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If Daniel Johnson listened to the start of my speech, he heard me say exactly that. I recognise that Brexit is part of the problem. What I am saying, clearly, is that the issues do not relate only to Scotland and the UK. Other countries in the EU are having exactly the same problems as we are, so it cannot be a Brexit problem. That is the whole point—we cannot just blame the problems on Brexit when it is clear that countries that are still in the EU are having exactly the same problems. My colleagues will set out some of the things that we can do about that, and the policy commitments that we ought to be putting in place.

However, I finish by saying that there are, in the Scottish economy, long-term structural issues that predate Brexit and Covid by many years, so Brexit and Covid cannot be held responsible for them. That is a serious message from every single economic forecaster that we care to listen to. The cabinet secretary needs to listen to them.

I move amendment S6M-02740.1, to leave out from “reduced workforce” to end and insert:

“global supply chain issues and shortages of workers in some key sectors of the economy, and further recognises that there are serious and long-term structural issues within the Scottish economy, as shown by recent evidence presented by economic forecast groups, and that these must be addressed with more focussed Scottish Government policies targeted at reducing the skills gap, at improving productivity and stimulating economic growth.”

I acknowledge at the start of the debate that Brexit has undoubtedly been responsible for some of the current issues in the labour market. Some of those issues are serious; I do not think that anyone should try to deny that or make light of the problems that have been encountered, because we all have constituents, many in rural and farming communities, who have expressed grave concerns about key aspects of the issue, including the shortage of migrant labour. I particularly cite fruit, vegetable and berry picking in my region as examples. Those people are absolutely right to state those concerns.

However, if one looks at the motion and had listened to the Scottish National Party during many debates in Parliament on the issue, one would think that Brexit was responsible for all the labour market issues, which is simply untrue. My colleague Murdo Fraser asked the cabinet secretary about the situation in France, because that is clearly not a Brexit issue.

Several SNP members have said today that Brexit was a political decision. Does the minister acknowledge that the decision about Brexit—I disagreed with Brexit—was a democratic one by the British people, including many people in Scotland and in the SNP, which we have to accept?

Like the rest of us in this chamber, the First Minister received a letter from Scotland’s outdoor education centres earlier this week, which set out the blunt financial plight that they are facing. Many of those centres are facing closure, including those in Mid Scotland and Fife. What will the urgent response from the Scottish Government be?

How is the Scottish Government responding to requests from the business community for long-term reform of the structure of business rates?

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I am sorry to interrupt the debate, but it is my understanding that quite a lot of members across all the political parties are having great difficulty in accessing the debate online because BlueJeans seems to have frozen. I know that that was a problem during question time, too. Could the matter be investigated, please?

I add my thanks to Mark Ruskell for bringing this important issue to the chamber. I also welcome the acknowledgment from the minister at last week’s portfolio questions on transport that there is a problem here. I heard him comment about driver shortages, and they undoubtedly exist, but that is not the whole story and I think that the minister is well aware of that.

As we try desperately hard to make it easier for people to go green when they make their transport choices, I worry that the situation with the X53 bus is yet another barrier in the way. Jackie Dunbar and Jim Fairlie made interesting points about trying to change people’s behaviour, and it is true that we must. If we are going to go green, it is important that we do not have too many barriers in the way of that.

However, the context is also important. This debate comes at a time when Stagecoach has reduced the Edinburgh to Perth X56 bus service by around half. Yesterday we learned that Stagecoach is announcing a merger with National Express and the loss of its Perth headquarters. There are worries about the sustainability of some of the Stagecoach services.

It also comes at a time when ScotRail plans to lengthen the rail journey time between Edinburgh and Perth by 10 minutes because of the new diversion via Dunfermline. That journey time is already pretty lengthy when compared with other UK and European journeys of the same distance—and, indeed, when compared with the rail journey time between Edinburgh and Perth over a century ago. As we know, there have also been issues around services at Kirkcaldy, Inverkeithing and Dunblane stations. The context is not great for passengers in Mid Scotland and Fife just now, especially for those who are based in our very rural locations.

