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One of the preferred options for Moray is a midwife-led service, like the one in Caithness. The result in Caithness is that fewer babies than ever before have been born there—only about 20 to 30 per cent of all births in the far north happen in Caithness.

What work will the Scottish Government commission to assess whether NHS Highland can truly take on the additional work without disadvantaging its catchment patients? What will be the additional cost and who will fund it?

I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests.

Given that the most inept cabinet secretary for rural affairs that we have ever had in Scotland—who oversaw the failure of the common agricultural policy information technology system—managed to get out all basic single farm payments without any deductions or loans before the middle of November each year, why can the cabinet secretary not do so?

I remind members that I am the third generation of my family to have served in the forces, and my son continues to serve today.

I am delighted to open the debate on behalf of the Conservative Party. Remembrance commemorations are so important to the history of this country and to the Commonwealth, because they are our chance to remember the sacrifices that were made to ensure our future, the future of world democracy and, importantly, the future of Europe.

On Sunday, people will gather to remember, and the way that they do that will be personal. Some will remember family members who died in two world wars; others will remember those who have died since; and some will wish to reflect on their service and those who served with them. However, the commonality of purpose is to pause, reach out and appreciate and acknowledge all that has been given to secure our future.

At this time of year, I always reflect on the price that has been paid to protect our freedom; it is a high price and, sometimes, the ultimate price. We should never forget that every serviceman and woman who serves our country makes an unconditional offer when they take the oath of allegiance—one that we, perhaps, do not fully appreciate.

That offer is an unlimited commitment that binds them to defend their country. It is an oath without limit. It is all or nothing, and if the ultimate sacrifice is required, that is part of the deal. They know that, and perhaps we do, too.

That ultimate sacrifice has been made by so many. Over a million British soldiers were killed in two world wars, and numerous conflicts since have claimed the lives of this country’s sons and daughters. The price that they have paid is also reflected in the price that their families have had to pay. As we sleep safely in our beds, knowing that our servicemen and women are watching our backs, we probably give scant thought to the families who are supporting those who are on the front line. For them, every telephone call and every strange car that stops outside their house could bring bad news. Their lives are not normal, and we owe them a huge debt of gratitude, too. If they have to face the loss of their loved ones, we know that their lives will never be the same. Burying a son or a daughter is not something that any parent should ever have to do. Those huge costs are the ones that we have to pay for peace and for the protection of our country and our way of life. It is right that we always pause to reflect on what is given by others for our today and our tomorrow.

Our servicemen and women are prepared to give their all for us, so we should do the same for them. That is why I welcome the combined approach that is being taken by the UK Government and the three devolved Governments in implementing a joint strategy for our veterans community. That shared commitment makes a real difference. I am encouraged that our armed forces charities are due to receive £5 million from the UK Government and £1 million from the Scottish Government this year.

There is so much to commend in the latest report from the Scottish veterans commissioner—I agree with Keith Brown on that. Good progress is being made when it comes to health and wellbeing, whether that is improving access to chronic pain treatment or creating veteran-friendly general practitioner services. I also look forward to the publication of the long-awaited mental health plan for veterans. However, other areas of the strategy need more urgent attention. The veterans commissioner has identified that progress is still lacking when it comes to supporting veterans in new careers. That is a cause for concern. Let me be clear: former armed services personnel are such an asset to their employers. They have so much to offer businesses, public services and charities across the United Kingdom. I will be pressing the Scottish Government to do all that it can to ensure that veterans are given the opportunities that they need to fulfil their undoubted potential.

There is much more that we can do in Parliament, too. That is why the Scottish Conservatives will introduce an armed forces and veterans bill this session. It will propose enshrining the armed forces covenant in law for devolved public bodies, such as the national health service, and introduce provisions to increase the support that is available for veterans and their families. We believe that what the bill proposes will improve transitions from military to civilian life by enhancing access to education, healthcare, housing and career opportunities. Such legislation would underline our unwavering commitment to support veterans and their families.

