Meeting of the Parliament

Note: For user accessibility, this video contains live AI-generated subtitles. These are turned on by default. To turn these off: 1. Click on the ellipsis button in the video player controls 2. Click on English (en) 3. Click on None 4. Click the ellipsis button again to close the player settings Portfolio Questions Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands Audrey Nicoll S6O-04800 1. To ask the Scottish Government how its Marine Fund Scotland 2025-26 will support businesses and organisations in coastal communities. Stephen Kerr S6O-04801 2. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether policies such as culling livestock and promoting less meat consumption could have a detrimental impact on the rural economy. Tess White S6O-04802 3. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the rural affairs secretary has had with agricultural organisations regarding any increases in production costs as a result of new transmission infrastructure. Rachael Hamilton S6O-04803 4. To ask the Scottish Government how many licences for gull management were awarded in Eyemouth for 2025. Annabelle Ewing S6O-04804 5. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the latest export statistics for Scotland’s food and drink sector. David Torrance S6O-04805 6. To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates that NatureScot will complete its review of the bird species on schedule 2 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Willie Coffey S6O-04806 7. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any progress with the provisions in the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Act 2024, including how they may affect farming and food production in Ayrshire. Roz McCall S6O-04807 8. To ask the Scottish Government, as part of its policies on managing deer numbers, how it is supporting public bodies such as local authorities and NHS boards to use more Scottish venison in any catering that they are responsible for. Health and Social Care Gordon MacDonald S6O-04808 1. To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of care home providers have reported recruitment difficulties since the UK left the EU. Kevin Stewart S6O-04809 2. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is has taken to support NHS Grampian since it was escalated to stage 4 of NHS Scotland's National Performance Framework for finance, leadership and governance. Oliver Mundell S6O-04810 3. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that residents in Eskdale can access patient transport for hospital appointments. Colin Smyth S6O-04811 4. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that nearly 40% of adults in Dumfries and Galloway are not registered with an NHS dentist. Douglas Lumsden S6O-04812 5. To ask the Scottish Government what urgent action it is taking to address GP waiting times in NHS Grampian, in light of reports of ongoing staffing shortages, delayed discharges and critical incidents. Maurice Golden S6O-04813 6. To ask the Scottish Government how it will support NHS Tayside to improve its physical infrastructure to help to deliver better health outcomes. Craig Hoy S6O-04814 7. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the health secretary has had with ministerial colleagues and NHS Lothian regarding the provision of education and tutoring for sick children at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh and other NHS facilities and services. Miles Briggs S6O-04815 8. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the eligibility criteria for rapid cancer diagnostic services, including the rationale for them usually only being available to those over the age of 18, in light of any unique challenges faced by children and young people being diagnosed with cancer. followed by Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Debate: Demanding a Better Deal for Taxpayers in Scotland Craig Hoy S6M-17980 That the Parliament notes that the Scottish Government’s failure to grow Scotland’s economy has led to an economic performance gap worth £1.1 billion in 2025-26 alone; believes that there should be a crackdown on wasteful expenditure from the Scottish Government through the tightening of spending rules in the Scottish Public Finance Manual, reducing the number of highly paid senior executives within the public sector, and reversing the recent ministerial pay rise, and calls on the Scottish Government to use the proceeds of a crackdown on waste to cut income tax by up to £444 for every person in Scotland by abolishing the 20% and 21% rates of income tax, so that everyone earning up to £43,662 pays 19p for every £1 earned. Shona Robison S6M-17980.2 As an amendment to motion S6M-17980 in the name of Craig Hoy (Demanding a Better Deal for Taxpayers in Scotland), leave out from "notes" to end and insert "believes that public service reform must be an ongoing process in order to deliver the best use of public funding, and recognises that the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party’s arbitrary scheme would lead to a cut in available public funding for vital