Hansard

Oliver Mundell Con Chamber

25 Mar 2026

Portfolio Question Time · Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary (Beds)

The reality on the ground remains grim. In my final parliamentary contribution, I highlight the case of a constituent in her 80s who recently spent the first night of her hospital stay confused, alone and scared in a corridor. On the second night, her family was relieved to he...

1. Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber

25 Mar 2026

Portfolio Question Time · Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary (Beds)

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce reported bed pressures at Dumfries and Galloway royal infirmary. (S6O-05701)

Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber

25 Mar 2026

Remote, Rural and Island Communities (Sustainability)

Before I start with some final thoughts, I want to make it clear, up front, that my comments are not personally aimed at the cabinet secretary, who I respect and with whom I enjoy working, as everybody across the chamber does. I have never felt the need to compare her to a chl...

Oliver Mundell Con Chamber

18 Mar 2026

Portfolio Question Time · Dumfries Town Centre (Support)

I associate myself with comments from colleagues across the chamber about the Deputy First Minister.I am concerned that the Scottish National Party-led Dumfries and Galloway Council is undoing all that hard work by continuing with its obsession with wasting £70 million of taxp...

6. Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber

18 Mar 2026

Portfolio Question Time · Dumfries Town Centre (Support)

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support Dumfries town centre. (S6O-05653)

Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber

17 Mar 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I would have voted no.

Oliver Mundell Con Committee

17 Mar 2026

McCloud Remedy

None. Okay—that is fine.

Oliver Mundell Con Committee

17 Mar 2026

McCloud Remedy

Okay. With regard to successful challenges, you said that you were confident that the final figures that you gave were correct and that the Government Actuary’s Department had signed off on them. Have there been any successful challenges that you are aware of?

Oliver Mundell Con Committee

17 Mar 2026

McCloud Remedy

Just for absolute clarity, for those getting in touch with you who are at the end of life and are not able to access the full amount of money that they are entitled to, your process does not allow their cases to be expedited, does it?

Oliver Mundell Con Committee

17 Mar 2026

McCloud Remedy

You will not be able to give them the remedy.

Oliver Mundell Con Committee

17 Mar 2026

McCloud Remedy

Do you have any idea of how many individuals fall into that category?

Oliver Mundell Con Committee

17 Mar 2026

McCloud Remedy

So you cannot do that in every instance.

Oliver Mundell Con Committee

17 Mar 2026

McCloud Remedy

But saying, “where we can do that” is not the same as saying that you do do that.

Oliver Mundell Con Committee

17 Mar 2026

McCloud Remedy

What you have just said does not sit very easily with what Frances Graham said earlier about it being wrong to make calculations manually for some people, as you might have to revisit them later. You are now saying that you do that in some circumstances. If someone is near the...

Oliver Mundell Con Committee

17 Mar 2026

McCloud Remedy

I will leave that line of questioning there, because—

Oliver Mundell Con Committee

17 Mar 2026

McCloud Remedy

My experience with other public organisations is that people who are really upset, who are facing some really challenging circumstances and who are unhappy with the reply that they get can, at the very least, speak to someone within the organisation. That organisation will mak...

Oliver Mundell Con Committee

17 Mar 2026

McCloud Remedy

You also said that you write back to people when they raise concerns with you. I have done that as an MSP, and I feel that I have been fobbed off. I get letters back that say that you will speak to the constituent. The constituent then gets a phone call from someone in the org...

Oliver Mundell Con Committee

17 Mar 2026

McCloud Remedy

It does not recognise the gravity of what this means for individuals. That is why they are frustrated.

Oliver Mundell Con Committee

17 Mar 2026

McCloud Remedy

It is like a token apology.

Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Committee

17 Mar 2026

McCloud Remedy

Thank you. I am pleased to be able to join you, convener.Dr Pathirana, my colleague Liz Smith said that some of your communications are vague. I put it to you that they are actually quite cold. You are very process driven—it is all about calculators, statistics and how many ca...

Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber

22 Jan 2026

First Minister’s Question Time

As those at home and around the world, including in our Parliament, raise a dram this week to the continued social, economic and cultural importance of Robert Burns, the campaign to save the home of “Auld Lang Syne”, Ellisland—the Dumfriesshire farm that the poet built and cal...

Oliver Mundell Con Committee

14 Jan 2026

Energy

In order for engagement to be meaningful, there has to be the potential for the developer to walk away at an early stage. That is the problem. Ultimately, many developers engage, get an answer that they do not like and then keep going. Do you recognise that there are occasions...

Oliver Mundell Con Committee

14 Jan 2026

Energy

But if the reporter can look only at effects that are beyond the local, or at things that have been set out under the planning terms, they are not able to listen to the community’s concerns. They say, “We’ve gone through these land units, and some experts have said that they’r...

