Official Report 1019KB pdf
Prostate Cancer Testing
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the calls from Sir Chris Hoy to change the advice on testing for prostate cancer, to encourage more younger men to be checked. (S6O-03965)
I thank Douglas Ross for raising what is an incredibly important issue, and I pay tribute to Sir Chris Hoy for his courage and leadership in sharing his journey with prostate cancer. My thoughts are with him, Sarra and the rest of his family.
All men over 50 can ask their general practitioner for a prostate-specific antigen test, once the benefits and risks have been explained. I welcome the review of the Scottish cancer referral guidelines, which include PSA testing. That will be published in spring 2025. I have also written to the United Kingdom National Screening Committee in support of its review of the case for a prostate cancer screening programme.
I associate myself with the cabinet secretary’s remarks. The strength and bravery of Chris Hoy in being so open about his prostate cancer diagnosis have already led to more people coming forward to be tested and has made people more comfortable in discussing the issue.
In that spirit, I will speak for the first time about how prostate cancer has affected my family. A year ago, my dad was diagnosed. He had a PSA level of 168—for context, PSA levels of around four and below are considered normal. We therefore knew that we were dealing with something very serious. Last Christmas was one of great anxiety and worry for our family. However, a year on, thanks to the great support from Forres health centre, Mr Lam at the urology department of Aberdeen royal infirmary and the rest of the teams at the hospital, as well as outstanding support from everyone at Clan house in Aberdeen, where Dad recently had his radiotherapy, his PSA is now 0.12.
More men will, I hope, be diagnosed earlier because of Chris Hoy’s efforts. Does the cabinet secretary agree that they can be assured of excellent care in our national health service and from the amazing charities that support people with cancer and their families, as my family can testify?
I thank Douglas Ross for sharing a very personal family story, which will be felt and shared by many other families across Scotland. I also share in the tribute that he paid to our national health service colleagues and the community and voluntary sector organisations. I am very familiar with Clan house in Aberdeen, given my Orkney links, with which Mr Ross will be familiar.
Douglas Ross is absolutely right. The work that has been done and the leadership and courage that have been shown by Chris Hoy have already had benefits. This morning, I heard Nick Jones, a trustee of Prostate Cancer Research, speak to Emma Barnett on the “Today” programme about his personal journey. Campaigns such as Movember, in which I and Douglas Ross’s colleague Miles Briggs are participating, are critically important in helping to remove stigma and encouraging people to come forward and talk about personal and uncomfortable areas of health.
My thoughts are absolutely with Mr Ross and his family, and with Sir Chris Hoy and his family as he shows his leadership so that more men come forward for tests.
Circular Waste Management System
To ask the Scottish Government what it anticipates the benefits to Scotland will be of a fully circular waste management system. (S6O-03966)
A fully circular waste management system would keep valuable materials flowing in our economy, reduce reliance on virgin resources, reduce emissions and promote green jobs in repair, reuse and recycling. It is therefore welcome news that statistics from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency show that, in 2023, the amount of household waste generated and the carbon impact of Scotland’s household waste were at their lowest level since records began in 2011. The Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024 and the draft circular economy and waste route map set out actions to develop a more circular economy in Scotland by 2030.
SEPA figures noted that the household recycling rate increased by 0.15 per cent last year. However, SEPA also stated that, since 2019, more than 146,000 tonnes of Scottish waste have been shipped to developing countries. One destination was Turkey, which a BBC investigation found to have dumped and burned British waste. Will the minister confirm whether all waste that is sent abroad is fully traceable, in compliance with the waste duty of care, to ensure that that does not happen to Scottish waste?
The member will be aware that the proportion of waste that we are talking about in that regard is small but, yes, there are safeguards that the Scottish Government seeks to apply in those unusual circumstances. It should be said that total household waste in Scotland is down by 26,000 tonnes a year, that landfill for biodegradable waste is being phased out and that the solutions that the member refers to are unusual rather than usual.
River Annan (Replacement Crossing)
To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to local residents to take forward a replacement river crossing in Annan following storm damage in 2021, in light of the findings of the recently completed feasibility study. (S6O-03967)
Although the footbridges are not the responsibility of Dumfries and Galloway Council or, indeed, the Scottish Government, the council provided £66,000 to support the recovery of the two bridges and a further £50,000 of capital funding to the Annan—A Tale of Two Bridges community group to deliver an options appraisal exercise. The Scottish Government reimbursed the council for 50 per cent of the total funding provided.
