Clare Haughey: One of the most important actions that are outlined in the recent mental health strategy is a commitment to introduce a managed clinical network for perinatal mental health. Will the First Minister outline how the network is being progressed and how it will help mothers who experience mental health problems?
Clare Haughey: I thank Emma Harper for lodging the motion. Like her, I come from a family of nurses: I am married to a nurse and both my brothers are nurses. I am not sure that we have clocked up as many hours of nursing practice as Emma and her family, but we are getting there. I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests: I am a registered mental health nurse and I hold an honorary...
Clare Haughey: Could the cabinet secretary outline examples of best practice, where local authorities and teachers are using attainment funding to improve literacy and numeracy in our schools?
Clare Haughey: Does the cabinet secretary agree that it is a bit rich for Rachael Hamilton to come to the chamber and play politics over business rates when organisations including the Federation of Small Businesses called the measures that were announced in February “sensible”—which should provide some comfort for Scotland’s vital tourism and hospitality industries—especially given that her own...
Clare Haughey: Sh aron is a woman with the same responsibilities as many of us. She works—she is a nurse—and, like many parents, she has to balance home life with work. She is also a cherished daughter, wife to her husband and mother of two wonderful children. But Sharon has MS, and that makes everything so much harder. She is in the public gallery today to watch this debate. Although I have known...
Clare Haughey: I am honoured to bring the motion to the Parliament for debate. International workers memorial day has been observed in Scotland on 28 April every year since 1992. The day is marked in a bid to remember the hundreds of thousands of people who are killed or injured in their work every year. I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests, as I am a member of Unison and a...
Clare Haughey: On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I also wish to raise a point of order under rule 7.3. Today at First Minister’s question time, Ruth Davidson said in relation to the 0.7 per cent aid commitment: “Theresa May herself gave the commitment to the aid budget when she was at the Department for International Development’s East Kilbride headquarters, which administers aid all around the...
Clare Haughey: I will do my best. Before I begin, I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests. It is my pleasure to close the debate on the Health and Sport Committee’s behalf. It has been the first debate since the Easter recess, and it is refreshing to witness the benefit that the holidays have had on some members across the chamber, although the news that was announced earlier...
Clare Haughey: I am not the minister and I cannot answer for her. I am speaking on the committee’s behalf, as Miles Briggs knows. When the committee asked for the debate to inform our work, we did so in the knowledge—as our convener, Neil Findlay, said in opening the debate—that the subject is cross cutting and does not lie with a single committee, minister or department. The need for a preventative...
Clare Haughey: Mr Doris raises an interesting point. In my constituency, I am well aware of cashback initiatives and the positive impact that they have had, particularly on community sporting clubs. I certainly think that the committee would welcome the opportunity to look at that idea, now that the member has raised it in the chamber. Part of the reason why we had the debate was to encourage discussion and...
Clare Haughey: I refer members to my entry in the register of interests as a registered mental health nurse. I want to say, first, how much I welcome the strategy and the opportunities that it offers for improved care in mental health. What measures will the strategy put in place to improve equity of access to perinatal mental health services across the country?
Clare Haughey: What engagement has the Scottish Government had with stakeholders during its investigation into the impact of fracking?
Clare Haughey: I have been so disappointed by the language that some members have used during this debate. Language has been weaponised, with members using words such as “battle”, “fight” and “divisive”. I have heard accusations of arrogance, slurs and—yes—even rabid nationalism. The language of threat, which was ever present in the previous independence referendum campaign, is again being...
Clare Haughey: I thank the member, but not just now. Some parties in this chamber, even though they opposed Brexit and, in the wake of the leave vote, supported the Scottish Government in its aim of protecting our relationship with Europe by staying in the single market, now say that we must just suck it up and do as we are told. Why? At what point does doing what is in the best interests of Scotland come...
Clare Haughey: No, thank you. We were told that if we voted no, we would be able to keep our membership of the European Union; we now face the prospect of Scotland being taken out of Europe against her will. As I said before, Scotland is a nation, not a region or a province and not a territory. As a nation, it has an absolute right to seek its interests and to reconsider its relationships with other...
Clare Haughey: I welcome the focus on quality in the plans to nearly double free early learning and childcare provision and I welcome the acknowledgement of the role that a highly skilled workforce plays in that. How will the action plan that the minister announced help to provide security for the existing workforce and increase diversity and skills?
Clare Haughey: What investment will the Scottish Government make in social housing in South Lanarkshire over this parliamentary session and how many social housing homes will that provide?
Clare Haughey: I, too, thank Ruth Maguire for bringing the debate to Parliament. As parents, we sometimes find it too easy to fear for our children’s safety, and it can become a habit to keep children indoors and off the streets. Time feels increasingly scarce and, if a parent works shifts or is a single parent, it can be a challenge for them to send their children outside rather than keep them indoors,...
Clare Haughey: I thank Adam Tomkins for lodging his motion and bringing the debate to the Parliament. I am glad that we are seeing a glimmer of cross-party agreement that the Scottish Government is right to intervene proactively to help marginalised and disadvantaged groups to enter the workplace. The Scottish Government recognises that some people in our society have specific needs and that many people...
Clare Haughey: Will there be any additional resources for named person service providers to support the implementation of these changes?