Fulton MacGregor: During the October recess, I was invited to meet a number of pub owners in Coatbridge Main Street, who expressed real concern about the viability of their businesses in the short term, due to the cost of living crisis, rising energy costs and changes in behaviour following the pandemic. One of those is the Eden group, which employs nearly 100 people in my constituency and was in The National...
Fulton MacGregor: 3. To ask the Scottish Government what support is in place for people with long Covid. (S6O-01518)
Fulton MacGregor: I thank the cabinet secretary for that response and for his response to my recent written question on the matter. I welcome the development of the centre in Lanarkshire. Over the past few months, I have been dealing with a constituent, Tracy McMullen, who has been in touch about her son Jonathan. I know that Tracy has also been in touch with the cabinet secretary directly. Jonathan is in his...
Fulton MacGregor: On the back of Russell Findlay’s question and the cabinet secretary’s answer, can we have an update on when we should expect the next iteration of the behaviour in Scottish schools research—BISSR—and how the findings of the first research impacts on Scottish Government policy?
Fulton MacGregor: Will the member give way?
Fulton MacGregor: I know that the member does not like independence and would not vote for it, but does he accept that an independence referendum would give people a choice to escape from the policies that he criticises?
Fulton MacGregor: Once again, as my colleague Paul Sweeney said, we are in the chamber to speak about a Tory-made financial crisis that is affecting people all across Scotland. The uncertainty and fear caused by the disastrous Brexit that Scotland did not vote for and the catastrophic Tory mini-budget have had numerous financial consequences across the UK. Inflation has now risen, yet again, to 11.1 per cent,...
Fulton MacGregor: I do not think that I will have time. Sorry. In addition to those supports, the Scottish Government is investing an additional £12.5 million to provide free advice services to help people with income maximisation and welfare and debt advice. In the short time that I have had so far, I have only scratched the surface of the ways in which the Scottish Government is doing everything that it can...
Fulton MacGregor: I will not take any interventions just now. Today’s ruling from the Supreme Court puts beyond any doubt we had that we are not in a voluntary union, which many of us have been saying for a while.
Fulton MacGregor: No. One of the reasons why I have not taken any interventions—though I will see whether I have time when I get close to the end of my speech—is that I want to spend the rest of my time paying tribute to some of the amazing local charities and individuals in my constituency who are working to help people deal with this Tory-imposed cost of living crisis. It is important that we come to the...
Fulton MacGregor: I appreciate Mark Griffin lodging the motion, because I think that it is important. I think that the Scottish Government is doing a lot. I have already listed just some of the things that it is doing. However, it feels as though all that this Parliament is doing at times is mitigating what the Tories are introducing. Labour should be standing beside us at every opportunity and calling them...
Fulton MacGregor: The cabinet secretary has set out the responsibility and approach of the Scottish Government and its agencies. However, provision of education in Scotland is clearly the responsibility of local authorities. Does she agree that it is crucial that every local authority, including North Lanarkshire Council, where I live, takes ownership of the national mission to tackle the poverty-related...
Fulton MacGregor: It is a great honour to speak in the debate on asset transfer. My constituency has seen the policy utilised very effectively through a number of projects since the act was introduced, perhaps bucking the trend that Douglas Lumsden spoke about earlier, when he said that not many asset transfers happen in urban areas. I will take the opportunity to reference some of them in my speech. At their...
Fulton MacGregor: Will the member take an intervention?
Fulton MacGregor: I thank the member for taking an intervention, which is on the point that she has just made. Rachael Hamilton is on the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee with me, and I wonder why the Conservatives have not tried to put out the overwhelming evidence that we heard during the committee meetings that some of the concerns that she has raised have not come to fruition elsewhere....
Fulton MacGregor: 2. To ask the Scottish Government what its most recent assessment is of the impact of Brexit on Scotland’s food and drink sector. (S6O-01709)
Fulton MacGregor: Research from the London School of Economics suggests that household food bills have gone up by £210, mainly due to the extra cost of goods checks and requirements caused by Brexit being passed on to customers. Scotland did not vote for Brexit, as we all know, but people in Scotland continue to pay the price for it. That deliberate act of Tory policy is magnifying the cost of living crisis...
Fulton MacGregor: In the past few weeks, my inbox—like that of any other member— has been full of messages from constituents concerned about long waiting times at A and E, primarily at Monklands hospital in my area, with some reporting waits of up to 10 hours. I have also been contacted by many local NHS staff who have been working around the clock, and I offer them my heartfelt thanks. I welcome today’s...
Fulton MacGregor: As the cabinet secretary said, all local authorities have set their stretch aims for the years ahead, outlining their local ambition to tackle the poverty-related attainment gap. Should the local ambitions be realised and if the rate of progress that we have seen in recent years continues, what impact will that have on the poverty-related attainment gap in constituencies such as mine and...
Fulton MacGregor: 5. To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with North Lanarkshire Council regarding a new-build Gartcosh primary school. (S6O-01800)