That never-ending commitment is something that I believe we should strive for, and I believe that it is reflected by another organisation that works so hard during the course of the year—the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The commission works tirelessly to ensure the immaculate upkeep of the graves that honour the sacrifices that were made for us. Its work never stops. On a daily basis, it ensures that the graves are maintained. I take a moment to encourage people to contact the commission if they ever find a grave that is in less than perfect condition. It is very responsive—as I have found out—and it will be diligent in its duty of care.

This Sunday, at 11 o’clock, the nation will fall silent as we remember those who gave their all for the freedoms that we cherish. Unlike last year, this year remembrance services will be taking place across the country. I say to everyone, on Sunday, please visit your local war memorials and stand together with all those who were willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice in memory of those who did.

As perhaps the only member of the Parliament who has served with the United Nations peacekeeping force—and not just pontificated about it in the newspapers—I know how important it is for peace to be negotiated and then, more often than not, policed. Is that not why we need to get behind the established peacemakers, rather than supporting self-promoting idealist plans that undermine the organisations that can actually deliver peace and then police it, such as the UN?

I thank my colleague Jamie Halcro Johnston for securing this important debate.

It is no exaggeration to say that the current ferries crisis is a disaster for islanders and for Scotland. I agree with much of what has been said already in the debate. For the past 15 years, the SNP has failed to renew our ferry fleet, and we are left with 16 ships that are more than 25 years old.

The whole sorry saga of ferry mismanagement could become a film, the title of which would be “Carry On Without the Ferries”, with a working title of “£300 Million Spent With No Boats Delivered”. The farce has been funded by the people of Scotland at the expense of islanders. Transport Scotland staff are the directing agents, and they are ably assisted by CMAL.

The actors in the farce are numerous, and some deserve special mention. First, perhaps, is Alex Salmond, who played a key role in Jim McColl’s takeover of the Ferguson shipyard.

There is also the current First Minister, who announced the £97 million ferry contract and who went on to launch hull 801 with wooden windows, dummy funnels and no engines.

Humza Yousaf, who was the Minister for Transport and the Islands, failed to manage the contracts for hulls 801 and 802, and had no idea that they were so far behind schedule.

Derek Mackay was a key player, having signed off £127 million-worth of payments to Ferguson Marine, made up of 85 per cent of the contract payments for the two ferries. He also signed off a £45 million loan, which CMAL did not even know about. The result: half of one ferry, and even that was not fit for purpose.

Michael Matheson and Paul Wheelhouse announced delay after delay for the two vessels, but still argued that everything was fine and on budget.

Fiona Hyslop claimed that Ferguson’s had a “bright future” ahead of it, despite the fact that it would not be allowed to tender for any more ferries in the meantime.

Kate Forbes has ministerial responsibility for Tim Hair, the turnaround director of Ferguson’s, who is paid £2,850 a week and has received payment of more than £1 million. She has never renewed his contract and is oblivious to the fact that he has yet to deliver either vessel or that the previous company for which he was the turnaround director went into receivership.

As we have heard, Graeme Dey, who is now in charge of dealing with the situation, has failed to meet Tim Hair or even to visit the shipyard during the summer after his appointment.

The final actor in the farce is Ivan McKee, who, admittedly, has a very small walk-on part, but when he was challenged to defend the litany of failures, he said, “these things happen.”

I am sorry to report that I have heard that the Scottish Government has been nominated for the cash cow award, for awarding a £97 million contract that is likely to cost in excess of £300 million. If it wins the award, I wonder who will be asked to collect it. I do not suppose that there will be many volunteers, or many members of the Cabinet who have not had a role in the process.

It is an expensive failure, which is far from a joke. It is expensive to the people of Scotland and to the islanders who rely on our ferries and who desperately need new ones. Let us get the figures right—in the past year, our ferries have had 99 breakdowns and major disruptions to services, culminating in nearly 6,000 cancelled sailings.

I am sure that I do not need to remind the Parliament that the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee, which I was convener of, concluded that the fiasco was caused by

“a catastrophic failure in the management of the procurement of vessels”.

It also criticised the Government for not having a ferries plan; it never seems to have had one.

