On Wednesday (6 December), Foysol Choudhury MSP chaired the Cross-Party Group (CPG) on Improving Scotland’s Health.
The CPG focuses on action which could be taken, such as reducing the consumption of alcohol, tobacco and unhealthy foods, to reduce illness and deaths in Scotland such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and lung disease.
Wednesday’s CPG saw a presentation from Paul Johnston, Chief Executive of Public Health Scotland, about Public Health Scotland’s Economy and Poverty Programme, health trends and the importance of addressing health-harming commodities.
Following the meeting, Convener Foysol Choudhury MSP has also highlighted the concerning health disparities between Scotland’s richest and poorest communities.
Mr Choudhury said: “The concerning health trends we heard about at the meeting have raised alarm bells for me yet again about the disparity in life expectancy between Scotland’s richest and poorest communities.
“This is something I have raised before and will continue to raise until we see improvements in the quality of life for all in Scotland-until a time when where you are born will not affect your chance to live a long and healthy life.
“CEO of Public Health Scotland Paul Johnston noted in his presentation on Wednesday that change is possible, if we invest time, energy and resources into prevention now.
“That is why the work of this CPG is so vital, to ensure action is taken and preventative frameworks are put in place to support the future of Scotland’s health for the next generation.”
JUDGES have ruled that the UK Government’s block of Scottish gender legislation was LEGAL.
The Holyrood parliament passed legislation to make it easier for people to change their sex last year, but the UK Government blocked the law, arguing that Scotland’s gender law would impact on equality laws across all countries of the UK
The Scottish Government challenged Westminster’s action through the courts, but yesterday The Court of Session in Edinburgh upheld the UK Government’s decision.
The Scottish Government is studying the detail of the judgement and has yet to make an official statement, but First Minister said the Supreme Court judgement marks ‘a dark day for democracy’.
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack takes a different view, of course.
The Secretary of State for Scotland, Rt Hon Alister Jack MP said: “I welcome the Court’s judgment, which upholds my decision to prevent the Scottish Government’s gender recognition legislation from becoming law.
“I was clear that this legislation would have had adverse effects on the operation of the law as it applies to reserved matters, including on important Great Britain-wide equality protections.
“Following this latest Court defeat for the Scottish Government, their ministers need to stop wasting taxpayers’ money pursuing needless legal action and focus on the real issues which matter to people in Scotland – such as growing the economy and cutting waiting lists.”
The Scottish Government is unlikely to take Mr Jack’s advice and has 21 days to decide whether to lodge an appeal.
Lamb took centre stage at the Scottish Parliament as part of Lamb for St Andrew’s Day, an initiative to encourage people across Scotland to celebrate with Scotch Lamb on the patron saint’s day.
Scotch Lamb was served, and sold out, in the canteen for Members of Parliament and staff at Holyrood, while the two key industry organisations driving the industry-wide campaign #LambForStAndrewsDay met with MSPs.
Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), which promotes the sustainable production, integrity and quality of red meat in Scotland, and the Institute of Auctioneers and Appraisers in Scotland (IAAS), the representative body for livestock marts in Scotland are behind the campaign, now in its 13th year, to make lamb synonymous with 30 November, as turkey is for Christmas and haggis for Burns’ Night.
At parliament, they spoke to a number of MSPs, highlighting the growing success of the Lamb for St Andrew’s Day campaign, which was celebrated internationally this year, both ahead of COP28 in Dubai and at the Ambassador’s Residence in Paris, and the need to support such an indigenous industry.
Sarah Millar, Chief Executive of QMS, said it was also an opportunity to discuss the economic, social and environmental influence of the £290m lamb sector in Scotland and areas for market growth.
“The export market is strong and growing due to a global appreciation of the quality of Scotch Lamb and its environmental credentials, but there is great opportunity to bring more UK consumers back to lamb to consolidate the home market,” she said.
“It ticks a number of boxes around nutrition, food miles and sustainability. Lamb production is a natural fit with Scotland’s high rainfall and plenty of available grass, producing a tasty, versatile homegrown red meat packed with nutrients.
