The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.
All Official Reports of meetings in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
All Official Reports of public meetings of committees.
Displaying 365 contributions
Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: 5 December 2024
Monica Lennon
I am grateful to my colleague Paul Sweeney for securing this important debate. I pay tribute to him for all his support for Marie Curie. Recently, 2,500 people in Central Scotland have emailed me to stand up for hospice care, and I know that colleagues have had many similar emails. Does he share those people’s fear and mine that, if the Scottish Government does not do more to fund and support our amazing hospices, it will be the poorest people in Scotland who suffer the most?
Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: 27 November 2024
Monica Lennon
[Made a request to intervene.]
Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: 27 November 2024
Monica Lennon
Will the minister take an intervention?
Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: 27 November 2024
Monica Lennon
I join colleagues in expressing my sincere condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Keith Rollinson.
A lot has been said in the debate already, and it has been good to hear lots of points of agreement. I will try not to be repetitive, but it is good that we realise the seriousness of the challenge. Too many of our bus drivers and other front-line workers are experiencing abuse and violence, which is not acceptable. It affects those in the workforce and people who want to get on the bus to get to work, access education, go to see their friends or spend money on our high streets. It is a serious issue, and it is good to see that there is a lot of agreement in the chamber.
I thank Unite the union for its role in lobbying MSPs and getting people to take the issue seriously. I remind members that I am a member of Unite the union. I also declare an interest as the parent of a child who has a young person’s bus pass and uses it regularly. I want her and all young people to feel safe when they are travelling on public transport up and down the country.
However, listening to our constituents and to people who have raised concerns, we hear that not everyone feels safe. That cuts across different ages and backgrounds. We need people to feel confident about using public transport, and we need people to feel that we are on their side.
I again draw attention to Unite the union’s 15-point plan. There are some really good points in it. Sue Webber talked about CCTV, and Mark Ruskell mentioned the plan. It offers solutions, and there is stuff in it that bus operators could get on and do. My colleague Alex Rowley made some important points that I hope the Scottish Government will reflect on, such as on conditionality and the fact that many operators receive public funds.
It is not just about bus travel; it is also about the wider public transport network. I am thinking about Hamilton, where the rail and bus stations are co-located. I am concerned about ScotRail’s proposal to reduce the hours of operation of our ticket offices. My colleague Richard Leonard raised that issue, but it also concerns me and other colleagues. We have to look at such things holistically. We are in a climate and nature emergency, and we need to get our economy working for our communities. Every pound that we invest in public transport makes a difference, and we all care about that.
I am grateful to Mark Ruskell, who talked about gender-based violence. Colleagues are aware that we are now in the 16 days of activism to end violence against women and girls. Misogyny, sexism and sexual assault happen on our buses, at bus stations and across our public transport system.
I looked to see what young people are saying. Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament say that they want safer public spaces and transport. Part of the solution is early intervention through better education, and not just in schools, but through youth work, too. Colleagues have not pointed the finger only at young people, because we would not want to do that. We have to look for holistic solutions. My colleague Martin Whitfield proposed a member’s bill on youth work. We need to ensure that we do not demonise young people and that we do not defund public services. We need to invest in our young people, and that includes investing in youth work.
16:49Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: 6 November 2024
Monica Lennon
I am grateful to Fulton MacGregor for bringing this important issue to the chamber. I have now signed the motion.
I am glad that he mentioned his expertise in social work, as I am keen to understand what additional training he believes would be important and how that could be taken forward in Scotland.
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Meeting date: 5 November 2024
Monica Lennon
Scottish Labour will also support amendments 6, 11 and 12. The amendments align with our aims to increase parliamentary oversight, to improve transparency and, as Mark Ruskell mentioned, to get the extra detail that we felt was perhaps going to be lacking otherwise. We will therefore support the amendments.
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Meeting date: 5 November 2024
Monica Lennon
At stage 2, we were a little unsure about the wording of Patrick Harvie’s proposal, so we appreciate the further work that has been done since last week. For that reason, we are content to support amendment 13.
Douglas Lumsden asked a fair question about the definition of a major capital project. It is a question that we had, too, but I think that the wording of the amendment is reasonable. There will be proposals in the plan. The principle behind the amendment is welcome and we can support it.
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Meeting date: 5 November 2024
Monica Lennon
Nevertheless, we are still not fully persuaded by the proposed amendments.
When we discussed the issue with the Government last week, there was a willingness on its part to go away and look at what Patrick Harvie is trying to achieve to see whether something can be done. I will listen to what the cabinet secretary has to say in a moment.
As Patrick Harvie probably knows, we are not yet fully persuaded. However, I would be interested to know whether there are other measures outwith the bill that the Government could look at that would help to achieve those aims. Patrick Harvie makes an important point about the important connection between the fiscal budget and the carbon budget. As he knows, Scottish Labour members would agree with anything that will improve scrutiny and alignment, but in this case, I am not convinced. Given the fact that he has lodged two different amendments on the same issue, I am not sure that he is fully convinced either, but I look forward to hearing what he has to say.
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Meeting date: 5 November 2024
Monica Lennon
I thank the cabinet secretary for her comments about my colleague Sarah Boyack. We had good discussions last week, and Sarah Boyack appreciated the cabinet secretary’s willingness to fix some of the oversights at stage 2. It is good to have that sorted.
On Mark Ruskell’s amendment 8, which we support—in fact, we support all the amendments in the group—we had a good discussion on the intention behind his amendment at stage 2, only a week ago. We understood and supported the principle, and amendment 8 gets the right balance.
This is an opportunity to remind the chamber that the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee has heard strongly from the climate change people’s panel that the public want to be involved and consulted in a very dynamic way. A raft of recommendations are sitting with the Government. However, those are not just for the Government to reflect on; they are for other public bodies to reflect on, too.
Amendment 8 is important. Indeed, anything that reminds us that we need to take the public with us on that journey and get the best ideas from as many people in Scotland as possible can only be a good thing.
Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]
Meeting date: 5 November 2024
Monica Lennon
I am grateful to Patrick Harvie—I think that he will recognise that Scottish Labour members tried to be open minded at stage 2, and asked him some questions in order to get some clarity. However, although we are sympathetic to his aims in lodging amendments 14 and 15, which I think are alternatives to each other—is that correct?