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Cultural venues such as Dundee Museum of Transport, Dundee Contemporary Arts and Dundee Heritage Trust are all keen to play their part in Scotland achieving net zero. Can the minister advise on potential support for cultural venues to undertake retrofitting?

How does the Scottish Government plan to engage with stakeholders, including children and young people, as we move forward with education reform?

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS Tayside regarding the grading of district nurse roles. (S6O-00208)

The cabinet secretary will be aware of the hugely valuable role of district nurses, who are absolutely crucial in the provision of community-based care. The district nurses campaign in Dundee has secured the support of almost 5,000 signatures. Will the cabinet secretary take it upon himself once more to press NHS Tayside to get on with the process of job evaluation, so that our district nurses in Tayside can get the recognition that the public gives them and that they absolutely deserve?

The cabinet secretary will be aware that the Dundee housing first pathfinder project is set to end on 30 September and that the service is being mainstreamed by Dundee City Council, with Transform Community Development continuing to lead on delivery of the service. Can the cabinet secretary provide an update on discussions between the Scottish Government and Dundee City Council and its partners regarding the efforts that are being made to ensure that there is a smooth transition, particularly for those who are receiving support?

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its efforts to prevent and alleviate homelessness. (S6O-00193)

The First Minister will be aware that some unvaccinated people have expressed concern about the potential to catch and transmit Covid-19 after having been vaccinated and have cited that as a reason for their hesitancy. Can the First Minister offer any further assurances to those who may not yet have taken up the offer of a vaccination that not only protects them but helps to protect others, including their loved ones?

Clearly, no one is suggesting that poverty does not exist in Scotland. It does, which is why the Scottish Government takes the matter so seriously and is investing so hard, although that is difficult when every action that we take is reversed by Westminster Government actions, which we then have to mitigate against.

For Dundee, the Scottish Government has delivered more than £4.2 million to Dundee’s 3,700 carers via the carers allowance supplement; more than £1 million via the two family pandemic supplements, which supported 5,422 children and young people in our city; more than £1.7 million via the best start grant and best start foods; and more than £0.5 million in funeral support payments, to support people at that most difficult time in their lives.

Obviously, I am not a minister.

However, over the past three years, the budgets for alcohol and drug partnerships in Scotland have risen year on year and, in this year’s budget, there has been a significant investment of new cash, which I welcome. Clearly, we have more to do; I hope that the matter is one of the things that we can work on together.

The Scottish Government has done other things for Dundee. Provision of free school breakfasts and lunches is being expanded to all primary school pupils, which is benefiting more than 10,000 children in Dundee alone. More than 6,000 children and young people in our city are receiving the school clothing grant. [Interruption.] I am sorry—I need to make progress.

Sadly, the progressive and ambitious work of the Scottish Government is constantly undermined by the callous approach of the Tories at Westminster—slavishly backed by their Tory colleagues in this chamber, who will defend the indefensible in order to preserve their precious union. Scotland cannot afford to remain part of the sinking ship that is the United Kingdom. Imagine what we could achieve in Parliament if we had full control of our welfare system, like any other normal country in the world.

I look forward to supporting the forthcoming independence referendum bill once the Covid crisis is over, so that the people of Scotland can decide whether to remain shackled to Boris Johnson’s Brexit Britain or to choose independence, which will deliver the full range of powers to enable Parliament to put in place a transformational recovery that will lead to a fairer and more sustainable and prosperous nation. That will be a Scotland that is able to work in partnership with our friends in the rest of the UK and in Europe, in a genuine partnership of equals.

Often, when we talk about independence in the chamber, there are complaints from Tories that we need to focus on the day job. We had an election and its result was clear and decisive. The people of Scotland delivered their verdict on the Tories’ fundamentally undemocratic position—that the people of Scotland should never have the chance to choose again. There is a clear majority in Parliament in favour of an independence referendum. That is what Parliament is duty bound to deliver, on behalf of the people of Scotland, whom we serve. I will be proud to support that, when the time comes.

I support the motion, and I particularly welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to putting human rights at the centre of our Covid recovery. A new human rights bill will be introduced by the Scottish Government that will incorporate all the conventions that Maggie Chapman mentioned.

Although we in Parliament differ on other areas, I hope that on this one we can work together to do what is best for Scotland.