Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 11 January 2024
11 Jan 2024 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Public Service Values
I draw members’ attention to my entry in the register of members’ interests, as a practising NHS general practitioner.
We have listened to the Deputy First Minister, who talks as if the SNP has not actually been in charge of public services for the past 16 years. Once again, this SNP Government treats the people who really matter—the public, and public sector workers—as if they are fools. SNP ministers persistently refuse to admit their failures. They expect everyone to believe that they are competent despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary—and, to pay for their incompetence, they go all out to tax workers and businesses for working hard. The Scottish Retail Consortium says that the SNP Government will be back for even more in taxes next year because it will fail to reform the public sector.
The Deputy First Minister claims that her party has created a
“legacy of successful public service reform ... that has improved outcomes for people and communities”,
including in health and social care. Really? That is as delusional as Humza Yousaf’s fantasy economics and his calculation that independence would lead to Scottish households being £10,000 a year better off.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
The next item of business is a debate on motion S6M-11831, in the name of Shona Robison, on Scotland’s public service values. I invite those members who wish...
The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance (Shona Robison)
SNP
People across Scotland, including all of us in the chamber, rely on public services, whether we are talking about the high-quality education and training tha...
John Mason (Glasgow Shettleston) (SNP)
SNP
I very much agree with the cabinet secretary in relation to the reforms of the police and fire services and about the decluttering of the public service land...
Shona Robison
SNP
Yes, I do. There is a lot of opportunity and scope for shared services and public bodies working together and, in some cases, potentially merging. However, w...
Willie Rennie (North East Fife) (LD)
LD
I am still a bit shocked that the cabinet secretary is relying on police reform as an example of great reform by the Scottish Government. We had three chief ...
Shona Robison
SNP
The most important outcome of police reform is the outcomes for victims of serious crime, particularly sexual offences, rape and murder, and the results that...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
I take this opportunity to interject. If members wish to raise an issue, they know that there are ways to do that, including by standing up and seeking to ma...
Shona Robison
SNP
As I said, it is estimated that 90,000 fewer children will live in relative and absolute poverty in 2023-24. Notably, poverty levels are lower in Scotland th...
Jackson Carlaw (Eastwood) (Con)
Con
Inward migration into the UK was at a record level last year, but that was not the case for Scotland. Why?
Shona Robison
SNP
Actually, if we look at net in-migration from the rest of the UK, at least 10,000 people—who may have come from various parts of the world previously—are mov...
Stephen Kerr (Central Scotland) (Con)
Con
Will the member give way?
Shona Robison
SNP
No, thank you. In December, I provided the Finance and Public Audit Committee with a detailed update that set out the Government’s aims and principles for a...
Sandesh Gulhane (Glasgow) (Con)
Con
I draw members’ attention to my entry in the register of members’ interests, as a practising NHS general practitioner. We have listened to the Deputy First ...
Shona Robison
SNP
The member mentioned health and social care, which gives me an opportunity to ask him why his Government is reducing health and social care spending. It is d...
Sandesh Gulhane
Con
I think that the Deputy First Minister needs to concentrate on the facts. Not only is this the Scottish Parliament, but you are in charge of healthcare here ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
I remind all members that they need to speak through the chair. Otherwise, they are referring to me, and I have no responsibility in that regard.
Sandesh Gulhane
Con
It is little wonder that, on 20 November 2023, the Deputy First Minister refused to confirm, when asked, whether SNP ministers always tell the truth. Today,...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
Members!
Sandesh Gulhane
Con
In the same way, the SNP Government decided not to spend on Scotland’s NHS the £18 billion that it has received by way of consequentials from NHS spending do...
Alasdair Allan (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (SNP)
SNP
Will Sandesh Gulhane give way?
Sandesh Gulhane
Con
No. Other examples are the spending of £7 million per year on pretend overseas embassies, millions of pounds on a failed deposit return scheme and hundreds ...
Stephen Kerr
Con
Will Sandesh Gulhane take an intervention?
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
Dr Gulhane is about to conclude.
Sandesh Gulhane
Con
I would take Stephen Kerr’s intervention if I could. We need to grasp the thistle. Reform is possible if there is a will to do it. The SNP’s raising of taxa...
Michael Marra (North East Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
There is a very important discussion to be had about the urgently needed reform of our public services in Scotland, in order that they be fit to meet the hug...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
Mr Marra is seated and has concluded his remarks. 15:24
Willie Rennie (North East Fife) (LD)
LD
What a pompous and insensitive title for a debate. We have heard lofty speeches about “Wha’s like us?” at a time when people are stuck in ambulances outside ...
John Mason (Glasgow Shettleston) (SNP)
SNP
Will the member give way?
Willie Rennie
LD
No. Despite all those warnings, which stretch back years, it is apparently now someone else’s fault. The panic among SNP ministers has been concerning to ob...
Alasdair Allan
SNP
Will the member give way?