“Every year the awareness built from the #LambForStAndrewsDay campaign has a tangible impact, boosting sales in the livestock rings as well as from retail shelves.”
Compared to beef, which in 2022 saw 19.2kg consumption per capita in Scotland, the equivalent in lamb is 2.2kg. Scotland is 186% self-sufficient in sheep meat so QMS is looking to maximise every possible market potential.
The #LambForStAndrewsDay campaign illustrates that lamb can be enjoyed on any budget and works well with different cuisines from across the world, promoted through QMS’s advertising and social media campaigns, as well as recipe inspiration on the Scotch Kitchen website.
In 2020, IAAS introduced The Lamb Bank, gathering financial and ‘lamb’ donations from across the industry to deliver lamb into schools, for free, in the last week of November. To date, 89,000 school children across Scotland have had the chance to cook, eat and learn about lamb in school canteens and Home Economics classes with 114 schools participating this year.
In the last three years, figures show that sales in the livestock marts to butchers and processors have increased every year in the month of November, demonstrating the growing impact of the campaign.
Neil Wilson said: “Our visit to Parliament today was another platform to demonstrate the positive impact of the lamb sector across the supply chain on Scotland’s economy, rural livelihoods and food security and why we need to drive lamb sales to protect and promote the profitable future of our industry.
“We had some really interesting, constructive conversations with Members of the Scottish Parliament, and it was a great that many of those we spoke to knew about the campaign, more than ever before – and that the canteen sold out of lamb!”
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Mairi Gougeon, who met at AgriScot with both the Chair of QMS, Kate Rowell, and the President of IAAS, Alan Hutcheon, as part of Lamb for St Andrew’s Day, said: “I am pleased to be involved in this year’s Lamb for St Andrew’ Day campaign.
“This year, Scotch Lamb will be on the plates of decision-makers from Paris to Dubai. This is an excellent opportunity to showcase the very best that our sheep producers have to offer.
“The high quality of Scottish lamb gives it mass appeal to customers, and I know that this year’s campaign will help to enhance this message across the globe.”
The initiative is also supported by National Farmers Union (NFU) Scotland and the National Sheep Association (NSA). QMS provided Scotch Lamb for The National Sheep Association in Scotland St Andrew’s Dinner in Lauder this week, held for 100 people from across the industry.
THURSDAY marked the end of Islamophobia Awareness Month (IAM) 2023, which aims to raise awareness of Islamophobia and its prevalence in Scotland.
Figures show that many people are still subject to Islamophobic abuse, which can include harassment, hate speech, violent attacks, religious profiling and being prejudiced against Muslims. IAM seeks to demonstrate the effect of Islamophobia and how it can be tackled, in addition to the positive contributions of Muslims in the UK.
The Scottish Parliament raised awareness of Islamophobia Awareness Month this November by hosting photocalls and drop-in sessions, for MSPs to learn more about the challenges faced by Muslims in Scotland and how these challenges could be tackled.
Lothian MSP Foysol Choudhury also lodged several questions in the Scottish Parliament, including to ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure scrutiny of Education Scotland and the Race Equality Action Plan, in light of the recommendations of the report of the public inquiry into Islamophobia in Scotland.
The inquiry, originally published in 2021, recently published an update on its recommendations to the Scottish Parliament’s Cross-Party Group (CPG) on Challenging Racial & Religious Prejudice, including recommendations that the improving on the reporting and recording of Islamophobia in schools should be urgently progressed.
Convener of the CPG, Mr Choudhury, also asked the Scottish Government what action it has taken to improve the reporting and recording of Islamophobia in schools, colleges and universities, as well as probing about initiatives to tackle the gendered nature of Islamophobia and the support offered to Police Scotland to help them identify and tackle Islamophobic abuse.
Mr Choudhury, who is the new Convener of the CPG, taking over from colleague Anas Sarwar MSP, said following the end of Islamophobia Awareness Month: “This month has been promising in raising awareness of Islamophobia and the abuse faced by many Muslims in Scotland.
