First Minister's Questions - 4 November 2021

thank you that concludes general questions the next item of business is first ministers questions i intend taking both constituency and general supplementaries after question two members wishing to ask such questions should press their request to speak buttons during questions too and members should press on specific questions if they wish to ask a supplementary on questions three to seven i called douglas ross thank you very much presiding officer and could i start by wishing everyone across scotland the very happy diwali scotland has the highest drug death rate in europe every solution should be considered to tackle this crisis and they should be considered urgently why did it take 10 overdoses this weekend in a single prison for the government to accept scottish conservative proposals to cut down on the supply of drugs in our prisons first minister let me also take the opportunity to wish those celebrating across the country a very happy and peaceful diwali we and i've been very open about this we have a significant challenge when it comes to drugs deaths and we are determined to make sure that we are open to ideas to suggestions and that we are genuinely doing everything reasonable we can to turn that around within that overall challenge there is a particular challenge in our prisons and i think all of us understand the different factors that are at play there and so i would hope that across this chamber we could come together to welcome the ways in which we are seeking to change past practice to recognize where perhaps we should have done things differently in the past and do them differently in the future i i hope that there is an appetite to build consensus on this and to that end as i've said to the leader of the conservative party before i am open to suggestions including of course as i've said many times in the chamber before considering the wider proposals that have been put forward in the proposal for draft legislation that the conservatives have brought so i continue to be open-minded and we will continue to seek to do the right things backed by investment to turn this situation around douglas ross the first minister said she's been very open about this issue and she has she's accepted she took her eye off the ball with scotland's drug deaths but the eye is still off the ball because for months we have highlighted the issue of drugs reaching prisoners through mail and we offered a solution russell finley raised this with the government five times over two months when it was raised in this chamber with the drugs minister angela constance she said and this is a direct quote and i'm reminded that the first minister just said that we need to work together and be consensual her own drugs minister said to russell finley when he raised this issue mr finley is a big boy now he doesn't need his mommy to hold his hand i'm sure he will be able to address any outstanding matters that he has with the cabinet secretary for justice this is about drug overdose overdoses and people dying was that response really worthy of a government minister first minister on a serious issue uh like this i i think people across the chamber would accept i hope they would accept i'm absolutely sure they will not agree with everything angela constance says or i see on this issue but i do hope people would agree that angela constance in particular it has not just been open to different approaches but is actually taken forward already in her tenure as drugs minister many different approaches to try to tackle this challenge on the specific one about the situation in prisons and in particular the issue of photocopying of prisoner meal it is the case that the prison service have taken time to consider and rightly taking time to consider the range of very serious operational and legal considerations that includes taking into account prisoners rights which are often determined through court judgments around the handling of their correspondence that is a fundamental consideration so they have taken at that time and the justice secretary as he outlined it to parliament on tuesday after detailed operational consideration the prison service now will be implementing this change and i recognize that on particularly issues as important as this everybody wants to see government operate and move with speed and i share that view but when we're dealing with serious issues like this it is important that we do take the time to consider all of the implications uh particularly when those implications are of legal considerations that's what has happened here and i hope now people across the chamber who have been calling for this would welcome the progress that we are able to make douglas ross it's not just angela constance another government minister lorna slater said recently that drugs are not inherently dangerous and this week the justice secretary keith brown dismissed another serious concern that we've raised here's the standard operating procedure that prison officers have to work to it says prisoners have the option to have items contaminated with drugs safely stored and returned to them on their release prison officers are telling us that they're having to hand drugs back to the prisoners as they leave her cabinet secretary refused to give a serious response to this issue so will the first minister commit to ending this practice immediately first minister i in the spirit of openness i will certainly look at that it is the case that prisoners have rights often these rights are upheld in courts of law and we have to consider these things carefully in making sure that we address these things properly and and there is a deeper issue here that i i would ask again in that spirit of openness and and sincerity and trying to find the solutions to this douglas ross to consider i accept his sincerity on this issue without without doubt or equivocation but it is too easy for all of us across the chamber to oversimplify some of these issues and quoting ministers forgetting to understand