Clearly, it is a huge undertaking for a community group to put in place a bridge at significant expense. Following the First Minister’s visit and the Scottish Government’s welcome funding, will the minister commit to convening a meeting of stakeholders, including the local authority, South of Scotland Enterprise and other potential funders, to drive the project forward?
As the member recognises, the two bridges—I understand them to be the Cuthbertson memorial bridge and the Diamond Jubilee bridge—are not in the hands of the public sector. However, I am sure that officials at the Scottish Government end are only too willing to meet the communities concerned, as the member suggests, to find what solutions might exist.
I am conscious that the loss of the bridges has created problems for people who live to the west of the river. The Scottish Government has a bridge maintenance fund, which has contributed £243,000 to bridges in Dumfries and Galloway. I am sure that further conversations will be had.
National Care Service (Scotland) Bill
To ask the Scottish Government what further policy changes it plans to bring forward to address reported concerns regarding the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill. (S6O-03968)
The Scottish Government remains committed to the plans for a national care service and to working with lived-experience and stakeholder partners to design and implement social care support improvement as quickly and as effectively as possible. I need to take some time to fully reflect those views in our approach in order to get this right for the people of Scotland. Yesterday, I wrote to the convener of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, setting out that I do not intend to start stage 2 of the bill on 26 November.
Three years on and three health secretaries later, this is now the longest-running bill in the Parliament—directionless, unworkable and criticised by experts as policy making on the hoof. The Scottish National Party Government is kicking the can down the road, because it knows that the bill is destined to fail.
However, we can deliver the things that will make a real difference to social care right now. We have the power to deliver a right to respite care using the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016; fair pay and ethical commissioning using procurement reform; and Anne’s law through the Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (Requirements for Care Services) Regulations 2011. At a time when people’s care packages are being cut, will the minister stop wasting money and time on a failed bill and make the changes that we all agree with right now?
The member will be aware that we have not been waiting for a national care service to resolve the current issues. The Scottish Government is working right now to tackle the current issues that do not need primary legislation.
As everyone agrees, the social care system in Scotland needs urgent reform to improve people’s lives and to ensure consistency of care across Scotland. We have worked constructively and intensively with stakeholders over the past two years, and I have been clear in my discussions with them that there is space for dialogue and agreement around the provisions in the bill. I have heard directly from hundreds of people, and the bill team has heard from thousands of people, who access social care across Scotland. They are being badly let down by our current system. Thousands have told us that social care and community health need to change. Collectively, we all have a responsibility to act on those concerns and to make every effort to improve the lives of the communities that we serve.
A strong workforce is vital in the delivery of high-quality social care, which is why a key part of a national care service is the improvement of working conditions for carers. Alarmingly, over the past few weeks, we have loudly and clearly heard concerns from stakeholders such as the Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland about the United Kingdom Labour Government’s plans to increase employer’s national insurance contributions, which the coalition says could be “catastrophic” for many voluntary sector care providers. Can the minister provide an update on the estimated impact that the UK Government’s increases in national insurance contributions will have on the care sector in Scotland?
I agree that a strong social care workforce is necessary, and I put on record my thanks to all social care workers for the fantastic job that they do. I absolutely agree with the member that the impact that the national insurance increase will have on our social care providers is very worrying. There are more than 1,000 care providers throughout Scotland, and it is not easy to estimate the impact that the increase will have on each of them individually. We are looking closely at the issue as a matter of urgency, and we are liaising with the sector, including with the Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland.
Gender Inequality (Data Collection)
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve data collection on gender inequality. (S6O-03969)
The Scottish Government is committed to improving the collection and analysis of data on gender inequality. To build the strongest evidence base, we continue to advance quantitative, qualitative and lived-experience evidence collection. In the equality data improvement programme, 28 of the 45 actions relate to improvements in sex and gender evidence, demonstrating the breadth of action across Government. We recognise that there is more work to be done to improve the collection, analysis and use of data and evidence on gender inequality, and we are continuing to work with our stakeholders to do so.
