Seòmar agus comataidhean

I thank the cabinet secretary for the intervention. We know that we need to have a plan and it is good to see issues coming forward, but if we do not already have the workforce and the skills, we will not achieve the targets that we expect to achieve.

Brian Whittle spoke about warm words and about the targets that have been set by the Scottish Government, but rural Scotland does not have the network that is needed for transport. That is already missing from the process. Mr Whittle also talked about the poor launch of the blue economy. Scotland’s seas are under pressure and industry wants better blue balance, but there is a lack of data, funding and priorities.

Maurice Golden spoke about our being behind in the action that is needed and said that Scotland needs to do better. I agree that Scotland needs to do better; it needs better priorities, better decisions and better ways forward. We need to be on the front foot when it comes to reskilling, not on the back foot. He touched on the industries that need action, including textiles, and on how farmers need support to ensure that the just transition happens. Work on plastics also needs to be better, and system design could be much better. Jobs and wealth are possible, but only if we achieve the targets that can make them happen.

There is much more to be done in order to ensure that Scotland achieves its climate targets and a just transition. However, warnings have already been made and are coming from all directions. The Fraser of Allander Institute has highlighted that, without significant changes within Government, progress will be “insufficient”. Audit Scotland highlighted in its report that

“key elements of good governance are missing from the Scottish Government’s climate change governance arrangements”,

and the Climate Change Committee has stated that there is “no clear delivery plan” for how the Scottish Government will achieve its net zero targets. All that is set out very clearly and talks about how we can achieve the targets and how, if we truly want to make a just transition, we cannot afford to leave people and communities behind.

In conclusion, I say that it is time for us to be bold with words and to stop talking about evidence—we need solutions. This is also about practical realities and making sure that we still invest in oil and gas. That is still required in order to ensure a just transition. Only then will the Government have a plan that the Scottish public will truly be able to come on board with.

Industry needs support. Rural communities need support. The Scottish Government has the potential—we already know that—but Scotland might lose out because the Government has not got the will and the drive to achieve it.

I am grateful for the opportunity to bring this debate to the chamber this evening. I also thank members who supported today’s motion, which highlights the Healthy Ageing in Scotland study. It was led by the University of Stirling and focuses on the real-life day-to-day experiences of older people in Scotland.

Healthy ageing is an important issue for many people across the chamber, and I have no doubt that we will hear some thoughtful contributions. It is clear that the issue will become only more important to Scotland in the years to come. As we know, there are already more than 2 million people aged over 50 in Scotland, which equates to around 38 per cent of the population. We also know that Scotland’s population has been steadily ageing for the past 40 years—a trend that will continue. Indeed, the study highlights that there will be an 85 per cent increase in people aged over 75 by 2039, which is a higher increase than is expected in any other part of the United Kingdom.

The study provides first-hand details and insight into the lives of over-50s in Scotland, and aims to look at older people’s health, their economic circumstances and their social wellbeing. It is also Scotland’s entry into the Gateway to Global Aging Data platform, which provides data on over two thirds of the world’s over-50s population. A number of helpful reports have already come out of the study, including one that had a specific focus on how the pandemic affected the wellbeing of older people. That study highlighted the fact that the pandemic affected older people’s wellbeing at the time, and we know that older people depend on services that are recovering even today.

The truth is that the wellbeing of older people in Scotland was a problem well before the pandemic arrived. Data from National Records of Scotland show that Scotland still has a lower life expectancy when compared not just with the rest of the UK but with countries across western Europe. That is quite damning, so I look forward to hearing what the minister says on that in her summing-up speech.

Although overall life expectancy remains low, there is also a huge gap in life expectancy between the most deprived and the least deprived areas of the country. For men, that gap is about 13 years, and for women it is 10 and a half years. Those are worrying trends, and the gaps continues to widen.

There are also public health issues in relation to smoking, alcohol and cancer rates. Those all play a part in the situation. Mental health and loneliness are also significant problems in Scotland, with more than half of older people saying that they sometimes feel lonely. It is also estimated that there is at least one chronically lonely person on every street in Scotland. That represents a crisis.

Given that more than 50,000 Scottish pensioners live in relative poverty, it is important that the Scottish Government considers what older people are dealing with when it comes to expansion of its social security programme. Older people are more likely to have higher levels of disability, but a significant percentage are not claiming the disability benefits that they might be entitled to. We cannot allow older people to be left behind because they are not receiving the support, including financial support, that they require.

The Scottish Government needs to do more to address the matter. The Scottish Government must also engage with older people and stakeholders, including Age Scotland, as it develops its benefits take-up strategy.

The waiting lists that older people now face in the national health service are at tipping point, and the situation is spiralling out of control across many health board areas. The new health secretary should scrap his predecessor’s failed recovery plan and bring in measures to get waiting times back on track. That is vitally important.