the nuances around this the factors behind the drugs crisis are complex i think we all understand that so let's not oversimplify let's not take that quotes out of context let's focus on the substance of solutions as i believe douglas ross has been doing on this issue and tried to find maximum consensus so the particular issue he's raised there i will go and look at that in detail and if we consider there is a change that is necessary and and appropriate and possible to make there then i undertake that we will give that due and serious consideration douglas ross i'm not taking quotes out of context i've issued and reminded the first minister of the response we've had from three of her government members and this government has to finally start treating this crisis with the urgency it deserves the prison officers association have told us that they have been overwhelmed with unprecedented levels of drug abuse in our prisons our government's making it harder for them to do their job they gave prisoners 2.7 million pounds worth of unhackable phones that were then hacked and used to deal drugs scottish prison service documents show there have been over 2 200 incidents of prisoners misusing these devices given the obvious abuse of these phones for criminal activity will she now commit to removing the phones that have been hacked from scotland's prisons first minister on the issue and can you say we are treating this issue seriously and with urgency sometimes there are complex situations and issues that have to be properly uh considered and thought through and that's what we will do because uh frankly we don't progress anything if we fail to do that on the issue of mobile phones i think it's virtually important to remember the context for this the provision of mobile phones in the absence during particularly the early stages of the pandemic of in-person contact with loved ones over a sustained period of time has been vital in addressing the negative impact of covert in our prisons not just for prisoners but also for staff and families children in particular impacted by the imprisonment of parents now the vast majority of the over 10 000 phones issued were used entirely as intended and the breaches of the rules are taken very seriously by the prison service robust monitoring robust monitoring which detected where there were breaches detected a small minority around the seven percent of handsets had been tampered with that is not acceptable but it is the robust monitoring that detected that and allowed steps to be taken it to prevent that in future so these are serious issues they're often complex issues and i hope all of us will treat them in that way as we face up to and address at the issue of drugs deaths in society generally but in our prisons in particular question number two and a star wars thank you can i join others and wishing all those celebrating diwali a very happy diwali coming through these really dark times i think it's quite poignant that families will be celebrating the festival of light presenting officer this week we have seen emergency doctors tell us that there have been 231 excess deaths due to delays at a e that's 231 people who could have survived if our hospitals were properly resourced the royal college of nursing tell us that their members are overworked we've even heard stories of nurses going home crying and many leaving the profession early that's because our nhs is three and a half thousand nurses short on top of that our a e waiting times are the worst they have ever been and the first minister's response is not to fix the problem but to tell people they are the problem and not to go to a e this government has been repeatedly warned been in denial and lives are being lost when will the first minister take personal responsibility and act first ministry i take personal responsibility for everything this government is responsible for every single day uh there were three related issues raised in anna sarwar's question and i want to address them in turn firstly our nhs is working under extreme pressure right now everybody and i certainly recognize that and i want again to pay tribute to and express my gratitude to nurses doctors everybody working in our national health service nursing and midwifery staffing though in scotland is currently at a record high since this government has been in office there has been an 11.7 increase in qualified nurses and midwives the number of qualified nursing and midwifery staff working in our nhs has increased now for nine consecutive years we've got a higher per head staffing ratio than other parts of the uk so in scotland 8.4 qualified nurses and midwives per 1000 population compared to at just 5.9 in england so

that's the record of this government but of course we need to do more because of that pressure which is why we are investing in greater recruitment and supporting health boards across the country to recruit more nurses and other professionals into our national health service in terms of the issues around the royal college of emergency medicine there was a research published by the royal college this week which we will be engaging with them to better understand the analysis appears to use research findings from england four years ago to make extrapolations from scottish only data now so we want to understand that in more detail that said everybody recognises the relationships between long waits and a e that are not clinically justified and increased risk of harm to patients nobody can or should deny that which is why we are investing in trying to cut any waiting times and improve the flow through our hospitals and that brings me to the issue of the new guidance that has been issued for a e and this is where anna sarwar can't quote the royal college of emergency medicine when it suits him and ignore the views of the royal college of emergency medicine when it doesn't it should suit him because we are not turning anyone away from accident in emergency this is about ensuring that people get the right care in the right place and