Last week, at committee, I asked the minister how the decision to use gender instead of sex came about. Instead of answering my question, the minister asked her officials to respond. I have still not received an answer to my question. We also found out last week that, of the list of 24 genders produced by the Scottish Government, there were 14 categories that nobody has indicated they belong to. Why is the term “gender” used, instead of “sex”, to collect data on inequalities between men and women?
I think that I said at the evidence session that I would get back to the member on that.
I want to address the reference to 24 genders; I have answered a question on that before. The Scottish Government recently updated its guidance to public bodies on collecting data on sex and gender to include a coding framework for free-text responses. The framework is there to help official statistics producers categorise people who identify as trans and who have completed an open-response question about their trans status.
The categories were developed based on responses to the question in the 2022 census. As I have said before, the framework should not be interpreted to mean that there are a particular number of genders. It should be used only as a guide to classify responses to the recommended trans status question in surveys.
Inheritance Tax (Agricultural Property Relief)
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions its ministers have had with their United Kingdom Government counterparts regarding the changes made to agricultural property relief on inheritance tax. (S6O-03970)
Disappointingly, we had no advance notice or engagement from the United Kingdom Government over those changes. I urge the UK Government to engage with us to ensure that its plans properly account for the distinct features of Scotland’s agricultural sector, since family farms, tenant farms and crofting are all key parts of rural life in Scotland. Ultimately, the Scottish Government believes that inheritance tax powers should be devolved to the Scottish Parliament so that the tax can be designed for and tailored to the Scottish context, which the UK Government’s proposals simply do not reflect. We want a tax system that supports, rather than hinders, orderly succession planning and the transfer of land to the next generation of custodians.
Last night, the Parliament sent a clear message to the Labour Government by backing a Scottish Conservative motion calling for the family farm tax to be scrapped. I congratulate my colleague Tim Eagle on his efforts in that regard.
Rather than having any sympathy with our farmers, especially those who are recovering from cancer, Labour’s response has been to tell farmers to get their affairs in order. With the majority of the Scottish Parliament against the new tax, in his next meeting with his Labour counterparts, will the minister use his authority to demand that the family farm tax simply has to go?
As the member pointed out, we have intergovernmental meetings with UK counterparts, and that issue will absolutely be raised. However, it is also worth pointing out that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in Westminster has confirmed that it was not engaged during the policy’s development. It is absolutely essential that the UK Government reverses the proposal and allows us to have a proper consultation to find out the effects of this damaging tax.
Mountain Safety (Engagement)
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the hospitality and tourism sectors to promote safety on Scotland’s mountains in winter 2024-25. (S6O-03971)
Scotland has an enviable reputation for world-class hills and mountains, but we want to reduce the number of lives that are lost there each year. We work in partnership with stakeholders, including VisitScotland, to provide people with safe opportunities to enjoy the outdoors.
The Scottish Government provides £312,000 annually to Scottish Mountain Rescue and sportscotland, and it invests around £2 million per annum of Scottish Government and national lottery funding to ensure the safety of mountain users. The #ThinkWINTER campaign by Mountaineering Scotland and Scottish Mountain Rescue is supported by VisitScotland, which also provides advice on winter mountain safety on its website.
That is helpful, but nonetheless the minister will be very aware of the conditions during storm Ashley, when 15 members of Lochaber mountain rescue were deployed on Ben Nevis in the most atrocious weather to rescue a number of people who, quite frankly, should not have been out in the mountains. She will also be aware of my colleague Edward Mountain’s calls for a fresh safety message following the projection that 2024 could be one of our worst years for mountain safety.
I draw the minister’s attention to what happens in other countries—I cite Switzerland and France, of which I have considerable experience—where hotels and tourist outlets make a point of putting information in people’s rooms and in various lobbies to tell people exactly what is going to happen on the mountains, with sufficient access to webcams and specialist advice about what the weather will be. They are very helpful in making people aware of the circumstances that they might face. Could Scotland also do the same?
I would be content to meet the member and hear directly from her about her ideas on how to improve mountain safety.
We have an incredible asset in our hills and mountains. My constituency is blessed with some incredible climbing opportunities, but we need to ensure that people enjoy them safely. We work with Police Scotland, the sporting community and Scottish Mountain Rescue, and I would be happy to engage with members across the chamber to ensure that we get those messages right.
That concludes general questions.