Alex Cole-Hamilton: The cabinet secretary’s predecessor in the role, the now First Minister Humza Yousaf, used to set great store by the same statement that we have just heard from the cabinet secretary: that there has not been strike action in Scotland, whereas there has been in England. However, that situation will soon end, given the distance between the pay claim and the Government’s position. If we are...
Alison Johnstone: The next item of business is a debate on motion S6M-08864, in the name of Humza Yousaf, on the coronation of King Charles III and the Queen.
Russell Findlay: ...issue body-worn cameras. The Government says that it cares about domestic violence victims, yet a pilot of fully virtual trials—hailed as “groundbreaking” by the then justice secretary, Humza Yousaf—saw just 24 such trials actually take place. The Government says that it wants to protect vulnerable female prisoners, yet in the six months since they opened, the two custody units in...
Alison Johnstone: It is time to move to the next item of business. There are four questions to be put as a result of today’s business. The first question is, that motion S6M-08864, in the name of Humza Yousaf, on the coronation of King Charles III and the Queen, be agreed to. Motion agreed to, That the Parliament congratulates Their Majesties The King and The Queen on the occasion of Their Coronation;...
Alexander Stewart: .... In particular, it promises to implement Michelle’s law, which would prevent criminals, when they are released on licence, from entering the local areas of victims. That measure was promised by Humza Yousaf when he was the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, but it does not appear in the bill. Why not?
Humza Yousaf: Before I respond to Douglas Ross, I want to recognise that today is international firefighters day. I take this opportunity to thank firefighters across Scotland for their selfless contribution to keeping us safe, and I pay tribute to those firefighters who have lost their lives serving our communities, including Barry Martin—I know that his bravery will serve as a constant and continual...
Anas Sarwar: ...far too slow. In the words of one expert who gave evidence, the experience of victims and survivors is still “unremittingly grim”. When the 2018 act was introduced, the then justice secretary, Humza Yousaf, said that he hoped victims would be able to seek support with the confidence that the law was behind them. When so many women and children are still being failed, does the First...
Humza Yousaf: Like many others, I commend the Daily Record for drawing attention to an incredibly important issue. We must all confront the causes of violence, address its consequences, minimise future victimisation and stop violence from a young age. I call on anybody who experiences or witnesses violence or who sees it on social media, as highlighted by the campaign, to report it. It is for all of us in...
Humza Yousaf: I am very grateful to the more than 80 people, including party leaders, who joined the anti-poverty summit. I hope that they will all agree with me that what we heard, particularly from people with direct experience of poverty, confirmed that poverty is the biggest challenge that we face, as a country. Although we have already acted to tackle the pressure on those who are most in need, of...
Humza Yousaf: We do not agree that our woodland creation is harmful for peatlands. No Government is doing more in these islands to ensure that woodlands and forestry help to tackle climate change. Scotland’s forests remove more than 7 million tonnes of CO2 a year from the atmosphere—about 14 per cent of all Scotland’s gross emissions. All grant-funded planting must comply with the United Kingdom...
Humza Yousaf: I thank Karen Adam for the question and recognise the incredible work that she has done to raise awareness of the issues of deaf people. A number of weeks ago, I had the great pleasure of meeting her father, who has also been an advocate and a champion for raising issues around deaf awareness and BSL, and for the use of BSL in particular. I also wish all those who are marking deaf awareness...
Humza Yousaf: I thank Kaukab Stewart for raising this important issue in our Parliament. I agree with all that the member has said. The Scottish Government has consistently sought and advocated for safe and legal routes to enable people to seek safety under the refugee convention—a convention that the UK was the first to sign. The majority in this Parliament made that clear in a debate on Tuesday, as...
Humza Yousaf: Alexander Stewart is right to raise the issue, which he has, of course, raised before with me. That is one of the reasons why, when I was health secretary, I took the action to escalate NHS Forth Valley to the second-highest level of escalation. Part of the reason for that was the complaints handling, the culture and the performance in NHS Forth Valley. As health secretary at the time, I...
Humza Yousaf: I absolutely and fully agree with that and I extend my thanks to the members of the working group for helping us to get to this point. Gillian Mackay is right that the focus should now be on that national approach. I can give an absolute commitment—I know that Gillian Mackay knows this—that we will work closely with her on her member’s bill, which is of incredible importance. It is...
Humza Yousaf: Pam Gosal raises a very important matter. I do not have the detail in front of me in relation to the data that is, or is not, collected. However, I promise Pam Gosal that I will request, as she has asked me to do, the data that is collected in that regard. I will ask and explore whether we and Police Scotland can do more in relation to recording that data and will write to the member with...
Russell Findlay: ..., I have seen SNP members in a state of shock. Party unity is shattered as they have been put on the spot and forced to pick a team. One newspaper identified the following seven factions: “The Yousaf loyalists, the Forbes followers, the Sturgeon establishment, the Westminster wing, the rebel alliance”, who, I believe, sit up at the back, “the watchers … and the sheep.” Many in...
Liam McArthur: ...the SNP-Green Government’s policy on HPMAs, particularly when assurances that were previously offered up by the First Minister and the cabinet secretary are already being redefined and diluted. Humza Yousaf could not have been clearer in stating that he would not “impose these policies on communities that don’t want them.” That promise was echoed by the cabinet secretary. Now, we...
..., Somerville, Shirley-Anne, Stevenson, Collette, Stewart, Kaukab, Stewart, Kevin, Sturgeon, Nicola, Swinney, John, Thomson, Michelle, Todd, Maree, Torrance, David, Tweed, Evelyn, Whitham, Elena, Yousaf, Humza Against: Baillie, Jackie, Baker, Claire, Bibby, Neil, Boyack, Sarah, Briggs, Miles, Burnett, Alexander, Carlaw, Jackson, Carson, Finlay, Choudhury, Foysol, Clark, Katy, Dowey, Sharon,...
Humza Yousaf: I was listening to the committee’s evidence this morning, and I will read the rest of the evidence later today. Douglas Ross will be aware that the figure that was provided to the Public Audit Committee on 22 December last year from the chief executive officer of Ferguson Marine was made up of a number of different factors. The Scottish Government is now reviewing those projections based on...
Humza Yousaf: Anas Sarwar raises an important issue. We are looking at the cost overruns and what can be done to mitigate their effect. I think that we all agree that Barlinnie is not in the condition that any of us would like it to be in. We are exploring what can be done. Anas Sarwar does the debate a disservice when he talks about what he describes as more than £3 billion of waste. I have seen...