this is what the vice president of the royal college of emergency medicine has said they support this guidance in order to ensure that all patients receive the right care at the right time in the right place it will on occasion be appropriate to signpost some people who have presented to an emergency department but do not require afternoon appropriate assessment to be seen there to another part of the health care system that is appropriate that is a change in guidance that i think was made in england some time ago it's about making sure that patients get the best care in the right place and i think that's somebody everybody should support um before i call anna sarwer back in i would be grateful for more succinct questions and responses i appreciate these are complex issues i'll come back to the quotes in a moment but we've heard these same excuses week after week the situation's getting worse across our nhs and why does nikola sergeant think she knows better than the professionals on the front line so let me quote colin poolman from the royal college of nursing you've heard the quote today from the first minister colin pullman's words despite the scottish government's talk about record levels of staffing these figures show that the shortfall and registered nurses needed to run nhs services has never been higher they say there's a shortfall of almost three and a half thousand nurses she talks about selectively quoting the royal college of emergency medicine i'll quote the words of dr john thompson directly what we are seeing ambulance handover delays dangerous clouding long stays put patient safety at risk and can lead to harm or avoidable deaths nicolas sturgeon wants to pretend that this is a recent problem but this is a crisis years in the making so when will nick why does nicola sturgeon think that she is right but the professionals on the front line delivering our quality health care and the people we applauded our heroes are wrong first minister i don't and ivana sarwar had listened to what i said he would have heard me actually say that we were listening to at the frontline professionals so the numbers i have quoted on nurse numbers are facts they are the facts an 11 increase in nurses in midwives since we took office but i went on to say that that's not enough because the pressure on our health service has increased so we are listening to those on the front line and we are supporting health boards with additional investment to recruit more staff into our health service to help deal with that pressure similarly in terms ana sarwer stood up and said that we were somehow not listening to those in the front line by in his words they're turning people away from accident and emergency that's not the case we're recognizing the pressure on accident emergency recognizing the need to ensure that people get the right care in the right place and trying to find the solutions and the solution or the part of the solution that is encapsulated in the new guidance is actually supported by those on the front line by the very person that anna sarwar has quoted john thompson the vp of the royal college of emergency medicine who says this is the right thing to do to ensure that patients get the right care at the right time in the right place so we recognize the challenge we absolutely recognize the challenge but we are listening to those in the front line in coming up with the best and the right solutions ms nicholas thornhill dwitric can't hide from the reality the snp has been in government for 14 years nicola sturgeon was health secretary for four years she's been first minister for seven years there must come a point when it can't be somebody else's fault so let's look at nicolas sturgeon's record nicholas sturgeon cut nurse training places as health secretary we now have seen a thousand nurse shortages in our nhs nicholas sargent cut hospital beds by almost one and a half thousand in the last decade we are now chronically short of nhs bids and nicolas sturgeon's been warned for months about the challenges facing a e and we now have people dying because of record any waiting times earlier this week the first minister described scotland as a nation in waiting she's right waiting on record long nhs treatment lists waiting for an ambulance waiting at a e and waiting for her to take responsibility when will nicolas sturgeon get a grip of the nhs crisis first minister i take responsibility every day with respect to ana sarwar i've only held the positions i have held for as long as i have because in several occasions i put the record of of me and the ministerial post i've held and the record of the government before the people of scotland and being re-elected with the trust of the people of scotland to face up to these challenges so under under the years we have spent in government the 11 increase in the nurses and midwives working in our national health service we have increased the training of nurses overall intake for pre-registration nursing midwifery increased by 5.8 uh this year so that is what we are doing we are recognizing the acute challenges in our national health service shared by health services across the world largely because of the covert pandemic and we're bringing forward the solutions to support those working on the front line and to support patients across the country and that is what the people of scotland have entrusted us to continue to do now move on to supplementary questions and i call eleanor whittam i am sure that the first minister will share my disappointment and deep concern at the announcement by rochelle healthcare that their guardian facility in garvin and my constituency will close in 2022 with a loss of 75 jobs over the next four months as a long-established business and employer which provides the nhs with surgical drapes gowns and tree wraps as well as ppe during the pandemic i would be grateful to the first minister for her advice on what the scottish government can do to support the very skilled workforce and our very fragile real rural economy which will be hugely