Neil Gray
Scottish National Party · Scotland
“I welcome the fact that, through the police and the courts, our justice system is ensuring that justice is done. Victims show enormous bravery and trust in our legal system in reporting crime, and I want that to continue.”
“The Scottish Government-funded Caledonian system is a good example of a community-based programme that aims to address the behaviour of men who have been convicted of domestic abuse, alongside providing support to affected women and children.”
“On the day after my appointment as justice secretary, I visited HMP Edinburgh to see the level of pressure that the Scottish Prison Service is facing due to an increasing prison population. It is clear that staff want to focus on rehabilitation and reducing reoffending but that it is increasingly difficult for them to do so.”
“Scotland shows a clear and persistent trend of increasing the length of average custodial sentences, including a 37 per cent rise between 2014-15 and 2023-24.”
“However, although the operational impact that will result from the changes is expected to be minimal, I still advise the Parliament to give legislative consent to the relevant sections of the bill.”
“I note my thanks and appreciation to the Parliament for expediting consideration of this legislative consent motion. It is regrettable that we are having to expedite scrutiny on an LCM, which is due to the UK Government’s timetabling for the National Security (State Threats) Bill.”
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“Neil Gray: We want to make progress, for the reasons that Martin Whitfield set out. I have an interest in that regard. The scheduling of those bills will be brought forward as quickly as possible. Jackie Baillie, in her conclusion, asked what the SNP’s priorities are. I can tell her that they are record funding for the NHS; delivering for people who are accessing health services; delivering high-quality public services; eradicating child poverty; boosting the economy; and delivering on the climate emergency commitments. Meanwhile, the Labour UK Government is projected to increase child poverty, has stifled the economy with the tax on jobs through increased employer national insurance contributions and has let energy bills increase when it promised to reduce them.”
“I thank members for their contributions. There has been a bit of a theme in the debate. Those MSPs who got something through the budget to make progress on and who supported the budget contributed constructively to the debate, while those who did not banged tables, shouted loudly and, in the end, offered absolutely nothing—they offered no ideas or policies for making progress in Scotland. There was an honourable exception. The first half of Martin Whitfield’s speech was constructive, until he gave in to temptation and reverted to type in the second half. Martin Whitfield: Members have made reference to a number of the proposed new bills. Does Neil Gray agree that we also have a number of bills that we need to shift? It is not a backlog but a logjam. Will we see the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill brought back before the summer?”
“Will Jackie Baillie give way? The Deputy Presiding Officer: Ms Baillie is about to conclude. Jackie Baillie: I do not have time, Mr Gray. There is no good idea that survives the SNP. It has been in power for 18 years—if it had a good idea, it would have used it by now, but it does not, because that is the SNP: it fails to deliver, but it always succeeds in wasting our money. I hope that this is the last programme for government that is delivered by John Swinney— and I am not the only one, because Scotland has had enough of the SNP Government. It is time for change. The Deputy Presiding Officer: I call Patrick Harvie to open on behalf of the Scottish Greens— for up to four minutes, please, Mr Harvie. 15:52”
“The service has been supporting a case load of 20 patients in recent weeks. We are working with all health boards, including NHS Borders, to develop plans for the coming year and to continue to grow our hospital at home services. Our long-standing aim is to provide patients with the right care at the right time in a way that is as person centred as possible. I will absolutely take away Christine Grahame’s comments about her constituents in Tweeddale to see whether her suggestion regarding Hay Lodge hospital in Peebles could be a viable option, and I will write to Ms Grahame to confirm those conversations. Lochgelly Fire Station (Resources) 3. Alex Rowley: To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that Lochgelly fire station could lose a fire engine and rope rescue unit. (S6O-04594)”
“However, the availability of the service, which operates from the base at Borders general hospital near Melrose, is currently determined by its ability to travel safely and effectively to patients within the day. That means that those who wish to use the service in, for example, Tweeddale are excluded. Is there any way round that, for example, by using Hay Lodge hospital in Peebles as a local delivery centre? Neil Gray: As Christine Grahame has referenced, I had the great pleasure of visiting Borders general hospital with her last August. We met the hospital at home team, the chief executive and officials from Healthcare Improvement Scotland who have supported the development of the local hospital at home programme, and they described the expansion of the service, as Christine Grahame has set out, through an additional nurse practitioner.”
“As outlined in our operational improvement plan, we are committed to expanding hospital at home services across Scotland to at least 2,000 beds by December 2026, as part of the £200 million that has been allocated from the record £21.7 billion for health and social care this year. Officials are in regular contact with each of the territorial boards, including NHS Borders, in support of their local planning process, and the expansion of hospital at home services should build on the success of services that are already in place and which are delivering positive outcomes for patients and staff. Christine Grahame: The cabinet secretary and I had a visit to see the successful hospital at home service in the Borders and the impact that it has had in freeing up hospital beds. As of May 2025, NHS Borders has created a virtual capacity of 20 beds.”
“We have provided councils with £65 million since 2020 to develop and further deliver community-based mental health support for children and young people.”
“As I said in my initial answer, it should not be dependent on a diagnosis for that support to be put in place, regardless of the setting, whether it is education or another setting. We are directly allocating £123.5 million to NHS boards and integration joint boards for a new enhanced mental health outcomes framework, which provides a single flexible funding stream to support continued improvements and better outcomes across a range of mental health and psychological services, including neurodevelopmental services. We have also granted £250,000 to fund a range of individual projects to improve neurodevelopmental support for children and young people, including the use of digital tools for assessment.”
