Scottish Parliament, 19 December 2018

302 contributions from 72 members. The official report.

Iolaire Disaster

Linda Fabiani (Scottish National Party, East Kilbride)

The first item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S5M-14614, in the name of Alasdair Allan, on the centenary of the Iolaire disaster.

The debate will be concluded without any question being put. I ask members who wish to speak in the debate to press their request-to-speak buttons.

Some members have indicated that they will speak in Gaelic, so interpretation facilities are available. Members may listen to the interpretation by inserting their headphones into the socket on the right-hand side of the console, towards the front. If any member experiences a problem, they should try using the audio button and selecting channel 1 to hear the English interpretation.

Motion debated,

That the Parliament commemorates with great sadness the Iolaire disaster of 1 January 1919, when at least 201 men, mainly those returning home to the islands of Lewis and Harris after active service in the Royal Navy, lost their lives; remembers this terrible event, which took place when HMY Iolaire struck the Beasts of Holm, a group of rocks only around three miles from where the men's families were waiting for them at Stornoway Harbour; notes the series of commemorations that will take place in the islands around the centenary, and commends the efforts that are being made in the community and nationally to give due recognition to a disaster that, for many decades afterwards, had a devastating impact on the people of the Western Isles.

The member has provided the following translation:

Gu bheil a’ Phàrlamaid a’ comharrachadh le bròn call na h-Iolaire air 1 Faoilleach 1919, nuair a chaidh co-dhiù 201 neach a chall, a’ chuid as motha dhiubh a’ tilleadh dhachaigh gu Leòdhas agus na Hearadh às dèidh seirbheis-chogaidh leis a’ Chabhlach Rìoghail; gu bheil i a’ cuimneachadh na tubaist uamhasach seo, a thachair nuair a bhuail HMY Iolaire air Biastan Thuilm, creagan a tha dìreach trì mìle bho Chidhe Steòrnabhaigh, far an robh na teaghlaichean a’ feitheamh riutha; gu bheil i a’ toirt fa-near na comharrachaidhean a bhios a’ tachairt anns na h-eileanan ceud bliadhna às dèidh na tubaist; agus gu bheil i a’ moladh nan oidhearpan a thathar a’ dèanamh anns a’ choimhearsneachd agus gu nàiseanta gus aithne a thoirt dhan tubaist seo, agus air a’ bhuaidh chruaidh a bh’ aice airson bliadhnaichean mòra às a dhèidh air muinntir nan Eilean Siar.

The Deputy Presiding Officer

We move to the open debate. We are quite tight for time, so I ask everyone to speak for no more than four minutes.

Rhoda Grant (Labour, Highlands and Islands)

I thank Alasdair Allan for securing the debate.

In a year that has marked the centenary of the end of world war 1, we are fast approaching the last commemoration of that conflict—the sinking of the Iolaire. The islands had provided many men to fight in the services for the world war and had already suffered great losses. We can only imagine the relief of families, hearing that their loved ones were on their way home, believing them to be safe and making preparations to welcome them. There must have been an air of excitement, or maybe it was just relief.

For the men, their arrival at Kyle of Lochalsh must itself have been a sort of homecoming. Those who had previously been fishermen would have been in familiar surroundings, because they would have often berthed or landed their catches in Kyle. They knew the crossing well, because it was close to home, and they were seeing it for what was possibly the first time in years. They would also have been meeting old friends and catching up on news. Home was within touching distance.

As more men arrived at Kyle, the boat that was supposed to take them—the Sheila—was already close to capacity, so the Iolaire was sent to fetch them home. The Iolaire was not equipped with enough safety equipment for the number of men that were likely to sail on her. However, it was hogmanay, and it would have been cold—too cold for people to stay outside for the night, and it was unlikely that there would have been enough accommodation in Kyle for all of the men. It appears that there was some discussion about the issue, but with more and more men arriving in Kyle, the decision was made to sail, with devastating consequences.

As Angus MacDonald said, many people believe that the tragedy was the cause of mass emigration from the islands in the 1920s. It certainly contributed to poverty, and the islands’ economy has yet to recover from the loss of those men.

As we near the centenary of the loss of the Iolaire, I have been surprised to hear that, as Alasdair Allan noted, many islanders say that they have only recently become aware of it because it was never spoken about in their homes or villages, so deep was the sense of loss.

I was very young when I first heard about the sinking of the Iolaire—so young that it feels that I have known about it all my life. My grandfather fought in both world wars, as did his father. My grandfather never spoke to me about his wartime experiences, but I knew of them because of his medals and because he had an old demob union flag that he flew every time there was a wedding in the village. However, he did speak about the Iolaire. He told us of the tragedy and of the loss that was experienced by the whole island of Lewis and Harris. The communities have come together, and will continue to come together over the following weeks, to mark the centenary. We must stand together and we must do so with them.

I hope that the site where the Iolaire sank will be recognised as a war grave, although I understand that there is very little left of the boat. However, the Beasts of Holm will mark the spot where the men fell. Chris Murray, whose work with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has been recognised by the Queen’s gallantry medal, has offered to dive to lay a wreath at the site on new year’s day. That will be another fitting tribute to those who were lost so close to home 100 years ago.

As people begin to speak more widely about the tragedy, we can see how the events impacted on so many lives. My Gaelic tutor told me that his grandfather had been on the Iolaire but had, for some reason, transferred to the Sheila—a decision that saved his life. I found out only recently that John Macleod, who bravely swam ashore with a rope and saved many lives, was the great-grand-uncle of Chris Bryant MP. Thus, the personal stories come to life: we must preserve those stories and remember the lives that were lost.

John Finnie (Green, Highlands and Islands)

Mòran taing, Presiding Officer. Gabhaibh mo leisgeul. Chan eil ach beagan Gàidhlig agam. Mar as àbhaist, feumaidh mi Beurla a bhruidhinn.

“Bidh dùil ro fear-fairge, ach cha bhi ri fear-reilige.”

Following is the simultaneous interpretation:

Thank you, Presiding Officer. Excuse me, I just have a little Gaelic. As usual, I will need to speak in English.

“There is hope of the man at sea, but none of the man in the churchyard.”

The member continued in English.

I thank Alasdair Allan for bringing the debate to Parliament and I hope that the little Gaelic that I have was sufficient to convey the Gaelic proverb:

“There is hope of the man at sea, but none of the man in the churchyard.”

I think that hope is what underpins the thoughts of many people at this time.

Men had escaped the ravages of war, and their loved ones were waiting for them to return unscathed. Of course, the likelihood is that they would not be returning unscathed: they would have been damaged by a brutal war. As long as they were at sea, however, hope remained intact for all those people. I wonder how we will show respect. Will we show respect to the 174 men from Lewis—the Leòdhasachs—and the seven from Harris, by speaking as we are today, to show that we value the 205 men who died?

The first world war was driven by people who did not value lives: many of those people had contempt for life. It is a terrible tragedy that sailors survived a war, only to die yards from their own shore. It has already been said that many of their families were waiting for them on the quayside with the bunting out.

Members have mentioned the impact on the islands: Lewis and Harris lost one fifth of their population in the first world war, and 6,000-plus men served their country, which had a significant impact on the Gàidhealtachd of Scotland and, as we have heard, it affected whole communities.

There is collective mourning, but there is also almost collective denial. We understand the significant impact that the event has had on generations. That their lives were not valued was reflected by the fact that the men perished on an overloaded boat that had insufficient lifeboats and lifejackets. I will not go into the detail of the tragedy—anyone who has travelled over the Minch in January will know how dangerous the waters can be—but others have alluded to the very brave and humane acts that took place, and the great efforts that were put into saving people.

The sinking of the Iolaire was the United Kingdom’s worst maritime disaster, with the largest loss of life in UK waters since 1904, and was the worst peacetime disaster involving a British ship since the Titanic. Maurice Corry referred to

The Scotsman

coverage that said that

“Many have had sorrow heaped upon a sorrow.”

That is the terrible reality.

A public inquiry was held in Stornoway on 10th February 1919. The local community provided seven men for the jury, and it reached the verdict that the Royal Navy was responsible.

A naval inquiry was held in private on 8 January 1919. As has been said, the Admiralty put the wreck up for sale just 15 days after the disaster. Because no officers who had been on board the Iolaire survived, the Royal Navy ruled that

“No opinion can be given as to whether blame is attributable to anyone in the matter.”

That is indicative of the fact that survival of ordinary ratings was clearly not valued.

The Iolaire inquiry gathered dust in the Admiralty vaults for more than 50 years and its findings were not released into the public domain until 1970, which is a disgrace. The Admiralty was insensitive in putting the vessel up for sale 15 days after the disaster, when 80 bodies were still unaccounted for. That appalled the community.

Skipinnish is a group that includes guys from Tiree who are Gaelic speakers. The group has a song that says:

“New Year of peace would dawn tomorrow

Sing to me the Island Ocean

From hope and joy to wrenching sorrow

Far to the west and worlds away

From the futile fields of war.”

We can best commemorate those who died by not allowing a repetition of war.

The Deputy Presiding Officer

I remind members that we are very tight for time.

Gillian Martin (Scottish National Party, Aberdeenshire East)

The sinking of the Iolaire with its loss of life on that night in 1919 must be one of the cruellest events in Scottish history. I thank the constituency MSP for Lewis and Harris, Alasdair Allan, for giving us a chance to reflect on it today, and to remember the men who survived the horrors of the first world war but never made it home to their families.

Unlike many members who are speaking in today’s debate, I do not have a personal connection to Lewis or to those who were affected by the lolaire tragedy, but it has been emotional listening to members who have such connections—especially Angus MacDonald, who made a powerful speech.

I wanted to speak because I remember hearing of the lolaire when I was at school. I had a very good O grade history teacher, and I remember him going into a lot of detail about the impact that the war had on people at home in Scotland. It was not part of the curriculum, but he added that extra bit to it. He wanted us, as fairly cushioned 15-year-olds in the 1980s, to try to grasp in some small way the devastating legacy that war had had on Scottish society. The lolaire disaster was one of the events that he told us about, as he tried to bring home the myriad of ways in which the war had hollowed out a generation. His telling of the disaster really made an impression on me.

The terrible event is said to have set in train an exodus of young people from the island in years to come—in particular, of young women who had lost their loves. One of the most heartbreaking accounts that I read said that an engagement ring was found in the pocket of one young man who drowned. Even 100 years on it is heartbreakingly difficult to read the accounts of toys being washed up on the beach that had been bought by young fathers as they looked forward to seeing their kids after so much time apart.

The young women of Lewis now lived in a community in which the male population of the island had been decimated. Hopes of future marriages and raising families were lost to a generation of Lewis women. Thoughts of a future raising a new generation of Lewis children were lost to many families. Many families were robbed of their sons, husbands, brothers and fathers in communities that had already lost more than 1,000 young men in battle.

After reading more this week, I was struck by this comment from local Lewis historian Roddy Murray. He said:

“We can speculate on its contribution to the mass emigrations of the twenties, its effect on the Lewis character, the rebirth of an inherent fatalism. Its effect was like the Passover of the Old Testament.”

It is fair to say that the war and the loss of young men possibly set in train mass emigration to Canada, New Zealand, the United States and Australia, as people tried to leave the tragedy behind. We can read accounts of those who were left behind in Lewis, with the shock of the disaster leaving many of them unable ever to speak of what had happened, or to vocalise the unfairness of the hand that the island had been dealt.

As many members have said, the lolaire is second only to the sinking of the Titanic in lives lost through an accident at sea in peacetime. However, there are no Hollywood film epics and no minute-by-minute drama documentaries on repeat on the History Channel about the disaster. Perhaps the reason is that the grief was so concentrated in one community and, therefore, was too painful ever to be dramatised or retold in anything other than a quiet and contemplative way—if at all.

I have tried to compare the sinking with other tragedies that I could relate to. It was similar to the feeling after the Piper Alpha disaster, which many people in my area found hard to speak of. As Alasdair Allan said, the effect of that scale of loss of life on an island community is something that people who do not live in an island community—like me—cannot really get their heads around.

This year, which is the centenary of the first world war’s end, we have rightly talked often of the sacrifice that was made by so many in the war. I thank Alasdair Allan for allowing us, once again, to pay our respects to the returning servicemen of Lewis, their families and the community that was so deeply scarred by that tragic accident.

Edward Mountain (Conservative, Highlands and Islands)

I am conscious that we have heard a lot this afternoon from people who are very closely related to this incident, and I do not want to add very much more, except to thank Alasdair Allan for bringing the debate to the chamber.

It is right that, as we think about returning home for Christmas, we think about this event from 100 years ago, because it is made all the more poignant by the fact that it involved 280 sailors travelling home for new year.

I was interested to hear about the overloaded boat, the navy not responding as it should have done and the sailors being weighed down with kit. We have also heard about the great heroism of John Finlay Macleod, who swam ashore with his rope and rescued 40 men, and it is right that he is being immortalised for his efforts in the sculpture that Prince Charles will unveil in the new year.

It is also right that, at Christmas—a joyous time that we should be spending with our families—we remember that, in the new year of 1919, there were many who would not spend any time at all with their own. People lost brothers, husbands, uncles and cousins, and I struggle to understand and comprehend how difficult that would be, given how every family was connected.

I am keeping my contribution short, purely because I want to hear the contributions of other people. However, it is right that we think about what is the worst maritime disaster in Britain’s history, an event made even more tragic by the fact that the sailors involved had survived the great war and were returning home.

Finally, I commend all those organising the national commemorative services at new year. I know that a huge amount of energy has gone into the preparations, and I am sure that the events will be a fitting act of remembrance of this national disaster.

The Deputy Presiding Officer

Thank you, Mr Mountain, for giving us some time back.

Joan McAlpine (Scottish National Party, South Scotland)

I, too, pay tribute to Alasdair Allan for securing this debate. It is fitting that, almost a century after a disaster that took 201 lives, our Parliament gives time for reflection and commemoration.

I say that it is fitting, because, as others have pointed out, the disaster was for a long time seldom mentioned in public discourse. It was so enormous in scale that it was almost something unspeakable. These young men survived the slaughter of world war one only to perish within sight of home, and their loss cast a dark and silent shadow over the islands, which had lost so many more young men in the war. Others have already talked about the significant demographic effect of the disaster. Those men would have been coming home to start families with their sweethearts, but, as it was, depopulation accelerated rapidly in the Gàidhealtachd in the 1920s.

There is another Iolaire legacy. The years of silence have lifted, and the tragedy is now being properly explored and features extensively in the oral, social and cultural history of the Outer Hebrides. In that respect, I pay particular tribute to the dedicated web resource in Gaelic and English that has been created by the National Library of Scotland. A wealth of the original documents and oral history from the time has been digitised, including facsimiles of news reports. One such report, from

The Scotsman

of 6 January 1919, says:

“Carts in little processions of twos and threes, each bearing its coffin from the mortuary, pass through the streets of Stornoway on their way to some rural village, and all heads are bared as they pass.”

The digital resource draws on the work of the journalist John MacLeod, whose highly praised book “When I Heard The Bell: The Loss of the Iolaire” documents the loss of the Iolaire and its aftermath, and there are also interviews with islanders such as 17-year-old Freya Macleod, the great-granddaughter of Iolaire survivor John Finlay Macleod, who saved upwards of 40 people on the stricken ship by swimming ashore with a life rope.

The resource also links to some of the many artistic responses to the Iolaire disaster, such as recordings made in the 1970s by musicians and poets who were alive at the time of the sinking.

Contemporary artists have responded to the centenary. An Lanntair is currently showing “Dawn till Dark”, an exhibition featuring the work of glass artist Alec Galloway and photographer Mhairi Law. Although, unfortunately, I have been unable to see the exhibition, I have been impressed by some of the images that I have been able to view. My partner, who is a writer, assisted Mr Galloway with a piece called “Harbour Full of Words”. It is a beautiful large glass bowl, filled with seawater from the harbour and lit from beneath. It contains 201 pieces of sea glass, collected from beaches where victims were found. Each piece of glass is etched with a word connected to the Iolaire, and the piece includes the names of all those who died.