impacted by this closure decision first minister okay thank elena whittem for raising what i know is a very important constituency issue for her i was certainly concerned to learn that guardian surgical had announced the closure of its factory in girvin and warehouse in-ear and i know this will be a difficult time for the company's staff their families and the local areas affected especially at this time of uncertainty caused by the pandemic i can advise parliament that the business minister has spoken with the company to explore available options for the sites and its workers scottish enterprise will continue to engage with the company to discuss alternatives to closure obviously the individuals affected are our immediate priority and we've already provided information on support available for affected employees through the pace initiative i will ask the business minister to keep eleanor whittem updated and indeed to keep the chamber more widely updated on this matter brian whittle thank you presenting officer um earlier this week i was contacted by a constituent whose doctor adopted daughter was referred to cams in early 2017. since then she's been passed from caseworker to caseworker each time with her parents feeling they were starting from scratch after five years of this without receiving a confirmed diagnosis they were told that their daughter will likely require medical intervention and so must be seen by child psychologist the waiting time for which is apparently at least three years at which time this young girl will have spent almost eight years in the calm system without a proper diagnosis or access to appropriate treatment does the first minister believe it acceptable for any child to refer to calms in primary one and potentially not receive treatment until they're in s2 and what can she do to assist this family and any other who have been forced to wait such an obscenely long time for help first minister no i don't think that is remotely acceptable obviously i'm not able to comment on the individual case although if brian whittle wants to write to me or to the health secretary we will look into that and leave with the health board in relation to the particular case i absolutely understand the distress and the added anxiety that will have been caused by that length of time waiting for appropriate intervention more generally of course we are investing heavily in cams and also to redesign how mental health support is provided to children and adolescents investing more in early intervention support so councils and schools for example the well-being service that is being rolled out in order to make sure that young people get help earlier but also to ensure then that specialist services are there for those who most need specialist services uh so this is an area of significant priority so that we can get to the position where every young person who needs the support of mental health services gets the right support and gets that timmiesly but i'd be very happy to look into the individual case call paul o'kane thank you presiding officer um in response to ana sarwar the first minister uh engaged on the rcn report that was published today showing that this year we've seen the highest ever shortfall in nursing with over 3400 nursing vacancies with vague promises of only a thousand health and care workers in the nhs winter plan this scarcely begins to address the challenge nurses are saying that the shortfalls add to significant pressure and that is why they are currently considering industrial action so can the first minister tell me when she will engage with the rcn's demands to pay our nurses fairly and when will she tell our cabinet secretary to fix his inadequate recovery's plan first minister the government engages with the rcn and other unions and professional bodies regularly the health secretary is telling me he met with the rcn as part of a staff side engagement just yesterday so that engagement is ongoing and i absolutely recognize the significant pressures that nurses and others in our health service are working under there are significant recruitment challenges not just across our nhs and social care but across our whole economy exacerbated of course by other developments around brexit but we are focused on supporting health boards to recruit more people not just nurses but other professionals enter health services will continue to engage with unions and others as we do so maggie chapman thank you presiding officer the first minister will be aware of the outbreak of bird flu in angus and the cull of a flock of birds that is taking place as we speak can she provide an update on this issue and let us know what guidance is being issued to local communities first minister well this obviously is an important issue and one that i know will be causing concern a small premises near our growth has tested positive for avian influenza public health advice remains that the risk to human health is very low food standards bodies advise that even influenza pose a very low food safety risk for consumers and does not affect the consumption of poultry products including eggs in order to limit any further spread of disease amongst birds appropriate restrictions have been imposed on the affected premises public health staff releasing with others health protection scotland to show the correct protocols are followed and there were some surviving birds on the premises and these were euthanized on welfare grounds with ongoing support being provided to the owner at the rural affairs secretary of course we'll be happy to engage with any member who wishes further information on the steps that are being taken jackie dunbar to ask the first minister how the scottish government is working to ensure that during cop 26 it provides a platform for unheard voices including citizens young people and those from the global south first minister the uh scottish government has been working for first minister can i just um interrupt there i think there's been a misunderstanding i'm taking supplementary