Given all the problems that we have, the Scottish Government must send a clear message that it needs older people, and they should be seen as a key priority, going forward. The First Minister set out many priorities yesterday, but he did not specifically mention anything about our ageing population and older people. We used to have a dedicated minister for older people. That role has been incorporated into other remits, which is something that I feel should not have happened and is a fault and flaw within the new Government set-up.

That is not to mention the fact that comments have previously been made by a member of the Government suggesting that the number of older people who have passed away since 2014 would lead to a “gain” for independence. That is an astonishing comment for anyone to make about older individuals in our community. After such comments, it is perhaps not surprising that research by Age Scotland has found that only 21 per cent of over-50s in Scotland feel valued by society.

Although the study is a work in progress, it is already clear that its findings will be increasingly important in the years to come. The University of Stirling and its partners, including the universities of Edinburgh and Strathclyde, should be commended for the work that they have done so far. Scotland could truly be a great country in which to grow old and the findings of the study could be key to making that vision a reality, but there must be support and understanding from the Government. It is clear that further action from the Scottish Government is needed in this area and I hope that members from across the chamber will join me in pushing for that.

Older people are important and valued, and the Scottish Government must support older people and treat them with the respect that they deserve. They are an asset to our communities and constituencies, not a liability to Scotland and its future.

The Covid recovery portfolio has had its difficulties during its short existence, ranging from the Covid passport scheme, which punished businesses, confused the public and cost taxpayers dearly, to the power grab bill that granted the Scottish Government permanent emergency powers. Can the minister say how he expects the Covid-19 inquiry to evaluate the performance of the portfolio over the past two years?

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for the Covid recovery and parliamentary business portfolio. (S6O-02068)

The mismanagement of public infrastructure projects has real consequences for communities on the ground. The Scottish Government’s incompetence is leaving islanders without working ferries and highlanders with a lethal, undualled A9. Infrastructure is not a priority for this Green-SNP Government. When will it start taking seriously the waste in Government and the desperation of the people of Scotland, who have been so badly let down by it?

I am delighted to close the debate on behalf of the Scottish Conservatives and to speak in support of the amendment in the name of Edward Mountain.

I welcome the fact that time has been set aside to debate how best we can support veterans as they transition into civilian life. It is right that we also acknowledge the important role that veterans’ families can and do play throughout that process, and that we discuss how we can best support them to do so.

We owe our veterans a debt of sincere gratitude for their service to our country. Many of us, from all parties, have acknowledged that debt today. As well as our gratitude, we owe veterans a commitment to do all that we can to support them to contribute to society. That is vital.

Veterans are often spoken about as one group, but the truth is that veterans come from various backgrounds, with different skill sets, talents and needs. However, the common feature among veterans is that they all have something to offer society after leaving the armed forces.

Around 1,800 of those who leave the armed forces each year come to live in Scotland. It is estimated that, by 2028, nearly half of veterans will be of working age. It is therefore important that we acknowledge how much they have done and that we help them to transfer their skills to civilian life effectively.

As the Scottish veterans commissioner has set out, the aim for veterans when transitioning is to find the correct job rather than just any job. It is a common trend among individuals leaving the services that they sell themselves short when trying to find employment. It is vital that we ensure that they do not sell themselves short.

The support and advice that are offered to service leavers is also vital. The Careers Transition Partnership and Skills Development Scotland play their part, but we also need to play ours.

As it stands, and as the veterans commissioner has acknowledged, a number of veterans and their families are unaware of the services that are available to them. She says that the available support needs to be flagged up so that those leaving the armed forces can consider all the services that they are entitled to and all the potential careers that they might wish to pursue.

Career pathways include self-employment. Many veterans do not consider that pathway, but there are lots of opportunities in it. As we have heard, there are businesses—big and small—that are happy to support veterans. That support could act as a stepping stone for veterans to set up their own businesses. It is vital that we support all those possibilities to ensure that they get additional help—including, sometimes, added financial support—so that that career pathway can become a reality.

It is also important that access to social security is discussed when we consider how systems work for veterans. We know that the Scottish Government’s benefit take-up strategy rightly aims at addressing some of the concerns in that area, but it also acknowledges that veterans as a group are less likely to access all the benefits that they are entitled to. The strategy fails to tailor its approach to veterans, and that has been acknowledged. I hope that the cabinet secretary will speak about that issue during his summing up.

It is clear that Scotland has a real role to play in that regard, and it is good to see that the UK Government has been working with the Scottish Government to manage some of those matters. The reviews that have come out show the very important work that has taken place.

