Meeting of the Parliament 06 September 2023
I welcome the opportunity to debate equality in relation to the programme for government, because yesterday’s programme was nothing short of disappointing. Humza Yousaf promised us that he would be his own man and set out his own plan, but there is not a single word in the programme that could not have come from his predecessor. It is quite telling that Nicola Sturgeon is taking part in today’s debate to defend her prodigy’s plan, because she pretty much wrote every policy in the document. That is why the programme is so disappointing. When Scotland needed a bold, new and ambitious plan to tackle the big challenges that our economy and public services face, the best that Humza Yousaf could do was copy Nicola Sturgeon’s homework and continue her Scottish National Party failures.
Before I continue to highlight the problems with the programme for government, I want to mention two areas of consensus in it, which the Scottish Conservatives have outlined in our amendment. On support for families affected by miscarriage, the First Minister will always have my support when trying to support those who have suffered a terrible loss, and I commend him for speaking so openly about his personal experience. I hope that that gives strength to those who have suffered a miscarriage and I look forward to seeing more detail on that work in the coming months.
On childcare, as a new mum, I know not only how quickly childcare costs can rise but what other financial pressures go along with raising a child. I am pleased that the Scottish Government has finally listened to the Scottish Conservatives’ calls to be bold and ambitious when it comes to the roll-out of free childcare. Empowering parents is something for which I have been calling for some time; simplifying the process for parents and giving them more choice over their child’s care is the right course of action.
That does not take away from the crisis that is currently engulfing the sector. Although I will always welcome increased pay for carers, to judge by the reaction on social media last night, the £12 an hour staff wage went down like a sinking ship. The Government still does not get it—it does not understand the needs of the third and private sectors and of voluntary organisations. Staff wages are not the problem; the problem is that, in effect, local authorities set the rates per child for both themselves and their competition. I have asked this question previously: how can a Government organisation be a competitor and a banker at the same time? I make this plea again: fix the funding formula to create equality for the private, voluntary and independent sectors. They are Scotland’s first educators and the Government must do more to support them.
I turn to the problems with the programme. It takes a lot of action to tackle violence against women and girls, which is of course welcome, but it is completely undermined by the fact that the Government is continuing to push forward with its Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill. The programme was a chance for the Government to admit that it got it wrong and to drop the bill; instead, it is charging ahead with a costly legal battle to take forward a law that the vast majority of Scots oppose. They oppose it because everyone can see its massive loopholes, which allow predatory men to take advantage of the system. The SNP Government told us that that would never happen. However, last year, mere weeks after the bill was passed, we had the case of Isla Bryson—the double rapist who was initially remanded to a women’s jail after being found guilty. If the SNP truly wants to stand up for the rights and protections of women and girls, it needs to ditch the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill. A basic public health issue that the Government could focus on is the misinformation about contraception on social media, which could be contributing to the high abortion figures.
The Government has the message of building better communities. I learned quickly during my time as a councillor that the SNP rips the heart out of communities by ruthlessly cutting councils’ budgets year on year. North Lanarkshire Council alone will need to find £67 million-worth of cuts over the next three years on top of the £228 million-worth of cuts that it had over the past decade.