The new year sees another exhibition—“Iolaire 100”—by Margaret Ferguson, featuring portraits of the sailors who died as well as those who survived. That is fitting because, although the tragedy of the Iolaire is all about loss, it is also about survival. A community that suffered so much loss, death and emigration did survive. Its Gaelic culture continues to inspire people around the world. Lives were stolen that night, but hope was not extinguished. The Iolaire has become a symbol of sorrow, certainly, but also a symbol of resilience.

Lewis Macdonald (Labour, North East Scotland)

I was a child in Stornoway in the 1960s, years after the Iolaire disaster. Many women of the Iolaire generation were still alive when I was a boy. I saw them simply as cailleachs—old women, dressed in black. I did not know then how many had lost their husbands or fiancés on a single day, so many years before, and mourned them still.

The cailleachs dressed in black reflected the pain of the whole town—of the whole island. Many young men had perished in the great war; many younger women and men were to leave for North America in the hungry 1920s. In between came this terrible, gut-wrenching, soul-searing loss of so many who had survived the war and had so nearly won home. Fifty years later, the despair of that dark and stormy night still dominated the life of the island. Yet, so painful was it then that people in Lewis hardly talked of it at all, as Alasdair Allan and others have said.

As Alasdair Allan also said, the loss was not in Lewis alone. My grandfather, Donald John Macdonald, was of the same generation. When the great war ended, he was 28 years old and a member of the royal naval reserve—like most of those who drowned on the Iolaire—and he had served in the Mediterranean since 1915. He had grown up on the Isle of Berneray: a little island of a few hundred souls, off Harris. His own father had died at sea, and his widowed mother had raised her children in a cottage by the quay.

Home leave for Donald John involved a voyage to Stornoway from the mainland, then a 60 mile walk to Rodel or Obbe on Harris, or a run home on a fishing boat from wherever he could find one going in the right direction. Mercifully, Donald John was not travelling home on leave that new year. He was not on board the Iolaire. He went on to sail the seven seas as a merchant seaman in the 1920s, to marry Mary Macdonald from North Uist, and together they would raise a family of their own.

Other young men from Berneray were not so lucky. Norman MacKillop was 19 years old and Donald Paterson was only 18 when they died on the Iolaire. Those were boys my grandfather knew. The loss of even two such young men was a heavy blow for a small place like Berneray.

It was a personal tragedy, too, for the families of those who crewed the Iolaire, who hailed from ports all round Britain. David McDonald, from Virginia Street, by the harbour in Aberdeen, was a signal boy aged 17 and the youngest to die that day. School students at Aberdeen grammar school have helped remember him this year, adding a granite stone in his name to the new commemorative cairn in Stornoway. Even in Lewis, a hundred years on, the shadow has retreated, and a new generation of islanders are able to commemorate the Iolaire in a way that previous generations could not.

lain S MacDonald wrote many fine songs, and one of the finest is “The Iolaire”. Like me and my sister Deirdre, whom he married, lain was a child in 1960s Stornoway, still in shadow and in silence, but to hear him sing his song of “The lolaire” was almost to hear the storm itself, so dark with rage and loss. That song is his memorial, too, as he has died, too young, in this centenary year.

“To the families of Lewis the chilly winds moaned

Your sons they have perished and they’ll never come home ...

It seemed each pebble on the shore

It bore a sailor’s name”

Gu dearbh, cuimhnichidh sinn iad: We will indeed remember them.

The Deputy Presiding Officer

In order to hear contributions from the final two speakers and the cabinet secretary, I am minded to accept a motion without notice, under rule 8.14.3 of the standing orders, to extend the debate by up to 30 minutes. I invite Alasdair Allan to move a motion without notice.

Motion moved,

That, under Rule 8.14.3, the debate be extended by 30 minutes.—[

Alasdair Allan

]

Motion agreed to.

Kenneth Gibson (Scottish National Party, Cunninghame North)

I thank my colleague Alasdair Allan for bringing this important debate to the chamber.

For those who are listening from outwith the Western Isles, this might be the first time that they have heard of the Iolaire tragedy, despite its being the worst peacetime British sea disaster since the Titanic and its devastating impact on the population and morale of those islands. Today, we are bringing that tragic new year’s day 100 years ago to the fore and highlighting the moving remembrance that is taking place.

Two months after the end of the great war,

leave was granted for many to return home. On hogmanay 1918, the Iolaire set off from Kyle of Lochalsh at 7.30 pm. At 1 am, the ship was sailing too far east for reasons that we still do not fully understand. Lights on

the beasts of Holm warned of danger, but the

ship failed to turn. Her momentum pushed her forward and, as a gale took hold, she failed to change course. Instead, she carried on full steam ahead into the pitch-black night and struck the beasts of Holm at 2 am on new year’s morning. More than 200 men died, including 174 from Lewis and seven from Harris. Seventy-nine survived and 40 were saved by the heroism of John Findlay Macleod, as we have heard.

The islands’ contribution to the great war was considerable, with 6,172 men from Lewis serving in the armed forces. That is a source of pride for an island of just 29,603 souls in 1911. However, losses were heavy. From the 51 houses in the village of Leurbost alone, 32 men were killed or badly wounded in the great war. Eleven more would be lost on the Iolaire, which sank less than one mile from safe harbour.

What is most upsetting about the disaster is that, having survived the horrors of war, those young men drowned as their families gathered to welcome them home to communities that had missed them sorely. A third of those who were lost on the Iolaire would never be recovered, but many bodies that were given up by the sea were washed up on Sandwick shore. That sight haunted those who saw it for the rest of their lives.

The tragedy impacted on islanders for decades. Morale was shattered and mass emigration followed.

John MacLeod, the author of “When I Heard the Bell: The Loss of the Iolaire”, which is a comprehensive account of the disaster, said:

“My grandfather ... who was a boy of eight at the time never forgot standing outside his door ... in the village of Cross and seeing the carts coming over the brae with coffins. Carts passing the house. Carts with one coffin, carts with two coffins, carts with four coffins. Coffins after coffins.”

Lewis ran out of coffins, and they had to be brought from Kyle. That detail encapsulates the scale of the tragedy on such small, close-knit communities.

A hundred years on, the disaster is now entirely out of human memory, but people talk about the Iolaire. A new generation of islanders wants to understand the pain that the tragedy inflicted and to know the men whom they lost and the grief that was felt by those who were left behind. Perhaps with the last survivor and the last child who lost a father now gone, people are finally free to revisit the tragedy and give it the commemoration due.

One particularly moving contribution to the centennial remembrance is Catriona Black’s animated film “You are at the Bottom of my Mind”, which builds from stories told in Gaelic from decades past by survivors and witnesses, and adds a traditional music score specially written for the creation. There are 25 hand-drawn frames for every second of the five-minute film. It becomes a moving painting of 7,500 drawings that was 10 months in the making. It is layered with photographs and films, such as the seaweed-covered surface of the deadly beasts of Holm and the gravestones of men who were lost to the sea. Those poignant details bring the artwork to life and remind us of the brutal reality of what happened that night. I encourage everyone to watch that film when it is broadcast on hogmanay.

We have recounted stories of bravery, grief and the sheer waste of human life. Now, a century later, we have a chance to remember and allow for the sharing of grief decades in the making.

Johann Lamont (Labour, Glasgow)

I feel greatly privileged—if a little hesitant—to participate in this debate, in which we are remembering a tragedy the cruelty and impact of which are almost beyond comprehension. I congratulate Alasdair Allan on his beautiful speech. Sadly, I cannot speak Gaelic, but it is the language of my soul and I love to hear it whenever I can. I thank all those who have spoken of their own direct relationship with the terrible tragedy.

I am the child of island parents who came from Tiree rather than Lewis. My father was at sea for his whole life, and, from an early age, my mother made us aware of the risks that his job brought and the joy and relief that everyone at sea experienced on reaching safe haven. Islanders understood then—as they understand now—the power of the elements to shape their lives, their opportunities and their futures.

The Isle of Lewis is an island of great warmth, generosity, humour and sense of community, even if it has—as other places do—a sad history. It was only when I began to visit Lewis as a young woman that I learned of the terrible tragedy of the Iolaire, despite its immensity and despite my great interest in the history of the Highlands and Islands. Those who suffered did so within their families and communities, and that part of our history has been left largely unreported. That is why this afternoon’s debate and the events surrounding the centenary are so important.

When we look at tragedy, we sometimes say that it is hard to imagine what it felt like or what its impact was, but, when we start to imagine, the horrors become overwhelming. It is not just that young men were lost at sea; they were returning safe at the end of a war during which they must have suffered terribly and seen the brutality of war at first hand. We are talking not only about the loss at sea of young men but about the loss of 201 souls who were returning to small communities, where their loss wiped out a whole generation from individual villages. They were not just coming home; they were coming home on 1 January to celebrate the new year, which, in those days, was the only day of celebration in the whole year on the island. That day—new year’s day—signified the importance of family and community and of mutual support. As well as being a time for reflection on the past, it was a time to look at prospects for the future.

The fact that those young men were lost not on a foreign field but within reach of safe haven and within sight of home as families gathered on Stornoway harbour to meet them makes the tragedy one that is almost beyond words. For many, its consequences and impact went unspoken for generations. It is important not just to remember the event but to understand the importance of renewal, to do what we can to support fragile remote rural communities and to maintain optimism for the future, remembering that migration from parts of Lewis reflected the pessimism that followed the tragedy. Events that might seem small on a national scale can have a catastrophic effect on small communities.

I congratulate all those people who have been involved in marking the centenary on the sensitive, creative, thought-provoking and challenging events that they have produced. A moving example of those events and a good symbol of the work that has been done is the shinty match that is to be held on Lewis on 1 January between the Lewis shinty team and a team from Kinlochshiel Shinty Club from Kyle of Lochalsh, from where the returning sailors departed for the last part of their journey. I have particular pride in that event because of a family connection to it, but it is a powerful symbol of what was lost. Young men—some of whom were shinty players—lost their potential and were denied their futures. Two young teams will play the game that the men who lost their lives were denied. Given the renaissance of shinty on the island in recent years, that act of remembrance should also be one of renewal whereby the new generation of young islanders will offer their respect for the past and their determination to play a part in securing the cultural, sporting and economic future of the island they love.

This is a time to remember a time of immense sadness, but it is also a time to recognise the strength of the human spirit in the darkest of times, which was evident in the communities affected. Given the strength of those communities in renewing themselves, it should be a time of hope for the future, too.

Fiona Hyslop (Scottish National Party, Linlithgow)

I, too, thank Dr Alasdair Allan for lodging his motion and giving the Parliament the opportunity to record our recognition ahead of the commemoration of the terrible tragedy of the Iolaire. The fact that so many MSPs wanted to speak in the debate is testimony to the strength of feeling that exists. The speeches of each and every one of them were very fine indeed.

I was particularly touched by Angus MacDonald’s very personal story and Lewis Macdonald’s personal reflections. They gave us an insight into the sense of that continuing grief—a grief silent for so long.

Only last month, we marked the centenary of the first armistice, on 11 November 1918, and reflected on the emotions that would have been felt at the time: joy that war was over, grief for those who would never return, recognition that the world would never be the same and uncertainty for the future. The people of the Western Isles would have felt all of those things. Their losses had been among the heaviest in any community, with one in six of those who joined up never returning. However, by Hogmanay 1918, the armistice had been signed and some of the men from the Western Isles were on their way home. We can imagine the people at home keeping an eye on the clock and mentally following the journey while preparing to welcome the homecomers.

Poet Murdo Macfarlane, in “Last Night the lolaire was Wrecked”, beautifully describes the joy of a young woman in Lewis as she bakes in preparation for her sweetheart’s return. Let me share the first verse with you, in Gaelic:

“’S binn sheinn i, a’ chailin,

A raoir ann an Leòdhas,

I fuineadh an arain

Le cridhe làn sòlais,

Air choinneamh a leanainn

Tha tighinn air fòrlach:

Tighinn dhachaigh thuic tèaraint’,

Fear a gràidh.”

That scene would have been taking place across the islands. How cruel that, for so many, the welcome home was denied. How could those who did survive celebrate a return when so many had that celebration snatched away within sight of their homes? It is small wonder that it was too painful to discuss, but life had to go on, and it did, although for many that life was far away in Australia, Canada and New Zealand—yet more loss for the islands.

The story of what happened to the lolaire has never been widely known outside the islands. For that reason, when I set up the Scottish first world war commemorations panel, in 2013, and it set about the task of recommending which events should inform the Scottish commemorative programme, there was a determination from the start to include the tragic loss of the lolaire. From the beginning of the commemorative period, the lolaire commemoration was established as Scotland’s last act of remembrance in the official first world war commemoration programme. That would not be the armistice, because Scotland still had the anniversary of the lolaire to come.

I have quoted from a poem by Murdo Macfarlane, and, over the years, a number of other poems and books have highlighted the deep impacts that the tragedy had on the tight-knit island community. The land of the Gaels has always been renowned for its poetry and song. However, as the centenary has drawn closer and the full story has emerged, innovative arts organisations have been telling the story of what happened in moving and engaging ways.

As part of the year of young people, schools across the islands have been working on the Dileab project, which culminated in an evening of music, dance, drama and song dedicated to the lolaire at the Nicholson institute in Stornoway last week.

The arts centre An Lanntair is delivering a range of events, from talks to an exhibition of 100 portraits, created over the past two years, of sailors lost and saved from the lolaire, and even an animated film, as we have heard.

14-18 NOW, the United Kingdom’s official arts programme for the centenary of the first world war, commissioned two new suites of Gaelic music: “Cumha An lolaire”—“lolaire Elegy”—by Lewis-born piper and composer lain Morrison, and “An Treas Suaile”—“The Third Wave”—by Duncan Chisholm. Duncan worked with Julie Fowlis to create a piece that pays homage to John Finlay Macleod, who, as we have heard, swam ashore with a rope to create, literally, a lifeline that saved 40 men. That is a truly remarkable story.

BBC Scotland and BBC ALBA are producing a wide and varied range of programmes on television and radio around the centenary, and the stunning new sculpture at the site of the memorial will be unveiled at the national commemorative event on 1 January. Situated within a few metres of the spot where the ship floundered, its simple design provides a fitting addition to the existing memorial and a moving spot at which to take a moment to contemplate the tragedy that unfolded on the rocks below.

Prince Charles, who bears the ancient title of Lord of the Isles, will attend the service of commemoration on 1 January 2019, accompanied by the First Minister, and they will have the opportunity to speak to descendants of those people who were lost or saved. Also on that day, a CalMac ferry with around 500 local people on board will sail out to the spot where the lolaire turned towards the rocks. A short service will be held on board before 201 schoolchildren each drop a single carnation overboard—one for each man who died.

There can be few stories more tragic than that of the lolaire. The men on board would have been rousing themselves from sleep, closing books and pulling their belongings together—the things that we all do as we come to the end of a journey. Those who were waiting for them would have been noting the time and possibly heading for the harbour if they lived in Stornoway. The end of that journey should have been a joyous occasion. One hundred years on, it is right that the last act of remembrance in the Scottish commemorative programme is the lolaire commemoration, as the impact on the tight-knit island community was beyond measure.

As we have heard in the debate, the story and the impact will continue for the people of the islands for a long time to come. We have had the privilege of honouring and paying tribute to the men during the debate, but it is incumbent on us to make sure that their memory lives on and that we have the renewal that has been spoken about. I hope that, on 1 January 2019, we will all take a moment to reflect on the events that took place 100 years ago, which have left such a poignant legacy. Mòran taing.

13:55 Meeting suspended.

14:00 On resuming—

Alasdair Allan (Scottish National Party, Na h-Eileanan an Iar)

Air iomadach càrn-chogaidh air feadh na rìoghachd, tha 1914 gu 1919 sgrìobhte. Tha an dàrna bhliadhna sin a’ cuimhneachadh a’ chùmhnaint ann an Versailles a chuir crìoch air a’ chogadh gu foirmeil. Ach bha sin seachd mìosan às dèidh do na gunnaichean fàs sàmhach anns an t-Samhain 1918, agus do thòrr dhaoine a-nis, tha 1919 a’ coimhead caran neònach mar cheann-latha airson crìoch a’ chogaidh. Ach ann an aon àite co-dhiù, tha a’ bhliadhna sin a’ dèanamh ciall anns an dòigh bhrùideil aige fhèin fhathast.