I would like to mention some of the contributions that we have heard this afternoon. The cabinet secretary talked about maximising opportunities. It is vital that we maximise the opportunities for each and every service leaver and that nobody is forgotten about. As the cabinet secretary said, the Scottish Government has a “No one left behind” approach.

General practitioner services and childcare have been mentioned. Those are all part of the jigsaw as we try to ensure that veterans have the support that they need.

My colleague Edward Mountain talked about the support that individuals from the armed forces have and the joint strategy that is in place. However, there are issues when it comes to education, childcare, GPs, housing and homelessness. I echo the sentiment that the armed forces covenant should be enshrined. Those are important issues to take on board.

I was at the event in Parliament that Paul Sweeney hosted on Tuesday, and I acknowledge the fantastic support that Glasgow’s Helping Heroes is providing in the Glasgow area. The event was an eye-opener that showed us parliamentarians what is happening on the ground and what we can do to support that.

In his speech today, Paul Sweeney talked about the good practice that takes place to support veterans. He said that individuals from the veterans community can be “worth their weight in gold” to employers, and it is vital that we get that message across. They are not individuals who are sitting back, not doing things, or sitting on the street, or having issues. They only need opportunities to work for something and achieve it.

My colleague Russell Findlay spoke about the employment issues for veterans who have physical and mental issues to manage. Some come home with trauma, but many do not come home with any of the traumas that have been discussed this afternoon. It is very important to make progress on how we manage benefits, the isolation and the physical and mental healthcare needs of all of them.

Jamie Greene spoke about what is required when it comes to healthcare, which is a vitally important issue. He also spoke about issues that I, too, heard about when I went to Lossiemouth, when families mentioned how hard it is to find employment and to follow up on a job as they had childcare issues and there was not enough support around to allow them to make that transition.

It is important that we try to marry those things together. I know that the cabinet secretary has spoken about that, but I have been to two or three events, during this session of Parliament and the previous one, when I have visited families who have talked about that issue. They continue to talk about it, so there is still a gap there that needs to be looked at.

Homelessness and suicide are also massive issues when it comes to how we manage and support our veterans.

Throughout the debate, we have talked about the importance of veterans within our society, about the unique skill set that many of those individuals have to offer and about their great potential in helping us to have a flourishing labour market.

We have also heard about some of the specific challenges that our veterans still face when transitioning into civilian life. Martin Whitfield spoke about the Forces Life board game and comic book. I have had the privilege of being involved in that process from its inception, when youngsters came and spoke about it. We then went to a university art class, which decided to do the designs. I hope that, later this year, we will have the opportunity to launch the board game and comic book. It did not happen as planned due to a delay by us, in Parliament, one night, resulting in the youngsters not being able to come, but I am sure that it will take place in the future.

Without question, there is a lot of consensus around what is taking place. We all want to support as many individuals as we can through the transition into civilian life, so that veterans can enjoy the productive life that they deserve, given the contributions and the sacrifices that they have made. We owe it to them to ensure that they get the best start, which we all enjoy, when they leave service and join society.

The cabinet secretary has acknowledged that we need a joined-up structure. One of the areas that has been identified is the benefits system. His benefit take-up strategy acknowledged that veterans are less likely to access the benefits that they are entitled to. How is that being managed?

I thank Jackie Baillie for bringing the motion to the chamber ahead of international long Covid day, which will take place tomorrow, 15 March.

For far too long, long Covid has not been viewed with the significance that it should be. In the past, the perception has sometimes been that Covid can be a debilitating disease for up to several weeks, but we know that many people have suffered continually from the condition.

Every time that long Covid is raised in the Parliament, we hear of even higher statistics that highlight how many Scots are currently suffering from the condition. Indeed, Jackie Baillie’s motion mentions the estimated 187,000 people living with long Covid in Scotland. We all know that Covid has not gone away, so the issue will continue, and that number will continue to rise.

We have seen that long Covid can take different forms in different people. The condition affects different organs and different systems, so many different parts of someone’s life can be affected.

The nature of the condition means that long Covid is inevitably more difficult to diagnose and even more difficult to define. Symptoms that individuals suffer from include chronic fatigue, painful joints, dizziness and decreasing mental health. The issue of decreasing mental health is particularly acute. Long Covid sufferers might find life much more stressful, and they might have much more anxiety. In some cases, they suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. There are also countless examples of fit, young and healthy individuals who have found themselves no longer able to live normal lives for months—or even years—after getting Covid.

As part of international long Covid day, people with the condition have been encouraged to share an image of something that they can no longer do because of long Covid. That is perhaps one of the best ways to demonstrate how the condition reaches into every corner of people’s lives.

Today’s debate provides an opportunity to reflect on what is undoubtedly one of the pandemic’s worst legacies. It should also provide an opportunity to reflect on how we tackle the issue.