“I hope that this increased awareness and resolve to tackle the issue encourages more people to come forward for support, as well as more initiatives to eradicate Islamophobia in Scotland.
“I have been raising in the Scottish Parliament many questions about how the Scottish Government can tackle Islamophobia in different areas of our society, including within schools, and I look forward to their answers so we can all work together to build a better society for our next generation to grow up in.
“However, progress is clearly still needed, two years on from the 2021 inquiry into Islamophobia in Scotland, and we must keep the pressure on the Scottish Government beyond Islamophobia Awareness Month to increase initiatives to tackle Islamophobia and all religious hatred and intolerance in Scotland.”
As Convener of the CPG on Challenging Racial & Religious Prejudice, Mr Choudhury says the next CPG meeting next week will de-brief Members on Islamophobia Awareness Month in terms of what was a success and what needs to be pursued throughout the next year.
The Lothians list MSP says he hopes this will keep momentum on this issue going and lead to positive sustained change for all constituents affected by Islamophobia in Scotland. He said: “It is my hope that this will then create a more peaceful Scotland for everyone, free from any kind of religious intolerance or hatred.”
FPAC Convener Kenneth Gibson MSP said:“Scrutiny of this Bill reinforces our concern that affordability does not appear to be a key factor in Scottish Government decision-making.
“The Minister, Lorna Slater MSP, has committed to consult on the cost of secondary legislation, but that should not replace an assessment of affordability at the point of a Bill’s introduction.
“Our committee is not convinced that this Bill’s financial memorandum meets the requirements set out in Parliament’s Standing Orders to provide: “best estimates of the costs, savings, and changes to revenues to which the provisions of the Bill would give rise”.
Mr Gibson continued: “We’ve seen an increasing use of ‘framework’ bills that provide government with future enabling powers. These do not, however, provide best estimates of all likely costs, and undermine parliamentary scrutiny.
“It also risks the Parliament passing legislation which may in the end – once outcomes are fully understood – lead to significant cost increases.
“The increased use of framework bills with no clear implementation costs, poses a long-term risk to the Scottish Budget, both now and for successive governments.
“The FPAC is disappointed that Scottish Ministers have still to meet our previous recommendations or expectations around the level of financial data, clarity and transparency required.
“In the end, it will be for Parliament to decide when voting on the general principles of this framework bill, whether the outcomes it seeks to deliver outweigh any financial or affordability considerations.”
On income from fly-tipping and litter fines, the report said:
The assumption in this financial memorandum (FM) of a 100% payment rate for fixed penalty notices is entirely unrealistic. Therefore, given that the level of income from fines assumed in the FM is not attainable, it should not be used to ‘off set’ some of the costs of enforcement, such as in relation to fly tipping. We consider this approach to identifying potential savings to be unsatisfactory.
Updates every six months:
We request that the updates, committed to by the Minister in her letter of 20 November be provided to the Committee every six months. These updates should include updated information on the expenditure incurred to date, any changes in forecast costs and any savings arising from the Bill and the subsequent Act (subject to the Bill being passed) and relevant secondary legislation, until all provisions are operational.
Foysol Choudhury MSP pursues support for children with additional support needs
ASN Reform Scotland recently attended the Scottish Parliament to hold a drop-in session for MSPs. Their mission was to raise awareness amongst MSPs about the issues that children with ASN and their parents are facing, how to improve ASN education in Scotland, and to help raise awareness of children with ASN ‘s educational needs.
Training for people who work with children and young people with complex additional support needs emerged as a key theme from the Scottish Government’s recent 2023 report, ‘Pupils with complex additional support needs: research into provision’. These findings about challenges in accessing training were echoed by parents in the ASN Reform Scotland Group, who raised concerns that the environment provided by mainstream schools is often not appropriate for children with additional support needs due to, for example, a lack of appropriate training for teachers.
