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On that final point, I agree that this situation is in no one’s interest. It is not in the public interest or the interest of your very hard-working staff, to whom we are all very thankful.

Therefore, my final question is: given that Scottish Water is a signatory to the Scottish Government’s fair work convention, will you reflect on what has been said here today and elsewhere and demonstrate that there is an effective voice in the workplace for all staff and trade union partners, who play a critical role?

Before Peter Farrer answers, I remind the committee of my entry in the register of members’ interests, in that I am a member of the GMB and Unite.

Thank you, and good morning to the panel. This question is for Alex Plant. I would be interested to hear more about your experience of the water industry in England and to understand what lessons can be learned by drawing on your experience. We have heard that you worked for Anglian Water, which is probably one of the worst polluters in England, on record. I have in front of me examples of the Environment Agency calling for water company bosses to be jailed for serious offences against the environment. Incidents of “ecocide” have been described. Drawing on that experience in that context, what hope can you give us for the situation in Scotland?

Thank you for that response. The situation in England is, or has been, pretty bleak, but I am sure that we do not want to gloss over some of the media coverage that we had in Scotland at the weekend. Some really hard-hitting statements were made and Scottish Water has contested some of the analysis, but let us just look at people’s perception and what they are saying.

Surfers Against Sewage has accused Scottish Water of “appalling behaviour”. Campaigners and politicians—I will not name them all here—fear that the lack of spill monitoring could mean that dry spilling is a bigger issue than the data indicates. Scottish Water is accused of illegally discharging hundreds of times during dry weather, and soiling beauty spots, much-loved beaches and so on with human waste. We have seen the media coverage and heard the reaction from politicians, communities and key campaigners. As chief executive officer, what is your assessment of that?

We can come back to the methodology, which is in dispute, but, for clarity, do you dispute the impact on communities and the environment? Are people exaggerating the impact?

You mentioned misleading media reporting and headlines. Is Scottish Water planning to take any legal action in that regard?

Good morning, panel. I did not catch all the details, but you gave an example just a second ago. My first question is to ask how the Scottish National Investment Bank is currently supporting the transition to a circular economy in Scotland and how that links to your mission and investment principles—for example, to seek to invest where the private market is failing and to be a patient and ethical investor.

I am grateful to my Scottish Labour colleague Katy Clark for securing this debate. From listening to Ms Clark and other speakers, it is very clear why the debate is so necessary.

I am also grateful to Maggie Chapman for hosting last week’s FBU Scotland event, which launched the “Firestorm” report. For me, “Firestorm” is more than a report; it is a call to action, and Government must act. The truth is that firefighters do not feel supported or valued. Scotland’s firefighters feel abandoned and ignored. After last week’s First Minister’s question time, I fear that they will feel more frustrated than ever.

To recap, last week, hundreds of firefighters, FBU members and other supporters gathered outside the Parliament and demanded that MSPs and ministers listen to them, understand and act. Instead, we heard in the chamber the same predictable spin from the First Minister. We need honesty, because the cuts are costing lives.

The reality is that there has been £57 million of real-terms cuts since 2012-13; 1,200 firefighter jobs have been scrapped; response times have increased; five control rooms have been closed; and an increasing number of fire appliances are unavailable. I am glad that the “Firestorm” report has been published, because that is not the voices of ministers or MSPs; it is the voice of serving FBU Scotland members. I urge all colleagues to read it, because it is about a menu of cuts, lack of recruitment, crisis in retained service, decline in training standards, and the necessity of responding to the climate emergency. All that and more has created the perfect conditions for a devastating firestorm.

Like colleagues, I am here because the issue is affecting constituents in my local community now. Mercedes Villalba talked about Dundee; in my case, it is about Hamilton, where we have lost our temporary appliance. We do not know when we will get it back, and that is having an impact on crews and their families right now—Richard Leonard can also speak to that. We had a devastating fire in East Kilbride recently—six homes have been destroyed and six families have been put at the heart of this issue. Luckily, no lives were lost, but we have heard that the cuts have had an impact on response times, so public safety is being compromised.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is not well equipped to respond to the demands of the climate emergency. Our firefighters need appropriate personal protective equipment and other equipment and training to tackle wildfires. We need to expand capacity to deal with the predicted increase in flooding incidents. The capital budget must be increased significantly if the service is to meet the demands of net zero targets.

I know that members of the FBU are proud of the work that they do, but are they proud of us? I do not think so. There should be no ifs, no buts and no more fire service cuts.

I am grateful to the cabinet secretary for her response and for recently meeting me and the Scottish Trades Union Congress women’s committee to discuss some of these issues.

Today, I was pleased to attend an event in Parliament, sponsored by Jim Fairlie MSP, celebrating Scotland’s school meals and front-line caterers. Speeches by Assist FM and Food for Life Scotland reinforced the importance of feeding and nourishing young minds.

With the national good food nation plan coming to consultation, does the cabinet secretary agree that the roll-out of universal free school meals has never been more important? Can she update Parliament on when universal free school meals will be piloted in secondary schools?

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any link between nutrition and behaviour in its work to address violence in schools. (S6O-02635)