Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 29 June 2022
I accept that the pandemic has been an important factor in the delay, but even before the pandemic, there were statements in the chamber that those benefits would be delayed anyway. I simply point it out as a factual comment.
The second interesting point is that the UK Government seems to be able to introduce legislation fairly speedily when it is required, and I wonder why it takes the Scottish Government quite so long. In the debate last week, the minister indicted that there simply was not time for a bill to be introduced in this Parliament, yet that does not seem to be the case in Westminster. Therefore, I think that we have to look at the time that such emergency bills require and consider whether we can do it quicker in this Parliament.
My third gentle point to the minister, with due respect, is that, for the record, the definition of terminal illness here in Scotland is not a Scottish Government definition; the definition was agreed to by this Parliament. If I may claim credit, it was my amendment that introduced it, and it was agreed to unanimously by the whole Parliament. I appreciate that the Scottish Government is now implementing and taking forward that definition, but the definition can be owned by all five parties and by all MSPs who were in the Parliament at the time.
I will perhaps be a wee bit more constructive in my final couple of remarks. It has been really helpful for the minister to define exactly where people apply to if, sadly, they get a terminal illness after August. However, my concern about that relates to how we get that information out to those who need it, such as to citizens advice bureaux, advice shops and other third sector organisations, and to the Scottish public more generally, so that everyone knows that we have a new definition, that there is a faster way to access the benefit and that people can get higher levels of care and mobility allowance more quickly if they go through that procedure. I ask the minister when closing to address whether any advertisement of the changes will take place over the summer. If so, how will that happen?
Come decision time, the Conservatives will vote for the motion. We think that the UK Government has taken a positive step forward. I hope that the motion gets the support of every member in the chamber.
16:05