Foysol Choudhury MSP hosted the ASN Reform Scotland Group’s drop-in session for MSPs at the Scottish Parliament, after meeting the group outside the Scottish Parliament before the Parliament’s summer recess and offering his assistance to the group. Mr Choudhury says it was saddening to hear about the lack of appropriate support some children are getting at school, with some parents reporting having to take on the burden of teaching their own children.
Foysol Choudhury MSP said: “It was made clear at the drop-in session that parents feel unsupported.
“The group are calling to increase ASN provisions in Scotland and ensure all teachers get specific ASN training to bring the best for all our children.
“There should be support for children with ASN in school along with school staff members getting provided with the correct training in all types of schools, so parents can feel they are sending their children to a safe and beneficial environment”.
Parents from the ASN Reform Scotland group also raised with Mr Choudhury their concerns over stretched funding and called for accountability over how funds are spent to support a child with ASN.
The group says this will not just benefit the children’s development but will also help their families, as parents will be assured are that their children are getting the right support and care when they are at school.
A rolling presentation was played at the meeting, to convey the concerns of parents of children with ASN across Scotland. One parent noted they want “All teachers to have ASN training in mainstream schools”. Another noted: “My child deserves to thrive, not just survive in school”.
Mr Choudhury says he will continue to support the ASN Reform Group and other parents wherever he can.
A new report from Holyrood’s Social Justice and Social Security Committee calls on the Scottish Government to take steps to “supercharge” its efforts to tackle child poverty.
The Committee has been undertaking an inquiry into the issue, focusing on parental employment, which the Government sees as key to reducing the number of children living in poverty.
During the inquiry the Committee travelled to several places in Scotland to hear the views of parents. Not being able to access childcare from a child’s first birthday to when they start school, both during the school term and holidays, was the most common barrier to employment that they talked about with affordability and flexibility seen as critical.
Parents spoke of needing to find work that fitted in with school hours, while one contributor reflected that women could not develop in their careers until their children had reached high school age. In response, the Committee calls on the Government to accelerate its work on expanding the availability of childcare.
Public transport is a major theme in the report. Witnesses in urban and rural areas spoke about a range of issues including access and cost. The report asks the Government to consider how public transport services can be designed and better supported to provide affordable, frequent and direct services that support the type of trips more regularly made by parents.
The Committee’s report also encourages the Government to investigate how an integrated system of discounted travel offers for low-income working-age people could be provided. The Committee believes this would enable some families to access a wider range of employment opportunities by being able to travel further, more cost effectively.
Witnesses also identified an issue faced by parents who embark upon study to improve their career prospects. Student funding means that low-income parents at college or university would be ineligible for benefits such as Universal Credit. To help, the Committee calls for Scottish Child Payment eligibility to be extended.
Bob Doris MSP, speaking on behalf of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee, said: “In Best Start, Bright Futures, the Scottish Government said that parental employment is a key driver to meet the statutory targets to address child poverty. Our report looks at how the aims of that plan could come closer to being realised.
“The Scottish Government believes that without its actions to date, 28% of children would be living in poverty. Even so, the Government expects to narrowly miss its interim child poverty targets, with modelling predicting that 19% of children will be living in poverty this year. Therefore, we are calling for the Government to take decisive action now by clarifying its priorities and commitments and producing explicit delivery and spending plans to make sure progress is on track.
“We recognise the good progress the Scottish Government has made in reducing child poverty. We now want to see the Government supercharge its efforts so that the ambitions it has set can become reality.”
Yesterday the SNP/Green led Scottish Government voted down Scottish Labour’s Motion to declare a housing emergency across Scotland.
In her speech Scottish Labour’s Sarah Boyack MSP, praised the leadership shown by City of Edinburgh Councillors but called out the SNP and Greens for failing to do so in Holyrood.
Ms Boyack urged the Scottish Government to provide local authorities, like Edinburgh, the resources they need to take substantial steps in tackling the Housing emergency.
Ms Boyack also used her speech to highlight practical solutions, that could be taken to make an immediate start on tackling the housing emergency, such as bringing empty homes back into use. However, Edinburgh Council need resources from the Scottish government, to make this happen.
