Hansard

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Clare Adamson) SNP

Good afternoon. Our first item of business is a debate on motion S7M-00228, in the name of Angela Constance, on investing, protecting and renewing Scotland’s...

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Care (Angela Constance) SNP

I very much welcome the opportunity today to give my first speech in my new role as Cabinet Secretary for Health and Care. I commit to the Parliament that I ...

Andrew Baxter (Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch) (LD) LD

The cabinet secretary has spoken about working collaboratively and moving care closer to home. How does she intend to implement the recommendations of the Ri...

Angela Constance SNP

I very much appreciate Mr Baxter’s intervention. I have been advised that significant progress has been made, but I will want to test that, and I would welco...

Finlay Carson (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con) Con

I join other members in thanking NHS staff, including maternity services across rural communities, particularly in Galloway, where they are under pressure. I...

Angela Constance SNP

I very much appreciate Finlay Carson’s contribution, and I assure him that what he touches on is an important issue for every minister—for me, Maree Todd and...

Graham Simpson (Central Scotland and Lothians West) (Reform) Reform

The cabinet secretary may not have the answer to this question yet, because she is new to the job, but when can we expect to see an NHS app with functionalit...

Angela Constance SNP

I will come to that very issue in a moment—there is some important progress for us to update the Parliament on. I hope that it will reassure Mr Simpson in re...

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Clare Adamson) SNP

I call Helen McDade to make their first speech.14:21

Helen McDade (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Reform) Reform

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I congratulate you on your new role, and I thank the cabinet secretary for her speech and congratulate her on her new ro...

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Clare Adamson) SNP

I call Jackie Baillie.14:32

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab) Lab

Thank you, Presiding Officer. Interruption. Oh! Did I make that noise with the microphone?I will start the debate on a consensual note. I very much welcome A...

Angela Constance SNP

Does Ms Baillie agree that reform is necessary and not optional? Does she also agree that it is right to implement innovation? People who have busy working l...

Jackie Baillie Lab

I absolutely agree that we need innovation and to be able to move forward, and that it is not a case of putting one thing against another. However, we have n...

The Cabinet Secretary for Justice (Neil Gray) SNP

Made a request to intervene.

Jackie Baillie Lab

Neil Gray is the past health secretary—he can sit down.

Neil Gray SNP

She knows what I am going to say.

Jackie Baillie Lab

Perhaps he should listen.A recent survey by the Royal College of Nursing found that seven in 10 nurses felt that staffing levels on their last shift were bel...

Maggie Chapman (North East Scotland) (Green) Green

I welcome the cabinet secretary and her ministers to their new roles.I begin by recognising the extraordinary dedication of our health and social care worker...

Miles Briggs (Edinburgh and Lothians East) (Con) Con

I welcome the cabinet secretary to her new role in government, and I look forward to working with her in that role. The cabinet secretary and I, as Lothian M...

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Clare Adamson) SNP

We come to the last of the opening speeches. I call David Green to make their first speech.14:56

David Green (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (LD) LD

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I congratulate you on your election, and all other members on theirs.Like many new MSPs, I will begin by putting on reco...

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Katy Clark) Lab

We move to the open debate. I call David Linden, who is making his first speech in the Parliament.15:02

David Linden (Glasgow Baillieston and Shettleston) (SNP) SNP

I pay tribute to the previous speaker, Mr Green, and associate myself with his words that referenced the spirit in which Jim Wallace both legislated and serv...

David Smith (West Scotland) (Reform) Reform

My speech today will be limited to social care due to the scale of what we are talking about. I start by thanking all the NHS staff, local authority staff an...

Jackie Baillie Lab

I would not be opposed to the legislation that David Smith has suggested, but there would be a quicker way: the Government could give staff sufficient resour...

David Smith Reform

I would, and I will come to that point.Thirty minutes is generally considered by a lot of campaigners to be a reasonable amount of time for a visit, and the ...

Heather Anderson (Dundee City West) (SNP) SNP

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate on protecting and renewing our NHS. I congratulate Angela Constance on her appointment as the Cabinet ...

Paul McLennan (East Lothian Coast and Lammermuirs) (SNP) SNP

Scotland’s NHS is one of our greatest achievements. In East Lothian, the service looks after our families every single day. Whether through the outstanding c...

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Katy Clark) Lab

I call Joe Long to make a first speech.15:30