questions at the moment ms dunbar and that was your question that we will reach in due course um can i call jamie green please thank you signing off sir i've been contacted this week by many worried constituents and one is ron cooper from our dawson he works in care home he had his second covered vaccine in march but he's been waiting over a month for his booster due to problems both online with the telephone system another 89 year old lady who should be on the homebound booster vaccination list has been struggling to get an appointment we believe there may be hundreds of similar people in north airship in the same boat many of these are elderly vulnerable and i think rightly concerned people looking ahead into winter needing these much needed jobs in light of these examples can i ask the first minister what reassurance you can offer the wide republic that this year's winter flu and covert booster program has been adequately planned and has been executed successfully first minister uh obviously these are important issues i would say to any member if they are hearing reports in their constituencies or regions about people finding it difficult to access either the covert booster jags or the flu vaccination to raise these with the health secretary so that any issues can be looked into generally both of these vaccination programs they are being delivered on an integrated basis are going extremely well so as of right now 800 more than 850 000 people aged over 12 have received a third dose or booster vaccination think last week in terms of combined flu and covered doses more than at 500 000 at doses where delivered and i think we are ahead of some other parts of the uk in terms of delivery of this so overall the program is going extremely well thanks to the dedication of those working on it across the country but as i've said openly before there will be instances where individuals experience difficulties and it's important that they are raised so that they can be addressed as quickly as possible question number three christine graham thank you very much presiding officer to ask the first minister what public advice the scottish government has issued regarding the discharge of fireworks given that new regulations came into force on 30th june 2021 first minister we've taken several steps to highlight the nuisances and risks associated with fireworks and the new limitations on when they can be used with organized displays that is only between 6 pm and midnight on bonfire night itself and between 6 p.m and 11 p.m on most other nights of the year we funded three targeted publicity campaigns as well as promoting key messages on social media we've also funded extra engagement by trading standards officers with retailers and others are also playing a very important role the scottish fire and rescue service obviously police scotland community safety partnerships and a range of charities from crime stoppers to the sspca are putting huge effort into advisory activity to minimise distress and harm for people and for animals across scotland christine graham i thank the first minister for reply and declare an interest as convener of the cross party group on animal welfare and indeed as the owner of mr smokey a rescue cat these regulations on the limitation of sale in the discharge of fireworks are much welcomed by animal welfare organizations pet owners need many less experienced pet owners because of covered as previously as we're aware with the increasing days of fireworks it was impossible to keep animals safely indoors but it also affects livestock because all animals have more acute senses than us causing suffering stress and anxiety too many come to harm and even death so this is welcomed by the farming community too therefore can i ask the first minister will she advise how the impact of these regulations will be monitored and what the maximum penalties are for breaching these regulations first minister well firstly i very much agree with christine graham the harm that misuse of fireworks can do to animals and livestock is well known and a very serious issue but the issues of fireworks also does at real harm and causes real distress and anxiety to humans and communities across the country part of my own constituency has in many recent years been affected by this and i've i've seen the distress caused directly so these changes i hope will help alleviate the situation in terms of how we will assess the impact the new restrictions of the new restrictions we're working with trading standards officers to assess the position we'll also be engaging with police scotland and other partners in relation to the restrictions and monitoring the impact of them and in terms of animal welfare we'll also take input from organizations like the sspca and the british veterinary association who played a very constructive role as members of the firework review group terms of penalties for breaching the new regulations they are potentially imprisonment for up to six months and or a fine of up to five thousand pounds of course for serious issues other offences with higher penalties might also be relevant pauline mcneill every year in the run-up to bonfire night the fire will give response to hundreds of calls due to under uncontrolled bonfires as well as the misuse of fireworks which terrorizes communities at this time of the year and we thank the fire and rescue service for protecting our communities but as part of my case work in glasgow i've been sent videos of fireworks being launched horizontally down streets causing damage to property and even trapping residents in their home until either the police arrive or the people responsible move on a first minister i wholeheartedly welcome the new regulations and the work that the minister ash reagan has done on this but if this year we see the same patterns in our communities being terrorized by the misuse of fireworks may i ask how tough is the first minister prepared to be to protect our communities from the misuse of fireworks first minister well i have to say i have developed