Oliver Mundell Con Committee

14 Jan 2026

Energy

—and communities turn up in good faith, without proper representation or a detailed understanding of the law. To be fair, I think that the reporters do an excellent job in trying to level the playing field. I have seen people in my own community turn up and talk about business...

Oliver Mundell Con Committee

14 Jan 2026

Energy

Yes. They swoop in with teams of 10 or 15 people and spend what I think would be hundreds of thousands of pounds to push these applications through—

Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Committee

14 Jan 2026

Energy

Yes—I am grateful to you, convener, and to committee members for making space for me to ask a couple of quick questions. I wanted to come in on the back of what Maurice Golden asked in relation to when communities say no. I also want to link to the point about leaving a bad ta...

Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber

14 Jan 2026

Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

When we make a promise, we are telling somebody that we are definitely going to do something and that it will definitely happen. It is not an ordinary political pledge, a policy or a statement of ambition. It is, by its very nature, different. It says that nobody and nothing w...

Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber

14 Jan 2026

Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Would the time to do the review not have been before the legislation was introduced? We have known from the plan that such a review has been needed for a while. It feels as though the minister’s announcement has come after the event.

Oliver Mundell Con Chamber

07 Jan 2026

Flood Defences

I am not trying to draw the cabinet secretary into a discussion of individual schemes. However, given the points that Willie Rennie and others have made about changing weather patterns and the need for wider systems thinking about whole-river catchments, is the cabinet secreta...

Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber

07 Jan 2026

Flood Defences

Will the member take an intervention?

Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber

18 Dec 2025

Contract (Formation and Remedies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

I am grateful for the clarification on time, Presiding Officer, because Martin Whitfield told me on the way into the chamber that he was planning to speak for 30 minutes, and it frightened me that I might not get my lunch. With that to one side, I associate myself with the ki...

Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber

18 Dec 2025

Contract (Formation and Remedies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

I do not disagree with the general point that Lorna Slater is making, but does she recognise that there are other mechanisms to protect the type of individuals whom she is talking about? For example, there are consumer rights, so there might be other mechanisms to address the ...

Oliver Mundell Con Committee

07 Oct 2025

Instruments subject to Affirmative Procedure

I want to make it clear that I do not support the Early Release of Prisoners (Scotland) Regulations 2025. I believe that it is a disproportionate use of power and that such matters should not be decided by delegated legislation.

Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Committee

07 Oct 2025

Interests

Although I do not think that it is directly relevant, I draw members’ attention to the fact that I am a board member at Scotland’s Rural College. That might loosely relate to rural support under agenda item 4.

Oliver Mundell Con Chamber

02 Oct 2025

Give Blood 4 Good

On a point of order, Deputy Presiding Officer. I apologise for delaying you and other colleagues longer than necessary. I have realised that I inadvertently used the wrong pre-Covid figure for the number of blood donors. I wanted to make members aware of that. My apologies.

Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber

02 Oct 2025

Give Blood 4 Good

I start by congratulating Fulton MacGregor on securing this important debate. I always enjoy his members’ business debates and the campaigns that he works on, because not only does he bring the problems to the chamber but, often, he brings the solutions, too. I strongly associ...

Oliver Mundell Con Chamber

01 Oct 2025

Portfolio Question Time · NHS Dumfries and Galloway (Financial Support)

Any additional money is welcome, but with a record deficit of £58 million, as predicted by the health and social care partnership for 2025-26, the board’s financial position continues to deteriorate. Local communities have real concerns about the impact of drastic reductions...

6. Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber

01 Oct 2025

Portfolio Question Time · NHS Dumfries and Galloway (Financial Support)

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support NHS Dumfries and Galloway in addressing financial pressures. (S6O-05007)

Oliver Mundell Con Chamber

18 Sep 2025

Portfolio Question Time · Additional Support for Learning (Rural Schools)

On behalf of parents, pupils and teachers, I ask the cabinet secretary: what are they to do when that does not happen? In Dumfries and Galloway, resources are being rationed and smaller schools are being disadvantaged, often having a learning assistant for a fraction of the we...

4. Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber

18 Sep 2025

Portfolio Question Time · Additional Support for Learning (Rural Schools)

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that pupils attending smaller rural schools are receiving the additional support for learning that they need. (S6O-04957)

Oliver Mundell Con Chamber

18 Jun 2025

Portfolio Question Time · Patient Transport (Eskdale)

Langholm is one of the places that the Scottish Government should start with. A recent public meeting saw more than 300 people crowd into the Buccleuch centre there, and one of the top issues that they raised was their difficulty in getting to Dumfries and Galloway royal infir...

3. Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber

18 Jun 2025

Portfolio Question Time · Patient Transport (Eskdale)

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that residents in Eskdale can access patient transport for hospital appointments. (S6O-04810)

Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber

10 Jun 2025

Care Reform (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I could not connect. I would have voted yes.

Oliver Mundell Con Chamber

04 Jun 2025

Portfolio Question Time · Additional Support Needs (Support for Pupils)

The funding that has been set out does not match the need. Today is another day with teachers reportedly being in tears and at breaking point. A new survey by the NASUWT shows that 70 per cent of teachers say that support for ASN pupils has declined over the past five years, w...

6. Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber

04 Jun 2025

Portfolio Question Time · Additional Support Needs (Support for Pupils)

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that pupils with additional support needs receive consistent and adequate support. (S6O-04757)

Oliver Mundell Con Chamber

03 Jun 2025

Public Participation Inquiry

I had the same experience on the justice and education committees. There is a balance to be found between transparency and proper process, but we are sometimes too keen to put witnesses in front of the camera and have a formal evidence-taking process. With the expertise that e...

Oliver Mundell Con Chamber

03 Jun 2025

Public Participation Inquiry

I was coming to that point in relation to Christine Grahame’s comments. I think that there are better ways of engaging people within committees. There are some very good committee clerks and others with great experience in this building who find ways and means of doing that. I...

Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber

03 Jun 2025

Public Participation Inquiry

I am glad to follow Alex Rowley’s speech, because he hit the nail on the head. He is right that it has been a nice debate, but we spend too much time thinking about ourselves. As a Parliament, we have a false impression of how good we are at outward engagement. Yes, the Parlia...

Oliver Mundell Con Chamber

03 Jun 2025

Public Participation Inquiry

I am interested in a point that the member made during an earlier intervention. I worry about the danger of participative committees becoming an alternative to having real people taking part in the committee process. They might be an easier way to do things, but I think that w...

Oliver Mundell Con Chamber

03 Jun 2025

Public Participation Inquiry

Will the member accept an intervention?

Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber

03 Jun 2025

Public Participation Inquiry

I hear what Stuart McMillan says. If people are checking out early to go home, that is problematic. However, many members across the chamber represent constituencies that are far away from Edinburgh, where genuine local democracy is taking place and constituents expect us to b...

Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber

29 May 2025

First Minister’s Question Time · Stagecoach Services (Dumfries and Galloway)

Having milked the public purse for years while the going was good, Stagecoach has now decided to throw Dumfries and Galloway under the bus. There are reports that the company is planning to exit the region altogether, abandon more than a hundred members of staff, close depots ...

Oliver Mundell Con Chamber

15 May 2025

Portfolio Question Time · Dyslexia (Information on Reasonable Workplace Adjustments for School Leavers)

Some time has passed since November, and there is frustration in the dyslexia community about how long it is taking to progress some of the proposals and about the fact that, after years of asking, the Scottish Government still has not identified a lead official for adult dysl...

5. Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber

15 May 2025

Portfolio Question Time · Dyslexia (Information on Reasonable Workplace Adjustments for School Leavers)

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that those identified with dyslexia at school leave education with the appropriate supporting information needed to secure reasonable adjustments in the workplace. (S6O-04668)

Oliver Mundell Con Chamber

27 Mar 2025

Schools (Residential Outdoor Education) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Does the minister see that there are fewer residential opportunities now than there were 10, 15 or 20 years ago? Despite what she is saying, residential opportunities in most parts of Scotland are diminishing.

Oliver Mundell Con Chamber

27 Mar 2025

Schools (Residential Outdoor Education) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Will John Mason take an intervention?

Oliver Mundell Con Chamber

27 Mar 2025

Schools (Residential Outdoor Education) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

I agree with that; I was going to come to it later. Personally, I have always been a sceptic when it comes to the curriculum for excellence—that is not a secret. I am a passionate believer in a knowledge-based curriculum, and I would like to see something that is more structur...

Oliver Mundell Con Chamber

27 Mar 2025

Schools (Residential Outdoor Education) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

I thank the minister for that intervention, but when I hear her talking, what I hear is a dialling back of what Liz Smith is proposing. Liz Smith is probably too polite and too focused on trying to get something done to say this, but what I hear is a talking down of the ambiti...

Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber

27 Mar 2025

Schools (Residential Outdoor Education) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

With just a year to go until dissolution and my own eyes fixed on the exit, I rise to speak in the debate with a slightly different mindset. I look back at the years spent in the chamber and question—not in a way that is disrespectful to colleagues—how much of what we have don...

Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con Chamber

27 Mar 2025

Schools (Residential Outdoor Education) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Will the member take an intervention?