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Every contribution to the Official Report — chamber and committee — searchable in one place. Pulled from data.parliament.scot, indexed for full-text search, linked through to every MSP.

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1999–2026
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Showing 60 of 2,355,091 contributions. Latest 30 days: 148. Coverage: 12 May 1999 — 14 May 2026.
Jenny Marra (North East Scotland) (Lab) Lab Chamber
24 Mar 2021
First Minister’s Question Time · Breast Cancer Waiting Times
Breast cancer waiting times in Tayside are now 17 weeks from general practitioner referral to first appointment. As the First Minister knows, that is a severe breach of Government-recommended maximum waiting times and an eternity for patients. I asked the First Minister about...
The Convener Lab Committee
18 Mar 2021
Covid-19 (Tracking the Implications for Scotland’s Public Finances)
As no other members have questions for the Scottish Government panel on the report, I thank all the witnesses for their evidence this morning. Before we move into private session, as this is our final scheduled meeting in the Parliament’s session 5, I want to put on record th...
The Convener Lab Committee
18 Mar 2021
Covid-19 (Tracking the Implications for Scotland’s Public Finances)
Alex Neil, do you still want to ask a question?
The Convener Lab Committee
18 Mar 2021
Covid-19 (Tracking the Implications for Scotland’s Public Finances)
Graham, does that answer your question?
The Convener Lab Committee
18 Mar 2021
Covid-19 (Tracking the Implications for Scotland’s Public Finances)
Alex Neil, please. Oh—he is not there. Graham Simpson, please.
The Convener Lab Committee
18 Mar 2021
Covid-19 (Tracking the Implications for Scotland’s Public Finances)
Can Liz Ditchburn answer that question or tell us who is best placed to answer it?
The Convener Lab Committee
18 Mar 2021
Covid-19 (Tracking the Implications for Scotland’s Public Finances)
Under agenda item 3, the committee will take evidence on tracking the implications of the Covid-19 pandemic for Scotland’s public finances. I welcome our witnesses to the meeting. From the Scottish Government, we have Liz Ditchburn, director general, economy; Jackie McAllister...
The Convener Lab Committee
18 Mar 2021
Section 22 Report
As there are no further questions for the witnesses, I thank everyone for their attendance and their evidence. I will suspend the committee until 09:50, to allow for a change of witnesses. 09:48 Meeting suspended. 09:51 On resuming—
The Convener Lab Committee
18 Mar 2021
Section 22 Report
Do you have any further questions, Alex?
The Convener Lab Committee
18 Mar 2021
Section 22 Report
I think that Dame Susan is saying that, if Scottish Water collapsed, it would be a major catastrophe. That is the implication. Dame Susan, it seems to me that you were saying that salaries in Scottish Water are commensurate with those in the private sector. Is that right?
The Convener Lab Committee
18 Mar 2021
Section 22 Report
We will direct all questions to Dame Susan, and she will bring in her colleagues as appropriate.
The Convener Lab Committee
18 Mar 2021
Section 22 Report
Thank you for that introduction, Dame Susan. Colin Beattie will begin the questioning.
The Convener Lab Committee
18 Mar 2021
Section 22 Report
Agenda item 2 is consideration of the section 22 report “The 2019/20 audit of Scottish Water”. I welcome our witnesses: Dame Susan Rice, chair of Scottish Water and Scottish Water Business Stream; Johanna Dow, chief executive of Scottish Water Business Stream; and Douglas Mill...
The Convener (Jenny Marra) Lab Committee
18 Mar 2021
Decision on Taking Business in Private
Good morning, and welcome to the 10th meeting in 2021 of the Public Audit and Post-legislative Scrutiny Committee. This is the final scheduled meeting of the committee in session 5. Agenda item 1 is a decision on whether to take business in private. I will assume that members...
Jenny Marra (North East Scotland) (Lab) Lab Chamber
18 Mar 2021
Decision Time
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. With apologies, Scottish Labour does not agree to the Local Government Finance (Scotland) Order 2021. Is it possible to record our dissent or move to a division?
