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Over recent weeks, there have been continued disturbances at the new prison facility HMP and YOI Stirling, which are causing local residents great distress. The incidents include screaming, shouting, swearing and banging coming from the prison at all times of the day and night since it opened. Together with the Scottish Prison Service, what action will the Scottish Government put in place to tackle and rectify those disturbances, which locals describe as creating a living hell, and to support the vulnerable offenders?

I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak this afternoon. I congratulate my colleague Liz Smith on securing this members’ business debate on a very essential and highly concerning issue.

As has been said a number of times, Ms Smith’s motion rightly mentions Duncan Scott, who was raised in Clackmannanshire in our Mid Scotland and Fife region and has become one of Scotland’s most successful swimming champions in recent memory. Yet, thanks to the closure of the Alloa leisure bowl, the town no longer has a swimming pool which, honestly, is a disgraceful situation. The nationalist Scottish Government and, in turn, the nationalist-run Clackmannanshire Council are jointly culpable for that travesty. Clackmannan Development Trust said at the time that it was

“Another devastating blow to the wee county with the loss of more jobs; and of course, the loss of all the health, fitness and social activities that the leisure bowl provided for the past 30+ yrs.”

Around 52,000 residents in the county are now unable to find a swimming pool or swimming facility there. One resident said that it was

“So disappointing! The loss of opportunity for children in Clackmannanshire to develop the life skill in swimming, and the loss of fitness, leisure and recreation facilities for residents who do not have the money or transport to travel out with the county. Sad times!”

These are sad times, indeed. The Scottish Government’s squeezing of council budgets, interlinked with Clackmannanshire Council’s total lack of vision and forward thinking, has meant that no contingency plan was in place at all for a pool in the county. When schools were built in the wee county, not one of them provided a swimming pool. Another resident summed up the situation by saying that schools not building swimming pools was a disgrace and

“a double whammy for Clackmannanshire children.”

Save our pools is a national campaign to highlight the importance of swimming pools and to secure long-term financial investment from the Government for the sustainability of our pools and sport.

We already know, but it is right to point out again, that swimming pools are the nation’s natural health and safety service. Around 14 million people of all ages and abilities swim each year in the United Kingdom, which helps to ensure that they are healthy individuals and, in turn, saves the national health service millions of pounds. We know the difficulties around health inequality in my region of Mid Scotland and Fife and in other regions; sport and swimming give huge health opportunities.

I have been a strong advocate of water safety, too, for many decades. It is only right to point out that swimming pools are natural places for people to learn how to swim, which can lead to an opportunity to save lives. Without pools, we are putting children and other individuals’ lives at risk.

For nearly two decades, I had the privilege of being a councillor in Perth and Kinross, and I was the chair of Perth and Kinross Leisure for a term, where we promoted swimming and safety in water. We have heard about the difficulties of Perth leisure pool, which must be retained and maintained but hangs by a thread because of the funding issues that are coming down the line. Serious questions will have to be asked about that.

I have had the privilege, too, of being the convener of community safety in Perth and Kinross Council for four years. We worked hand in hand with emergency services to do all that we could to publicise the message of safety in water and ensure that it was out there in the community, which did a huge amount to ensure that there were not as many tragedies. However, we find that more and more tragedies occur today—recently, my region saw the horrific loss of a popular and bright young teenager in the River Teith.

As we have heard, the UK Government has pledged more than £60 million to keep swimming pools afloat in England. Scottish Swimming has called on the SNP Government to allocate the money that the UK Government has provided to prevent swimming from becoming unaffordable and unreachable by many in our community.

In a press release, Scottish Swimming said:

“There is cross-party political backing for swimming pools in Scotland”.

That must be looked at and kept going, and we will do all that we can. That money needs to be translated into funding for what is happening in Scotland; the consequentials should be used to ensure that our pools survive.

I echo the points that have been made. I ask the minister to acknowledge them in her summing up and to protect and save our pools as she has a duty to do.

When the recorded crime statistics were published, the cabinet secretary boasted that they

“show Scotland continues to be a safe place to live”.

Crimes under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 are at their highest level since the law came into effect, and crimes of rape and attempted rape are at their highest level ever. Does the cabinet secretary think that victims of those crimes would say that Scotland is a safe place to live?

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the latest “Recorded Crime in Scotland” statistics, which show an increase in the overall level of crime in Scotland. (S6O-02439)

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

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app is not connecting. I would have voted yes.

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in the debate, and I congratulate my colleague Alexander Burnett on bringing it to the chamber.

The route to an effective just transition is an issue that has rightly received much scrutiny in recent years. It is important to remember, however, that failing to achieve the transition in a way that is fair and proportionate will impact on some communities far more than it will impact on others. The motion speaks about the impact of an unjust transition on rural communities. It is important to highlight that, in the view of such communities, the transition that they are witnessing is truly unjust.

The motion also speaks about the way in which many rural communities have overwhelmingly opposed onshore wind farm proposals, only to have their objections overruled through central Government diktat. We have already heard a number of examples of that, and there are others across my region. The Rhodders wind farm development in Clackmannanshire was rejected by the council in 2013, having received objections from several community groups. However, that refusal was promptly overturned by the Scottish Government the following year.

A true just transition for rural communities would be one that works with them and talks about their concerns instead of riding roughshod over them and—as we have heard—imposing large wind farm developments on them. It would ensure that such developments give back to the surrounding communities, which has been touched on.

The motion is right to speak about the calls for a mandatory minimum contribution rate from renewable energy developments. The Burnfoot Hill wind farm community fund, which provides grants for communities across Clackmannanshire, is an example of how such developments can provide compensation for the communities that are most affected. If rural communities are to experience a just transition, we must ensure that all such community funds give back to their surrounding communities in a way that is truly fair.

There are a number of ways in which the journey to net zero risks hitting rural communities the hardest of all. They include schemes such as the Scottish National Party’s workplace parking levy, which will hit people in rural communities who have no choice but to commute by car to the facilities and locations that they require to access.

I thank the minister for her intervention, but I say to her that rural communities will pay the price of those levies because they have little choice in how they are managed. The slow roll-out of electric charging points in rural settings will also make life increasingly difficult for rural commuters over the next decade.

Our rural communities already face tough challenges in the transition to net zero. Despite that, the Government is still forcing them to accept proposals to which they have objected. Alongside my Conservative colleagues, I will continue to stand up for rural communities, whose voices are not being heard throughout the transition process. Only by working with such communities and ensuring that we compensate and understand them can a just transition be achieved for people in every area of Scotland.

I agree. It is a disaster, and it is shocking that we have council chambers that do not have any female representation. The job itself needs to change and can no longer be a role for someone who has another occupation or for a retired individual—we have to encourage younger people. I had 18 years as a councillor and I know the challenges of trying to balance the lifestyle, which can be a real barrier for younger people. Those points are vital.

Our current pilot of proxy voting is a really good example of what we are trying to do to accommodate people and to be more equal in this place. It is clear that there is still work to do when it comes to gender equality. There are 34 separate recommendations in the report, some of which will be easier to achieve than others. Each one has a role to play, however, and it is particularly important that we look at recommendations that apply to the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee, of which I am a member.

We have already discussed single-sex committees. The Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee is one, but I need to mention to Monica Lennon, who observed that it was all male and all white, that we have Foysol Choudhury in the group, too, so we have some representation of an ethnic minority.

Will the member take an intervention?