Ann an Leòdhas agus anns na Hearadh cha tàinig call a’ chogaidh mhòir gu crìch ach air a’ chiad latha den bhliadhn’ ùir. Agus bha buaidh mhòr aig an rud a thachair air an latha sin, buaidh air bailtean agus teaghlaichean anns na h-eileanan airson bhliadhnaichean mòra, gus an latha an-diugh.

“An rud a thachair”. Tha e a’ tighinn a-steach orm mar a tha mi a’ cleachdadh nam facal sin nach do dh’ainmich mi an rud a thachair fhathast. ’S dòcha gu bheil rudeigin freagarrach mun an sin, air sgàth ’s gun robh an gnothach cho gort nach tuirt muinntir nan eilean mòran mu dheidhinn airson 60 bliadhna co-dhiù. Bha an Iolaire na cuspair ro phianail a thogail ann an còmhradh modhail ann an taigh sam bith.

Ach, tha e ceart gu bheil sinn ga chuimhneachadh a-nis, 100 bliadhna às a dhèidh. Agus tha mi taingeil dha-rìribh gu bheil daoine bho gach taobh den Phàrlamaid ann an-diugh, gus sin a dhèanamh.

Seo an rud a thachair, ma-thà: sgeul na h-Iolaire.

Air oidhche challainn 1918, bha His Majesty’s Yacht Iolaire a’ fàgail Caol Loch Aillse. Gu h-iorònach, bha ainm Gàidhlig oirre—An Iolaire—ach cha robh càil a dh’fhios aig a’ Chabhlach Rìoghail ciamar a chanadh iad an t-ainm sin, agus bha an t-ainm “I-o-laire” air a chleachdadh.

Bha an Iolaire loma-làn sheòladairean. Bha a’ chuid as motha dhiubh a’ tighinn dhachaigh às dèidh seirbheis-chogaidh leis a’ Chabhlach Rìoghail, leis an Nèibhidh.

Bha tòrr às na teaghlaichean aig na daoine a bha air bòrd na h-Iolaire a’ cruinneachadh air a’ chidhe an oidhche sin ann an Steòrnabhagh. Bha iad uile dòchasach gum biodh na gillean a’ tighinn air ais dhan eilean ann an deagh thìde gus am biodh iad a’ toirt a-steach na bliadhn’ ùire còmhla ri chèile, agus a’ comharrachadh deireadh a’ chogaidh aig an aon àm. Tha na puingean seo, am measg nithean eile, a’ dèanamh sgeul na h-Iolaire nas duilghe buileach.

Is e oidhche fhiadhaich a bha ann. Dìreach dà mhìle air falbh às a’ chidhe, faisg air 1.55 anns a’ mhadainn air latha na bliadhn’ ùire, bhuail an Iolaire air creagan leis an ainm Biastan Thuilm, agus chaidh i fodha am broinn dà uair a thide. Tha sinn a’ creidsinn gun robh 280 duine air bòrd agus tha sinn a’ creidsinn gun do bhàsaich 201 duine.

Agus fad na tìde, nuair a bha na rudan uabhasach seo a’ tachairt, bha iomadach teaghlach air a’ chidhe, fhathast, dìreach dà mhìle air falbh, a’ feitheamh gu foighidneach, mar a bha iad air a bhith foighidneach airson ceithir bliadhna fhada. Mar a tha aon òran Leòdhasach a’ dol:

Mo chreach, mo chreach ’s a thàinig;

Chaidh an gàirdeachas gu tùrs.

Mun d’ dh’èirich grian na màireach,

’s iomadh gàirdean bha gun lùths.

Chaidh fios air feadh gach àite

gun robh ’n t-àrmann ris robh ’n dùil

air cladach tìr an àraich,

air am bàthadh anns a’ ghrunnd.

Airson làithean às dèidh sin, bha muinntir Leòdhais a’ coimhead a-mach air an tràigh, agus lorg mòran dhiubh cuirp. Cha robh aon chorp am measg gach trì air an lorg agus bha tòrr air an glacadh am broinn na h-Iolaire fhèin. Às dèidh mìos, chuir an Cabhlach Rìoghail sanas a-mach gun robh iad a’ reic na h-Iolaire airson scrap.

Aig an toiseach, cha robh fios aig duine sam bith gu cinnteach cò bha air a dhol air bòrd na h- Iolaire aig a’ Chaol, agus cò eile a bha a’ feitheamh air a’ bhàt’-aiseig às a dèidh, an Sheila. Bha aig tòrr de na daoine air bòrd an Sheila ri coiseachd 50 mìle bho Steòrnabhagh mus do ràinig iad dhachaigh. Chuala mi aon sgeul mu fhear a bha anns an t-suidheachadh seo. Ràinig e dhachaigh mu dheireadh thall agus fhuair e a-mach aig doras an taighe aige gun robh an teaghlach aige a’ deasachadh gus tìodhlachadh a chumail dha fhèin. Tha sgeulachdan gu leòr eile ann mun àm sin, agus tha e math gu bheil muinntir Leòdhais agus na Hearadh gan innse a-nis. Chan eil fios aig a h-uile duine ann an Alba mun Iolaire agus bu chòir.

Tha taisbeanaidhean agus tachartasan air a bhith ann am-bliadhna ann an Caisteal Leòdhais agus ann an diofair bhailtean. Chunnaic tòrr dhaoine cuirm chiùil agus dràma mun an Iolaire air an ard-ùrlar agus cuideachd na dealbhan a rinn Mairead Nicfhearghais. Tha mi an dòchas gum bi tachartas eile a’ gabhail pàirt anns a’ Phàrlamaid fhèin anns a’ Mhàrt, nuair a bhios leabhar ùr “The Darkest Dawn” air a chur air bhog.

Is e tubaist uabhasach a bhiodh ann do choimhearsnachd sam bith 201 neach a chall. Ach airson eilean, tha e doirbh a mhìneachadh dìreach cho mòr ’s a bha e. Dè bhiodh a leithid de thubaist a’ ciallachadh ann an Glaschu, mar eisimpleir? Is dòcha gum biodh sinn a’ bruidhinn mu dheidhinn 5,000 teaghlach ann an Glaschu a’ call mac air an aon latha. Sin an seòrsa buaidh a bha aig an Iolaire air a’ choimhearsnachd ann an Leòdhas agus na Hearadh. Agus, cuimhnich, thàinig an Iolaire às dèidh cogadh anns an robh an aon choimhearsnachd air 1,300 neach eile a chall.

Anns na 10 bliadhna às dèidh na h-Iolaire, bha tòrr anns an eilean a’ call an cuid dòchais. Chaidh mòran gu Canada, Astràilia, na Stàitean agus New Zealand tro na 1920an.

Uaireannan, bidh sinn a’ cuimhneachadh a’ chogaidh mhòir ann an dòigh a tha caran abstract. Ach chan eil rud sam bith abstract mu dheidhinn na h-Iolaire.

Bidh sinn a’ comharrachadh 100 bliadhna le seirbheisean ann an Steòrnabhagh agus faisg air Biastan Thuilm air oidhche challainn agus air Latha na Bliadhn’ Ùire.

Is dòcha gu bheil cuid a’ smaoineachadh nach eil e ceart a bhith a’ cuimhneachadh air rudeigin cho brònach aig an àm seo anns a’ bhliadhna. Ach is ann aig an àm-sa den bhliadhna a thachair e. Chan ann air 11 den t-Samhain a thàinig an cogadh mòr gu crìch, far a bheil mise a’ fuireach.

Agus tha e ceart, às dèidh 100 bliadhna, mu dheireadh thall, gu bheil a’ Phàrlamaid againn agus an dùthaich againn ga chuimhneachaidh cuideachd.

Following is the simultaneous interpretation:

On many war memorials around the country are written the dates 1914 to 1919. The second of those years recalls the treaty, signed at Versailles, that formally brought the war to an end. However, that was some seven months after the guns fell silent in November 1918. To many now, 1919 looks an odd date to mark the end of the war, but in at least one place it still makes its own brutal sense. In Lewis and Harris, the losses of the great war did not come to an end until new year’s day, and what happened that day has left a lasting impression on villages and families throughout the islands, right up to our own time.

As I say the words “what happened that day”, I am conscious that I have not yet actually said what it was that happened. However, perhaps there is something appropriate about that, as the matter was so raw that the people of the islands scarcely spoke about it for at least 60 years anyway. The Iolaire was a subject that was simply too painful to raise in polite conversation in any house. However, it is right that we are remembering it now, 100 years on, and I am very grateful that people from all sides of the Parliament are here today to do so.

This is what happened—the story of the Iolaire. On hogmanay 1918, His Majesty’s yacht Iolaire was leaving Kyle of Lochalsh. Ironically, she had a Gaelic name—“iolaire” means “eagle”—but the Royal Navy had no idea how to pronounce that, so “I-o-laire” stuck. She was full of sailors, most of them returning home after war service with the Royal Navy. That night, many of the families of the men who were on board were soon gathering on the pier in Stornoway. They were all hopeful that the young men would return home in time to bring in the new year with them and mark the end of the war in one go. Among many other reasons, those very aspects make the story of the Iolaire all the sadder.

It was a night of wild weather. Just a couple of miles away from the pier, at around 1.55 on new year’s morning, the Iolaire struck a group of rocks called the Beasts of Holm and sank within the course of two hours. It is thought that there were 280 people on board and that 201 of them died. All the while, just a couple of miles away, many of their families were still on the pier, waiting patiently. They had been patient for four long years. As one Lewis song goes,

“Alas, alas,

Their joy turned to mourning.

Before the morning sun rose

many an arm was without strength.

The word went about the place

that the warriors they awaited

were on their native shores,

lying drowned on the sands.”

For many days after that, the people of Lewis went out looking for remains on the shore and many of them found bodies. However, one in three of the bodies were never found and many were trapped in the Iolaire. By the end of January, the Royal Navy had advertised that the Iolaire was for sale for scrap.

Initially, nobody was completely sure who had boarded the Iolaire in Kyle and who had waited for the steamer, the Sheila, after the Iolaire. Many of those who got the Sheila walked as far as 50 miles from Stornoway to get home. I heard a story about one man who was in that situation. He eventually got home only to discover at the door of his house that his family were making preparations for his funeral. There are many other stories about that time, and it is good that the people of Lewis and Harris are telling them now. Not everyone in Scotland knows about the Iolaire, but they should.

There have been exhibitions and events this year, in Lews castle and in different villages, and many people saw the music and drama production about the Iolaire in Stornoway, as well as the paintings by Margaret Ferguson. I hope that there will be another event in the Parliament in March at which a new book, “The Darkest Dawn”, will be launched.

The loss of 201 people is a heavy one for any community to bear, but it is difficult to explain the scale of that for an island. What might the equivalent disaster represent in Glasgow, for example? We are probably talking about the equivalent of 5,000 families in Glasgow all losing a son on one day, as that was the scale of the impact that the Iolaire had on Lewis and Harris. Bear in mind, too, that the Iolaire came after a war in which that same community had already lost 1,300 people.

In the 10 years after the Iolaire, many in the islands lost hope. Throughout the 1920s, many went to Canada, Australia, the States and New Zealand.

At times, we tend to remember the great war in a slightly abstract way, but there is nothing abstract about the Iolaire. We will mark the centenary with services in Stornoway and near the Beasts of Holm on hogmanay and on new year’s day. Perhaps some will think that it is not right to remember something so sorrowful at this time of year, but this is the time of year that it happened.

Where I live, the great war did not come to an end on 11 November, so it is right that, after 100 years, at last our Parliament and our country remember it, too.

Maurice Corry (Conservative, West Scotland)

I thank Alasdair Allan for bringing this timely debate to the chamber.

The Iolaire disaster was an unequivocal tragedy of returning servicemen lost in sight of their homes. Commemorations are always sobering. I am particularly aware of that having commemorated the disaster of the Otranto and Tuscania on the north coast of Islay as part of the world war one commemorations that I was involved in earlier this year. The sinking of the Iolaire, with the death of at least 201 men so close to their own shores, strikes an especially poignant chord.

Over the course of the first world war, more than 6,000 Lewismen joined the war effort, which was about 20 per cent of the island’s population. More than 1,000 of those servicemen died during the war, which was a high toll for such a small community. Every family had a father, brother, uncle or son who died. We can imagine the relief to be heading homeward of those who were fortunate enough to have reached the end of the conflict. They could look to the new year facing the comforts of home and familiarity of the loved ones who were eagerly awaiting their arrival.

However, on the eve of new year’s day in 1919, HMY Iolaire—the Gaelic for “eagle”—left Kyle of Lochalsh bound for Stornoway harbour on the Isle of Lewis. The yacht was overloaded with Royal Navy men, mostly from rural Lewis, and lifebelts were few and far between. In the small hours of the morning and in clear view of the lights of home—at one point, only 20 yards from the harbour—the Iolaire struck the rocks of the Beasts of Holm.

Families who were waiting by the shore for their loved ones could only watch in shock. With heavy uniforms weighing the men down, swimming to safety proved too difficult for many. Many islanders grew up without the ability to swim, having been warned to stay away from the cliffs at an early age.

One man, John F Macleod, managed to reach shore pulling a line of rope, which helped to save more than 40 lives. Another man clung to the mast of the Iolaire for hours until he could be rescued. One hundred and seventy-five natives of the island were claimed by the sea. Some men were found with rings and letters in their pockets; some men were never found.

The impact of that catastrophic loss on the Western Isles was devastating. In essence, it seemed that a generation of young men was gone. In those island communities, the loss was stark. Families who had believed that their loved ones had escaped the threat of war were confronted with a disaster that they could not have imagined. Their mourning was redoubled; as

The Scotsman

wrote in the aftermath,

“Many have had sorrow heaped upon sorrow.”

The Iolaire disaster witnessed life’s end for more than 200 men, and it sourced a vast depth of grief for many more, which should not be underestimated. For men who had battled enemy fire, survived torpedoes and suffered the extremes of war, this was a bitter end in view of their homes. For the islanders of Lewis, Harris and the surrounding isles, the inquiry into the disaster failed to find a solid conclusion as to how it had been allowed to happen.

With the centenary of the Iolaire disaster approaching this new year, I recognise the commemorations that have been created in honour of those who were lost. Islanders have long known of the moments of disaster; it is time for wider Scotland to have a greater understanding and appreciation of the extent of its impact. Indeed, marking this remembrance has led to increased vocalisation of the grief that has passed through the generations in the Western Isles.

The commemorations have been a fitting and collective act of remembrance. Although the war memorial on Lewis was officially opened in 1924, a monument was not placed at the Beasts of Holm until 1958; I am pleased to see the tributes of today. For example, portraits of 100 sailors who died in the Iolaire have been created by Margaret Ferguson, an award-winning artist whose great-uncle was among the death toll on the night. The portraits have brought the men to life and have touched home for many families. The exhibition will open on 29 December on Lewis. Last month, locals planted trees along the road that leads to the war memorial, and on the anniversary, the Prince of Wales and the First Minister will jointly mark the centenary with a visit. These acts of remembrance are incredibly important; they allow us to respectfully acknowledge the disaster and the heavy toll that it has had on the island community.

I join my colleagues in commemorating the Iolaire disaster. For the islanders, it opened a new year that they could not have imagined and it saw the death of those who thought that they had escaped its hold. As one of the United Kingdom’s worst maritime disasters, it was a significant loss of life that we need to be conscious of. I commend us all to remember it today.

Angus MacDonald (Scottish National Party, Falkirk East)

I thank Alasdair Allan for bringing this important debate to the chamber. I am sure that each and every resident of Lewis and Harris appreciates such a traumatic event receiving the recognition of a chamber debate just two weeks away from the centenary.