For the past 18 months, my colleague Dr Sandesh Gulhane has been raising the plight of long Covid sufferers and highlighting the need for dedicated long Covid clinics to be established. Despite promises of additional funding, we have not seen those clinics materialise. Dr Gulhane has pointed out that long Covid was always going to be an issue that needed to be dealt with. There were always going to be consequences, and those consequences are still here. Despite now being nearly three years down the line, we are still waiting for dedicated, specialist services. That is a crying shame for people who are suffering on a day-to-day basis.

Action must be taken; it is long overdue. The voices of people who are suffering should and must be heard. With initiatives such as international long Covid day now becoming recognised, I am at least hopeful that we will not have to wait too long for further action. The Government must act now to provide assistance and support for people with long Covid so that they are respected and looked after.

I am delighted to contribute to the debate, which highlights the vital role that local government can and must play in the journey to net zero. As the level of government that is the closest to our communities, councils are best placed to deliver the local flexibility that will be required in order to achieve the Scottish Government’s net zero targets. We know that many councils are aware of the challenges that face them in this area, and COSLA has set out clearly that local government is committed to meeting the 2030 and 2045 climate targets.

However, COSLA is also clear that, despite that commitment, local government’s ability to contribute towards those targets will be seriously limited without increased investment in our councils. As we have heard, the issue of funding comes up time and again when it comes to local government’s climate responsibilities. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the report by the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee states that the issue of local government finances was one of the main issues raised in its inquiry. Numerous individual councils that responded to the inquiry made it clear that insufficient funding is one of the biggest challenges that they face in this area.

Although the debate should not be entirely focused on local government funding, it is clear that progress on net zero is yet another area of local government performance that is being compromised by underinvestment. The committee’s report reveals that councils’ planning departments have shrunk, with more than a third of planning staff having been cut since 2009. The Royal Town Planning Institute has highlighted that planning authorities are now struggling to recruit staff at the same rate as they are retiring. To that end, the report is right to support the creation of an apprenticeship scheme for planners. The Scottish Government should continue to work with the RTPI on such a scheme.

However, the skills challenges that our councils face go far beyond the planning departments. Indeed, skills are one of the biggest hurdles that we face in retrofitting buildings for net zero, including switching to low-emission or zero-emission heating systems such as heat pumps. One of the biggest issues is that the efforts in that area must be maintained.

There are areas in Scotland that are trying to achieve that. Stirling Council has worked with Scottish Water Horizons to create a district heat network that powers much of the Forthside area of Stirling. That is an example of exactly the type of collaboration between local government and external partners that we need if we are to achieve our targets.

However, it is clear that the retrofitting journey faces significant skills challenges—so much so that numerous stakeholders, including Homes for Scotland and Scottish Renewables, have suggested that the 2030 and 2045 targets are not realistic.

The clean heat and energy efficiency workforce assessment produced by ClimateXChange sets out the scale of the challenges that we face. The report estimates that, to meet the 2030 target, Scotland will require at least 4,500 thermal insulation installers, up to 12,700 heat pump installers and up to 4,000 heat network installers. Those are massive numbers.

The Construction Industry Training Board has highlighted the point that the Scottish Government’s heat in buildings strategy has not provided a “clear pipeline of work” for the construction industry. That means that the industry still lacks the confidence that it requires to ensure that the workforce is ready and willing.

Given the amount of housing stock for which local government is responsible, it is vital that councils be able to access contractors. The skills challenges must be met and we must ensure that jobs are tied back. I hope that, in summing up, the cabinet secretary will at least acknowledge that that is one of the big issues that require to be addressed.

There are real ambitions for what we want to do in the sector, but they can be realised only if local and central Government take responsibility and it is possible for them to work together. Together, we must address the challenge, ensure that there is real development and ensure that the skills delivery review comes forward with many strategies about where we go from here.

Scotland’s Government must do more to achieve its net zero targets. It will be unable to achieve them unless local government is able to play its part in the journey. Councils must be empowered to invest fully in their own climate initiatives. That means giving them investment and ensuring that they can access the skills and workforce that they require to move forward. It also means supporting them to deliver local strategies towards net zero as much as is humanly possible.

Unless there is a step change in how local government participates in the journey to net zero, the 2045 target cannot be achieved. The onus is now on the Government to act and empower local government before it is too late. I hope that the cabinet secretary and the Government take heed of the warnings that we have given today.

The Scottish National Party likes to point the finger at wasted expenditure from decades ago, but its own track record on that front is not exactly glowing. What lies behind my question is the relative inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the Scottish Government’s ability to deliver projects. What is the Scottish Government doing to ensure that financial assessments are carried out to provide best value for the public purse?