Jenny Marra Lab Chamber
18 Mar 2021
Drug Deaths and Harms
Will the minister take an intervention?
Jenny Marra (North East Scotland) (Lab) Lab Chamber
18 Mar 2021
Drug Deaths and Harms
The debate on drugs is long overdue. The reluctance of the SNP to debate drugs in its own parliamentary time tells its own story over the course of the Parliament. It is not a story of malice or bad intent, but more of a lack of ideas and analysis that might help the desperate...
Jenny Marra (North East Scotland) (Lab) Lab Chamber
18 Mar 2021
Drug Deaths and Harms
The plan sounds very good, especially for same-day treatment, but it also sounds light years away from where we are today. How will the minister ensure that statutory services actually deliver her plan?
The Convener Lab Committee
11 Mar 2021
Section 23 Report
I thank all the witnesses very much for appearing in front of the committee. I know that this a very challenging time for the NHS. I wish Gregor Smith and Caroline Lamb the very best in their roles, and I wish Fiona McQueen a very happy and restful next chapter. Thank you for ...
The Convener Lab Committee
11 Mar 2021
Section 23 Report
It must be available, because universities have quoted it to me. I am sure that the Scottish Government must have that figure. It would be really helpful if we could have it.
The Convener Lab Committee
11 Mar 2021
Section 23 Report
Thank you for that update. I am going to follow that up with the First Minister, and I hope to hear back from her directly on it. Alex Neil and I were keen to ask about the attrition rate, and I do not think that Gregor Smith got a chance to talk about that. Do you know what ...
The Convener Lab Committee
11 Mar 2021
Section 23 Report
I will finish with a local question. Gregor Smith and Caroline Lamb might be aware that a couple of weeks ago, the chief executive of NHS Tayside told the committee that he cannot guarantee the future of the breast cancer service for women in Dundee. I raised that issue with t...
The Convener Lab Committee
11 Mar 2021
Section 23 Report
No. Bear with me, Mr Neil. The last data on that that I looked at showed that Scotland has a far higher attrition rate of medical students who qualify and then leave than English and Northern Irish medical schools have. You might be right, Caroline Lamb, that they are coming ...
The Convener Lab Committee
11 Mar 2021
Section 23 Report
You do not know whether we have got it at the moment.
The Convener Lab Committee
11 Mar 2021
Section 23 Report
I know that you will agree with that statement, but could you answer my question? Have you done such an analysis of the backgrounds and geographical areas of new applicants to medicine? Is that available?
The Convener Lab Committee
11 Mar 2021
Section 23 Report
I have a couple of direct questions on that point. Has the Scottish Government carried out an analysis of the social backgrounds of new applicants? If so, could the committee have a copy? What is the current percentage of medical graduates whose studies have been paid for by S...
The Convener Lab Committee
11 Mar 2021
Section 23 Report
Yes.
The Convener Lab Committee
11 Mar 2021
Section 23 Report
On that point, have you done an analysis of the social backgrounds of applicants to medical schools? One of my concerns, which I have raised in Parliament many times, is that we cannot get GPs to staff surgeries in our most deprived communities. That is an issue in Dundee, and...
The Convener Lab Committee
11 Mar 2021
Section 23 Report
Excuse me, Gail. Can I interrupt for a minute? There is disturbance on the line and we are not getting a clear feed. I ask broadcasting colleagues to advise me where the problem might be. I am told that that is being investigated. Have the official reporters managed to get ev...
The Convener Lab Committee
11 Mar 2021
Section 23 Report
That is a little bit better. 10:30
The Convener Lab Committee
11 Mar 2021
Section 23 Report
Sorry—can I interrupt? I am not hearing you very well. Could you sit forward a little bit, or nearer your microphone, please? I am struggling to hear you clearly.
The Convener Lab Committee
11 Mar 2021
Section 23 Report
Can we have Graham Simpson next, please?
The Convener Lab Committee
11 Mar 2021
Section 23 Report