largely because of the experience in my own constituency a bit of a zero tolerance to this over the years i have seen instances like those that paulie mcneil has outlined in particularly the public shields area of my constituency i've worked on a local basis with the fire and rescue service with the police and others to try to alleviate some of that impact and i think these new restrictions that are in place will make a difference if they don't make a sufficient difference we will be willing to look at going further and being tougher there is and i say this simply as a statement of fact there is a devolved reserved split of responsibilities which means that the scottish government cannot necessarily go as far as we might like to go and there has been at least on my constituency mp colleague allison thules i know has raised us in the house of commons to try to get more collaboration between the scottish and the uk government in tackling this so we will be willing to look at this if this year's uh changes do not have the desired impact but i would say obviously people want to responsibly enjoy bonfire nights of course which is uh tomorrow but to say to people across the country to do so responsibly and remember the impact that the misuse of fireworks can have at best that is inconvenience and anxiety and distress at worst that can be serious injury and even death and therefore responsibility is absolutely paramount on the part of everyone siobhan brown thank you presiding officer a few weeks ago there was a tragic explosion in my constituency in concatena where a family of four still remain in hospital within days some members of the public let off fireworks which of course caused a lot of fear and concern to this community can i ask what discussions the scottish government has had with police scotland in relation to enforcing new firework regulation first minister well as i have already outlined the scottish government has had extensive engagement consultation with the police and with other partners and stakeholders over a long period of time now and in coming to the new and titled restrictions that are in place and we will also continue that in terms of the enforcement and assessment of those restrictions and i certainly appreciate the particular local issue that has been raised i think any of us seeing the pictures of the explosion in the members constituency that evening uh just seeing the pictures on social media understand the shock and therefore there will be particular sensitivity in that area around fireworks this bonfire night so i will ask the relevant minister to particularly engage with the police locally and nationally on that particular issue and engage with the member as well jackie bailey to ask the first minister what immediate steps the scottish government is taking to address the reported continuing inequalities in cancer yes i'm still taking supplementary questions at the moment but we will get to you in due course thank you i will therefore move on to question number four stephen care uh thank you presiding officer to ask the first minister whether scotland is on track to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2045. first minister yes i think we are but i don't think it will be easy and i don't think we can take success for granted we will have to work hard to achieve it the scale of the challenge to bridge the global emissions gap is immense in scotland right now we are over halfway to net zero and we have decarbonized faster than any g20 country but we have much more to do through our updated climate change plan and associated commitments we've set out a comprehensive credible package of policies for reducing emissions over the next decade putting us on track i believe for a just transition to net zero by 2045 and our priority obviously is to deliver on those policies of course the recent uk government decision not to support the scottish carbon capture and storage cluster it does not make that easier and is a serious mistake and therefore today writing to the prime minister calling upon him to reverse this decision and accelerate the scottish cluster to fuel track one status without delay stephen [Applause] the first minister's climate change strategy stated that local authorities were on the front line of scotland's response to the climate emergency but an extensive piece of published research by my own office reveals that the scottish government well do you like you mr care you may laugh at this research but i think you should take it seriously but research by my almost reveals that the scottish government has given little or no support to councils in preparing their plans agreed no targets and hasn't even bothered to read them so why does the first minister have any confidence that local authority plans will deliver cuts to emissions when she and her government have shown so little interest in them first minister um i just don't think that is true i mean i'd obviously be fascinated to read the research prepared by steven care's office i mean that genuinely i'm sure you'll send me a copy and i will give a commitment today to read it in full and then come back to him with any comments that i feel are appropriate local government does have a big part to play in this and i have confidence in the priority that local councils across the the country are giving to this i have had uh discussions with local council members in the the context of cop this week and more generally i've also had the privilege of meeting local government representatives from other parts of the uk the mayor of london yesterday the mayor of paris yesterday and all uh local government are grappling with these challenges and there's a a real intent on sharing a good practice and sharing best practice but our responsibility is to make sure we meet our targets we're halfway there but the next half of the journey will be more difficult that is why we cannot afford to be undermined on any of the key strands of our work so i would say to stephen care in return for my commitment to read