As I am a Leòdhasach, or Lewisman, this is probably the most difficult speech that I have ever had to write or, indeed, to deliver in the chamber. As I was born and bred not just on Lewis but on the farm where the tragedy happened, the Iolaire disaster has been deeply ingrained in me since I could be aware of it as a toddler.

The Beasts of Holm, where the Iolaire ran aground, are technically just a few yards off the cliffs and rocks at Stoneyfield farm. At the time of the tragedy, my great-grandfather had not yet taken over Stoneyfield. The farmer at the time was Anderson Young, who opened the Stoneyfield farmhouse doors to many of the 79 survivors who made it ashore on that horrendous night, giving shelter and warmth to them. However, soon after the tragedy, he moved with his family to Canada, presumably in large part because of the trauma that the tragedy had caused to him, his wife and children.

My great-grandfather took on the tenancy of Stoneyfield just a few months after the tragedy, and my grandfather took on the tenancy of neighbouring Holm farm a few years later. At the time of the tragedy, my grandfather and my three great-uncles were in their late teens and early 20s, living in the village of Sandwick, next to the farms, and they would have been involved in the retrieval of the bodies from the shores of Sandwick beach and around the farm shoreline on that fateful day. I do not know for sure that that was the case, because they never talked about it. That has been the case on the island since the tragedy—nobody, or very few people, spoke of the disaster.

Even when I was growing up in the 1960s, some 40 to 50 years after the disaster, it was still not discussed, so the many events and commemorations that are taking place on the island are acting in a cathartic way, allowing people to come to terms, at long last, with the grief and hurt that still exist and are still tangible on the island to this day.

It took just over 40 years for an official memorial to be erected at the site. My grandfather donated the land for the memorial, and I am pleased to see that it has been renovated for the centenary and that the path down to the memorial from the former coastguard station road end has been greatly improved in advance of the commemorations.

As someone who was born and brought up at Stoneyfield and Holm farms, I have experienced the impact of storm-force gales there. On the night of the tragedy, the ship ran aground during what was up to a force 10 gale—possibly stronger. I have walked around the headland at Holm point in force 10 gales, and stronger, a number of times—one time, I lost my footing and nearly slipped into the rough sea—and I have seen walls of water lifting up from Stornoway bay and crashing into the Stoneyfield farmhouse, so what those poor souls endured is beyond my comprehension, and it is beyond my understanding how there were even 79 survivors on such an horrendously stormy night.

As the award-winning blogger Katie Laing puts it in her excellent

Hebrides Writer

blog,

“The Iolaire is in our DNA”.

I have found it difficult to put my feelings into words, so, if it is all right, Presiding Officer, I will quote the current minister of St Columba’s church in Stornoway, the Rev William Heenan. At the opening of the exhibition at Sandwick hall, he said:

“As we approach the 100 year anniversary of the Iolaire disaster, the memories of the inconsolable loss of life still evokes deep emotions in our island population—emotions that have been inherited from previous generations who lived through that fateful Hogmanay night and who had personally experienced the ‘darkest dawn’ of New Year’s Day 1919.

The cloud of silence which then enveloped this island and her people and which has pervaded this community in every generation since, is only now beginning to lift.

These last four years of rolling commemorations for the First World War and the various major battles fought during it, have in some respect helped to prepare us, for this the hardest and final of these commemorations—the loss of the Iolaire.

However, the silent grief, borne by the people of Lewis and Harris; the excruciating pain of the sorrow which has permeated every fibre in the warp and weft of the fabric of this society; and the lack of both information and answers as to why and how the disaster occurred; have to a large extent inhibited the island from processing and working through their loss, and coming to terms with their heartache.

Time has helped to heal some of the wounds inflicted by the events of that terrible night, enabling people to at last begin to speak about it and to process its harrowing legacy, but the scars of the tragedy still remain. They are indelibly ingrained on the psyche of islanders and their diaspora, just as the peat-banks and lazy-beds now no longer worked still mark and scar the landscape of our island topography.”

Social Security and Older People

Christine Grahame (Scottish National Party, Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale)

The next item of business is portfolio questions. As usual, I ask for nice, short, succinct questions, with answers to match. I live in hope.

Social Security Scotland

Clare Adamson (Scottish National Party, Motherwell and Wishaw)

1. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the development of Social Security Scotland. (S5O-02709)

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Scottish National Party, Dunfermline)

Social Security Scotland’s development has been a series of firsts. Since the agency’s establishment on 1 September, more than 75,000 carers have received their first and second payments of the first devolved Scottish benefit: the carers allowance supplement. As members heard from the First Minister last week, the first applications for the new best start grant were taken on 10 December, and more than 4,000 claims had been made by the end of the first day. The first payments have now been made, giving £600 to families for the birth of their first child.

Clare Adamson (Scottish National Party, Motherwell and Wishaw)

Will the cabinet secretary update the Parliament on the progress of carers allowance supplement and say how many carers are expected to benefit from it before the festive period?

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Scottish National Party, Dunfermline)

I confirm that the second payment of the carers allowance supplement has been made. The vast majority of payments were made on 14 December. In complex cases that require special handling, payments will be made by 21 December. In a small number of cases—for example, cases in which the payment was rejected by a bank and we are relying on the client to provide updated bank details—payments might be made after that date. This is the second payment of carers allowance supplement; further payments are scheduled for June and December 2019.

Michelle Ballantyne (Conservative, South Scotland)

In light of the Scottish Government asking the Department for Work and Pensions to deliver carers allowance for two more years, at a cost of £2.4 million, and delaying the devolution of disability benefits until 2021, will the cabinet secretary confirm that the Scottish Government will not request further delays, past 2021, before it assumes executive competence for those benefits?

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Scottish National Party, Dunfermline)

I appreciate that there have been recent discussions about the agency agreement for carers allowance. The first statement on that was made by my predecessor, Angela Constance, in April 2017, when we said that there would be an agency agreement with the DWP. The reason for that was made clear: it was to allow the early payment of the carers allowance supplement, which is the quickest way of getting payments to those carers on the lowest incomes, showing our gratitude and respect for the work that they do. The decision was taken in a very transparent way and was talked about in 2017; it is the best and quickest way for us to get money to carers.

Mark Griffin (Labour, Central Scotland)

Earlier this month,

The Times

reported that the cabinet secretary and her predecessor had contracted out the Scottish Government’s responsibility for carers allowance for two years, to the end of 2020, at a cost of £10 million. Responses to freedom of information requests show that officials are working to an assumption that

disability benefit rules and structures are to remain broadly the same.

Carers and disabled people want change; they do not want to continue to be the victims of Tory-designed social security. Will the cabinet secretary rule out DWP delivery of disability benefits and end the agency agreement contract for carers allowance as soon as possible?

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Scottish National Party, Dunfermline)

I simply reiterate to Mark Griffin the point that I have just made. The matter was first raised, quite rightly, by Angela Constance, in April 2017, when it was made clear that the agency agreement would be put in place to allow Social Security Scotland to make payments to carers quickly. That is exactly what has been done. Throughout the process, we have made it abundantly clear that the top priority is the safe and secure transition of payments, whether of carers allowance or disability benefits. We will continue to ensure that that is our top priority.

The delivery of Social Security Scotland, the payment of carers allowance supplement—twice—and the successful launch of the best start grant represent remarkable progress in the first year of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018. I will update the Parliament on our timetable for the wave 2 benefits in the new year.

Universal Credit (Impact)

Fulton MacGregor (Scottish National Party, Coatbridge and Chryston)

2. To ask the Scottish Government what impact the introduction of universal credit has had on people in Scotland. (S5O-02710)

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Scottish National Party, Dunfermline)

Universal credit has had a devastating impact on people in Scotland, and there is a catalogue of evidence that it is pushing people into poverty, rent arrears and hardship. Trussell Trust analysis shows that food bank use has increased in universal credit areas by an average of 52 per cent, while evidence from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities shows that the average rent arrears are 2.5 times higher for those on universal credit. We have repeatedly called on the United Kingdom Government to fix the fundamental flaws in this catastrophic benefit, and will continue to do so.

Fulton MacGregor (Scottish National Party, Coatbridge and Chryston)

Every one of us in this chamber is dealing with heartbreaking cases of constituents who have been sanctioned or moved on to universal credit in the run-up to Christmas, in many cases leaving them with little or no money over the festive period. Will the cabinet secretary outline what representations have been made by the Scottish Government to the UK Government, to request that this despicable system be ended?

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Scottish National Party, Dunfermline)

The Scottish Government has written to the UK Government a number of times, asking it to fix the fundamental flaws in universal credit. I have written to the different secretaries of state who have presided over the system; I wrote again when the new Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Amber Rudd, was appointed; and I raised our deep concerns with her directly when I had a telephone conversation with her yesterday. Most recently, I wrote to Ms Rudd last week, urging the UK Government to make hardship payments available to people who will be waiting for their first universal credit payment over Christmas, because the current DWP approach of offering advances puts people into debt from the start of their claim.

Benefit Processing (Case Management System)

John Scott (Conservative, Ayr)

3. To ask the Scottish Government whether the case management system that was procured from IBM in 2017 will process post wave 1 benefits. (S5O-02711)

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Scottish National Party, Dunfermline)

A strategic decision was made in May 2018 to adopt IBM’s social program management software as the core case management and benefit calculation platform for all phases of the programme.

John Scott (Conservative, Ayr)

I thank the cabinet secretary for her answer.

The Deputy Presiding Officer

I did not even get a chance to call you, but you have got in again.

John Scott (Conservative, Ayr)

Thank you, Presiding Officer. Audit Scotland was quite clear that if the case management system cannot process benefits after those in the first wave of devolution, another solution will be needed, and there may be delays. Can the cabinet secretary give Parliament a cast-iron guarantee that there will not be delays?

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Scottish National Party, Dunfermline)

Yes, I can, because we are ensuring that the platform that is in place for wave 1 can be built upon to deliver wave 2. That is to avoid the landscape that exists for the DWP, with many benefits being managed through different and separate technological solutions that do not speak to one another and do not operate effectively. We are trying to learn from that about simplification, reuse and having a loosely coupled architecture that will allow us to build the different benefits on top of each other. We are trying to gain from the learning in wave 1 to successfully deliver wave 2.

Cold Weather Payments

Willie Rennie (Liberal Democrat, North East Fife)

4. To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to change the system for cold weather payments. (S5O-02712)

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Scottish National Party, Dunfermline)

In developing the devolved cold weather payments benefit, we are engaging with households who have claimed the existing benefit and a wide range of expert opinion. We will seek the views of households who have applied for and benefited from cold weather payments as part of our research plan for 2019-20.

We will continue to listen to views and consider ways to better meet the needs of vulnerable households in Scotland.

Willie Rennie (Liberal Democrat, North East Fife)

It has been two years since the Scottish Government

consulted on the future of cold weather payments, yet no firm changes have been announced. Many would like the payments to be paid in advance, by default, wind chill to be factored in, and more local weather stations to be used, so that low-income and older vulnerable people know that they can use the heating when they need it most.

There are reports that the Government wants to abolish the payments altogether. Will the cabinet secretary tell us whether she is considering that?

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Scottish National Party, Dunfermline)

I am not considering that at all. We have stated the benefits that we will be introducing as part of wave 1 of our timetable for Social Security Scotland. As I said in response to an earlier question from Mark Griffin, we will be discussing the publication of our timetable for wave 2 in the new year, and that will look at the other benefit payments, including cold weather and winter fuel payments

.

I am very aware of the different challenges with the current system and the asks on wind chill and localised weather stations.

We will be asking for the views of households and individuals who have experience of the current payments in our next research plan, so that we can build on that lived experience and get the policy right.

Social Security and Older People (Glasgow)

John Mason (Scottish National Party, Glasgow Shettleston)

5. To ask the Scottish Government what it expects the impact to be on social security and older people in Glasgow of its draft spending and tax plans for 2019-20. (S5O-02713)

Christina McKelvie (Scottish National Party, Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse)

The people of Glasgow, along with people across Scotland, will benefit from this year’s budget support for the programme of work to deliver social security powers—we heard about many of those in response to the previous questions.

In 2019-20, our investment in social security will be more than £560 million, with £435 million going directly into the pockets of people living across the country.

Our spending plans are ambitious and clearly set out this Government’s commitment to creating a social security system that is based on dignity and respect, delivering benefits, tackling poverty and mitigating the worst impacts of the UK Government’s welfare cuts. Across Scotland, people will feel the benefit of that.

John Mason (Scottish National Party, Glasgow Shettleston)

I

n relation to older people, can the minister comment on how we can achieve the right balance between preventive spend and more reactive spend—in other words, stopping things going wrong and reacting when things do go wrong?

Christina McKelvie (Scottish National Party, Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse)

Yes, I can. Next year, I will publish an older people’s framework. That will pull together a number of programmes in the Scottish budget 2019-20 that benefit older people. The programmes, which are preventive and reactive, will impact positively on the health and wellbeing of older people. They include increasing the investment in the chronic medicine service; a new scheme to improve access to dental care among people living in care homes; and a careers information advice and guidance strategy encompassing the all-age careers sector. There is also a commitment to ensuring the long-term sustainability of the concessionary travel scheme.

Universal Credit (In-work Conditionality)

Alasdair Allan (Scottish National Party, Na h-Eileanan an Iar)

6. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the in-work conditionality aspect of universal credit. (S5O-02714)

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Scottish National Party, Dunfermline)

This Government is opposed to conditionality and sanctions as delivered by the Westminster Government’s Department for Work and Pensions. We are delivering a new approach for Scotland, as signalled by our new social security agency and our devolved employment service, fair start Scotland. Our approach has fairness, dignity and respect at the heart of services to help those who are out of work, who are looking for work, who are in work or who are looking to progress into a new job role.

Alasdair Allan (Scottish National Party, Na h-Eileanan an Iar)

I welcome the cabinet secretary’s response. The extension of conditionality to claimants who are already in paid employment is just one of the many controversial elements of the UK Government’s universal credit. Many are concerned about how that will affect UC claimants in rural communities, where additional employment opportunities will be few and far between. What representations can the Scottish Government make to the UK Government about that concern?

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Scottish National Party, Dunfermline)

Dr Allan—quite rightly—raises that concern about the impacts of such a scheme in rural and remote island communities. We have raised concerns with the UK Government, and I will ensure that we continue to do so with that specific aspect in mind.

It is clear that the current benefit sanctions and the conditionality regime is punitive and causes further hardship. There is no evidence that it helps people into work or ensures that their life chances progress. In the Scottish social security system and our employability services, we will continue to say that there is no role for sanctions. The in-work conditionality aspect of universal credit is extremely concerning for people and puts more stress on an already very difficult situation.

The Deputy Presiding Officer

I appreciate that this is a very serious topic, but I remind you all that we should have short answers and questions, please.

Pauline McNeill (Labour, Glasgow)

On the question of conditionality, Pete Searle, from the DWP, said that there is no

“evidence at the moment about ... the best way of interacting with people in work, who have got jobs to go to and do not need to be popping down to the jobcentre every five minutes.—[

Official Report, Social Security Committee

, 8 November 2018; c 6.]

Does the cabinet secretary agree that that exposes the proposals to transfer people who are in work to conditionality? That undermines the whole concept of universal credit by penalising low-paid workers who are already in work and suggests that the proposals are half baked.

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Scottish National Party, Dunfermline)

Pauline McNeill is quite right to point out the sheer practical difficulties that the in-work sanction regime will give people. That is why I talked particularly about the stress and anxiety that it will cause people. Nothing in the evidence that has been taken shows that benefit sanctions actually enhance a person’s motivation to work or increase their ability to find better-paid employment; they cause stress and anxiety, and they will have great practical implications for the individuals involved. The committee has been quite right to look at the very important issue of in-work poverty.

Carers Allowance (Recovery of Overpayments)

David Stewart (Labour, Highlands and Islands)

7. To ask the Scottish Government whether it has asked the Department for Work and Pensions to cease recovery action against recipients of carers allowance who have been overpaid. (S5O-02715)

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Scottish National Party, Dunfermline)

I wrote to the United Kingdom Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on 20 September to highlight my concerns and seek reassurance that, in the event of any overpayment recovery action, the DWP treats people fairly, ensuring that individual circumstances are taken into account and people are not placed in undue hardship.

