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🗣️ Speeches and Debates
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Seven months after a national review into maternity services was committed to, Professor Christine McCourt has finally been appointed as its chair. Although that is welcome, more urgency is needed. Earlier this month, Healthcare Improvement Scotland published its report into the Queen Elizabeth university hospital. It found that expectant mothers had faced delays of up to 190 hours...
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The pattern that was revealed in the report on the Queen Elizabeth university hospital was not new. Staff repeatedly raised concerns, warnings were made about unsafe pressures and concerns were raised about staffing levels and capacity, yet women continued to wait and to experience delays in treatment. The situation was the same in Lothian and Tayside. It is clear that there are systemic...
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I welcome that commitment, but families are worried not only about what happened but about the fact that it could happen again. That is their fear. John Swinney often tells us that the pressures on the national health service are unprecedented, but the women in question were not failed by a virus or by bad luck—they were failed by a system that knew that there was a problem and...
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I put on the record my thanks, and the thanks of the Scottish Labour Party, for the work done by Dorothy Bain KC as Lord Advocate over the past five years. Dorothy Bain is a highly regarded professional who has given dedicated service to her country and her profession, and we thank her for that service. The office of Lord Advocate is one of the most serious and sensitive roles in...
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Yesterday, John Swinney and the Scottish National Party Government were held in contempt of court for failing to be open and transparent with the public. As that was happening, John Swinney finally admitted that the £600,000 that his party raised from members of the public explicitly to spend on a referendum campaign had been used for other expenses. A new police complaint is believed to...
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There are really serious questions here. Peter Murrell has pled guilty to embezzling £400,000. It has now become clear that he did much of that by falsifying receipts, on many occasions pretending that they were for legitimate business costs. Political parties, like businesses, are able to claim back VAT on purchases relating to operating costs. That means that fraudulent...
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I thank John Swinney for accepting that there could potentially have been illegal reclaiming of VAT from HMRC, which means potential misuse of public money that should not have been claimed, because of the fraudulent receipts issued by Peter Murrell. However, that also demonstrates that this is the biggest political and financial scandal in the history of the Scottish Parliament, and it goes...
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My question is this. It is beyond doubt that there should be a parliamentary inquiry. Will John Swinney finally back that inquiry, or will it require further arrests for the public to get the truth?
More of Anas Sarwar's speeches and debates
✍️ Written Questions and Answers
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To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2015 to Question 221760, what assessment she has made of the ability of Syria's neighbouring countries to manage the safety and security of (a) Syrian refugees with urgent medical needs, children and victims of torture and sexual violence and (b) other Syrian refugees.
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To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to work with the government of Malawi to enhance financial controls and transparency in that country, with a view to restoring bilateral support by the UK.
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To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding has been allocated to NGOs and other non-state actors since bilateral support to Malawi was suspended in November 2013; and what the expected outcomes of that funding are.
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To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what representations her Department has made to the Malawian government on the introduction of user fees for health and education services in that country.
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To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to encourage the Nigerian government to allow international aid agencies to carry out their work in the north-east of that country.
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To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions her Department has had with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on the ability of Syria's neighbouring countries to manage the safety and security of Syrian refugees; and what discussions she has had with the UNHCR on the particular requirements relating to refugees with urgent medical needs, children and...
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To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if the Government will provide funding to meet the humanitarian needs of people affected by the insurgency in Nigeria.
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To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effect of the restrictions recently placed on Syrian refugees seeking to enter Lebanon.
More of Anas Sarwar's written questions
