Meeting of the Parliament 06 September 2023
I am not quite sure that the cabinet secretary understands the damage that her Government is doing to local authorities across Scotland—to community centres, vital services and swimming pools. If the cabinet secretary would like to stay for the debate that is taking part after this one, she might see the damage that her Government is inflicting.
I have learned, too, during my short time as an MSP that, to have stronger communities, we need better infrastructure. As we have seen during the SNP’s time in government, fewer GP surgeries and appointments are available, our high streets and town centres are about to collapse and no real investment has been made into our rural communities.
While I am on the point about infrastructure, what about the A9 or the A96? Humza Yousaf’s announcement fell flat yesterday because he committed to dualling the roads but could not tell us when they would be completed. I am not a betting woman, but I bet anything that, if the Greens were not in government, those roads would be further along than they are now. The Greens are anti-growth and anti-roads.
Finally, on tackling child poverty, the SNP promised to deliver free school meals by August 2022. Now it has announced the work with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to expand free school meal provision to primary 6 and 7, but that provision does not even include breakfast, which we know is a proven way to set up kids for the day and improve their learning and behaviours in the classroom. Is the Government incompetent or incapable? Either way, it is trying to hoodwink the public into thinking that it is delivering for Scotland when, in fact, it is not.
The SNP will spend this debate praising its record on equality and saying that the programme will continue those achievements. It will be a session of ritual back patting and Nicola Sturgeon defending her legacy. However, beyond the spin, the poorest people in Scotland are being failed by the Government. Drug deaths remain the highest in Europe, alcohol deaths are the highest since 2008 and homelessness has reached an all-time high, with children being placed in temporary accommodation. All the while, women and girls are being failed by the Government, which is hellbent on introducing a gender recognition reform bill, and by not having the correct public health messaging around contraception. Those are the facts that the SNP wants to ignore, but that is the reality that is being faced by people across Scotland.
The programme was a chance to tackle those big challenges. Instead, we have the same reheated promises from a Government that has quite clearly run out of ideas.
I move amendment S6M-10343.2, to leave out from “to build” to end and insert:
“; welcomes the announcement to improve miscarriage care, so that women do not wait until a third miscarriage to receive support; further welcomes the Scottish Government’s intention to bring childcare policy in line with UK Government proposals of providing funded childcare from the age of nine months but calls, however, on the Scottish Government to do more to resolve outstanding concerns, including recruitment, retention and support for private, voluntary and third sector organisations; notes that the Scottish Government has failed to close the attainment gap and roll out free school meals by 2022 as originally promised in 2021, tackle violence in classrooms, or bring forward a new meaningful deal for teachers; further notes that the percentage of children in poverty is equal to that in 2007, and expresses concern over the record-breaking number of children in temporary accommodation; calls on the Scottish Government to declare a homelessness emergency and to find a new approach to children being placed in temporary accommodation; is dismayed that the Scottish Government has missed its deadline for transferring all benefits to Social Security Scotland and that certain benefits could be transferred as late as 2026; welcomes the UK Government’s £94 billion to help households navigate the global cost of living crisis, throughout 2022-23 and 2023-24, and the UK Government’s uprate to benefits by 10.1%; notes that, during the Scottish National Party’s time in government, health inequalities have worsened, with record numbers on NHS waiting lists, high A&E waiting times, unacceptable drug and alcohol death rates and a mental health crisis, and agrees that a health and wellbeing strategy must be at the forefront of the Scottish Government’s plan to tackle inequality.”
15:10Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.