Meghan Gallacher: I welcome the opportunity to debate equality in relation to the programme for government, because yesterday’s programme was nothing short of disappointing. Humza Yousaf promised us that he would be his own man and set out his own plan, but there is not a single word in the programme that could not have come from his predecessor. It is quite telling that Nicola Sturgeon is taking part in...
Alison Johnstone: The next item of business is a statement by Humza Yousaf on the programme for government 2023-24. The First Minister’s statement will be followed by a debate, so there should be no interventions or interruptions during the statement.
Douglas Ross: .... SNP members are laughing. In the First Minister’s statement that we have just heard, independence was mentioned before education, before the national health service and before the economy. Humza Yousaf has already told us that independence will be “page 1, line 1” of the SNP manifesto and it is right at the front of the programme for government. It could be so much better than...
Kirsten Oswald: ...’s doctor, has spoken out about that. If we will not listen to the views of children’s doctors about the impact of vapes on children’s health, who will we listen to? I am heartened that Humza Yousaf, our First Minister, says that a ban on disposable vapes is under consideration, and by the incredible hard work being done by the campaign group ASH, which absolutely deserves our...
Anne McLaughlin: ...change in society.” That is what the Met should do and what the Government should do—just acknowledge it. It is a start, but it is a really good start. Why can they not just say the words? Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s First Minister, said that this statement was “monumental” and “historic”. He said: “I hope that it also serves as a reminder to all of us that, whatever...
Douglas Ross: 1. At the weekend, members of the Scottish National Party met in Dundee to have an independence conference. During Humza Yousaf’s speech, a brave woman spoke out. Theresa Mallett protested on behalf of herself and a group of more than 100 other patients of the disgraced surgeon Sam Eljamel. Dr Eljamel left NHS Tayside patients who came for help scarred, broken and devastated. Theresa wants...
Humza Yousaf: I thank Anas Sarwar for raising an incredibly important issue. He will be observing the UK Covid inquiry, which has a number of Scottish witnesses in front of it today. As an experienced member of this Parliament, he will know that it would be deeply inappropriate for me as the First Minister to interfere or intervene in an independent public inquiry. Of course, we want the Covid inquiry to...
Humza Yousaf: We will meet a few times throughout the course of the summer recess.
Humza Yousaf: I thank Bill Kidd for raising that important issue. I fully agree that increasing awareness of the importance of stem cell donation is absolutely vital, especially among groups from which more donors need to sign up, including men and people from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. I have been on the register for stem cell donors for nearly two decades. The Scottish Government...
Humza Yousaf: First, I put on record my thanks to Jackson Carlaw and others for what they do in this area. It is important to recognise Jackson Carlaw’s tireless efforts in standing up for and advocating on behalf of women who have suffered as a result of transvaginal mesh implants. I am grateful to Professor Britton and her team for undertaking what I do not doubt for a minute is a very thorough and...
Humza Yousaf: I am very proud of the progress that the Scottish National Party-led Scottish Government has made on the universal roll-out of free school meals for P1 to P5. There might be a lesson for other political parties right across the United Kingdom if they look towards Scotland to see what we have done. I can give a commitment to Monica Lennon and all who are interested that we are absolutely...
Humza Yousaf: John Mason makes a very good point. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that if the 2020 act had been in place when we first introduced minimum unit pricing, the UK Government would have struck it down. There is simply no doubt whatsoever that that would have been the case. In response to John Mason’s first comment, I am really pleased to see the progress that has been made with the...
Humza Yousaf: I have already met trade unions, including the University and College Union, representatives of which were at a round-table discussion that I, the trade unions and the Scottish Trades Union Congress co-chaired. I have already engaged with trade unions and I know the situation that Pam Duncan-Glancy has described. The Minister for Higher and Further Education wrote to college principals,...
Humza Yousaf: I am grateful to Bob Doris for raising the issue of the Promat site in Springburn. I will await further details from him, but, in response to his direct question, I am more than happy for the relevant minister of the Scottish Government to engage with him on whether there is anything further that we can do to address the issues that he has, quite rightly, raised.
Humza Yousaf: I remind Miles Briggs of the fact that the Edinburgh tram inquiry is an independent public inquiry, so I am not able to interfere with or intervene on its timescale. I have seen the same press reports that Miles Briggs has seen, and all I would say is that, when the tram inquiry report is ready to be published, there will be no objection from the Scottish Government or from me, as First...
Humza Yousaf: I say directly to Foysol Choudhury that the wait that he has described is not acceptable, and I am more than happy for him to contact me to find out whether anything further can be done in Wendy’s case. I also say to Foysol Choudhury—I know that he understands this well—that there is no doubt at all that health services across the United Kingdom, Europe and, indeed, the world have all...
Donald Cameron: ...to a ferry? What about actually providing a ferry? There was a moment a few months ago when I thought that, perhaps, a hint of realism was occurring in the SNP. During the SNP leadership election, Humza Yousaf said that independence was not yet the “settled will of the Scottish people” and Mike Russell, the president of the SNP, said that independence could not “be secured right...
Douglas Ross: 1. This week, the veteran Scottish National Party MSP Fergus Ewing voted against his own Government when he refused to support Humza Yousaf’s decision to back Green minister Lorna Slater in a vote of no confidence. There are reports that Humza Yousaf is going to sack Fergus Ewing because of that. Is he going to do that?
Humza Yousaf: I am delighted that Anas Sarwar has been able to clarify Scottish Labour’s position, because Labour has had about five different positions on this in about five different weeks. I often say to Anas Sarwar that he is far more style than substance, so it was good to hear a little bit of substance from Scottish Labour today. The problem is, of course, that the substance was panned by those in...
Humza Yousaf: This Government absolutely will lead on that. As set out in the policy prospectus, I am absolutely committed to tackling the climate emergency, urgently and fairly. This week, we published our response to the United Kingdom Climate Change Committee’s annual report, accepting 98 of its 99 recommendations, with the other one being on a fully reserved matter. Although it is, of course,...