It is vital that people are not prosecuted when they have made a genuine error, and that is the approach that Social Security Scotland will take.

David Stewart (Labour, Highlands and Islands)

Not only will the Scottish Government send millions to the DWP by the end of 2019-20, but 6,000 who have overpayments will have to face the Tories’ brutal DWP recovery system. Will the cabinet secretary ditch this terrible idea, use our powers to halt the recoveries and deliver dignity and respect to carers in Scotland, who rightly deserve that?

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Scottish National Party, Dunfermline)

As I said in my original answer, I have raised with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions my concerns about the way that the DWP will deal with overpayments in order to ensure that people who have made genuine errors are not punished.

I refer to previous answers: we made it clear in April 2017 that there would be an agency agreement in place, what the implications of that were and, importantly, why we were taking that decision. I say respectfully to David Stewart that we cannot simply change the agency agreement and expect Social Security Scotland to take on carers allowance in the short term; it takes time for a system to be built. That is why we made the case in April 2017 for why we were putting in place the agency agreement and it is why the timetable has been set out for wave 1 benefits in the way that it has. We made clear years ago that we would use the agency agreement and the reasons for that.

The Deputy Presiding Officer

Richard Lyle can ask a brief question.

Richard Lyle (Scottish National Party, Uddingston and Bellshill)

Will the cabinet secretary confirm how many carers are in receipt of the carers allowance supplement and by how much they are set to benefit ahead of this festive period?

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Scottish National Party, Dunfermline)

Mr Lyle is quite right to point out the carers who will benefit from the carers allowance supplement. More than 75,000 will receive two payments this financial year and two payments next financial year. They are receiving that payment because we took the decision to ensure that the first action of Social Security Scotland was the quick delivery of the carers allowance supplement, putting money directly into carers’ pockets.

Funeral Costs (Glasgow)

Johann Lamont (Labour, Glasgow)

8. To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to make funeral costs more affordable for people in Scotland. (S5O-02716)

The Deputy Presiding Officer

The question that was lodged says “in Glasgow”, but never mind.

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Scottish National Party, Dunfermline)

Our “Funeral Costs Plan” sets out 10 actions that the Scottish Government will take to tackle funeral poverty across Scotland, including Glasgow. We are preparing guidance on funeral costs, we have published a leaflet to help people plan their funeral, and we will pilot an incentivised savings product to help people save for a funeral.

We will start the delivery of funeral expense assistance by summer 2019, improving the support available to bereaved families at a very difficult time by widening eligibility and investing £2 million above current Department for Work and Pensions spending to help people who are struggling with funeral costs who would receive nothing at present.

Johann Lamont (Labour, Glasgow)

Is the cabinet secretary aware that Glasgow City Council has increased the cost of interment by 12 per cent since 2010-11 from £792 to £890? Does she understand the impact of that increase on families and does she accept that, in order to address that problem, the Scottish Government needs to reconsider its decision to cut disproportionately funding to Glasgow, given the impact of such increases on families who are already suffering loss and grief?

The Deputy Presiding Officer

Cabinet secretary—briefly, please.

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Scottish National Party, Dunfermline)

D

ecisions about charges for services are taken at local level. I believe that that is the right way to do that, because there is an understanding of the circumstances and needs of the people who are served by local authorities. The Scottish Government is aware that there are variations in burial and cremation charges among local authorities. That is why we have recently consulted on draft guidance on funeral costs, which will include a number of steps that local authorities can take on setting charges.

The Deputy Presiding Officer

I apologise to Tom Arthur and Liz Smith for failing to reach their questions. We must move on to the next set of questions.

Social Enterprise Strategy (Public Procurement)

Dean Lockhart (Conservative, Mid Scotland and Fife)

1. To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that its social enterprise strategy makes use of public procurement policy to promote social enterprise. (S5O-02719)

Aileen Campbell (Scottish National Party, Clydesdale)

Our social enterprise strategy recognises the purchasing power of the public sector, and associated opportunities from our sustainable public procurement policy, to increase the involvement of social enterprises in service delivery.

The strategy specifically commits to increasing access to all our markets, and key actions since its launch include our investing £2 million for technical tendering support via the just enterprise business support programme, more than £400,000 in partnership for procurement to support collaboration between social enterprises bidding for public sector contracts, and £875,000 in strategic public social partnerships.

Dean Lockhart (Conservative, Mid Scotland and Fife)

Figures published recently by the Improvement Service reveal that the number of local suppliers, including social enterprises, that are engaged by local authorities has declined by 42 per cent over the past decade. As a result of changes to European Union procurement laws, we now have the opportunity to change the way in which the public sector engages with local social enterprise organisations.

Will the cabinet secretary therefore update the procurement element of the

social enterprise strategy to better support local economies and social enterprises?

The Deputy Presiding Officer

I remind members that I would like questions to be short. I have been tolerant so far, but that is waning.

Aileen Campbell (Scottish National Party, Clydesdale)

I point again to the fact that we have in place a considerable package of measures to support social enterprises in engaging with the procurement processes and to enable procurers to access that spend for the benefit of social enterprises, which, of course, invest their money for social good.

Since 2017, more than half of social enterprises now trade with the public sector. In that year, 15 per cent of all social enterprises won new public sector contracts. Therefore, there have been changes. I also ask Dean Lockhart to reflect that there was an increase in social enterprises trading directly with consumers in the same period—from 68 per cent in 2015 to 79 per cent. That is a positive sign that social enterprise income streams are diversifying and are not over-reliant on public sector contracts. We need to look at the totality of where social enterprises get their resources from and how they are bidding for contracts. Of course, where we can, we will always do more to support social enterprises in public procurement processes, but we need to look at the approach in the round and also engage thoroughly with such enterprises to ensure that we can respond to their needs.

North Ayrshire Council (Meetings)

Jamie Greene (Conservative, West Scotland)

2. To ask the Scottish Government when it last met North Ayrshire Council, and what was discussed. (S5O-02720)

Aileen Campbell (Scottish National Party, Clydesdale)

Ministers and officials regularly meet representatives of all Scottish local authorities, including North Ayrshire Council, to discuss a wide range of issues as part of our commitment to working in partnership with local government to improve outcomes for the people of Scotland.

Jamie Greene (Conservative, West Scotland)

The last time that I spoke to North Ayrshire Council, it said that the most important thing that it is worried about at the moment is its financial settlement. The cabinet secretary

will be aware of the comments made in the past week by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, to the effect that the current budget settlement is bad news for communities such as North Ayrshire. It said:

“Without a rethink from Scottish Government ... these budget proposals could put the final nail into many communities and services we deliver.”

Does the cabinet secretary agree or disagree with those comments?

The Deputy Presiding Officer

Mr Greene, I am not sure whether you heard me. Your supplementary question was too long—you could have cut it down even more.

Aileen Campbell (Scottish National Party, Clydesdale)

I remind Jamie Greene that our block grant for 2019-20 will be almost £2 billion lower in real terms

compared with that for 2010-11. In that context, we have treated local government fairly in the budget proposals that the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work announced last week, despite the cut that Mr Greene needs to understand is coming from his colleagues down in Westminster.

North Ayrshire Council will receive £301.1 million in funding from the Scottish Government in 2019-20. Taken together with a potential to increase council tax by 3 per cent, that could mean £23.1 million more than in 2018-19 to support services. I again make the point that we are working in a financial context that has been constrained by Jamie Greene’s colleagues in the United Kingdom Government.

Kenneth Gibson (Scottish National Party, Cunninghame North)

The minister will share my astonishment at the Tories moaning about the local government settlement when their own UK Government has cut local authority funding in England by 60 per cent in eight years. [

Interruption

.] Will the minister confirm that North Ayrshire Council’s funding boost next year of more than £23 million represents an 8.3 per cent increase, which is the biggest in Scotland?

The Deputy Presiding Officer

I am getting cross—I could not hear that question. I hope that you heard it, cabinet secretary.

Aileen Campbell (Scottish National Party, Clydesdale)

I share Kenneth Gibson’s astonishment that the Conservatives continue to articulate the financial constraints that this Government faces, given that it is their colleagues who are causing it. He is right to point out the situation for local authorities in the rest of the UK.

North Ayrshire Council will receive £301.1 million in funding from the Scottish Government in 2019-20. Taken together with the potential for the council to raise its council tax, that could mean £23.1 million more than in 2018-19 to support services.

Kenneth Gibson is absolutely right to underline the fact that this Government is treating local government fairly. We will do what we can to support North Ayrshire Council.

Social Isolation (Housing Policy)

Lewis Macdonald (Labour, North East Scotland)

3. To ask the Scottish Government what part it believes housing policy should play in tackling social isolation. (S5O-02721)

Kevin Stewart (Scottish National Party, Aberdeen Central)

On Tuesday, we published our strategy for tackling social isolation and loneliness and building stronger social connections in Scotland. I am proud that Scotland is leading the way in that area.

Housing has a vital role in our efforts to combat those issues. As part of our strategy, we will work with partners to improve social connectivity, pilot innovative housing options and improve accessibility.

Lewis Macdonald (Labour, North East Scotland)

That is all very welcome, particularly the commitment as part of the strategy to pilot innovative housing solutions for older people. The minister will know that, over the years, Aberdeen has produced many innovative solutions to housing for older people and that sheltered and very sheltered housing in Aberdeen have a national reputation. Does the minister agree that Aberdeen would be a good place for such a pilot, and will he undertake to talk to housing providers in the city about taking that forward?

Kevin Stewart (Scottish National Party, Aberdeen Central)

I will not make a commitment to a pilot in a particular place at this time, as we have to make an assessment about what is required in that regard. I certainly agree that, in some regard, Aberdeen has been at the forefront of providing the right services for people in

sheltered and very sheltered housing. We also need to look beyond sheltered and very sheltered housing, because we know that many people do not want to live in such complexes, although many do.

Graham Simpson (Conservative, Central Scotland)

The Equal Opportunities Committee report “Age and Social Isolation” recommended that the Government

“promotes innovation in future housing development in ... Planning and location”

Will the minister tell us how he is doing that?

Kevin Stewart (Scottish National Party, Aberdeen Central)

As Mr Simpson is well aware, there was much discussion of that during the course of stage 2 of the Planning (Scotland) Bill. We will continue to look at what is required to ensure that people are not socially isolated, as it is a very important issue.

As Mr Simpson also knows, the Government is carrying out a discussion with all stakeholders about housing beyond 2021. I encourage all members to get as many people as possible involved in that discussion so that we move forward together to get it right for the people of Scotland.

Public Services (Accountability Frameworks)

Michelle Ballantyne (Conservative, South Scotland)

4. To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to remove different accountability frameworks in the delivery of public services, as recommended by the Christie commission, in order to improve local authority integration. (S5O-02722)

Aileen Campbell (Scottish National Party, Clydesdale)

The Christie report did not recommend that the Scottish Government remove accountability frameworks. It found fragmentation and complexity in the design of public services, and concluded that that must be tackled by improving coherence, collaboration and integrated service provision between agencies.

In keeping with that conclusion, and as part of our commitment to public service reform, we have led several major reform programmes and taken other action to strengthen the integration of public services to improve outcomes and to ensure that accountability frameworks for public services reflect those ambitions.

Michelle Ballantyne (Conservative, South Scotland)

Although the Accounts Commission uses Audit Scotland to carry out some of its work, I am sure that the minister agrees that they are different bodies. In areas such as the integration of health and social care, does the minister think that more holistic accountability frameworks would allow for better analysis of integration efforts?

Aileen Campbell (Scottish National Party, Clydesdale)

The integration of health and social care is to provide high-quality care and support that is shaped around the needs of individuals, their carers and family members.

It is now bound by the national performance framework, a

s are

all public agencies. The integration is designed to have person-centred care to enable that holistic support to be provided. That is the benefit of integration and why we have power to deliver on it.

Dumfries and Galloway Council (Meetings)

Colin Smyth (Labour, South Scotland)

5. To ask the Scottish Government when it last met Dumfries and Galloway Council and what was discussed. (S5O-02723)

Aileen Campbell (Scottish National Party, Clydesdale)

Ministers and officials regularly meet representatives of all Scottish local authorities, including Dumfries and Galloway Council, to discuss a wide range of issues as part of our commitment to working in partnership with local government to improve outcomes for the people of Scotland.

Colin Smyth (Labour, South Scotland)

In a report to

Dumfries and Galloway Council yesterday, councillors—including councillors from the Scottish National Party who form part of the administration—noted that the council will need to find £17 million of savings next year in order to deliver a balanced budget, even with a 3 per cent council tax rise. That will take the amount of savings that have been made in the region since 2010 to almost £100 million. Where does the cabinet secretary think those new cuts should come from? Which services does she think should be axed?

Aileen Campbell (Scottish National Party, Clydesdale)

I say—again—that we have treated local government fairly, against the backdrop of our budget having been cut. It will be almost £2 billion lower in real terms for 2019-20, compared with 2010-11, which is the point that I made to Jamie Greene.

Dumfries and Galloway Council will receive £313.6 million of funding from the Scottish Government. With the potential increase in council tax, that will mean an £5.7 million more than it had in 2018-19 to support services.

We understand that there are challenges for local government in ensuring that it can deliver the services that they are required to deliver. However, I point out that Colin Smyth’s question to me is exactly the question that his party continues to ignore in the process of reaching agreement on the budget. His party has asked the Government to make additional funding promises in other areas, but has never pointed to where funding can come from or savings made. As the budget negotiation goes on, Colin Smyth and his colleagues will need to figure out in what areas they will make savings, or what they would cut, in order for another part of the budget to be lifted.

The Deputy Presiding Officer

I call Finlay Carson. Be brief, please.

Finlay Carson (Conservative, Galloway and West Dumfries)

The truth is that because money is already committed and ring fenced, core capital and revenue budgets have been cut in the local government settlement. In the real world, that settlement will mean substantial job losses in constituencies such as Galloway and West Dumfries, where local government is the main employer. When will the SNP Government stop its spin and its smoke and mirrors and admit that the settlement is a real-terms cut in funding?

Aileen Campbell (Scottish National Party, Clydesdale)

To get back in the real world, I remind Finlay Carson that his party and his United Kingdom Government—[

Interruption

.]—has cut our budget by almost £2 billion in real terms. Once Finlay Carson manages to project himself back into the real world of constraints that the SNP Government is having to face, we will start to listen to him, but until then avoid his hypocrisy on the matter.

The Deputy Presiding Officer

Question 6 from Adam Tomkins, please. [

Interruption

.]

Adam Tomkins (Conservative, Glasgow)

I am sorry, Presiding Officer.

The Deputy Presiding Officer

See what happens when there is a minor rammie, Mr Tomkins. You could not hear me, could you?

Adam Tomkins (Conservative, Glasgow)

No, I could not.

The Deputy Presiding Officer

Blame the rest. Thank you, Mr Tomkins.

Planning (Scotland) Bill and Land Value Capture

Adam Tomkins (Conservative, Glasgow)

6. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its policy with regard to the Planning (Scotland) Bill and land value capture. (S5O-02724)

Kevin Stewart (Scottish National Party, Aberdeen Central)

The Government remains interested in the concept of land value capture and in maintaining the enabling provisions for an infrastructure levy within the planning bill. We have separately requested that the Scottish Land Commission examine a range of issues, including fiscal and tax matters that relate to land. The Government does not propose to progress further policy change in the area of land value capture until the commission has reported.

Adam Tomkins (Conservative, Glasgow)

Will the minister ensure that the

Scottish Land Commission’s work on land value capture is completed and published in full before Parliament considers the Planning (Scotland) Bill at stage 3?

Kevin Stewart (Scottish National Party, Aberdeen Central)

I cannot give that undertaking because it is up the

Scottish Land Commission when it will report and produce its recommendations for the Government. We have to wait and allow the Scottish Land Commission to do the work that it needs to do, so that we can move forward on the issue in full knowledge of every aspect of what land value capture will mean for Scotland. The Government is, and remains, very interested in the concept of land value capture.

