Duncan McNeil: Another thing that is different from the historical discussions about the matter is that Serco is on the sea. In winning the NorthLink contract, it gave clear assurances that its track record was not to reduce staffing. However, the chief executive of Serco NorthLink boasted at a transport event recently that, although the same captains and staff might be on ships, after the company’s...
Duncan McNeil: My time is limited.
Duncan McNeil: I am pleased that I took the intervention, because it allows me to say that the team that has been engaging with the island communities has told the good people of Jura—it was reported in the local newspaper—that there will be no headquarters. How have we created a situation that could cost my community 200-odd jobs? We have a cluster of marine businesses and experience in Inverclyde. We...
Duncan McNeil: Whether we are here today, as at least Tavish Scott and I are—I am sure that others are, too—because of genuine interest in the issue that we are debating, because of a sense of duty or merely because we are conscripts, I do not know. My only regret in this cold chamber is that we have not managed to generate more heat, because it is freezing in here, as anybody who has sat here all...
Duncan McNeil: This has been a useful debate about an issue that, as Malcolm Chisholm said, we need to get more interested in and take more seriously. I think that we have established from Stewart Stevenson and others—perhaps including those who have just joined us—that intergovernmental relations are nothing new for us. because we have had a lot of experience in this chamber of communicating across...
Duncan McNeil: The committee appreciates the cabinet secretary doing what he has done within the constraints that he is presented with. I return to the committee’s strong view and its recommendation that the principles of transparency and accountability should be placed in statute by the Scotland Bill as the underpinning principles that govern relationships in this area. As Alex Johnstone pointed out,...
Duncan McNeil: The majority of us in the chamber this afternoon have been, or will be at some point in our lives, carers. For some of us, it will become a lifelong commitment; for others, it will be something that we do intensely for a few months that will change our lives dramatically, and then it will be over. Being a carer is a role born out of love and support for those closest to us. It can bring a...
Duncan McNeil: Will the member take an intervention?
Duncan McNeil: I appreciated the member’s earlier question for the minister. The private port that I am interested in is Greenock’s Ocean Terminal, which he will know is strategically important for the Scottish export industry and is becoming increasingly important for our tourism industry through cruise liner traffic. The minister made the member an offer in response to his question. How will he ensure...
Duncan McNeil: First, I thank all the witnesses who worked with the committee, committee members and our clerking staff, who allowed us to provide scrutiny of the bill. It is a pleasant change, when we deal with so much Government legislation, to be reminded that the Scottish Parliament has a place for members to pursue legislation that can make a difference to the people of Scotland. One in five—that is...
Duncan McNeil: The member has said previously that he is prepared to engage with the committee in the debate. I hope that he does that with an open mind. The committee is clear in its view that making the driver jointly responsible would offer added protection to children and achieve consistency with the law in England and Wales. I invite the member in charge of the bill and the Scottish Government to...
Duncan McNeil: During the cabinet secretary’s discussions with the chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, did she have time to discuss the staggering £44 million maintenance backlog at Inverclyde royal hospital? Reported in 2013, that figure is almost double the figure that was reported in 2011. As I understand it, rather than it being diminished, that figure is increasing and placing a huge...
Duncan McNeil: I welcome the opportunity to have this debate and I thank the members from across the chamber who have supported the motion and have stayed behind this evening to participate in or to listen to the debate. It would be useful to set out why I became interested in the issue. In January this year, I was contacted by a worried parent, Mr McLevy, whose son Aiden suffers from Down’s syndrome. I...
Duncan McNeil: I echo the comments of the Deputy First Minister and others in thanking everyone who has brought the bill in in time to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in the Scottish Parliament elections. I was not on the Devolution (Further Powers) Committee at that time, so I can express fulsome congratulations to its convener on the committee’s hard and speedy work. It was described by Lewis...
Duncan McNeil: Bob Doris makes a very good point, as did Bruce Crawford when speaking about the contribution of the Scottish Youth Parliament. Malcolm Chisholm mentioned the SYP’s role in campaigning. I make the same point for the committees of the Parliament. The level of engagement that we have had from young people is impressive: the Falkirk young carers who made representations on the Carers...
Duncan McNeil: Like others, I welcome this debate. I also welcome the cabinet secretary’s commitment to have a full public debate on the future of the NHS. I discussed that with her and urged her to have such a debate, as I did the previous health secretary. I have been encouraging the Government to have that sort of debate for quite a while, so I am delighted that it will happen. I lodged a parliamentary...
Duncan McNeil: Yes. The debate should seek to address the interests of the Scottish people and not those of vested interests in or outwith the national health service. I will come back to that point later. We have had debates on, and inquiries into, issues in the NHS time and again, and we have spent a lot of time on many individual issues. We now have an opportunity to have a debate about the whole system...
Duncan McNeil: It is the exact opposite of the health service. We would not accept any of those conditions there, and that must form an important part of our debate. We cannot have two health services in Scotland. We recognise—as does our policy—that health and social care should be treated in the same way, and that should be one of our principles going forward.
Duncan McNeil: In time-honoured fashion, I rise—as others have done—to say that this has been an interesting debate. I express gratitude on behalf of the committee for the tone of the debate, in which complex issues discussed by the committee have been raised. Considered statements have been made and there have been valuable contributions from across the chamber. The consensus that began with the...
Duncan McNeil: I was going to begin with a question, and it should not have been, “Where the heck is my card?” [Laughter.] As well as the question, I have a speech, but I begin by asking, “Can a society be too tolerant?” That is members’ starter for 10. Is Scotland too tolerant? Whatever the colour of our political rosettes, whatever our habits and hobbies outside the Parliament and whatever we...