the research prepared by his office i wonder if he would join me today in writing to the prime minister asking for the short-sighted decision on the acorn project and the scottish cluster to be overturned so that we can get back on track with carbon capture and not allow his tory colleagues to take the feet from us on that so perhaps that's something he will give consideration to liam mccarthy thank you for saying obviously the meeting our net zero target 2045 requires us to the interim target in 2030 was designed to be ambitious but achievable but it depends on government action given the chief executive of the climate change committee believes the target now looks quote overcooked and the scottish government has already missed the last three emissions target what does the first minister plan to do differently to get us back on track to meet this interim target first minister firstly you know i think it is right that we are ambitious and i would rather this parliament because remember the 75 reduction target of 2030 was a decision of parliament and i would rather this parliament was being said to be over ambitious rather than under ambitious because actually that is the charge that can be leveled at too many governments that run the negotiating table at cop the committee on climate change i think if memory serves me correctly expressed its reservations about the 75 target when parliament was considering this and parliament took a decision uh to to be that ambitious and i think parliament was right to do so is now incumbent on the government to lead it by example and all of us to make sure we do everything necessary to meet that target on the the missed targets again to be open we've got stretching targets and we've fallen short in the last three years of quite meeting those we should have cut emissions by 55 if we'd hit our targets we haven't done that but we have cut emissions by 51.5

that is the halfway to net zero and we have decarbonized faster than any g20 country so i think scotland is leading by example but we must do more what are we doing differently we've set out the details of that in our climate change update plan the catch-up plan that was published last week the most recent target of course was 2019 so much of what we are doing to catch up in that which we're legally bound to do has already been set out in this parliament so the the plans are ambitious the targets are ambitious but frankly all of us are responsibility to step up and make sure we are meeting this challenge head-on question number five jackie bailey to ask the first minister what immediate steps the scottish government is taking to address the reported continuing inequalities in cancer mortality rates across scotland first minister but we continue to focus on ensuring equitable access to cancer services throughout the pandemic for example we've seen mutual aid across health boards so that every patient is seen according to their priority we continue to provide support through the screening inequalities fund to increase screening rates across all groups in our society and we've also recently completed a second funding round of our more than 100 million pounds national cancer plan where the impact on equalities was a key criteria in the funding awarded finally to reduce mortality from cancer we know that the most effective means is by early detection which is why we continue to invest in our detect cancer early programme jackie bailey can i thank the first minister for that response public health scotland published cancer figures for 2019 which showed that 28 of people living in deprived areas are more likely to get cancer and a staggering 66 are more likely to die from cancer and that's before the pandemic there is a substantial backlog in screening early detection rates are falling health boards are cancelling operations due to the pressure and more people are likely to die because they are simply being diagnosed too late will the first minister ensure that at the very least cancer surgery and treatment is not cancelled or delayed this winter will she take urgent action to improve cancer outcomes for everyone including those who are the most disadvantaged in our society because these figures frankly are a national scandal first minister well firstly to be very very clear cancer treatment and surgery is always prioritized by health boards and i would hope jackie bailey would recognize uh that and indeed any operation for cancer that is cancelled it would only be done in the most extreme circumstances and that is a priority that health boards give and have given right throughout the pandemic at jackie bailey's right to point out to the point out the public health scotland cancer mortality statistics that were published this week i won't repeat the statistics she has quoted because they are absolutely correct but it is important to give the context that they also show that the overall risk of dying from cancer in 2019 fell by nearly 10 so that is that is positive but there are significant inequalities in terms of the outcomes from cancer that is why there's a range of work underway that we need to make sure gets the priority it merits raising awareness providing equitable access to screening yes catching up on the backlogs that have been caused by covert early detection making sure that early detection is being focused on not just in where there are the more common symptoms of cancer but some of the less common symptoms as well that's why the early diagnostic cancer centers are being set up to make sure that that happens so jackie bailey's right to raise the importance of this and the government is right to have the focus we do on making sure that we are putting forward the solutions and ensuring the priority for cancer care question number six jackie dunbar to ask the first minister how the scottish government is working to ensure that during cop26 it provides a platform for unhired voices including citizens young people and those from the global south first minister the scottish government is committed to