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Donate to our crowdfunderPatricia Ferguson: At the beginning of July, Pope Francis celebrated mass in Rome to commemorate the early martyrs of the church who were persecuted in the first century AD during Emperor Nero’s reign. During his homily, the holy father reflected on the fact that there are more Christian martyrs today than there were in the first centuries of Christianity. We, too, should reflect on that. In a way, that is...
Patricia Ferguson: I appreciate everything that the minister has said. Both I and Joan McAlpine quoted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and it is interesting that the UK has now assumed its place on the UN Human Rights Council. Is the Scottish Government prepared to write to the UK Government asking it to raise the issue of religious persecution in that forum to try to raise the profile and,...
Patricia Ferguson: I, too, welcome the ceasefire and sincerely hope that it will hold on this occasion. I also welcome the humanitarian aid that has been offered by the Scottish Government and the UK Government, and I hope that it is able to get to the people who need it most. We surely must all abhor the loss of innocent lives in Israel and Palestine while condemning utterly the targeting of UN schools and...
Patricia Ferguson: I thank the cabinet secretary for her statement and for providing advance sight of it. It is not often that we hear a cabinet secretary—or, indeed, a member of royalty—talk about something being pure dead brilliant, but on this occasion I think that they were both spot on. In her 10-minute statement, the cabinet secretary had time to praise all the many people and organisations that...
Patricia Ferguson: It is a pleasure to speak again in the chamber about Malawi and to consider our shared commitment to that country. I whole-heartedly agree with the minister’s comments about the involvement of UNICEF in the Commonwealth games. That initiative was amazing. It is the kind of thing that makes us wonder why we have not done it before. The opportunity of that captive audience there in the...
Patricia Ferguson: Will the minister take an intervention?
Patricia Ferguson: The cabinet secretary has been at great pains to say that three of the former constabularies—Strathclyde, Tayside and Northern—had endorsed the position of there being a standing firearms authority prior to the inception of the new service. Can he confirm that the police boards in those three areas were of that view and gave that authorisation to the chief constable to bring about that...
Patricia Ferguson: On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I am sorry that the cabinet secretary seems to be suggesting that there may be criticism of the bravery of individual officers. That is not the case. What I was querying from his statement was that he prayed it in aid that three authorities had endorsed this position prior to the inception of the new force. Now, however, he tells us that that is not a...
Patricia Ferguson: I thank Bob Doris for securing this debate, which is about an important initiative in the Royston area of my Maryhill and Springburn constituency, and for highlighting many of the other good things that are happening in my constituency. The next two years are exciting ones for Royston, with the area’s three housing associations—Spire View Housing Association, Copperworks Housing...
Patricia Ferguson: I was reflecting on the member’s comments about the need to include business in such discussions. However, I am also conscious of the fact that, often, regeneration has to happen because business has departed, sometimes leaving devastation in its wake—or, worse, contamination, which then has to be cleared up by others. Does the member have any comments on that aspect?
Patricia Ferguson: I thank the Education and Culture Committee for its considered report, which raises a number of important issues that we do well to consider today. Like Stewart Maxwell, I may not be able to cover all the points I would wish to make in my opening speech, but as I have the opportunity to close, too, I certainly plan to return to them then. I record my thanks to all the staff and the boards of...
Patricia Ferguson: The debate has been very interesting, if short. It has been particularly interesting to hear the comments of colleagues who are on the committee, as they have obviously had the work of taking the bill forward and the interesting task of listening to the witnesses who have come forward and the evidence that has been submitted. I am particularly jealous that they were able to visit Orkney and...
Patricia Ferguson: I congratulate my colleague Sarah Boyack on securing this debate about one of the world’s worst industrial accidents. I apologise to you and to members, Presiding Officer, because I will have to leave when I have concluded my speech. As we have heard, more than 1,100 people lost their lives and a further 2,500 were injured when the Rana Plaza complex collapsed on 24 April 2013. Having...
Patricia Ferguson: As we celebrate refugee week Scotland 2014 and its theme of welcome, I am pleased to have the opportunity to close this important debate on behalf of the Scottish Labour Party. Labour acknowledges the positive contribution made by the Scottish Refugee Council to the lives of asylum seekers and refugees. As well as the important support afforded by local authorities and other third sector...
Patricia Ferguson: I certainly would, and it was a source of great regret to many of us that no other local authority stepped up to the plate and offered to take part in that particular scheme. Perhaps if it were to be recreated, which unfortunately does not look likely, others might join in. A great deal remains to be done. As the minister has pointed out, we still have the unacceptable situation in which...
Patricia Ferguson: Thank you, Presiding Officer. Lebanon has seen a 25 per cent increase in its population because of asylum seekers from Syria. We could surely do more. Asylum seekers and refugees have proved themselves to be an asset and not a liability. Scottish Labour believes, with members across the Parliament, that they are our friends and not our enemies. They are our brothers and our sisters and they...
Patricia Ferguson: This is a very worthwhile debate, and I am glad that the minister has brought it to the chamber. I welcome the evaluation of the cashback for communities programme, although I agree with colleagues that it is a little late in coming and a little limited in content. I hope that, in the future, the cabinet secretary will ensure that more information is provided about not only the number of...
Patricia Ferguson: Thank you, Presiding Officer. I am doing so. I also believe that more dialogue with communities about what will work in their locality could be helpful. In addition, I make a plea for the creative side of the cashback fund, because it seems to me that less money is being spent on creative projects than on sport. Although I am a huge fan of sport, I recognise that it is not for everyone. Some...
Patricia Ferguson: I hope that James Dornan will excuse my going back a step. First, though, I agree with him entirely about women’s and girls’ sport and I think that we share the same view of that agenda, so it is always a pleasure to hear him highlight it. However, he moved off page 17 in the evaluation a little bit too quickly for me. It seems to me that Scottish Borders, Angus, Shetland and Orkney all...
Patricia Ferguson: Will the member give way?