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I am pleased to contribute to this members’ business debate, and I thank Emma Harper for bringing it to the chamber. As we know from the motion, this year’s eating disorders awareness week, which runs until 2 March, is already under way. The theme this year is that eating disorders can affect anybody. I welcome that theme. I feel that it is vital that the great many misconceptions about eating disorders are challenged as vigorously as possible, especially as public misunderstanding and stigma can often prevent people from reaching out for help. Help is available, but we need to make sure that it is provided across all areas and that there is not a postcode lottery, which does happen from time to time.

Not only can eating disorders affect anyone, but it is often the case that they affect those individuals whom we would not expect to be affected. We are currently seeing many younger people being affected, as a result of portrayals and images of what they should or might look like. We know that, at present, around 1.25 million people in the UK are living with an eating disorder, which equates to more than one in 50 people in Scotland. However, the real number is probably much higher, because many cases go unreported.

I am pleased to be able to contribute to this afternoon’s important debate, and I thank Elena Whitham for bringing it to the chamber.

How alcohol use disorders interact with the Scottish justice system is still not very well understood. Elena Whitham’s motion lays out the key statistics, including the fact that nearly two thirds of people in prison have an alcohol use disorder. However, this issue goes beyond mere numbers. Far too much of the current legislation on the problem focuses entirely on alcohol use in prisons. In reality, alcohol use disorders affect individuals who are at all stages of the justice system. That includes during initial police contact, in custody centres and court settings and during liaison and diversion and throughcare.

It is clear that the current approach to alcohol and drug use is not working in prison settings. At His Majesty’s Prison Glenochil in Clackmannanshire in my region, 35 inmates were found to be under the influence of drugs on Christmas day. Although prison staff reportedly seized the articles that were causing the problem, the indication is that the issue is far reaching, so it is only fair that drugs and alcohol be considered when we are dealing with situations in our prisons.

The Scottish Prison Service was forced to introduce a policy to deal with influences on individuals as a result of that incident, but it is only one example of the disruption that can be caused in prisons and to the wider system. The Scottish prison healthcare network previously published guidance on the misuse of drugs in prisons and in custody settings; unfortunately, that guidance is no longer in use, and our prisons are often worse off as result.

As members from across the chamber will agree, further action is needed to tackle the attitude to alcohol in the wider justice system. Today’s motion mentions the solutions that are being created to support individuals who require treatment in the justice system, but it is disappointing that some approaches are not being considered. More guidance might need to be ascertained from the cabinet secretary in that respect, and I look forward to hearing about that in her summing up.

The Scottish Government is in the process of creating a national service specification for alcohol and drugs services, following the publication of UK-wide alcohol treatment guidelines. That could provide an opportunity to ensure that effective standards are in place in the justice system as a whole. I hope that, in summing up, the cabinet secretary will give an update on the Scottish Government’s progress on that, because it is a complex issue that requires bold solutions.

We have heard about the number of individuals—men, in particular—who were drunk during their offending, about the number of women who have suffered as a result of alcohol-related domestic abuse and violence and about the number of individuals in our custody and our systems who are suffering. That should have an impact on what we do.

I hope that, in tackling the issue, the Scottish Government will follow the advice and evidence from other areas on how to manage it. The justice system needs to be equipped to support hard-working staff with the tools that they need to do their job effectively, to support themselves and to support those going through the justice system.

As Carol Mochan mentioned, the number of such deaths is at a 15-year high. Even with minimum unit pricing having been introduced seven years ago, it is clear that we still have an emergency and that individuals are slipping through the net. What do we need to do with regard to treatment and rehabilitation for individuals? The report found that individuals said that they would accept support in custody, but it does not seem to be being provided.

Investment in higher education and business is critical to attracting and retaining the best talent, which is needed to help to deliver economic growth. However, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has reported a large-scale real-terms decrease in the funding that is provided to Scottish universities, and there are real concerns that that investment has not been prioritised. How realistic are plans to establish a stand-alone business school?

Grow the economy, cabinet secretary. You cannot say—

After the low-growth, anti-job autumn budget from the UK Labour Government, many stakeholders hoped that the Scottish Government and the Scottish budget would deliver the support that public services are crying out for right now—none more so than councils, which have spent the past decade having to deal with a long series of real-terms cuts, while being asked to deliver ever more services. Reports by SPICe show that, over the past 10 years, total local government funding has fallen as a percentage of the Scottish Government’s budget. The consequences of that are clear to see.

No, thank you, Mr McMillan.

We all know what is happening across our constituencies and regions. Members will no doubt be well aware of examples of funding being squeezed from their constituencies and regions. In my region, Perth and Kinross, Stirling and Clackmannanshire councils have all been forced to cut numerous services to deal with the increasing pressures on budgets in recent years. Key services have been stripped back over the past few years. Funding for local halls and libraries has been slashed, and funding for opportunities in relation to leisure is under huge strain.

We have been talking about the uncertainty in relation to employer national insurance contributions. The cabinet secretary has indicated that there will be a 60 per cent uplift, but that is still not enough. Percentages will still be added on to council taxes, because the gap has not been filled. There will be additional costs for the partner organisations that deliver services, as well as for the councils themselves.

At the beginning of the year, COSLA and the Scottish Government talked directly to the UK chancellor about support. However, months on, we have still not got the full package. I suggest that the cabinet secretary and the Government continue to work on the issue.

Over the past 18 years, the SNP Government has demonstrated that it does not see local government as one of its priorities, that it does not see businesses as one of its priorities and that it does not see communities as one of its priorities. Despite talking a big game, it has never been the case that the SNP has put its money where its mouth is.

This is the Government that announced a brand-new relationship with local government and promised that there would be better engagement and better budgetary processes. That has not happened. We have seen a squeeze on local government, and every council across Scotland will have to put up council tax in the next few weeks. We talk about the Verity house agreement, but we are still looking for the warm aspects of this Government.

It is high time that the SNP Government recognised the value of the role that councils play in our communities across Scotland. It is also time for it to deliver a commonsense budget that shows councils the respect that they deserve in looking after communities.

It is time for individuals to stand up. The SNP is failing individuals and communities, and Scottish people are having to pay the price. The SNP has failed business, communities and councils. Those are among the many reasons why I will not support the budget bill at stage 1.

—removed millions and billions of pounds from local government. None of that paints a picture of a Scottish Government that has the interests of local government at its heart.

As it stands, councils across Scotland are sceptical about what the budget means for long-term council funding. Indeed, COSLA has made it abundantly clear that budgets will not receive the impact that is required to improve services.

Cabinet secretary, you have systematically—

I will, once I have made some progress.

Last year’s Local Government Information Unit survey asked senior council representatives whether they thought that the current level of local government finances was sustainable. Not one respondent said yes. That was unprecedented. On top of that, respondents from 23 councils indicated that, given the balances that they had, they would find it really difficult to pass a balanced budget in at least one of the next five financial years.

This year’s reports by Audit Scotland and the Accounts Commission paint an even more concerning picture. They make it clear that the situation is unprecedented—councils face uncertain futures and are uncertain about where the opportunities are to enable them to balance their budgets. The scale of the uncertainty means that only around half of councils have long-term financial plans in place.

I will take the cabinet secretary’s intervention.