amplifying the voices of young people and those experiencing the worst impacts of climate change in the global south we've provided almost 950 000 pounds of funding to support young people of all backgrounds to participate meaningfully at cop 26 and beyond including 300 000 pounds for the conference of youth which will present its global statement at 2 cop 26 tomorrow we're also ensuring representatives from the global south are heard through the global climate assembly the glasgow climate dialogues and events including a youth focused event with malawi climate leaders that will take place on monday jackie dunbar i thank the first minister for that answer women and girls are likely to suffer disproportionately as a result of the climate crisis which is why the scottish glasgow women's leadership statement jointly sponsored by the scottish government and un women is so important as it recognizes that women must be part of the response does the first minister hope that where small nations lead this will galvanize other organizations and world leaders to follow and make similar ambitious statements and commitments during cop26 first minister yes i absolutely agree with jackie dunbar about the importance of this issue we know that women and girls across the world are disproportionately impacted by climate change but we also know that they must be more involved in the solutions to climate change so i've been really delighted to work over at recent times with un women to put forward this glasgow women's leadership statement that we launched at cop 26 earlier this week did that alongside women leaders from both large and small nations and i've been very encouraged by the response since with more and more signatures from governments and civil society coming forward to join this initiative i'm also looking forward to taking part in gender day at cop which is next tuesday when i hope we will see many more countries coming forward with very strong commitments on gender responsive climate action question number seven paul sweeney thank you presiding officer to ask the first minister what the government's response is to glasgow city council cleansing workers taking strike action from the 1st of november and throughout the cop 26 conference due to low pay first minister well firstly i recognize and appreciate the extraordinary efforts of council workers at all times but particularly over the past 18 months that is why although the scottish government has no formal role in the local government pay negotiations we supported efforts to find a solution with a one-off offer of additional funding of 30 million pounds i was pleased to see that this intervention along with a contribution from councils enabled kosla to submit a significantly improved pay offer to trade unions last friday the union subsequently confirmed that they would suspend strike action while members voted on the revised offer and i welcome that i think it is therefore disappointing that the gmb in glasgow have chosen to pursue strike action at this stage although of course i respect the right to do so but i would urge all parties in glasgow to quickly find a resolution paul sweeney as a member of the gmb trade union i think glasgow city council threatening to union bust by using anti-trade union laws and busting in blackleg private contractors to try to break the strike is disgraceful and a paltry short-term fix to this long-running dispute so if the first minister agrees with this position will she please intervene and provide the leadership that's been solely lacking so far and if necessary commit additional financial resources so that kosla and glasgow city council can settle this dispute and pay these key workers fairly and treat them with respect first minister well of course the things that paul sweeney talk about would be disgraceful if they were happening but they're not and let's be very clear about that as i understand it although i'm not party uh to this it was made clear by the council last friday i think that they were not going to take legal action but also on this suggestion of breaking the strike i know a statement was issued last night the council do have a concern um about bonfire night posing an additional fire risk if rubbish is not collected so what they are considering is cover to mitigate these risks what they are not considering is using contractors to fulfill the regular duties of striking staff now labour should know all about that because they did do that during the cleansing strike under the previous labour administration in 2009 so perhaps a bit of reflection on the labour benches would be welcome this what this situation in glasgow has arisen out of a national pay dispute the government did last week make additional resources available to allow kosla to make a renewed offer koza has made a renewed offer the union's rightly suspended strike action to allow members to vote on that renewed offer and i think that is a process that should be allowed to take its course i have the utmost respect for cleansing workers in glasgow those who do that job in my constituency and across at the city that's why i do hope that the glasgow city council and the union can get round the table and find a resolution that puts an end to this and allows industrial relations to move forward positively that concludes first ministers questions we will now move on to members business point of order paul sweeney ponyville an appointment of order um presiding officer it was mentioned by the first minister that a strike breaking activity took place in 2009 as a matter of record no such strike breaking action took place and the statement issued by glasses of the council to this effect today is in fact inaccurate i'd be happy if the chair would confirm if that is the case the member will be aware that the content of members contributions is not a matter for the chair there does however exist a mechanism by which members can correct any inaccurate information thank you

2021-11-06 21:09

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