Meeting of the Parliament 11 June 2025
First, I do not accept that the NHS in Scotland is in crisis. It avoided being in crisis even at the height of the Covid pandemic, which was due, in the main, to its extraordinary staff. Yes, it is in challenging circumstances, but to say that it is in crisis is scaremongering—not that Labour is known for that. If the NHS were in crisis, one would have thought that Labour would have assigned all its debating time to that subject, instead of holding this very short debate.
I will try my best to make the following points in the paltry four minutes that I have for my speech. In relation to pressures, Covid continues to have an impact. Research by the University of Strathclyde states:
“The challenges faced by NHS Scotland are not unique and reflect broader global trends within healthcare systems.”
In relation to demographics and the ageing population, it was estimated that a million Scottish residents were aged 65 years or older in 2020, but that number will rise to an estimated 1.4 million by 2040, which will represent 25 per cent of our population. I am one of those people. As we age, we require to use our medical services, including GP surgeries, pharmacies and hospitals, more and more. At 80, I can testify to that. An ageing population also means that there is a depleted available workforce.
In relation to policy interventions, the Scottish child payment, which has cost £1 billion since 2021, supports more than 326,000 families and mitigates Labour’s two-child benefit cap. Poverty equals disadvantage equals ill health. There are many Scotland-only preventative measures that will, in time, reduce pressures on our healthcare system. That is why the U-turn on the winter fuel payment by UK Labour—which was shamed into the change by pensioners and the Scottish Government—is welcome, before another Scottish winter hits home and hearth. It is a pity that we cannot shame Labour into ditching the two-child benefit cap. [Interruption.] I have four minutes—of course I will not give way.
In relation to staffing, there are fewer people in the working population, but UK visa restrictions, Brexit and Labour’s policy to increase employer national insurance contributions, which will cost NHS Scotland an additional £191 million in one financial year, all have an impact on staffing pressures across the entire health landscape. That includes general practices and pharmacies, which I know are not recruiting because of the added NI burden—it is a tax on jobs.
In relation to pay and conditions, NHS nurses, midwives, paramedics and other healthcare staff across Scotland have voted to accept an 8 per cent pay deal over two years. The figure in the Scottish deal is significantly higher than the 3 per cent that was recommended by pay review bodies in England and Wales, where pay negotiations are continuing and strike action is a real threat.
The hospital at home service has a role in reducing the time that people spend in hospital and leads to better recovery. All such interventions, preventative measures and modern ways of treating people are reducing—and will, in time, further reduce—pressures across our healthcare landscape. We need a wider review, given the value and cost of interventions to reduce health pressures.
The Labour Party has to be honest about the impact of the labour gaps that have been exacerbated by Brexit, which Sir Keir Starmer is now embracing, even though he used to oppose it. The visa restrictions and the dreadful burden on employers through the increase in their national insurance contributions are all UK Labour policies to which I have referred in this very short debate, which, as I anticipated, is only about chasing tabloid headlines—it has nothing to do with reality.
15:28