Duncan McNeil: I am just finishing, Presiding Officer. Jimmy Reid’s theme of alienation rings as true today as it did then, as does his belief in the spirit and values of common humanity. Jimmy Reid said: “Reject the insidious pressures in society that would blunt your critical facilities to all that is happening around you … This is not simply an economic matter. In essence it is an ethical and moral...
Duncan McNeil: Stephen Fry said: “One in four people ... have a mental health problem. Many more people have a problem with that.” I ask members here in the chamber, and indeed everyone in the public gallery, to think of a person they know who has a mental health condition. Who is that person—that individual who has popped into your head? Is it a family member, a work colleague or a friend? Or is it...
Duncan McNeil: I will jump to the closing stage on your instruction, Presiding Officer. In conclusion, I ask members not to forget whom they pictured at the start of my speech when I asked them to think of a person with a mental health condition. If we hold those individuals in our sights during the Parliament’s consideration of the bill, we can ensure that it is a robust and fit-for-purpose piece of...
Duncan McNeil: The First Minister will be aware of the expert review of opioid replacement therapies, published in August 2013, which found that only a quarter of alcohol and drug partnerships held detailed information about the length of time that individuals had been on opioid replacement therapies such as methadone. Will the First Minister confirm whether all ADPs now collate that information? If not,...
Duncan McNeil: I thought that we had escaped the bad cop this afternoon, but apparently we have not. I was about to welcome the cabinet secretary’s statement and—as Annabel Goldie did—recognise his acknowledgment of the progress that has been made and the optimism about progress to come. We have a lot of work to do and more to debate, and there should be a bad cop, but only when it is necessary. We...
Duncan McNeil: Will the member take an intervention?
Duncan McNeil: Another Tuesday and another debate on a topic on which there is probably more to unite us than there is to divide us, although—as usual—the way in which it has been set up is such that at times someone in the public gallery might think that there is no agreement at all. We are dealing with an issue that engenders frustration and anger. I represent a constituency where nearly a fifth of...
Duncan McNeil: Is the cabinet secretary heading in the direction of commending those not employed in the public sector who do valuable work daily in delivering public services? Where is the fair deal for them in terms of jobs and wages?
Duncan McNeil: Will Bob Doris take an intervention?
Duncan McNeil: I was enjoying that until that wee chat at the end. Stewart Stevenson said that there is not a lot that we would disagree with in the motion. Few of us would disagree that “strong public services are the bedrock of a fair and prosperous society” or would not pay “tribute to Scotland’s public service workers.” In fact, there is an outstanding level of agreement about how we,...
Duncan McNeil: I was not addressing my comment to Stewart Stevenson personally; I was referring to his speech. It was not meant as a personal attack on the member. It is a criticism of us all that, when there is such agreement about what we should be doing, we seek excuses for not doing it. That is the point that I will try to make. The emphasis is on the austerity resulting from the financial crisis, and...
Duncan McNeil: I will finish at that point and leave members with that challenge. Let us have a constructive debate; let us accept our responsibility; and let us use the money that we have wisely to fulfil our commitment to reduce inequalities in Scotland.
Duncan McNeil: The cabinet secretary said that lots of money is going into the health service, but sometimes that reflects the service’s chaotic nature: the money follows a crisis, rather than spending being planned. Ten years ago, Malcolm Chisholm instigated the Kerr review, and Kerr recommended a more preventative approach. Campbell Christie made the same recommendation five years ago. If we measure...
Duncan McNeil: I agree with the cabinet secretary that we should make that work, but the fact that we had to introduce legislation to make it work gives us an idea of the scale of the challenge and the problem, a decade on, in integrating health and social care. Maybe if we stopped fighting about numbers and about who does what and where the Tories are, we would be addressing some of these issues. Five...
Duncan McNeil: I am sure that the cabinet secretary will be aware of Scottish Labour’s call yesterday for a section 106 order to be brought forward to transfer the responsibility for the job-creating powers of the work programme to the Scottish Government ministers. We have had positive comments of support for that, particularly from Glasgow City Council and the City of Edinburgh Council. Will the...
Duncan McNeil: How many families in the subset of the 75,000 families that I believe the First Minister mentioned could be considered to be low-paid families, and how many already receive free school meals?
Duncan McNeil: As we have heard today, there may be inevitable cost cutting in the jobs and earnings of Scotland’s offshore workforce. I expect that the minister will readily agree that, whatever pressures that cost cutting brings, they should not extend to cuts in health and safety. We forget Piper Alpha and the 167 dead, five of whom were from my constituency, at our peril. Will the minister give a...
Duncan McNeil: We all welcome initiatives to promote the living wage and tackle inequality, wherever they come from, but are there clear objectives in the strategy? Does it anticipate a number of employers paying the living wage or a percentage of the remaining people in Scotland not receiving the living wage? Are there such targets that we will be able to monitor progress against, and is the strategy...
Duncan McNeil: Thank you for allowing me to make a short contribution, Presiding Officer. Nanette Milne and other colleagues from the Health and Sport Committee have spoken. The committee’s “Report on Health Inequalities” became public this week. The investigation found that, despite significant investment in tackling health inequalities in Scotland since devolution, the gap between rich and poor...
Duncan McNeil: That is at the expense of the Inverclyde waterfront.