Local Development Plans

Sandra White (Scottish National Party, Glasgow Kelvin)

7. To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to enable local authorities to have the power to review local development plans. (S5O-02725)

Kevin Stewart (Scottish National Party, Aberdeen Central)

Local authorities already have the power to review local development plans.

Sandra White (Scottish National Party, Glasgow Kelvin)

Having spoken to colleagues not only in Glasgow City Council but in other councils, I am aware, as the minister will be, that situations arise in which council administrations inherit the previous administration’s local development plans. I have been informed that it is extremely difficult to change those local development plans midstream. Does the minister have any advice to administrations that find themselves in that position?

Kevin Stewart (Scottish National Party, Aberdeen Central)

Local development plans are not just about changes in political administrations. As I said to Sandra White, local authorities have the power to review local development plans.

The Scottish Government is committed to there being a plan-led system, so the Planning (Scotland) Bill aims to strengthen local development plans. It is important that all authorities have sound plans in place to provide certainty for communities and investors in their area.

The matter of when and how a plan is reviewed is for local authorities to decide.

Affordable Homes

James Dornan (Scottish National Party, Glasgow Cathcart)

8. To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making towards meeting its target of building 50,000 affordable homes. (S5O-02726)

Kevin Stewart (Scottish National Party, Aberdeen Central)

I am delighted that we are making excellent progress on our affordable homes target for Scotland during the current parliamentary session. The latest quarterly housing statistics show that between April 2016 and the end of September 2018, we delivered 19,400 affordable homes, 11,825 of which are for social rent. That keeps us well on track to deliver our ambitious target of delivering 50,000 affordable homes, with 70 per cent being for social rent.

The Scottish Government can be proud of its record on affordable housing, having now delivered more than 80,000 affordable homes since 2007.

James Dornan (Scottish National Party, Glasgow Cathcart)

It is great that the Government made housing such a major issue and that it is on track to deliver its commitments for this parliamentary session. What work is being undertaken to assess housing need in the next parliamentary session and beyond?

Kevin Stewart (Scottish National Party, Aberdeen Central)

As we set out in our programme for government, we have begun work on a vision for how our homes and communities should look and feel in 2040, and on the options and choices to get us there. We want to deliver more of the right houses in the right places in order to meet the housing needs and aspirations of the people of Scotland. We want that to be a lasting legacy that is not just about new homes, but is about making the best use of our existing buildings.

We have been engaging with a wide range of stakeholders who have an interest in housing, and we are now considering the wealth of material that has been generated, with a view to preparing for further engagement on specific themes and outline options in 2019.

Andy Wightman (Green, Lothian)

In last week’s budget speech, Derek Mackay claimed that the Scottish Government had built 80,000 affordable homes since 2007. However, this week, the Scottish Parliament information centre has told me that the Government has completed only 58,427 affordable homes. Who is right?

Kevin Stewart (Scottish National Party, Aberdeen Central)

The Government has delivered more than 80,000 affordable homes since 2007.

Vulnerable People (High-quality Services)

James Kelly (Labour, Glasgow)

9. To ask the Scottish Government how it assists local authorities in providing quality services for the most vulnerable people in society. (S5O-02727)

Aileen Campbell (Scottish National Party, Clydesdale)

The Scottish Government works in partnership with local government on a wide range of issues to ensure that we are delivering quality services for the most vulnerable people in society. We are committed to continuing those efforts. That commitment is shown in the draft Scottish budget that we published on 12 December, which increased the total funding that local authorities can use to provide front-line services to the most vulnerable in our society by £485 million in 2019-20.

James Kelly (Labour, Glasgow)

Given that the draft budget contains cuts to the local government budget—South Lanarkshire Council is facing cuts of £16 million—can the cabinet secretary and her colleagues on the ministerial team who represent South Lanarkshire take a stand on behalf of communities in the South Lanarkshire Council area and oppose a budget that contains cuts to local services and jobs?

Aileen Campbell (Scottish National Party, Clydesdale)

Again, I point out that local authorities have been treated fairly against the backdrop of fiscal constraints that have been imposed on us by the United Kingdom Government. I am looking at figures for South Lanarkshire Council that suggest that there is a 2.83 per cent increase in its budget.

We will continue to work with members who wish to amend the budget. If James Kelly wishes to make a change and comes to us with a worked-up proposition and an idea of where he will take the money from, of course we will listen to him. However, I think that we will wait a long time to see the Labour Party coming up with any plan, any coherence or anything constructive to add to the budget process.

The Deputy Presiding Officer

That concludes portfolio questions. I apologise to Willie Coffey for failing to reach his question.

Mental Health Services

Christine Grahame (Scottish National Party, Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale)

The next item of business is a ministerial statement by Clare Haughey on reforming mental health services. The minister will take questions at the end of her statement, so there should be no interventions or interruptions.

Clare Haughey (Scottish National Party, Rutherglen)

Thank you, Presiding Officer.

We all have mental health. That is a simple truth, but it has not shaped the services that support our health and wellbeing. For generations, mental ill health has been misunderstood and stigmatised. It has not been treated as being as important, nor has it been treated as comprehensively, as physical health. I know that there is consensus across the chamber that that needs to change.

The Scottish Government is absolutely committed to bringing change to people’s lives. We made Scotland the first nation in the world to introduce a waiting times target for child and adolescent mental health services and the first in the United Kingdom to have a target for psychological therapies. In 2017, we declared our ambition with a 10-year mental health strategy. We are now raising the bar higher. We have an unprecedented opportunity to build a world-class mental health system that works for everyone: today I will set out how we will do that.

We have already committed £0.25 billion of additional investment through our programme for government. Through a comprehensive package, we will take action to reform children and young people’s mental health services; improve specialist services for everyone who needs them; take a 21st century approach to adult mental health; respect, protect and fulfil rights; and make suicide prevention everybody’s business.

I start with the services that support our children and young people. Although specialist services see more people than ever before, waiting times are unacceptable and there are gaps in the community support that is available for children and young people who have less acute issues. Also, there is poor out-of-hours help available at times of crisis.

We have not shied away from open and honest discussions about those challenges: indeed, we commissioned an audit of rejected referrals. When the audit report was published in June, the Government accepted all its recommendations. That is why we established a joint task force with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, chaired by Dr Dame Denise Coia, to look at children and young people’s mental health. Dame Denise published her initial recommendations in September and I am pleased that the task force has published its delivery plan today. It is an ambitious programme of work that will inform what can be done by the whole of the public sector, and beyond, to realise our shared ambitions. In support of that work, I announced today that we will invest £4 million, which will be distributed through NHS Education for Scotland, to recruit additional CAMHS staff across Scotland. The staff will be instrumental in supporting the new services that were announced in the programme for government and reducing pressure on the existing system.

It is right that we take immediate action to support the workforce, because it is the heart of our efforts for achieving better mental health in Scotland. I give my thanks to the people who work with children, young people and adults who have mental health issues for their essential work and inspiring commitment.

The programme for government makes clear our commitment to rapid significant change, and mental health is at its heart. I want to ensure that we progress that work quickly and effectively. For that reason, I am pleased to publish today a delivery plan that sets out how we will use the resources and commitment in the programme for government to reform and improve mental health services in Scotland. The delivery plan sets out comprehensive reform of support for children and young people.

We will substantially expand the range of perinatal support that is available to women. From next year, we will provide the educational tools to meet workforce needs, recruit and train primary care psychological therapists and roll out more effective models of supporting perinatal and infant health.

We will ensure that early intervention to support children and young people is embedded in our schools. We will invest more than £60 million in additional school counselling services across Scotland, and create about 350 counsellors in school education. We will have an additional 250 school nurses in place by 2022, and we will enhance support and professional learning materials for teachers on good mental health. By the end of the 2019-20 academic year, every local authority will be offered training for teachers in mental health first aid.

In further and higher education, we will provide more than 80 additional counsellors over the next four years, through investment of about £20 million.

We will improve services for community mental wellbeing for five to 24-year-olds and their families. We want them to have direct and immediate access to counselling sessions, self-care advice and family and peer-to-peer support. During 2019, we will expand the successful distress brief intervention programme to include people under the age of 18. We will make mental health and suicide prevention training mandatory for all national health service staff who receive mandatory physical health training.

I turn to waiting times. In recent years, performance has varied across Scotland. Some NHS boards have regularly met, or have been close to meeting, the 18-week waiting times standard. Others have struggled to deliver over a sustained period. The Scottish Government is already investing £54 million over four years to improve access to mental health services. However, we are not yet seeing the improvement that we need, so we will intensify our actions.

All NHS boards will have in place plans to drive rapid improvement by spring next year. NHS Healthcare Improvement Scotland will work with all NHS boards to support those plans. That will ensure that people get the right help at the right time, without being subject to unnecessarily long waits. That work will be overseen by a new mental health delivery board, which I will chair, that will ensure that progress is tracked regularly and that any obstacles are addressed quickly. The board will drive the actions that are set out in the programme for government delivery plan. I will report on progress to Parliament in the autumn.

It is equally vital that adult mental health services are considered in a coherent and complementary way. We need to put in place a much broader range of services to ensure that our approach is preventive and provides the right treatment at the right time. Our broader healthcare services, community services and wider society need to help people across Scotland to maximise good mental health. We all need to promote what good mental health means in the same way that we promote what it means to be physically healthy. We will drive that change through investment in changing primary care, our work on distress brief interventions, better access to mental health professionals, and our commitment to seeing the delivery of the access waiting times standards.

Alongside that work, we will help people across Scotland to benefit from digital services, such as the NHS inform service, the breathing space service and online cognitive behaviour therapy. The programme for government delivery plan sets out clear actions and timescales for doing the work.

We are also working to protect and realise our commitments to a rights-based approach. Two major reviews are under way: one on the reform of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000, and one on how the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 meets the needs of those with learning disability and autism. We will continue to support stakeholders who are working to ensure that people can fully enjoy their rights, free from stigma and discrimination.

In August, we published “Scotland’s Suicide Prevention Action Plan: Every Life Matters”, which sets out our vision of a Scotland where suicide is preventable and where help and support are available to anyone who is contemplating suicide, as well as to those who have lost a loved one. As the plan makes clear, I want to build on our good work by reducing the suicide rate by a further 20 per cent by 2022. Collaborative leadership must be at the heart of our approach, which is why we established a national suicide prevention leadership group, under the chair of former Deputy Chief Constable Rose Fitzpatrick. The group will set out its plans to make that vision happen shortly, and its work will be backed by £3 million in funding over the course of this parliamentary session.

We need bold, dynamic thinking to ensure that our mental health and wellbeing is supported as well as our physical health. I am determined to accelerate the pace of change. I have used the word “reform” several times during my statement, and that is what we will see. Achieving that will depend on delivering change across the whole system. We will work in partnership with local government and others, because we must all recognise the role that we have to play and the importance of getting this right together.

We must do that in a way that ensures that the rights of individuals are always placed at the centre of decision making. It is about not just what we do, but how we do it. That is essential to making lives better, to fostering recovery and hope and to bringing the real and decisive change that Scotland wants to see.

The Deputy Presiding Officer

The minister will take questions on her statement. I will allow 20 minutes for that, and I ask members who wish to ask a question to press their request-to-speak buttons now.

Annie Wells (Conservative, Glasgow)

I thank the minister for sight of her statement. I welcome the report; indeed, there is no one in the chamber who would not want mental health to be given the commitment that it needs. However, there are still questions to be asked.

At the moment, almost a third of children who need it are not being seen for mental health treatment within 18 weeks. That is completely unacceptable, and the task force has recommended a reduction to 12 weeks. That is still an extremely long time to wait, but there was no mention of it in the minister’s statement. Does the Scottish Government intend to reduce waiting times to 12 weeks, and will the minister make a personal commitment to solving the CAMHS crisis by this time next year?

Moreover, despite a whole section of the draft budget being dedicated to workforce priorities, there was absolutely no mention of the commitment to recruiting an additional 800 mental health workers. I note that only three community link workers were recruited between July and September, even though the Scottish Government had committed to recruiting 250 by the end of the session. What progress has been made in that respect?

Clare Haughey (Scottish National Party, Rutherglen)

I thank Annie Wells for her questions and I am grateful for her support in improving mental health care across our country.

This morning, the children and young people’s mental health task force launched the delivery plan that Ms Wells alluded to. The group, which is co-chaired by Dr Dame Denise Coia and a member of the youth commission on mental health services, was commissioned by the Scottish Government in partnership with COSLA and reports to both of us.

In addition, I announced this morning an additional £4 million for CAMHS to increase staffing levels, which are already at a record high. The additional staff will help increase capacity in the system and help drive some of the changes that we need to increase early intervention and promote mental health and wellbeing. That, in turn, will help us to reduce demand for specialist services, allowing them to see and treat more quickly those children and young people who require more specialist treatment. Getting children and young people the appropriate help and support that they need, when they need them, is a Scottish Government priority.

I am quite happy to update Annie Wells on the 800 additional workers that she asked about. As responsibility for health and social care has been devolved to integration authorities for their areas, it is vital that they plan for and take into account local needs in collaboration with the relevant partners, to ensure best use of the additional resource. That is why the Scottish Government is currently working with integration authorities on this commitment and on how, in consultation with their partners, they are deciding on the allocation of the additional workers to the key settings that are set out in action 15 of the mental health strategy.

Jenny Marra (Labour, North East Scotland)

Can we get in?

Mary Fee (Labour, West Scotland)

This is ridiculous.

Monica Lennon (Labour, Central Scotland)

Are we going to get in?

Clare Haughey (Scottish National Party, Rutherglen)

As part of our discussions with the chief officers, we are also working on putting in place a reporting framework to capture information on workforce allocation, the location of the workforce and details of the trajectory towards the total of 800 by 2021-22. Part of the delivery board that I will chair will oversee some of that work.

The Deputy Presiding Officer

Members do not have to make complaints offstage—I am handling the matter. In response to Ms Lennon’s question, I allow slightly longer answers at the beginning of the questioning, but afterwards I expect short questions and succinct answers.

Continuing with front benchers, I call Monica Lennon.

Monica Lennon (Labour, Central Scotland)

I thank the minister for her statement. Scottish Labour welcomes the additional investments in mental health services and a commitment to raising the bar further. We share the same ambition for Scotland to have world-class mental health services.

It was a chilling moment when the Scottish Youth Parliament published its 2016 report “Our generation’s epidemic: Young people’s awareness and experience of mental health information, support, and services”. I am proud that fighting for access to school-based counselling has been a Labour priority in recent years, and I am grateful that the Government is committed to delivering it.

However, it is not just in children and young people’s services that real change is needed, and today I pay tribute to campaigners such as Gillian Murray and Karen McKeown, who have lost loved ones to suicide. It is because of people like them, who have kept pressure on people like me and on this Parliament, that real action is being taken.

We have to keep listening to people like them and go further still. Gillian Murray says that there are problems not just in Tayside, but all over Scotland. That is why she is calling for a national inquiry. Karen McKeown says that she wants not sympathy but action, and she still wants answers. If we look at Dame Denise Coia—

The Deputy Presiding Officer

I need a question. You have gone over your minute.

Monica Lennon (Labour, Central Scotland)

In conclusion, Dame Denise Coia has reinforced the point that there is still a lack of good data. We need to fill the data gaps to complete our understanding. Does the minister agree, and will she address those concerns? Is she taking forward a full review of services through the announcements that she has made today?

Clare Haughey (Scottish National Party, Rutherglen)

I thank Monica Lennon for her question and again welcome the cross-party support for improving mental health services. That work should be done outwith party politics.

As I mentioned in my statement, the suicide prevention leadership group will publish its delivery plan shortly. People who have been personally affected by bereavement by suicide have been on that group. Those who have been affected by suicide have provided a lot of input to the group. Rose Fitzpatrick has met many families who have unfortunately been affected. As I said in my statement, we will work towards reducing the rate of suicide by a further 20 per cent.