Speaking after the debate, Sarah Boyack said: “Tackling the housing emergency in Edinburgh needs to be a priority. Every day I receive emails from constituents who are struggling to access the housing they need or are being priced out altogether.
“SNP Councillors recognise the magnitude of the crisis, so why doesn’t the SNP Government?
“So far, the Scottish Government has failed to recognise the scale of the challenge. The Scottish Government needs to work constructively with all councils, to ensure the resources are in place, to adequately tackle this emergency
“MSPs will have another opportunity to recognise that we are facing a housing emergency through my motion and subsequent members business in the new year.”
Members of the Scottish Parliament’s Net Zero, Energy & Transport Committee have visited Leith based businesses and social enterprises to learn more about the different ways in which businesses are evolving and adapting to help accelerate Scotland’s transition to a circular economy.
The visits form part of the Committee’s scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s Circular Economy Bill, as Parliament seeks to make sure the Bill encourages a new approach to the use and consumption of materials in a way that will ultimately help Scotland achieve it net zero goals.
Committee Members, Deputy Convener Ben Macpherson MSP (delegation lead) and Douglas Lumsden MSP began the visit at local refill shop WeighToGo, where Members looked back to a time before single use plastics and saw a simple and convenient solution to sustainable living.
Members then continued their research at the Edinburgh Remakery – a social enterprise which encourages regenerative practises linked to upcycling and the reuse of products. The visit ended at the Edinburgh Tool Library which offers the public access to all sorts of tools by promoting a ‘why buy when you can share’ ethos.
Following the visit Deputy Convener Ben Macpherson MSP, said: “Throughout our scrutiny of this Bill, we’re keen to understand each stage of the waste hierarchy – and what’s preventing reusing, recycling and recovering products and materials.
“It was great to hear more about the environmental benefits these organisations in Leith have generated, by offering more sustainable products and services for consumers. They’ve also helped social cohesion by bringing people together to share ideas and lived experiences, as well as learn new skills.”
“We want this Bill to support and drive change to reduce waste. Our thanks to all the hosting organisations for the invaluable insights they have shared.”
The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has instructed Holyrood officials to conduct an urgent review of the Scottish Parliament’s policies on mobile devices and data roaming charges for MSPs.
The review will include options on disabling sim cards, a mandatory opt-in to data roaming bundles, and personal liability for MSPs where Parliament’s procedures have not been followed.
The Parliament has also published the full billing it holds for Michael Matheson’s data charges incurred while in Morocco.
Presiding Officer Rt Hon Alison Johnstone MSP said: “Following a meeting of the SPCB on Tuesday afternoon, officials have been instructed to carry out an urgent review of the Parliament’s policies and procedures around mobile device use and data roaming charges, and how these are handled.
“This is an issue which I and the SPCB take very seriously. We must be in a position where we have reviewed and tightened all policies to ensure the present situation cannot happen again.
“The policy review will also set out the circumstances, and cost thresholds, for ‘out of the ordinary’ bills to be escalated to the SPCB for explicit sign off. This will ensure full transparency and full accountability. It is vital that we have every confidence in the expenses scheme and that its integrity is maintained.”
On Michael Matheson’s data charges, the Presiding Officer said: “The Member himself has acknowledged he failed to update his sim card and incurred significant charges, which he has now agreed to meet in full.
“The review will give officials and the SPCB greater ability to intervene where Members have not followed guidance.
“The SPCB recognises that Members are the elected representatives of their constituents and privacy and confidentiality is fundamental to that relationship.”
The expenses scheme operates on trust, transparency and assurances from Members. The SPCB is satisfied that appropriate due diligence checks were carried out on Mr Matheson’s ipad and his billing charges – and that written assurances were sought and received that all use was for parliamentary purposes.
The SPCB is satisfied that the checks carried out by officials on Mr Matheson’s ipad struck the necessary balance between confidentiality and due diligence.
Mr Matheson’s data charges bill is available on the Parliament’s FOI disclosure log.
