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On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My apologies—I lost connection. I would have voted no.

A related area where Scotland has strength is the production of advertising. A number of agencies, including in my constituency, have reported to me that there are concerns about both Scottish Government advertising and private advertising being procured out of Scotland. I would be grateful if the cabinet secretary could engage on that issue. He will know that I have written to him on it in recent times.

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in the debate, although it is a shame that we do not have more time this afternoon to spend on this important topic, which is arguably the most important topic of our time.

As other members have done, I condemn the Israeli Government’s actions and military operations since 7 October 2023, and indeed a lot of what it did in the region before then.

The attacks on 7 October 2023 were, of course, brutal and horrific, but the devastating, horrifically immoral and unethical, and totally disproportionate military response by the Israeli Government and the IDF will scar this time in history for many decades to come. That response has had a devastating impact on the people of Palestine. According to the UN, 45,000 Palestinians have been killed in that time. That is the equivalent of half my constituents. Mention has been made of the fact that the numbers involved are hard to relate to. We are talking about the equivalent of half the people in one of our constituencies, and tens of thousands more have been injured.

All those events are subject to legal consideration. I pay tribute to the Scottish head of legal for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, who has been documenting the situation throughout the current period. As was articulated by my colleague Humza Yousaf, who is sitting in front of me and who has shown tremendous leadership on the issue not just domestically but internationally, we must hope that we see a time when international law is upheld. International law—along with humanity, negotiation and mediation—is the only mechanism through which a resolution can be achieved to the most challenging issue not only of the 20th and 21st centuries, but of times past.

The ceasefire is welcome in providing a breathing space, but President Trump’s proposals are—it is hard to put this into words—unconscionable. In the 21st century, we have a President of the United States who is proposing ethnic cleansing. How can we even contemplate that? It creates such a sense of hopelessness.

However, we have seen on the streets of Scotland the solidarity that there is with those who are suffering. I pay tribute to all my constituents who have shown solidarity with those who have been affected. I also pay tribute to all those in my party and the Scottish Government, and across the political spectrum, who have been calling for a ceasefire since the period of conflict began and who have condemned the disproportionate actions and the immorality of Hamas and the IDF.

It has been clarified that the funding that is provided by Scottish Enterprise does not go towards the manufacture of munitions, but I understand why there is a focus on making sure that Scottish Enterprise stringently abides by that position.

As the MSP for the area where the Leonardo facility is located, I will continue to engage with the company to make sure that, in future, it has no direct engagement with the IDF, which is engaging in abhorrent acts to our fellow human beings elsewhere in the world.

Will the member take an intervention?

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in the debate on this important subject, and I welcome the establishment of the independent review.

I agree with what others have said about the chair and the other members of the review, and I particularly welcome the inclusion of David Mackie, whom I have had the privilege of dealing with on a number of occasions. I pay tribute to the work that he has done on the prevention of crime since retiring as a sheriff.

I hope that the establishment of the review will mean that the people who undertake the work will have access to all the data that is available across the Government and more widely, and that they will be able to commission the procurement of any data that they require. That is an important part of making sure that the review is a success, and I know that prominent academics such as Professor Lesley McAra would emphasise that point.

Of course, the review is happening because the current situation that we find ourselves in collectively is extremely challenging, with the number of people in our prisons exceeding 8,300 last year, and there is a need for action.

As part of that, the Government’s commitment to provide significant further investment in community justice in the budget, which I hope that Parliament will pass on Tuesday, is important. I hope that that will be part of a continuing increase in that budget, because the evidence that we heard at the Criminal Justice Committee in favour of increased investment in the criminal community justice part of the portfolio suggests that it can only help us in the collective challenge of reducing reoffending and reducing instances of crime.

The third sector is also referenced in the Government’s motion. I cannot, on the basis of my constituency experience, emphasise enough how important its role is in the collective challenge. The support that Fresh Start, Circle Scotland, Turning Point and other groups based in my constituency provide to those who are leaving prison and the families of those who are either in prison or leaving prison is important in making sure that we tackle the challenge of reoffending, break the cycle and have throughcare in place. I know that the review will look at that issue.

One question that I wanted to pose—I am sure that it will be under consideration by the Government and the review—concerns housing. Over the years, I have had a great amount of casework involving single men who have left prison coming to my constituency surgeries or writing to me about the challenges that they are experiencing—I note that Edinburgh’s housing crisis is the most acute in Scotland. How do we improve the housing offering for individuals in that situation and make sure that that is part of their support?

The other challenge, which is part of the immediate issue but is also about how we build a better situation in the future, is why so many people end up in prison and engaging in crime. In line with the Christie principles, which we collectively committed to 10 years ago, we need to ask how we mitigate the social and economic circumstances that have been referred to that contribute to a situation in which individuals engage in crime.

We still have an issue in Scotland with a culture of violence. As I have raised in Parliament in recent times, I am particularly concerned about our young people in that regard. Greater opportunities for sport, third sector engagement and youth work will make a difference in reducing the prison population in the future.

We could say a lot more on the topic, and I hope that, in future debates, we will have more time to talk about challenging and serious issues of the rule of law in our society, as well as prevention and rehabilitation.

Today is world cholangiocarcinoma day. For those who are unaware, cholangiocarcinoma is a rare and aggressive type of cancer that develops in the bile duct. How are the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland supporting those diagnosed with the condition and raising awareness of it? Will the Scottish Government give consideration to providing full national health service funding for genomic testing necessary for patients to access all Scottish Medicines Consortium approved therapies?

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My device would not connect. I would have voted yes.

One of the organisations that the minister has engaged with in recent years is the north Edinburgh response and recovery—or R2—group, in my constituency, which is a remarkable coalition that was originally established to respond to the pandemic, but has since been engaged in sharing knowledge and in generating lasting and positive change. I highlighted that group to the minister and, through that engagement, secured two paid staff members to help the organisation with community wealth building in north Edinburgh.

Will the minister say what reflections he and his officials have on the almost organic community wealth building that is happening in north Edinburgh, and will he explain how local representatives can engage constructively with the Government to achieve practical change and investment in their communities?

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the economy secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding establishing a stand-alone postgraduate business school to help create more companies, attract talent and boost innovation. (S6O-04288)