The cross-country X53 bus service is a lifeline for many rural passengers, who will feel badly cut off by the loss of the bus service—that is certainly the message coming from Mid Scotland and Fife constituents. Mark Ruskell cited many examples of that, and he is quite right about people who have essential business to do but cannot get where they need to be quite so easily. Alexander Stewart made an interesting point about Stirling Council, which is obviously also worried about the situation, and I think that we need to pay a lot of attention to it.

I do not think that this decision sits well with modern transport policy, as we are supposed to be doing all that we can to encourage more people out of their cars and on to public transport. Neither does it sit well with the demographic changes that are happening across Mid Scotland and Fife, which in some key areas is seeing substantial growth, particularly along the M90 corridor. There has been extensive house building in Milnathort and Kinross.

I recently saw a statistic that suggested that Dunfermline is expected to grow by 30 per cent between 2016 and 2026. That is an awful lot of extra people who will be working in Edinburgh, Stirling, Glasgow, Perth and so on, and I hope that many of them will want to make use of public transport.

I thank Mark Ruskell again for highlighting this issue. Like many members, I have received a lot of communications on it, and I hope that the Scottish Government will address it. I know that there are extenuating circumstances with regard to some of the causes of the situation, but this is a very real issue that we need to do something about.

I am here, Presiding Officer.

I listened carefully to the answers that the minister gave to Jamie Halcro Johnston and Daniel Johnson, but I do not think that I heard him tell them what they asked for. When did he find out that there had been a breach of the contract?

On a further point of order, Presiding Officer. Would it be possible to have a short suspension until the issue is sorted out? There are members who would like to participate in the debate.

I warmly congratulate Jenni Minto on bringing this vitally important debate to the chamber, and on the tone that she has set with her very moving speech.

We all have our part to play on this issue. I actually witnessed the life-saving capacity of rural defibrillators when one member of my constituency staff suffered a cardiac arrest in a rural part of Perthshire. I have no doubt whatsoever that if the village had not had a defibrillator to hand, that colleague would not have survived. The office that Murdo Fraser and I share is part of the building for the Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance team, and I know just how much they appreciate all the work that is done.

Now more than ever, we are so aware of what our healthcare services do for us, and of just how precious the principles of the national health service are, given that it meets the needs of everyone on the basis of clinical need. We are also so aware of the work that the exceptional NHS staff undertake; we must also include in that the work of all those who look after our rapid-response ambulance teams and all those who are involved in campaigning for defibrillators. In addition, it is important to compliment, as Christine Grahame did, the members of our local communities who are so much a part of this very important campaign.

Every year, more than 3,000 people suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, but if you are one of those 3,000 and you live in a rural area, you are 32 per cent less likely to survive than others. People from more deprived areas are 60 per cent less likely to survive to be discharged than those from less deprived areas. There is a responsibility on us all to ensure that no matter where people are, we are able to respond to any out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

It is good to hear that, in the past five years, the Save A Life for Scotland partnership has equipped more than 640,000 people with the necessary skills for resuscitation. It is vital that we continue to train people on how to react, but we also need to ensure that defibrillator equipment is readily available and, just as importantly, that it is properly maintained. As Christine Grahame and Jenni Minto flagged up, information on where defibrillators are located is crucial. I whole-heartedly support the provision of more defibrillators, and I was delighted to hear that, in November, the Rattray community became the latest in the Perth and Kinross area to install a new defibrillator.

However, there are challenges, such as to ensure that the yearly monitoring, which is so important, actually happens, that parts-replacement costs can be met, that the location of the devices can be made more consistent, and that we can support our local communities. We know that in Wales, the Government has pledged £3 million to improve public access to defibrillators. As Jenni Minto rightly pointed out, we in Scotland could do a little more to ensure that there is further outreach.

In 2015, only around one in 20 people survived an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Thankfully, that statistic is now a little better—it is one in 10—but the survival rate is still too low. I therefore welcome the progress that we have made, the increased chance of survival and the continued installations of defibrillator equipment across the entirety of Scotland. However, we still have a long way to go to ensure that people’s lives are fully protected. We need not just to ensure that clinical assistance is provided, but to take responsibility and ensure that our local communities are very well prepared and know exactly what to do. As MSPs, we all have a part to play in helping that process. I warmly thank Jenni Minto once again for the debate, and I will do my part to ensure that we give that support.