A resilient network of ferries is vital for the future of our island communities. For us to have such a network, we need a new, Scotland-wide ferries strategy; even more important, we need a Scottish Government that can deliver it. After 15 years of failure, it is time for the SNP to improve on its dismal record of failure. Our islanders desperately need the Government to up its game.

Indeed. My real concern is that I do not believe that the Government is capable of doing so.

I thank my colleague Jamie Halcro Johnston for securing a debate on a subject that is so important, especially in the Highlands and Islands. We all know that every minute counts when it comes to attending a life-threatening situation. That is even more the case in the Highlands and Islands, where rural communities face long journey times to A and E—more than two hours, in some of the more remote areas. Ambulance crews’ ability to respond quickly is therefore, more often than not, what makes the difference between life and death.

During the pandemic, we relied heavily on our hard-working ambulance crews, as never before. As we faced the worst pandemic and health emergency in generations, they rose to the challenge, as did all the other front-line staff, and faced it with true grit and determination. However, the challenge that they faced has been made so much harder by the SNP Government, which has presided over an ambulance waiting time crisis.

It is always convenient for SNP members to blame all their failures on either Brexit or the pandemic, but it is simply not true. Those without selective amnesia will remember the shortage of ambulance provision in the Highlands and Islands region that I highlighted back in 2017. At that stage, there was insufficient ambulance cover for not only Skye, but Lochaber and Caithness. Shortages were addressed with sticking-plaster solutions such as the single crewing of ambulances, and it was not until 2018, when the GMB union threatened to take industrial action due to the lack of emergency ambulance cover in Caithness, that the Government almost woke up.

That shortage of emergency ambulances had a knock-on effect. During the same period, I had to assist care homes that had to organise their own patient transport due to the lack of ambulance cover to take patients to hospital. Our Ambulance Service has been overstretched for far too long and the situation has reached breaking point, with the average waiting time for ambulance crews now being up to six hours. That is shocking.

Let us put that into context and see what it means in an individual’s case. I quote a constituent who contacted me. They collapsed at home having a mini stroke, called for an ambulance and were told to wait for a call back. When that call eventually came, they were told to make their own way to accident and emergency because no ambulances were available. They wondered what they were expected to do: pop outside and wave down a taxi or perhaps even jump on a bus? Thankfully, that was not needed, because a friend was called, jumped to and took them to the hospital.

That is not where we should be. There are insufficient ambulances and not enough staff. There is nowhere for the Government to hide and no one is to blame but itself, because the crisis started well before the pandemic and Brexit.

The ambulance crisis is putting people’s lives at risk, especially in the Highlands, where there are much greater distances to travel. I am pleased that, following the Scottish Conservatives’ call, steps have been taken to bring in the Army and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to alleviate crew shortages. However, what we need in the Highlands, and what the Ambulance Service in the Highlands needs, is a long-term plan. That takes leadership and vision. Sadly, both seem to have evaded the SNP Government over the past 14 years.

The First Minister will be aware of the enormous strain on the provision of mental health treatment across the country, which has been exacerbated by Covid. The chief executive of NHS Highland has told me that personnel shortages are the problem, not funding, and that she is not happy with the offering in terms of responsiveness and support. Can the First Minister confirm what action is being taken to secure specialist support in the Highlands from outwith NHS Highland before more constituents lose their lives?

In 2014, the crofting law sump report identified 17 high-priority areas, and the 2017 report on crofting by the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee reinforced that. It proved difficult to action those reports. I have heard what the cabinet secretary has said today. Will she give an assurance that those areas will be dealt with by the end of 2022, or will she dither and delay as her predecessor did?

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Today and yesterday, it has proved incredibly difficult to follow parliamentary business on the BlueJeans app, because it does not appear to work properly. It failed significantly this morning during the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee meeting, and I could hear only 40 per cent of today’s questions and answers—indeed, I did not hear the answer to the question that I raised.

Presiding Officer, could you help those of us who are unable to attend Parliament in person to follow parliamentary business by ensuring that the technology works for us? I regret to say that, at the moment, it does not.