Seòmar agus comataidhean

I will start by thanking Brian Whittle. When I bumped into him earlier today, he told me that this debate was happening. I was not due to speak as I have another event tonight. However, for every single member of this Parliament, the issue is at the heart of our inboxes, as Carol Mochan has said. It is what people come to our surgeries about and, frankly, it is something that we are all fearful about, because we and our families all rely on the NHS. I have been grateful to have care from my GP during the pandemic and in recent months, but I know many people have found it very hard to get face-to-face contact or even to get through on the phone.

I want to take the opportunity, like others have done, including Emma Harper, to thank everyone working across health and social care, including everyone in primary care, from the receptionist to the practice nurse and the GP. The NHS is a family and every part of it needs to be nurtured and looked after. We have a duty in Parliament to give people confidence and to show that we value the workforce. We certainly should not scare people or give people a sense that they will not get support from the NHS. However, we all know constituents who have had to endure long waits for ambulances and others who have waited on the phone trying—dozens and sometimes hundreds of times—to get through to out-of-hours services and NHS 24.

That is the reality. It would be good to keep it all positive, but we are living in scary times. We all do local press and use social media. The word “crisis” is perhaps overused, but I fear that what we are seeing right now in our NHS has become the new normal. We have become so desensitised to words such as “crisis” and “catastrophe” that it is hard to come to this place and feel that our words have meaning.

As someone who lives in and represents Lanarkshire, I worry that code black status is becoming the new normal for that area. We cannot allow that to happen. The cabinet secretary knows that I will work with him and his team and colleagues from all parties. Frankly, I do not care what party people belong to—the issue is bigger than any party, logo or soundbite, because the reality is that many of us fear getting ill. Many of my constituents cannot afford to go private and bypass the NHS. We have to fix things.

There are immediate things that we can do and there are longer-term things. We must show our constituents and the wider public in Scotland that we have a plan.

The approach of the UK Government and the Scottish Conservatives is worrying and wrong-headed. What can the Scottish Government do to make sure that our planning system is robust and fit for purpose? If we are going to see new offshore oil and gas developments such as Cambo, Jackdaw and Rosebank, what can we do to make sure that our planning system is robust? There will be a requirement for onshore assets and infrastructure. What can we do to frustrate the process if necessary?

Absolutely. It is important to hear about good practice and what is working well. However, when I listen to my constituents and people in my family who work in the NHS, it is clear that staff do not have time to go for a pee, never mind go to do extra training. There are people who want to advance and stay in our NHS, but they do not feel valued and they feel burned out. Although we have heard about additional recruitment and finding new people, we are losing people. We are not retaining the talent and the good people that we already have. I think that we all share those concerns.

I will finish by reminding the cabinet secretary that I emailed him again recently about the code black status in Lanarkshire in which I made an offer, on behalf of my constituents, to work with him and his team. We need to pull people together. I hope that, when the cabinet secretary makes his closing speech, we will hear that a date is in his diary and that that will be shared with colleagues soon.

I have a question on procurement, which has been mentioned already. I come back to the issue of capacity, which we often hear about in broad terms. Stephen Smellie described a very lean model of local government, where we have shed a lot of staff over the years. Are we doing workforce plans across local government? Do we know exactly how many staff we would, in an ideal world, need to have in certain roles?

We talk a lot about workforce planning for the national health service, for example, but we do not always talk in great detail about what local government needs. I will come to Louise Marix Evans first, and then go round the table to find out whether that work is happening. It may be happening in England; perhaps Louise will have some good examples of that. I want to get a sense of what we actually need, and what kind of jobs we should train people for. For example, I am thinking about what Stephen Smellie said about a just transition, and how those agendas are linked.

That is helpful. Andrew Burns, can we hear your thoughts and reflections?

That is helpful. I am pleased that you mentioned community wealth building. Perhaps David Hammond can add to that—he might have further thoughts on that from his experience at North Ayrshire Council.

I will go to Silke Isbrand next and then David Hammond, unless David wants to come in now.

Will Silke Isbrand build on David Hammond’s answer by giving COSLA’s point of view on how we roll out good practice? We have heard some examples from David. How can we ensure that that learning does not just sit in Ayrshire but can be shared across Scotland?

That was a very clear answer—thank you.

I will move on to procurement, but I am keen to ask Andrew Burns why adaptation is not given such priority. Can you put your finger—or your pen—on that?

I have a question about the Scottish National Investment Bank—Louise or Andrew can indicate whether they are best placed to answer. It would be good if Stephen Smellie could follow up in writing to the committee because, last year, Unison published a report on decarbonising the public sector, and I am keen to hear what engagement has taken place with COSLA, the Accounts Commission and others on that report.

We have not heard about the role of the investment bank today. Can anyone speak to that point briefly?