I agree with Monica Lennon that data is an issue, and it is one that we have come up against. Dame Denise Coia identified it as an issue. One of the workstreams that she is looking at is on the development of better data. We will look at that right across mental health services. I am sure that the issue will be raised at the mental health group that I will chair.

The Deputy Presiding Officer

We have 14 minutes available and 11 questions. Let us get through them in an orderly fashion. Ms Ewing, please set the bar.

Annabelle Ewing (Scottish National Party, Cowdenbeath)

I very much welcome the announcement of £4 million to fund much-needed additional CAMHS staff across Scotland.

In my Cowdenbeath constituency, I have been contacted on a number of occasions by worried parents of young people who are not getting the timely CAMHS autism assessment that they need to flourish at school. Can the minister clarify what will change in Fife as a result of her announcement today?

Clare Haughey (Scottish National Party, Rutherglen)

As is outlined in the task force delivery plan, which was published this morning, we will take forward a specific workstream covering neurodevelopmental services. Young people with neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder may require specific support with a neurodevelopmental focus. They may also benefit from specialist clinical CAMHS. Additionally, NHS Fife has recently undertaken an autism spectrum disorder service redesign of its child diagnostic pathway, and the new ASD pathway will ease the waiting times in NHS Fife.

Miles Briggs (Conservative, Lothian)

The latest data shows that 26 young people in Lothian waited over a year to be seen by mental health professionals, which is totally unacceptable. Minister, those are Scotland’s young people—our future. Is the Scottish Government committed to a 12-week target for young people getting CAMHS?

Clare Haughey (Scottish National Party, Rutherglen)

I agree with Mr Briggs that having to wait over a year is not acceptable. That is why, this morning, I announced £4 million of additional funding for CAMHS to free up capacity so that we can address longer waits and develop the early intervention services that we need if we are to prevent people from developing a more severe illness and help them at an earlier stage.

Fulton MacGregor (Scottish National Party, Coatbridge and Chryston)

We know that there is a link between exercise, leisure, relaxation techniques and mental health. How is the Government working with leisure and fitness providers such as leisure trusts, particularly in disadvantaged communities where access to such facilities may be more limited, to provide opportunities for everyone, including young people, to access those services as part of a comprehensive package to meet mental health needs?

Clare Haughey (Scottish National Party, Rutherglen)

I thank Mr MacGregor for that question. We must consider the barriers to participation in sport and physical activity, which are often complex and varied. We need to help people to overcome those issues and enjoy the clear benefits that sport and physical activity can bring for their physical and mental health.

By adopting a person-centred approach in delivering services and activities consistently across the sport and physical activity community, we can create services and activities that meet the needs of communities and target groups. In partnership with sportscotland, the Robertson Trust and the Spirit of 2012, we have already invested £1 million in community-based sport and physical activity projects in Scotland in a new changing lives through sport and physical activity fund that is managed by Spirit of 2012, which is aimed at changing lives and creating a more inclusive and healthier nation.

Mary Fee (Labour, West Scotland)

What specific support will the Scottish Government provide—or what support has the task force recommended that the Scottish Government provide—to families when a person with poor mental health has taken their own life?

Clare Haughey (Scottish National Party, Rutherglen)

I am a bit confused as to whether Mary Fee is referring to the children and young people’s task force or the suicide prevention task force. The suicide prevention leadership group is about to produce its delivery plan, and one of the actions in that plan is to look at providing consistent support for people who have been bereaved by suicide. That issue has been raised with me personally, and I am sure that it has been raised with many members. Families have found themselves feeling cast adrift at a time of absolute crisis and unbelievable difficulties in their lives. The provision of consistent support for families and people who have lost a loved one is one of the actions that that group will look at.

Alison Johnstone (Green, Lothian)

Is the minister confident that the pledge to create 80 to 90 additional counsellors in further and higher education over the next four years is sufficient to tackle what the National Union of Students Scotland describes as “a mental health crisis” in our universities?

Clare Haughey (Scottish National Party, Rutherglen)

We are currently carrying out a scoping exercise to see where we have counsellors in higher and further education so that we can better plan the provision of those services to meet the needs of young people in higher and further education.

Alex Cole-Hamilton (Liberal Democrat, Edinburgh Western)

The minister knows that she enjoys the support of Liberal Democrat members for her work. I am very happy to see the investment to create 350 new counsellors in Scotland’s schools. However, given that there are 700,000 pupils in Scotland’s schools, 43 per cent of whom may require mental health support at any one time, that is 2,000 students or pupils per counsellor. Will the minister signal to members that that is just the start of a package of investment in counsellors? Does she share my view that we should see something of the order of a quadrupling of the number of counsellors to serve every child in Scotland?

The Deputy Presiding Officer

Thank you, Mr Cole-Hamilton. That was a long question.

Clare Haughey (Scottish National Party, Rutherglen)

I am always happy to receive support on mental health from the Liberal Democrats.

School counsellors are not the only resource that will be available to children and young people. We will roll out training for trainers in mental health issues and in mental health first aid to each local authority by the end of the 2019-20 academic year, so that teachers will feel better equipped to assist children. The task force has recommended that we also look at community wellbeing centres. I was at one of those this morning, when I visited the Junction—Mr Cole-Hamilton may be aware of that centre. That is a fantastic resource that children and young people can drop into to receive counselling and support, including peer support, without an appointment.

School counsellors are part of a package of layered support that includes the additional 250 school nurses, who will focus on physical and mental health wellbeing, and we envisage that there will be fewer referrals to CAMHS because people will have alternatives. Therefore, children who require specialist services will have much more rapid access to the services that they need.

I hope that that reassures Alex Cole-Hamilton.

David Torrance (Scottish National Party, Kirkcaldy)

Will the minister outline what the Scottish Government is doing to reduce sickness absence from work on the ground of poor mental health and how the increased funding of £27 million in the draft budget will improve employees’ mental health so that they can remain at work?

Clare Haughey (Scottish National Party, Rutherglen)

We all know that work is good for mental health, and we want to support employers to assist people to stay in work and to support any employees who are experiencing poor mental health. The Scottish Government funds NHS Health Scotland to provide a range of programmes to improve mental health in the workplace, including Scottish mental health first aid training. We are committed to continuing our support for that work.

In our engagement paper on suicide prevention, which we published on 8 March 2018, we outlined a draft action of the development of a new mental health and suicide prevention training programme. The Scottish Government provides £1 million a year for See Me Scotland’s work to end mental health stigma and discrimination, and a new programme—see me in work—has been developed to support employers to create mentally healthy workplaces.

Brian Whittle (Conservative, South Scotland)

In questions on previous mental health statements, I have made the point that the Scottish Government’s solutions deal with people who are already in crisis. The Mental Health Foundation highlights the importance of nutrition, and the Scottish Association for Mental Health focuses on physical activity as a route to good mental health, as Fulton MacGregor mentioned. How does the minister intend to prevent people from falling into poor mental health in the first place? Perhaps we should start with our healthcare professionals and teachers, given how crucial they are to delivery of the Government’s plan.

Clare Haughey (Scottish National Party, Rutherglen)

People fall into mental ill health for complex reasons. I agree that early intervention is needed and that, as I said in my answer to Mr MacGregor, physical activity can be a good way of relieving mental distress and stress. I encourage people to keep physically active, as that helps their mental health. As I said in my answer to Mr MacGregor, we have invested in supporting people to access physical activity and sport, as that is very important.

One of the main drivers of mental illness and mental ill health in this country is poverty, and the party that Mr Whittle belongs to actively supports austerity, benefit sanctions and the roll-out of universal credit, which is promoting rent arrears and homelessness and driving people to food banks. Mr Whittle might like to think about that before telling the Scottish Government how it should treat people with mental illness.

James Dornan (Scottish National Party, Glasgow Cathcart)

More people than ever are spending a large amount of time on computers and personal devices, which we know can, in some cases, have a detrimental impact on an individual’s mental health.

What work is the Scottish Government doing to determine the scale of the issue? What plans, if any, is it making to lessen the impact?

The Deputy Presiding Officer

I did not see that issue mentioned in the statement.

Clare Haughey (Scottish National Party, Rutherglen)

It is important to point out that technology has the potential to be used in a hugely positive way. It can connect and empower people, especially young people. The same can be said of specific uses of technology—I am thinking, in particular, of social media. In today’s world, technology can be crucial in helping young people to find the right help and support for any issues that they might face and to talk about how they feel. Technology can be especially powerful in the case of mental health, given that many people find it easier to describe how they feel online than in person.

It is important that we promote the healthy use of technology and, in particular, the healthy use of social media, as we are aware of the links between unhealthy social media use and poorer mental wellbeing in children and young people. We recently commissioned a study on the reported worsening mental wellbeing of teenage girls and the reasons for that. The results of that study, which will be published shortly, will include analysis of the role of technology and social media.

Jenny Marra (Labour, North East Scotland)

On the welcome £4 million cash commitment to CAMHS, how will the minister find the doctors and deploy them to the areas that are most in need? This summer, NHS Tayside’s CAMH service had three full-time consultant vacancies out of seven. Although it had the money to pay for those posts to be filled, it could not find the doctors. Only 41 per cent of children in Tayside who need to access CAMHS are seen within 18 weeks. That is the worst statistic in Scotland. How will the minister make sure that doctors go to Tayside to turn around that scandalous statistic?

Clare Haughey (Scottish National Party, Rutherglen)

We anticipate that the workforce that will be funded by the additional £4 million will be drawn mainly from psychology, nursing and the allied health professions and that it will receive a small amount of administrative support.

The Deputy Presiding Officer

We have time for a brief question from Emma Harper.

Emma Harper (Scottish National Party, South Scotland)

I welcome the minister’s statement, and I note the implementation date of 2022 for school nurses. When will the minister be able to give us some information about the provision of mental health counsellors in schools across Dumfries and Galloway? When can we expect to see mental health counsellors in schools in the south-west of Scotland?

Clare Haughey (Scottish National Party, Rutherglen)

We are working to strengthen child and adolescent mental health in schools and higher education, and we know that prevention and early intervention make a big difference in reducing the risk of people developing mental health problems. We have developed a suite of aims and principles for meeting the commitment to have mental health counsellors in schools, and we are having discussions with key partners to ensure that the commitment is met in full by September 2020.

Additionally, the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council and the Scottish Government are considering a financial allocation from the funding that has been committed to both sectors as part of the academic year 2019-20 funding in the programme for government, to enable a first tranche of counsellors to be in place by the start of the term commencing in September 2019.

The Deputy Presiding Officer

Thank you, minister. I also thank all members, because we reached all the questions.

Early Learning and Childcare Expansion

Linda Fabiani (Scottish National Party, East Kilbride)

The next item of business is a statement by Maree Todd on early learning and childcare expansion. The minister will take questions at the end of her statement, so there should be no interventions or interruptions.

Maree Todd (Scottish National Party, Highlands and Islands)

We have made an ambitious commitment to offer every child in Scotland the opportunity to grow up in a country where they feel loved, safe and respected. Every one of them deserves the chance to reach their potential and this Government is dedicated to achieving that aim. That is why we have committed to almost doubling the funded early learning and childcare entitlement for all three and four-year-olds, and for eligible two-year-olds, from August 2020.

At the heart of the expansion is a focus on quality. The earliest years of life are crucial for every child. Evidence tells us that if our early learning and childcare offer is to give children the best start in life and to contribute to closing the poverty-related attainment gap, it has to be of high quality.

Yesterday, we launched the funding follows the child approach, which is underpinned by a national standard that is clearly focused on driving high-quality ELC for our children and their families. Our approach is provider neutral. That means that all providers who deliver the funded hours, regardless of whether they are in the public, private or third sector, including childminders, will have to meet the same national standard.

That provides reassurance to parents and carers that any setting offering the funded hours can offer their child a high-quality ELC experience. The funding follows the child approach places the choice in parents’ hands, enabling them to access their child’s funded entitlement from any provider that meets the national standard, has a place available and is willing to enter a contract with the local authority.

High-quality experiences for our children are underpinned by strong, positive and trusting relationships with the staff with whom they spend time in early learning and childcare. The national standard underlines our commitment to ensuring that the workforce is professional, dedicated and skilled, and to ensuring that practitioners receive the support that they deserve and are empowered to develop their practice in innovative ways.

We have engaged extensively with the sector, particularly with providers, to finalise the details of the funding follows the child approach. I am grateful to everyone who took the time to respond to the consultation or to attend one of our engagement events.

The national standard has the full backing of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities—both central and local government are fully committed to the new approach. ELC provision must be financially sustainable, so that providers across all sectors are willing and able to deliver the funded hours. The Scottish Government and COSLA agreed a multiyear funding package that enables the payment of sustainable rates to funded providers and ensures that each child’s funded entitlement is free at the point of access.

The package includes funding to enable providers to pay all the childcare workers who deliver the funded entitlement at least the real living wage. That commitment represents the first step from our Government to ensure that our contracts and agreements reflect our fair work first principles in practice. The hourly funding rates that are received by private and third sector providers will significantly increase as a result of the funding deal.

The expansion of funded ELC also offers us an opportunity to ensure that no child in ELC goes hungry because of their background, and it supports the development of healthy eating habits at a crucial stage. That is why, from August 2020, every child who attends a funded ELC session will be provided with a free meal. The funding to deliver that commitment is additional to the sustainable rate for funded providers. Local authorities will ensure that there is transparency for funded providers as to the funding being provided to deliver the free meals.

The expansion provides an opportunity to transform the way that we deliver early learning and childcare. Playing, learning and having fun outdoors help to improve wellbeing and resilience, increase health through physical activity and provide children with the opportunity to develop a lifelong appreciation of the natural world. The national standard ensures that all children who receive funded early learning and childcare, whether they are in rural settings or right in the heart of our cities, will have access to outdoor play during the session.

In collaboration with the Care Inspectorate and Inspiring Scotland, we will publish “Out to Play”—an online resource with practical guidance on creating outdoor play experiences in early learning and childcare and advice on how to access and create safe, nurturing and inspiring outdoor learning experiences. I commend its publication to Parliament as an important step towards increasing outdoor play and learning in early learning and childcare.

Although quality is at the heart of our approach, we know that flexibility for families is a welcome element of the expansion. We intend to introduce ahead of August 2020 legislative changes to increase the maximum length of a funded ELC session to 10 hours. We are confident that we can demonstrate that providers are able to offer a high-quality experience over longer sessions, and the national standard will offer opportunities for us to measure that over time through Care Inspectorate quality evaluations. However, we will monitor the impact of that change to ensure that there is no detrimental impact on children’s wellbeing and outcomes.

Providers from all parts of the sector will be vital to the delivery of our ambitions. Our new funding follows the child approach will ensure that local authorities assess the potential impacts of their policy and investment decisions on the sustainability of other ELC providers in their area, including in relation to the recruitment of high-quality staff. We are also working closely with Scotland Excel to ensure that the processes for becoming a funded provider are simplified and to reduce the burden on settings and commissioners.

Today, I announce a comprehensive delivery support plan for providers, which will support the financial sustainability of providers, strengthen partnership working, support workforce recruitment and training and improve communication with parents and carers. As part of that, we will work with the Care Inspectorate to recruit additional improvement advisors. They will identify settings that are already offering funded hours and support them to meet the quality evaluation criteria in the national standard if they are not currently meeting them.

In order to encourage meaningful and genuine partnership working, we will build on the work of the ELC partnership forum with a summit for providers and local authorities to showcase good practice and partnership working. That will further support the delivery of high-quality ELC for all our children.

The plan will play a key role in ensuring that everyone who is included in the expansion to 1,140 hours feels valued, respected and included in the ambitions that we have for the youngest children in our society.

Local delivery of the expansion is now well under way in communities across Scotland. Local authorities reported in September that more than 11,000 children are benefiting from access to more than 600 hours of early learning and childcare, including 1,100 eligible two-year-olds. I have had the pleasure of visiting a number of settings that already provide 1,140 hours and I have been thrilled to hear of the positive benefits that children and their parents are experiencing.

