Chamber and committees

I will move things on, so that other members have the opportunity to ask questions. If we have time, I will come back to that issue.

I will move on to questions from Collette Stevenson, and then I will bring in Katy Clark.

Okay.

I have one final addition, at the end of page 7, under “Residential rehabilitation”. There was a recent statement on residential rehab by the Minister for Drugs Policy—back in January this year, I think—which provided an update about an £18 million commitment to develop stabilisation and crisis care services and align those with detox and rehabilitation. We could get more information on that from the Official Report.

Are there any more specific issues around prisons and prison reform?

Yes—as in, there was not much of an update.

It is important to recognise the urgent need to make improvements to social care now and not to wait for the NCS to start that process. With that in mind, will the minister provide an update on the action that is being taken now to address challenges in social care?

In his analysis, I wonder whether Douglas Lumsden remembers that, during his time as one of the leaders of Aberdeen City Council, he left the council with a debt of £2 million, which the people of Aberdeen are still paying off. As I recall, that was for projects that, in many cases, have still to be delivered.

Members: Oh!

I agree with the member’s comments. Earlier today, I attended an event with the Wellbeing Economy Alliance, at which there was some discussion of the gap between the richest and poorest in Scotland and of the opportunity for Scotland to nurture purposeful businesses that make a positive difference to our wellbeing, among other things, rather than putting profits in the pockets of shareholders. Does the member agree that that is a good thing for Scotland and that we should embrace it?

Today we celebrate the international day of women and girls in science. Women are a pioneering and unique body within the sciences, yet they remain underrepresented.

Earlier this week, I met Professor Linda Lawton of Robert Gordon University to discuss women and girls in STEM, as part of my preparation for a members’ debate. An internationally renowned researcher in the field of toxic cyanobacteria, Professor Lawton perhaps summed up the current position when she said:

“Well it doesn’t help that if you google the word ‘professor’ you get a picture of a man with white hair, wearing glasses.”

She was wrong: I got a compete screen full of men—and only men.

There has been progress in the past decade or so for girls and women in STEM education, but also for women entering the STEM workforce. It is a slow burn, but such progress will be absolutely essential if we are to tackle our climate emergency.

I will highlight two examples of work in the north-east that underpins that trend: one in education and the other led by industry. The Aberdeen computing collaborative is a collaboration between Aberdeen City Council, North East Scotland College, Robert Gordon University and the University of Aberdeen that seeks to improve alignment between the school curriculum and the associated demand for skills created by the next phase in our energy production sector and other growth sectors. I note the reference in Michael Marra’s amendment in that regard.

The collaboration also aims to increase the profile of computing science learning and to attract graduates into computer science, including teaching. That fantastic initiative aligns with the Scottish Government’s STEM education and training strategy, which outlines our ambition to encourage girls and young women to engage with computing science with a view to strengthening Scotland’s future tech sector. It was therefore bitterly disappointing that a recent just transition funding bid to support the collaborative was unsuccessful. I ask the minister to give an assurance that comprehensive feedback and advice will be provided to the collaborative to inform and support its future applications, which I hope will succeed.

Turning to industry, girls in energy is a one-year course delivered by Shell, in partnership with North East Scotland College and Fife College, to senior-phase girls that helps them to rethink preconceptions about the energy sector and hear about the range of careers available in it. Recently, I joined this year’s cohort of around 100 girls in Aberdeen. I was blown away by the way in which they worked together to find innovative solutions to food production, heating and energy-related challenges.

Perhaps Michelle Thomson, who is sitting behind me, has been reading my notes over my shoulder. I completely agree with her suggestion and am about to come on to a point that might be relevant to it.

The judging panel for girls in energy comprised strong local female role models who were already in senior positions in the north-east tech and energy sectors. From my conversations with many of them, I know how committed they are to that vital work. I suspect that many of them would be interested in Ms Thomson’s proposal.

There are, of course, many challenges in this area: the gendered world that we live in; our culture; the availability of mentoring opportunities; and the lack of funding. However, today is about celebration. I hope that, on this international day of women and girls in science, my short contribution has showcased a snippet of what is happening on the ground in that exciting sphere.

Our intention in writing to the cabinet secretary and to Police Scotland was to get some clarification on what that spending will look like. Will it be used largely to settle pay deals? It would be appropriate for us to follow that up, if you are happy with that.