Chamber and committees

I have nothing further to add, and I will withdraw amendment 95.

Amendment 95, by agreement, withdrawn.

It might surprise colleagues that I want to speak to this group of amendments, but I will be supporting amendment 14.

Taken on its own, amendment 14 removes the specific criminal offence that the bill introduces of making a false declaration in relation to one’s trans status. We heard from several people and organisations in evidence sessions, including the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland, Amnesty International, JustRight Scotland and Engender, that that offence is unnecessary. It is already a criminal offence under the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 to make a false statutory declaration. The introduction of a new offence risks unnecessarily criminalising children.

However, there is another reason not to have the offence: having an offence that names trans people specifically potentially makes an already marginalised and vulnerable group more of a target for litigation.

Therefore, for reasons that are very different from those of Sue Webber, and that come from a very different place of principle and value, I will vote in favour of the removal of section 14 from the bill.

Of course, the tragic death of Badreddin Abdalla Adam and the injuries that he caused to others were preventable. He had called the Home Office and two of their contractors 72 times seeking help.

The use of institutional-style accommodation such as hotels is clearly not enabling the right support to get to people in a timely way. What more can the Scottish Government do while people are here to ensure that vulnerable adults and children, including survivors of trafficking, are not left in grossly inadequate institutional-style accommodation for indefinite periods, without the vital specialist mental health support that they need?

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to Baroness Helena Kennedy KC’s final report of the Independent Commission of Inquiry into Asylum Provision in Scotland, published on Friday, which highlights avoidable failings in the provision of care to new Scots during the Covid-19 pandemic. (S6T-00961)

It is clear that, here in Scotland, we are trying to do better than appears to be the case south of the border. The hostile environment rhetoric of invasions and deportation flights to Rwanda is not replicated by our Government, but there is still more to do and there are things that we can do here.

The report of Helena Kennedy’s inquiry has some clear recommendations for Scotland to act on. Will the cabinet secretary and perhaps even the First Minister agree to meet Refugees for Justice, the survivors of the Park Inn tragedy and Baroness Kennedy to discuss immediate actions and future strategies that will better secure the rights of refugees?

In spring and summer this year, we were repeatedly warned of extreme wildfires across Scotland, and we saw blazes spread rapidly through urban areas in England.

Research shows that firefighters come into regular contact with carcinogenic combustion products. They are at high risk of getting cancer, and they get those cancers earlier in life than the general population. In fact, the World Health Organization recently classified firefighting as a carcinogenic profession. Clearly, we have a responsibility to ensure that our firefighters, who tackle these blazes, are safe.

What is the Scottish Government doing to ensure that our firefighters have the equipment that they need to keep themselves safe? What plans are in place to ensure that fire stations have the necessary decontamination equipment? Will the Scottish Government consider routine health screening for firefighters, to catch any illnesses as early as possible?

To ask the Deputy First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to mitigate the impact and prevalence of fires in Scotland caused by accelerating climate change such as those seen during the high temperatures last summer. (S6F-01506)

Thanks; that is helpful, and it ties in to my second question. You spoke about the important role of REPs and of using the local knowledge that they provide to identify sectors and clusters that could benefit. However, there is potential for tension between the local, regional and national levels on both investment and identification of sectors, in particular when we try to match that work up with some of the skills gap-identification work that you spoke about.

You said that the skills inquiry will report next spring, but can you give us any indication of whose priorities will win out? The types of investment and approaches to skills and supply chain issues for an energy economy are very different to the investment and skills focus that we would need for a hospitality economy, for instance, and there are going to be distinct geographical tensions in that. How do you see those conflicts and tensions being resolved?

I have a couple of other questions, but perhaps I can ask those offline.

Good morning, minister. Thank you for being here, and thank you for what you have said so far.

You have partly answered my first question, which is about investment zones. In the past 12 hours or so, it has been announced that they are likely to be scrapped.