I will put the same question to Gregor Smith, once I have expanded on it a little. During my time as an MSP—which I am now coming to the end of—over the past 10 years, the conclusion has been that public health policy is focused on areas in which there is already a lot of harm...
The Convener Lab Committee
11 Mar 2021
Section 23 Report
Thank you. I welcome you to your post, which is crucial in the Scottish Government at this time. I probably speak for the whole committee when I thank NHS staff across the country—who have stepped up in ways that we will probably never know or be able to imagine—for their pers...
The Convener Lab Committee
11 Mar 2021
Section 23 Report
Agenda item 3 is consideration of the section 23 report “NHS in Scotland 2020”. I welcome our witnesses, all of whom are from the Scottish Government: Caroline Lamb, chief executive of NHS Scotland and director general for health and social care; Richard McCallum, interim dire...
The Convener Lab Committee
11 Mar 2021
Public Finances (Implications of Covid-19)
If no one else has questions for the Auditor General and his team on the report, I will now suspend the meeting to allow for a changeover of witnesses for the next agenda item. 09:39 Meeting suspended. 09:43 On resuming—
The Convener Lab Committee
11 Mar 2021
Public Finances (Implications of Covid-19)
Mark Taylor would like to add something.
The Convener Lab Committee
11 Mar 2021
Public Finances (Implications of Covid-19)
Thank you, Auditor General—we lost your audio right at the end, but we caught the vast majority of what you said. I am sure that broadcasting will keep an eye on that. I ask Colin Beattie to open the questioning.
The Convener Lab Committee
11 Mar 2021
Public Finances (Implications of Covid-19)
Item 2 is on tracking the implications of Covid-19 on Scotland’s public finances. I welcome our witnesses from Audit Scotland: Stephen Boyle, the Auditor General for Scotland; Mark Taylor, audit director for audit services; and Fiona Diggle, audit manager for performance and b...
The Convener (Jenny Marra) Lab Committee
11 Mar 2021
Decision on Taking Business in Private
Good morning, and welcome to the Public Audit and Post-legislative Scrutiny Committee’s ninth meeting in 2021. I have received apologies from Neil Bibby MSP. Agenda item 1 is a decision on whether to take business in private. I will assume that members are agreed unless they ...
Jenny Marra (North East Scotland) (Lab) Lab Chamber
10 Mar 2021
Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3
I am glad that the Presiding Officer said that, because I am keen to express myself as fully as I feel is necessary. Amendment 1 in the name of Adam Tomkins is helpful, but it does not go far enough. I speak in support of the amendments that have been lodged by my colleague Jo...
The Convener Lab Committee
04 Mar 2021
Scottish Government Support and Sponsorship Arrangements (Key Audit Themes)
As there are no further questions from members, I thank you all—Paul Johnston, Catriona Maclean and Sharon Fairweather—for your evidence this morning. 10:33 Meeting continued in private until 11:17.
The Convener Lab Committee
04 Mar 2021
Scottish Government Support and Sponsorship Arrangements (Key Audit Themes)
Catriona Maclean would like to come in.
The Convener Lab Committee
04 Mar 2021
Scottish Government Support and Sponsorship Arrangements (Key Audit Themes)
Sorry, Colin, but Catriona Maclean would like to come in on this point, if you would like to hear her.
The Convener Lab Committee
04 Mar 2021
Scottish Government Support and Sponsorship Arrangements (Key Audit Themes)
Thank you. I ask Graham Simpson to open the questioning for the committee.
The Convener Lab Committee
04 Mar 2021
Scottish Government Support and Sponsorship Arrangements (Key Audit Themes)
Item 3 is on key audit themes—Scottish Government support for public bodies. I welcome our witnesses from the Scottish Government: Paul Johnston, director general for education, communities and justice; Sharon Fairweather, director, internal audit and assurance; and Catriona M...
The Convener Lab Committee
04 Mar 2021
Section 22 Report
If members have no further points for the panel on the Bòrd na Gàidhlig report, I thank both Graeme Logan and Paul Johnston for their evidence on the report this morning. 09:51 Meeting suspended. 09:54 On resuming—
The Convener Lab Committee
04 Mar 2021
