Alison Johnstone
Green
There are six questions to be put as a result of today’s business. The first question is, that amendment S6M-11875.2, in the name of Jenny Gilruth, which seeks to amend motion S6M-11875, in the name of Pam Duncan-Glancy, on stand up for quality education, be agreed to. Are we agreed?
The Presiding Officer:
There will be a division.
There will be a short suspension to allow members to access the digital voting system.
17:15 Meeting suspended.
17:16 On resuming—
We move to the vote on amendment S6M-11875.2, in the name of Jenny Gilruth.
Members should cast their votes now.
Division number 1
Decision Time
The Presiding Officer:
The result of the division on amendment S6M-11875.2, in the name of Jenny Gilruth, is: For 67, Against 55, Abstentions 1.
Amendment agreed to.
The next question is, that amendment S6M-11875.1, in the name of Liam Kerr, which also seeks to amend motion S6M-11875, in the name of Pam Duncan-Glancy, on stand up for quality education, be agreed to. Are we agreed?
The Presiding Officer:
There will be a division.
Division number 2
Decision Time
The Presiding Officer:
The result of the division on amendment S6M-11875.1, in the name of Liam Kerr, is: For 31, Against 91, Abstentions 1.
Amendment disagreed to.
The next question is, that motion S6M-11875, in the name of Pam Duncan-Glancy, on stand up for quality education, as amended, be agreed to. Are we agreed?
Members:
No.
There will be a division.
Division number 3
Decision Time
The Presiding Officer:
The result of the division on motion S6M-11875, in the name of Pam Duncan-Glancy, on stand up for quality education, as amended, is: For 67, Against 54, Abstention 1.
Motion, as amended, agreed to,
That the Parliament acknowledges the recent Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results, which highlight areas for improvement in Scottish education, particularly in mathematics; understands that the Scottish Government is taking forward a planned and systematic curriculum improvement cycle to enhance standards, which will focus initially on maths; welcomes the recent publication of the 2022-23 Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels (ACEL), which it recognises is the most comprehensive and up-to-date national data set on attainment and which shows record levels of attainment across primary school level and improvements in secondary school level; agrees that these results by Scotland’s pupils, teachers and school staff deserve commendation; notes that Scotland has the highest investment per pupil and lowest pupil/teacher ratio in the UK, and that, in addition to a record £830 million spend on additional support for learning (ASL), work is underway to update the Additional Support for Learning Action Plan and deliver a range of measures to improve the experiences and outcomes of pupils with additional needs; welcomes that Scotland has the most comprehensive free school meal offering of any nation in the UK, which will be further extended by investment in the 2024-25 Budget, and further welcomes the sector-wide agreement on the need for a holistic package of education reforms, which it agrees should be taken forward in partnership with Scotland’s teachers and young people.
The question is, that amendment S6M-11874.2, in the name of Michael Matheson, which seeks to amend motion S6M-11874, in the name of Jackie Baillie, on ending long waits in the national health service, be agreed to. Are we agreed?
Nicola Sturgeon
Scottish National Party
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app did not connect, but I would have voted yes.
The Presiding Officer:
Thank you, Ms Sturgeon. We will ensure that that is recorded.
Division number 4
Decision Time
The Presiding Officer:
The result of the division on amendment S6M-11874.2, in the name of Michael Matheson, is: For 67, Against 55, Abstention 1.
Amendment agreed to.
The next question is, that amendment S6M-11874.1, in the name of Sandesh Gulhane, which seeks to amend motion S6M-11874, in the name of Jackie Baillie, on ending long waits in the NHS, be agreed to. Are we agreed?
Sandesh Gulhane
Conservative
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app would not connect. I would have voted yes.
The Presiding Officer:
Thank you, Dr Gulhane. We will ensure that that is recorded.
Division number 5
Decision Time
The Presiding Officer:
The result of the division on amendment S6M-11874.1, in the name of Sandesh Gulhane, is: For 56, Against 66, Abstentions 1.
Amendment disagreed to.
The final question is, that motion S6M-11874, in the name of Jackie Baillie, on ending long waits in the NHS, as amended, be agreed to. Are we agreed?
The Presiding Officer:
There will be a division.
The vote is closed.
I call Christina McKelvie for a point of order. I am just going to ask for your microphone to be turned on.
Ms McKelvie, as it is not working, can I ask you to footer about with your card?
Christina McKelvie
Scottish National Party
Some would say that I am an expert footerer.
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app would not connect. I would have voted yes.
The Presiding Officer:
Thank you. We will ensure that that is recorded.
Division number 6
Decision Time
The Presiding Officer:
The result of the division on motion S6M-11874, in the name of Jackie Baillie, on ending long waits in the NHS, as amended, is: For 67, Against 55, Abstentions 1.
Motion, as amended, agreed to,
That the Parliament recognises that health services across the UK are dealing with the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on waiting times; further recognises that too many people are waiting too long for treatment, and welcomes the reductions in the longest waits, including a 69% reduction in patients waiting over two years for a new outpatient appointment from the end of June 2022 and a 26% reduction in patients waiting longer than two years for inpatient or day case treatment over the same period; highlights the launch of the Waiting Well Hub, to give people the information and tools that they need to look at their own health and wellbeing during the waiting period, think about what matters to them and what health improvements they could make in the meantime; welcomes that constructive engagement with trade unions has meant that Scotland is the only part of the UK not experiencing strike action and the associated unprecedented level of disruption for patients and families; further welcomes the Scottish Government's draft Budget, which gives the NHS a real-terms uplift, in stark contrast to the UK Government Autumn Statement figures, which show a real-terms cut to NHS England; notes that, due to the deteriorating medium-term fiscal outlook, a revised Infrastructure Investment Plan Pipeline is expected to be published alongside the Medium-term Financial Strategy in May 2024; appreciates that the workforce is at the heart of all that the NHS does, and thanks all of Scotland's highly skilled and committed NHS staff for their hard work and dedication, and believes that the NHS must be kept true to its founding principles of being publicly owned, publicly operated, and free at the point of need, and further believes that the only way to protect the NHS from the creeping privatisation imposed by UK administrations is through independence.
That concludes decision time.
Members’ business will be published tomorrow, 18 January 2024, as soon as the text is available.
