Official Report, 26 May 2021; C 9.] the Presiding Officer (Alison Johnstone): in That Spirit, Will She Set out the Specific Progress Good Afternoon
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Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) Thursday 27 May 2021 Session 6 © Parliamentary copyright. Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Information on the Scottish Parliament’s copyright policy can be found on the website - www.parliament.scot or by contacting Public Information on 0131 348 5000 Thursday 27 May 2021 CONTENTS Col. FIRST MINISTER’S QUESTION TIME ..................................................................................................................... 1 Relationship with Business ........................................................................................................................... 1 Queen Elizabeth University Hospital ............................................................................................................ 5 Freedom to Crawl Campaign ........................................................................................................................ 8 Trade Deal (Australia) ................................................................................................................................ 11 Incinerators (Moratorium) ........................................................................................................................... 12 Education (Support for Teachers) .............................................................................................................. 13 Lord Advocate and Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (Reform) ................................................ 14 Pladis McVitie’s (Proposed Factory Closure) ............................................................................................. 16 Post-travel Covid-19 Tests (Cost) .............................................................................................................. 17 Savings Banks Museum (Proposed Closure) ............................................................................................. 17 Universal Credit (Two-child Limit) ............................................................................................................... 18 A9 (Upgrade) .............................................................................................................................................. 19 COVID-19 ........................................................................................................................................................ 20 The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery (John Swinney) ............................. 20 Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) .............................................................................................. 28 Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab) .................................................................................................................... 32 Gillian Mackay (Central Scotland) (Green) ................................................................................................. 37 Alex Cole-Hamilton (Edinburgh Western) (LD) .......................................................................................... 39 Neil Gray (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP) .......................................................................................................... 41 Stephen Kerr (Central Scotland) (Con) ...................................................................................................... 44 Stuart McMillan (Greenock and Inverclyde) (SNP) .................................................................................... 46 Pam Duncan-Glancy (Glasgow) (Lab)........................................................................................................ 48 Maggie Chapman (North East Scotland) (Green) ...................................................................................... 51 Paul McLennan (East Lothian) (SNP) ........................................................................................................ 53 Sandesh Gulhane (Glasgow) (Con) ........................................................................................................... 55 John Mason (Glasgow Shettleston) (SNP) ................................................................................................. 57 Meghan Gallacher (Central Scotland) (Con) .............................................................................................. 60 Michelle Thomson (Falkirk East) (SNP) ..................................................................................................... 62 Michael Marra (North East Scotland) (Lab) ................................................................................................ 64 Collette Stevenson (East Kilbride) (SNP) ................................................................................................... 66 Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green) ........................................................................................... 68 Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab) ................................................................................................................ 71 Annie Wells (Glasgow) (Con) ..................................................................................................................... 74 The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care (Humza Yousaf) ......................................................... 77 DECISION TIME ................................................................................................................................................ 84 1 27 MAY 2021 2 hospitality group is now warning that more Scottish Parliament businesses will go bust unless they are given more help and that they cannot continue with such Thursday 27 May 2021 loss and uncertainty. Yesterday, the First Minister said in the chamber [The Presiding Officer opened the meeting at that she would 12:00] “work with the business sector, to provide as much clarity First Minister’s Question Time and support as possible.”—[Official Report, 26 May 2021; c 9.] The Presiding Officer (Alison Johnstone): In that spirit, will she set out the specific progress Good afternoon. I remind members that social necessary to ease restrictions in Glasgow and, distancing measures are in place in the chamber crucially, the further support that will be provided and across the Holyrood campus. I ask that to protect businesses right now? members take care to observe them, including The First Minister: I understand that the when entering and exiting the chamber. Please Scottish Chambers of Commerce engaged in a use the aisles and walkways only to access your call earlier this week—I think—with the Deputy seat and when moving around the chamber. First Minister in his new capacity of overseeing The first item of business is First Minister’s Covid recovery. I have had a number of calls question time. Any supplementaries will be taken during the pandemic with the organisation, and after question 7, and I ask members to press their that engagement will continue. request-to-speak buttons as soon as they can. I understand the frustration of the business I call Douglas Ross to ask question 1. community, just as I understand the frustration of every single citizen across the country as we Relationship with Business continue to grapple with a global pandemic of an infectious virus. In the past few weeks, as we were 1. Douglas Ross (Highlands and Islands) making very good progress, we have been (Con): Does the First Minister agree that the confronted with another new variant of the virus. Scottish Government needs to reset its Unfortunately, with the best will in the world, I relationship with business? cannot take away all the impacts of a virus of this The First Minister (Nicola Sturgeon): The nature, but we work as hard and as closely as we Scottish Government has a duty to have a good, can to give as much notice and detail of our constructive working relationship with all sectors of response as possible. Scottish society, and that very much includes the However, I am afraid that, in the interests of business community. health and human life, it is sometimes necessary This has been a really difficult period for the for people such as me in leadership positions to business community. I personally—and, to an take very quick decisions because, as we know even greater extent, my ministers—have engaged from bitter experience over the pandemic, it is with business organisations and different sectors often the failure to take quick and firm decisions of the economy during the pandemic. I took part in that leads to loss of life. Anybody who is in any business discussions during the election campaign doubt about that had only to listen to a fraction of and gave the absolute commitment that if there is what Dominic Cummings described as the chaotic a need to reset or restart—whatever language one response of the United Kingdom Government at wants to use—and make sure that we are focusing key moments of the pandemic. I will continue to try on all the key issues, as First Minister, I am of to take difficult decisions as well as I possibly can. course not just willing but very keen to do that. A range of different support streams are in place Douglas Ross: It is not just me or the Scottish for business. Those will remain in place for as long Conservatives who are calling for that reset. The as is necessary and we will, of course, continue to Scottish Chambers of Commerce said last month discuss with the different sectors of the economy that a reset was necessary, but it has not what more support we can give. happened. We want to get