Clare Haughey: I refer members to my entry in the register of interests, as I am a member of the trade union Unison and I hold a bank nurse contract with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Because of the Westminster cost of living crisis, which means that many people’s wages are not keeping pace with increases to their cost of living, and given that that is coupled with years of Tory austerity, people across...
Clare Haughey: We have been accused of grievance politics by the Tory party. I am aggrieved; I do not trust what I hear from the Labour Party and I do not trust it to enact what it says it will do. Because Labour’s Westminster party leader has made so many flip-flops, I will be supporting what the Scottish Government does and not what the Labour Party proposes. The Labour Party hardly has a record for its...
Clare Haughey: The only way for Scotland to get rid of—for good—Tory Governments that we do not vote for and, by extension, anti-worker and anti-trade union policies is for Scotland to become an independent country and have control of her own laws. The trade union movement has a proud history of protecting workers’ rights, which was born of the desire to combat exploitation and to ensure a fair...
Clare Haughey: This week, the Home Secretary unveiled a raft of right-wing policies aimed at driving down immigration statistics. Under the plans, people on health and care visas will no longer be able to bring their families to the United Kingdom, and the salary threshold for skilled workers will be hiked to £38,700. Shockingly, Labour has made no objection to the Tory proposals. It has failed to commit...
Clare Haughey: 8. To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to promote and support cultural activities in the Rutherglen constituency. (S6O-02837)
Clare Haughey: The royal burgh of Rutherglen celebrates, in just over two years, the 900th anniversary of its having been granted the title by King David I of Scotland in 1126. Plans are well under way to celebrate the anniversary, with local organisations, charities and elected members, among others, coming together to arrange events throughout 2026. Can the minister advise what the Scottish Government can...
Clare Haughey: I am pleased to contribute to today’s debate. The World Health Organization estimates that around 1.3 billion people worldwide—roughly one in six—have some form of disability. As we heard from my colleague Kevin Stewart, in Scotland, the figure is around one in four people. For too many disabled people, achieving their ambitions and dreams and fulfilling their promise are still denied...
Clare Haughey: I thank Carol Mochan for acknowledging, as I and Maggie Chapman did, the economic damage that the UK Tory Government is doing. Will she tell me what a Labour Government would do at Westminster that would repair the damage that the Tories have caused?
Clare Haughey: Will Carol Mochan take an intervention?
Clare Haughey: 3. To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to tackle any stigma associated with disclosing a diagnosis of HIV, in light of world AIDS day on 1 December. (S6F-02595)
Clare Haughey: During the debate marking world AIDS day this week, it was very welcome that members across the chamber were united in their will to end HIV transmission in Scotland by 2030. Can the Deputy First Minister say any more about the steps that the Scottish Government is taking to achieve that ambitious goal?
Clare Haughey: Winter heating payment recipients will begin to receive support in the coming weeks in the form of a reliable winter payment that does not depend on erratic weather conditions in the way that the DWP’s cold weather payment did. Will the cabinet secretary set out how many more households are likely to benefit from the devolved Scottish system this winter compared with the old system?
Clare Haughey: As convener of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, I am pleased to open this afternoon’s debate on female participation in sport and physical activity. On behalf of the committee, I thank everyone who engaged positively with our inquiry for their input and place on record the committee’s thanks to the clerks for their work. I joined the committee as convener at a late stage in...
Clare Haughey: That is based on written evidence and evidence that the committee heard in its sessions. Simple things such as lighting in parks or on cycle paths would make them much safer places for women, and they would certainly feel safer there. The Scottish Government’s commitment to doubling investment in sport and active living to £100 million per year over the current session of Parliament is...
Clare Haughey: Can Willie Rennie expand on what he, as a man, thinks the male population can do to tackle the misogyny that women experience in sport and physical activity?
Clare Haughey: Fair work is a Scottish Government commitment to ensuring that everyone benefits from opportunity, security, fulfilment and respect in the workplace. Fair work and fair pay make sense for workers and employers across all sectors, helping to improve staff retention and productivity, reduce recruitment costs and contribute to a skilled and motivated workforce. Embedding those principles into...
Clare Haughey: Protecting workers’ rights against unpaid and exploitative contracts, supporting their democratic right to industrial action and championing safe workplaces have long been priorities of mine, which priorities are fundamental components of Scotland’s fair work ambition. Although the Scottish Parliament—
Clare Haughey: — does not hold the legislative powers over employment law, I know that this Government—
Clare Haughey: Will the member take an intervention?
Clare Haughey: I thank Daniel Johnson for taking the intervention. I hear what he says about the various subjects that have not been discussed in the debate, but does he not think that his arguments might carry a bit more weight if more Labour members were here to discuss fair work and workers’ rights? Only three have been in the chamber this afternoon.