Seòmar agus comataidhean

Across my region, a surge in the number of children who are experiencing domestic abuse is deeply concerning. Charities and third sector organisations are having to contend with record levels of children who are seeking support. What measures can the Scottish Government put in place to ensure that those children receive the support that they need, especially heading into the festive season?

Recent analysis conducted by the Public and Commercial Services Union found that 75 per cent of Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service staff felt that their high workload was impinging on their effectiveness and the successful delivery of justice. The justice system is crumbling, and problems are widespread and systemic. What action will the cabinet secretary take to support our staff in the court system to ensure that the long-running backlog is cleared?

How on earth does the budget support local government and councils across Scotland to thrive and survive?

Local Government funding is in dire straits. Local authorities have been warning for years that they are on the brink. In her statement, the cabinet secretary said that local government funding has increased, yet the figures show that the budget is nowhere near what local government needs. [Interruption.]

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it is working to clear the criminal court backlog. (S6O-04070)

Increased culture funding has the welcome potential to improve the arts sector in Scotland and allow it to flourish. What steps will the Scottish Government take, alongside any funding increase, to ensure that money is not wasted? What will the cabinet secretary do to ensure that projected funds from any uplift are an appropriate use of taxpayers’ money?

Thank you. Willie Rennie spoke about the increased demand and the failure to build. He mentioned that 72 per cent of local authorities said that the supply was shrinking and that Government policy was once again damaging the sector.

Jeremy Balfour spoke about homelessness and the whole crisis that has been created and mentioned that rent controls will continue to fail. The bill is so woefully short of detail and has made such difficulties that it will continue to cause problems. It might have been introduced with the right intentions, but it completely fails to deliver on the need to tackle Scotland’s housing emergency.

What we needed was a bold piece of legislation that would put the supply of new properties front and centre of the Government’s agenda. Instead, we have been left with framework legislation that aims to deliver damage to the sector.

As the bill proceeds through the next stages, I hope that the Scottish Government is finally able to learn from the mistakes of the past and listen to the stakeholders who are telling it that there are problems with the bill and to ditch this damaging plan, which will make Scotland’s housing crisis even worse. We should not be considering a bill that will make the crisis worse for communities the length and breadth of Scotland. When individuals and organisations are telling us that this is the wrong way to go, we should listen.

I am delighted to close on behalf of the Scottish Conservatives. As the Parliament has already heard, Scotland is truly facing a housing crisis, and the bill is badly needed. The legislation that the Government has introduced risks making the crisis in the sector even worse. For that reason, we will not support it at stage 1.

The problems with the bill should have been seen from a long way off. When the introduction of rent controls was first proposed in 2021, members on the Conservative benches were quick to warn about the problems to which it could lead. We highlighted the international example of Sweden, which has decade-long waiting lists for rent-controlled properties and a second-hand market of sub-let properties. The SNP created its own case study here, when rent control measures led to higher rent increases than in other parts of the United Kingdom.

However, regardless of those lessons and despite the end of the Bute house agreement, the SNP has ploughed on with its rent control policy. Unfortunately, the Government’s handling of the whole process has ensured that we are all in a worse situation. Once again, the Scottish Government is continuing its pattern of dealing with important policy decisions through secondary legislation. Last month, the Government finally released some detail about its proposals in a statement but, overall, that statement damaged confidence about housing in Scotland.

Today, members—even the convener of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee—talked about the lack of scrutiny through the process and the difficulties around and disappointment in the way in which the Scottish Government has handled it.

Meghan Gallacher spoke about the number of homeless individuals and the shame that we should feel. The housing emergency needs to be tackled. Rent controls will not improve the situation; they will make things worse. The bill will stifle investment and harm the industry and we should not introduce any legislation that does so. Even Mark Griffin spoke about the amendments that will be required at stage 2. The way in which housing is managed in Scotland needs to be dealt with.

Willie Rennie spoke about—

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My phone would not connect. I would have voted no.

I am delighted to contribute to the debate, and I commend my colleague Roz McCall for securing time to debate what is an important campaign.

When it comes to stroke, time is of the essence. Being able to quickly detect a stroke can mean the difference between a person’s full recovery and the loss of their life. I am therefore delighted to support and assist with the Bundy family’s BE FAST campaign, which seeks to expand the stroke awareness signs by adding balance and eyes to the list of symptoms.

When Tony Bundy suffered a stroke in 2023, the limitations of the current FAST test system meant that his stroke was not detected until too late. Tragically, that meant that Tony Bundy’s stroke was fatal. The lesson that we can learn from Tony’s tragic passing is that the early detection of a stroke can save lives. It is important that the Government listens to the campaign and ensures that future stroke policy is always based on the most up-to-date evidence.

As the BE FAST campaign highlights, a wealth of evidence needs to be considered. For example, the campaign speaks about research by the Scottish Parliament information centre, which found that the FAST test may miss up to 40 per cent of strokes. The BE FAST test may play an important role in the diagnosis of certain types of stroke.

It is safer for someone to decide to go to A and E and be told that they have not had a stroke than for them to sit at home and dismiss their symptoms until it is too late because those symptoms do not fall into the FAST criteria.

Given the compelling case for BE FAST, I believe that there should be a trial of the criteria in the national health service in Scotland. I look forward to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care covering that in his summing up, because the right decisions at the right time are vitally important. Possibly, a single health board could begin to look at a trial. I know that the Government is keen to listen, and that suggestion was discussed when I met the cabinet secretary and the Bundy family. I hope that the Government is now able to take action and work with Public Health Scotland and other health boards to allow a trial of those criteria to be looked at. A trial period in one health board area could allow data to be collated on the benefits of BE FAST. Data is vital in ensuring that we have facilities and information for stakeholders and those who work in the system, and it could be used to make an informed decision about stroke policy across the whole of the NHS.

Regardless of the outcomes of the BE FAST campaign, it is clear that it has already been effective in shining a light on the importance of stroke awareness. I have felt privileged to help the Bundy family in supporting Tony’s memory. That tragic example shows us all the necessity of such awareness. I have no doubt that members from across the chamber will join me in wishing the whole Bundy family well in the future. I urge the Scottish Government to listen to the campaign and to treat it with the seriousness that it deserves, because saving people is what we should be trying to achieve.