Section 22 Report
Do you have any further questions, Mr Simpson?
The Convener Lab Committee
04 Mar 2021
Section 22 Report
Let us come on to the “going forward” in a minute because a lot of the time, as you know, our role is to look backwards and to scrutinise that first before we get the good news from you. I will pass over to Graham Simpson, who has a couple of questions.
The Convener Lab Committee
04 Mar 2021
Section 22 Report
As you know, we will come on to a session on the general issue of sponsorship, but it strikes me that if I were a civil servant who had responsibility for a body such as Bòrd na Gàidhlig, I would want to check in with it every fortnight or so to check that everything was okay ...
The Convener Lab Committee
04 Mar 2021
Section 22 Report
But if the sponsorship arrangement was working correctly, how was the situation allowed to get to such a point?
The Convener Lab Committee
04 Mar 2021
Section 22 Report
There was never a direct intervention by a minister to find out what was going on or whether enough was being done to sort out the situation.
The Convener Lab Committee
04 Mar 2021
Section 22 Report
Were ministers satisfied with that?
The Convener Lab Committee
04 Mar 2021
Section 22 Report
What advice was given between early 2018 and June 2018?
The Convener Lab Committee
04 Mar 2021
Section 22 Report
Thank you very much. Colin Beattie will open the questioning for the committee.
The Convener Lab Committee
04 Mar 2021
Section 22 Report
Agenda item 2 is the section 22 report on “The 2018-19 audit of Bòrd na Gàidhlig: Governance and transparency”. I welcome our witnesses from the Scottish Government: Paul Johnston, director general, education, communities and justice; and Graeme Logan, director of learning. I ...
The Convener (Jenny Marra) Lab Committee
04 Mar 2021
Decision on Taking Business in Private
Good morning, and welcome to the eighth meeting of the Public Audit and Post-legislative Scrutiny Committee in 2021. Agenda item 1 is a decision on taking business in private. I will assume that everyone agrees unless a member indicates otherwise. Does any member object to tak...
Jenny Marra (North East Scotland) (Lab) Lab Chamber
04 Mar 2021
First Minister’s Question Time · Dundee City Council (Equal Pay Claims)
Scores of Dundee women are lodging equal pay claims against Dundee City Council, after that Scottish National Party council’s failure to properly implement a single status agreement. Those women have been at the forefront of the Covid fight; they are social care workers, cooks...
Jenny Marra (North East Scotland) (Lab) Lab Chamber
03 Mar 2021
Decision Time
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I am sorry, but my app would not connect. I would have voted yes.
The Convener Lab Committee
25 Feb 2021
Section 23 Report
Members have no further issues to raise with Audit Scotland on the report “NHS in Scotland 2020”. I thank all four witnesses for their evidence this morning. 11:05 Meeting continued in private until 11:31.
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Chamber

Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 24 March 2021

24 Mar 2021 · S5 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
First Minister’s Question Time
Breast Cancer Waiting Times
Marra, Jenny Lab North East Scotland Watch on SPTV

Breast cancer waiting times in Tayside are now 17 weeks from general practitioner referral to first appointment. As the First Minister knows, that is a severe breach of Government-recommended maximum waiting times and an eternity for patients.

I asked the First Minister about the issue a month ago. She said that she would get more detail and come back to me. I have heard nothing. Women are worried and are waiting for a long time. Will the First Minister look into the issue—today, please—and tell me what has been done, before this parliamentary session ends?

In the same item of business

Jenny Marra (North East Scotland) (Lab) Lab
Breast cancer waiting times in Tayside are now 17 weeks from general practitioner referral to first appointment. As the First Minister knows, that is a sever...
The First Minister (Nicola Sturgeon) SNP
We have already taken action in that regard. I know that Jenny Marra is stepping down from Parliament, and I will ask the health secretary to give more detai...