance to ensure that in Scotland—if the bill passes.

Even at this late stage, some members will continue to argue that regulation and licensing are the best way forward, but the injuries and deaths are happening mostly under a licensed regime. The industry has had years to reform, but it has been unwilling or unable to make changes that remove the inherent risk to the dogs that are racing. Licensed greyhound racing is simply licensed animal cruelty. As long as greyhound racing is a lawful activity, it will continue to be impossible to prevent suffering under our animal welfare laws.