services like the NHS." Michael Marra S6M-17980.1 As an amendment to motion S6M-17980 in the name of Craig Hoy (Demanding a Better Deal for Taxpayers in Scotland), leave out from "believes" to end and insert "understands that the Scottish National Party administration has wasted in excess of £6.7 billion of taxpayers’ money since 2007; believes that the Scottish Government’s reckless spending and failure to grow Scotland’s economy has led to an overreliance on tax increases to plug annual budget gaps; welcomes the UK Government’s decision to decisively end austerity, deliver a record budget settlement for Scotland, and pledge an extra £9.1 billion over the next three years, and believes that the Scottish Labour Party’s plan to establish a Scottish treasury with strategic oversight for spending in all Scottish Government departments is essential in order to put an end to waste and ensure that people in Scotland get value for money." followed by Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Debate: Recognising the Economic Contribution of Scotland’s Defence Sector Kate Forbes S6M-17981.3 As an amendment to motion S6M-17981 in the name of Murdo Fraser (Recognising the Economic Contribution of Scotland’s Defence Sector), leave out from “; notes” to end and insert “, and in protecting national security, especially at a time of increased global instability, and notes that defence is a matter reserved to the UK Government under the Scotland Act 1998 and that the Scottish Government’s long-standing position is that public money should focus on diversification.” Daniel Johnson S6M-17981.1 As an amendment to motion S6M-17981 in the name of Murdo Fraser (Recognising the Economic Contribution of Scotland’s Defence Sector), insert at end “; welcomes the confirmation from the UK Government that it will provide the funding for the welding skills centre so that the project does not collapse; notes the contradiction in the Scottish Government’s policy, as the publicly owned Ferguson Marine shipyard is providing steel fabrication work for Type 26 frigates, and believes that this haphazard and misjudged policy is holding back the creation of jobs and economic growth in Scotland.” Lorna Slater S6M-17981.2 As an amendment to motion S6M-17981 in the name of Murdo Fraser (Recognising the Economic Contribution of Scotland’s Defence Sector), leave out from "recognises" to end and insert "notes with concern that, despite the Scottish Government’s policy that public funds to the defence industry should focus on diversification, at least £8 million of Scottish Enterprise grants have been awarded to companies involved in arms dealing and manufacturing since 2019; further notes that a number of these businesses have directly supplied weapons and military equipment to Israel during its assault on Gaza; understands that, despite this, still no company has failed Scottish Enterprise human rights due diligence checks, and calls, therefore, on the Scottish Government to urgently report on its promised review of Scottish Enterprise’s human rights checks before the summer recess and to provide Scottish Enterprise with a clear direction on the use of public funds to ensure that Scotland meets its international obligations." Murdo Fraser S6M-17981 That the Parliament recognises the significance of the defence industry to Scotland’s economy, in providing secure, well-paid and highly skilled jobs and in driving innovation in the science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) sector; notes that proposed increased spending on defence provides a substantial opportunity for growth; regrets that Scottish Government policy has meant that a Scottish Enterprise grant to support the Rolls-Royce specialist naval welding skills centre in Glasgow for submarine construction has been refused, and calls on the Scottish Government to drop the policy, which prevents public funds being invested in projects such as this. followed by Decision Time followed by Members' Business — S6M-17216 Liam Kerr: Recognising RAAC in Council and Former Council Housing That the Parliament acknowledges the reported presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in council and former council housing in Aberdeen’s Balnagask, Dundee, Monifieth and throughout Scotland; understands that, in Torry, around 150 of these properties are privately owned; expresses concern that the buy-back offers proposed by councils may value these properties at less than they were bought for; notes reports that the Scottish Government does not believe that it has a liability to compensate or financially assist affected homeowners; regrets what it sees as the attempt by the Scottish Government to divert responsibility, by reportedly trying to pin responsibility on the UK Government for this devolved matter; further regrets reports of the reluctance of the Minister for Housing to meet the Torry RAAC campaign group and that he has not met with other campaign groups, including those in Dundee, and notes calls on MSPs to utilise all available powers to explore solutions for affected homeowners, including initiating an urgent committee inquiry.