This is an ambitious and challenging transformation programme. We need robust and transparent governance arrangements to ensure that the expansion is delivered on time. As I said to the Parliament in October, we have established a joint delivery board to oversee progress towards delivery of the expanded entitlement, which I co-chair with Councillor Stephen McCabe, my counterpart at COSLA. The board received its first update on local authority progress when it met in Greenock on 31 October.

The Improvement Service is working with local authorities to collate, twice a year, data on workforce recruitment, creation of new capacity and uptake. I confirm to the Parliament today that the first report is now available on the Scottish Government website. The report shows that we are on track to deliver the expansion.

However, there are no grounds for complacency. We must continue to work together to ensure that the capacity and capability that we need to deliver the expansion are in place across Scotland.

Our funding follows the child approach and the national standard that underpins it present us with a fantastic opportunity to show the importance of early learning and childcare in improving outcomes for our children and families. We have ambitious aspirations to ensure that our children can realise their full potential and we hope that, by prioritising high-quality early learning and childcare and unlocking choice, we will ensure that all our children have opportunities to learn, play and flourish.

The Deputy Presiding Officer

The minister will now take questions on the issues raised in her statement. I will allow around 20 minutes for questions.

Alison Harris (Conservative, Central Scotland)

I thank the minister for advance sight of her statement.

We welcome the national standard and the adoption of the Scottish Conservatives’ provider neutral principle.

Anyone listening to the minister’s statement might think that all is going well. In truth, the roll-out of the policy is in trouble. The goalposts are constantly shifting and the policy needs better governance.

As the minister said, the roll-out is well under way in communities across Scotland. In the light of what many providers have told us, will she say why it has taken until now to provide a delivery support plan for providers?

Also, the operating guidance that the Government published yesterday says that if private providers are to receive funding for provision, they must adhere to the national standard while making

“a commitment to work within the parameters of the local authority’s model of delivery”.

That translates to one national standard and 32 local standards—or total inconsistency. What concrete reassurance can the minister give to private providers that by adhering to the national standard they will not continue to be excluded and their businesses will not suffer?

Maree Todd (Scottish National Party, Highlands and Islands)

I welcome the Conservative Party’s support for the expansion; indeed, I am delighted to receive it.

I assure the member that there is strong governance around the expansion. We published information on the website today that shows progress on delivery. As I said, 11,000 children are already benefiting from the expansion, and everywhere I go where a child is receiving 1,140 hours I hear stories and see for myself the benefits. There is undoubtedly a profound impact on the ability of such children to fulfil their potential.

On adherence to the national standard, let me be absolutely clear: by 2020, when the expanded entitlement is fully rolled out, the only standard to which funded providers will have to adhere will be the national standard, which was developed with the support of partner providers and with full commitment from COSLA. That is the only standard; there will be no extras.

As I said at the meeting that we held with partner providers at which concern was expressed that extra standards might be applied, I will be grateful if partner providers and members of all parties contact me and give me information if they hear that that is occurring.

We recognise the scale of the challenge ahead in building the actions in the programme that we have committed to, and it is undoubtedly an ambitious programme that will be challenging to deliver. That is why, with today’s publication of the delivery support plan for providers, we have put in place a number of measures to support the financial sustainability of providers—100 percent business rate relief is already in place. Through the multiyear funding, I expect the contribution that goes to partner providers to increase over the next year, and again in 2020.

Iain Gray (Labour, East Lothian)

I thank the minister for early sight of her statement. The national standards are generally welcome, but the key concern about the policy has always been about how it will be delivered in practice, and, in particular, how enough qualified staff will be recruited.

I have two questions. The standards for childminders who provide funded hours say that they must begin training, or at least have unsuccessfully applied for training, within five years. Surely that means that some childminders could be providing funded hours for anywhere between five and 10 years without actually having qualified. Is that really acceptable?

Yesterday, Unison published figures for early years workers in training, which clearly show that we will not achieve the required numbers in time, and the minister’s own document, far from showing that delivery is on track, revealed that recruitment is already 17 per cent behind target after only five months. What new and additional measures does she plan to take in order to recruit the workforce that we need?

Maree Todd (Scottish National Party, Highlands and Islands)

The requirement for training for childminders is proportionate, given the number of children with whom they work. It is very reasonable. Childminders and all partner providers worked very closely with the Government to develop the national standard, and I believe that it will deliver quality. I can assure the member of that.

In terms of the workforce, we recognise the challenges of recruiting the additional required staff. It is difficult, but it is achievable. As I said, the delivery board meetings have assured us that we are on track to deliver what we need to.

Iain Gray (Labour, East Lothian)

You are not on track.

Maree Todd (Scottish National Party, Highlands and Islands)

I can assure the member that we absolutely are on track. Let me reiterate the many things that we have put in place to ensure that we are on track with workforce. In 2017, we funded the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council to deliver 650 extra higher national certificate courses and we have 400 additional graduate-level places, although we expect most practitioners to become qualified through vocational on-the-job training routes such as Scottish vocational qualifications. In addition, the uptake of early learning and childcare modern apprenticeships has increased significantly in 2017-18—the figure is up 21 per cent on the previous year’s figure, which is more than double what we anticipated.

The Deputy Presiding Officer

We move to open questions. Could we have concise questions and answers please?

Rona Mackay (Scottish National Party, Strathkelvin and Bearsden)

When will providers know what the increase in the hourly funding rates will be?

Maree Todd (Scottish National Party, Highlands and Islands)

The agreement on the hourly funding rates will be agreed between the local authorities and the partner providers, so the local authorities will announce the funding rates. A huge amount of work is going on nationally to establish what is required to provide sustainable and transparent funding. The funding rates will increase over the course of this expansion

to a fully sustainable rate in 2020.

Elizabeth Smith (Conservative, Mid Scotland and Fife)

In light of the comments that the minister made in her statement about extending parental choice, what discussions has she had with the independent schools sector about how many partnership places will be available in such schools in session 2019-20.

Maree Todd (Scottish National Party, Highlands and Islands)

The member will be aware that this expansion was targeted to happen first in the areas that need it most.

I will check with my officials what communication there has been with the independent schools sector. Generally, the expansion has been in areas of high deprivation first and has favoured local authority expansion initially. I assure the member that independent schools can apply to become funded partners—all they need do to become one is meet the national standard.

Fulton MacGregor (Scottish National Party, Coatbridge and Chryston)

I have had contact with partner nurseries in my constituency, such as Lochview children’s nursery in Gartcosh, about the roll-out of 1,140 hours and their difficulties in dealing with the council. Will the minister explain the importance of strong communication with partner nurseries in order to achieve that bold and ambitious target? What actions is the Government taking to ensure that local authorities engage fully with them throughout the process?

Maree Todd (Scottish National Party, Highlands and Islands)

I am aware that there are challenges in relationships between partner providers and local authorities in a number of areas of the country. I make it absolutely clear that we expect local authorities and providers to work together meaningfully and in genuine partnership to deliver the expansion in early learning and childcare. In August, the Scottish Government wrote to local authority directors of education to highlight the key role for local authority leaders in promoting meaningful and genuine partnership working and building trust, strengthening the communication with providers and encouraging the development of networks for sharing good practice.

Jenny Marra (Labour, North East Scotland)

In her statement, the minister said:

“The package includes funding to enable providers to ... deliver ... at least the real living wage.”

Presumably, many staff will be paid more, as commensurate with their qualifications. What ratio of nursery teachers to other qualified staff does her funding package allow for?

Maree Todd (Scottish National Party, Highlands and Islands)

Sorry, but could you give me the question again?

Jenny Marra (Labour, North East Scotland)

Basically, how many nursery teachers does your funding package allow for?

Maree Todd (Scottish National Party, Highlands and Islands)

That will depend on local circumstances; it will depend on what is required in the local area.

I am glad that the member welcomes the living wage accreditation. The living wage commitment is one of the best parts of the entire expansion. In 2016, when we did the groundwork on how many people would benefit from the living wage, we estimated that up to 8,000 staff currently working in partner provider settings would benefit from the commitment.

Alison Johnstone (Green, Lothian)

I welcome the minister’s assurances that high-quality childcare is underpinned by professional, dedicated and skilled staff, but some providers in Lothian have expressed concern that there is a lack of funding available for training staff who are over 25. They say that the funding to put people in that age group through training is a lot less than the funding for those under 25. What is the minister doing to attract those who might change career and move into early learning and childcare? Clearly, given the challenges that we face in delivering the policy, that area requires specific focus.

Maree Todd (Scottish National Party, Highlands and Islands)

I assure the member that there is ample capacity in the education system for everyone who wants to enter during the expansion.

We have changed the amount of money that we pay to older entrants to modern apprenticeships; we are also working to remove the barriers for older entrants. We are well aware that attracting career changers is a very important part of achieving the workforce that we want. Many parents who have experienced the joy of raising their own children want to contribute to the sector afterwards.

Tavish Scott (Liberal Democrat, Shetland Islands)

The Scottish Government figures that were published today show that local authority nurseries have hired 18 per cent fewer additional staff than forecast and that there were 4 per cent fewer childminders between 2017 and 2018. How does the Government plan to address that, particularly given that there is now evidence that, because of the wage rates, local authority nurseries are gaining staff from expensive private nurseries?

Maree Todd (Scottish National Party, Highlands and Islands)

Our early data shows that we are on target to deliver the required workforce. Interestingly, the data shows that there are more children in placements than we had anticipated there would be at this point. Therefore, despite the workforce being slightly under the expected levels, the number of children receiving 1,140 hours of childcare is higher than we had anticipated.

The reduction in the number of childminders was largely down to a drop in the number of inactive childminders. There are more childminders registered in order to deliver the policy.

On the third point, which was about local authorities attracting staff from partner providers, we and COSLA have made it clear to local authorities that they must aim to recruit internally first. In assessing the capacity that is available in their entire local authority area, they have to be careful not to cause disruption by taking staff for one area and causing a shortage in another. They are working carefully to ensure that they can recruit internally the staff that they need to deliver the expansion.

Gil Paterson (Scottish National Party, Clydebank and Milngavie)

The summary statistics for schools in Scotland, which were published last week, showed an impressive near-universal uptake of funded early learning and childcare among three and four-year-olds but only a slightly increase in uptake from last year among eligible two-year-olds. What action will the Scottish Government take to increase the uptake among eligible two-year-olds in the coming year?

Maree Todd (Scottish National Party, Highlands and Islands)

The member asks a very important question. Ensuring that those who will benefit most get early access to high-quality, funded ELC is key to realising the full benefits of this expansion. The joint agreement with local authorities gave them an ambitious target of 64 per cent for two-year-olds. We have a way to go with that. The delivery board data that we looked at showed that we were ahead of what we anticipated in the recruitment of two-year-olds, but the member is right that there is more work to be done. The children and young people improvement collaborative is working with nine local authority areas in multi-agency teams to address those barriers. We will share the outputs from that improvement practicum right across Scotland and consider other ways to support local authorities in their work on the entitlement for two-year-olds.

Oliver Mundell (Conservative, Dumfriesshire)

I am a bit confused. Nursery businesses in my constituency are being asked to deliver 1,140 hours in the new year and have been told that they will receive a rate of £4.08, while the local authority’s own independent review of fair funding found that the sustainable rate was £5.35. How can the minister expect those businesses to survive until 2020 with such a discrepancy?

Maree Todd (Scottish National Party, Highlands and Islands)

I am aware of that situation and I can confirm that we are substantially increasing the level of investment across the sector through the multiyear funding deal that we agreed with COSLA in April, including supporting the payment of sustainable rates to funded providers. I expect to see hourly rates increase significantly across the country.

Joan McAlpine (Scottish National Party, South Scotland)

My question relates to Oliver Mundell’s question. I have raised with the minister the issue of Sparklers nursery, which is still waiting to hear from Dumfries and Galloway Council what rate it will be paid once the 1,140 hours provision is rolled out in the town of Annan. Can she give us any more detail about that specific local authority? If local authorities are properly funded but fail to pass on sustainable rates to partner providers, will the Government intervene to force them to pay such rates?

Maree Todd (Scottish National Party, Highlands and Islands)

My officials have been in contact with that local authority.

Many local authorities are already using the additional resource available in 2018-19 to increase the rates that are paid to funded providers and further increases are expected next year as the transition towards the full sustainable rates for roll-out of 1,140 hours from August 2020 continues. Scotland Excel is working closely with providers and local authorities to develop technical guidance to support local authorities to set sustainable rates for providers from 2020 and, in the period from 2020, funded providers in the private or third sector offering this as part of the local phasing programme. Let me be absolutely clear: we expect local authorities to set rates locally that reflect their current assessment of a sustainable rate.

The Deputy Presiding Officer

I have time for the final two questions if the first one is not overly long.

Johann Lamont (Labour, Glasgow)

I will not take that personally, Presiding Officer. The national standard states that the real living wage will be paid to all childcare workers delivering the funded entitlement. Would ensuring that all providers are living wage accredited not be a more robust means of upholding the fair work principles?

Maree Todd (Scottish National Party, Highlands and Islands)

As Johann Lamont knows, the Scottish Government absolutely supports and encourages all employers to become living wage accredited. I would not disagree.

Clare Adamson (Scottish National Party, Motherwell and Wishaw)

How important are childminders to the delivery process and how will the joint delivery board ensure that childminding communities will be fully engaged in that process as we move forward? [

Interruption

.]

The Deputy Presiding Officer

Excuse me, Ms Adamson. Will members please stop having cross-bench conversations? Ms Adamson, please ask your question again, because I certainly did not hear it.

Clare Adamson (Scottish National Party, Motherwell and Wishaw)

Thank you, Presiding Officer. How will childminders be involved in the delivery process as we move forward, and how will the joint delivery board ensure that they will be fully engaged in the consultation process?

Maree Todd (Scottish National Party, Highlands and Islands)

The Scottish Government has very good relationships with the Scottish Childminding Association, and I am delighted that our parental survey indicates considerable demand from parents. We have seen an increase in the number of childminders who are registered to deliver the funded entitlement. I expect them to play a vital part in its delivery—particularly for eligible two-year-olds.

European Union Citizens (Contribution to Scotland)

Linda Fabiani (Scottish National Party, East Kilbride)

The next item of business is a debate on motion S5M-15184, in the name of Ben Macpherson, on the contribution of European Union citizens to Scotland.

Ben Macpherson (Scottish National Party, Edinburgh Northern and Leith)

I

t is a great privilege to begin this important debate and, in doing so, to recognise and emphasise, on behalf of the Scottish Government and many others, the huge contribution that European Union citizens have made to Scotland and continue to make today.

As it comes on the day after international migrants day, and just hours after the United Kingdom Government has finally published its highly concerning and wrong-headed immigration white paper, today’s debate is an opportunity for us, as a Parliament, to reaffirm our support for our friends, neighbours, colleagues and loved ones who have chosen to make Scotland their home, and for us to focus on their wellbeing and recognise the huge contribution that they make to modern Scotland.

I hope that every member will want to say something to people who have come to study at and enhance our world-class colleges and universities, or who have worked hard in businesses and public services right across the country, supporting their families and their communities, or who have been brought up here—or even been born here—and who speak with a Scottish accent but have a passport from another European country. Let us say to them, for it cannot be said often enough: Scotland is your home; you are welcome here; we want you to stay; together, we are stronger in diversity.

European migration has been good for Scots, and for Scotland. The Parliament knows the challenges that Scotland faces from long-term demographic trends, with an ageing population and not enough working-age people coming through to replace those leaving the labour market, despite more people coming to Scotland from the rest of the UK in recent years. EU migration has helped to sustain the working-age population and has boosted our economic growth. That is why today’s debate is important. It is also why the UK Government’s white paper that was published this afternoon is so concerning and wrong-headed and is deeply worrying for businesses and many others.

Even the UK Government’s key advisers on migration are clear that the positive impact of EU citizens has been immense. The UK Government’s Migration Advisory Committee states that there is

“no evidence that EEA migration has reduced employment opportunities”

Kezia Dugdale (Labour, Lothian)

Today, the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, commented that there was no reason to think that cutting down immigration would harm the economy. What is the minister’s response to that?‘