“What is the Scottish Government doing to ensure that young people receive such assessments in a timely fashion? How is it dealing with the knock-on impact of delays in child and adolescent mental health services? Given the reduction in additional support needs staff, what assistance is the Government putting in place in schools for children who are stuck on waiting lists for assessments? Neil Gray: As I said, there are different elements at play here. One element is those children who meet CAMHS criteria, which may include children with neurodevelopmental conditions, and the direct intervention that is required to support children with neurodevelopmental conditions.”
“CAMHS waiting times statistics capture children who meet the CAMHS criteria. Children who require autism or other neurodevelopmental support are not reported in those statistics unless they have a comorbid mental health condition. Our focus should be on improving support regardless of the existence of a formal diagnosis. The neurodevelopmental specification places an expectation on the national health service and local authority children’s services to work together to provide support to meet a child’s needs when they need it. That should not be dependent on the child having a formal diagnosis. Rhoda Grant: In NHS Highland’s area 1,537 children are waiting for neurodevelopmental assessments, and there are more who are unable to get on to the waiting list at all.”
“That poses challenges to which we seek to respond. Some NHS boards might have shared care policies, but it remains within the clinical discretion of individual general practitioners to decide the best course of action for their patients. A private specialist’s recommendation for a particular medicine does not entitle the patient to receive NHS prescriptions for that medicine. In April 2022, the national autism implementation team published guidance on prescribing ADHD medication to adults following a private sector diagnosis in Scotland, and that guidance is available to both practitioners and patients. Furthermore, my officials are engaging with the Royal College of General Practitioners Scotland to understand what more can be done to ameliorate the situation involving private diagnosis of ADHD and voluntary agreements.”
“In instances where they are given such a diagnosis and are prescribed medication, their next challenge is to get an NHS shared care agreement put in place. For many, that can result in huge bills that they risk not being able to afford if the NHS does not take on their treatment. Will the cabinet secretary advise what additional work is to take place to ensure that the criteria for NHS shared care agreements are made clear to patients and that the process for assessing whether a private diagnosis meets NHS standards is carried out at pace? Neil Gray: I thank Stuart McMillan for raising the matter on behalf of his constituents, with whom I absolutely sympathise and empathise. Awareness of neurodevelopmental and neurodivergence issues in adults has increased, which has seen demand on services grow.”
“My officials were in communication with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde in November regarding shared care agreements for adults with such diagnoses. Colleagues from the board set out its policy and approach to private diagnosis. Additionally, in March, the director of mental health wrote to the chief executives of all health boards with a baseline survey of locally available neurodevelopmental assessment and support services for adults. It included a question on the protocol followed when a board is approached by an adult with a private diagnosis who wishes the national health service to ratify it. Stuart McMillan: Adults in my constituency have repeatedly raised, both with my office and directly with me, that they feel that they have no option other than to pursue private ADHD or autism diagnoses.”
“Meeting closed at 18:46. This is the final edition of the Official Report for this meeting. It is part of the Scottish Parliament Official Report archive and has been sent for legal deposit. Published in Edinburgh by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, EH99 1SP All documents are available on the Scottish Parliament website at: www.parliament.scot Information on non-endorsed print suppliers is available here: www.parliament.scot/documents For information on the Scottish Parliament contact Public Information on: Telephone: 0131 348 5000 Textphone: 0800 092 7100 Email: sp.info@parliament.scot”
“In the motion and during the debate, Douglas Lumsden and Michael Marra also raised the issue of ageing equipment, including scanners and X- ray machines. From the additional £200 million investment this year, we are providing an additional £3.3 million to NHS Grampian for two mobile MRI scanners and one mobile CT scanner, which will deliver more than 19,000 additional scans in the coming year. Finally, not only do my officials work closely with NHS Grampian on a regular basis, but I meet the regional chief executives on a monthly basis. My next meeting with the north, including NHS Grampian and—I say this for Beatrice Wishart’s benefit—NHS Orkney and NHS Shetland, is this Thursday, when we will discuss the issues that have been raised by colleagues today to ensure that we deliver for the people of Grampian and beyond.”
“However, I also want to recognise, as Mr Lumsden did in his opening speech, the hard work and dedication of the staff in Grampian, who go above and beyond to deliver the best quality of care to their patients. I know that there is more to do, but we must not overlook some of the progress that has been delivered by those staff in the past year. By accessing extra funding from an additional £30 million national investment in planned care, NHS Grampian was able to deliver more than 23,000 additional appointments and procedures last year. We will support NHS Grampian to build on that work in 2025-26 through further investment as part of the £200 million to reduce waiting lists and support the reduction of delayed discharge.”
“There is also the potential to build on the current model of flow navigation, and we will work with the board to develop that in the coming year. I will approach NHS Grampian again regarding the Baird and ANCHOR, and I will provide Mr Stewart with an update on his point about ensuring that facilities open so that capacity can be built. I will also look at the points that he raised about recruitment. I will look at Mr Ross’s point about Huntington’s disease. He will understand that that is a local decision, but I will follow up in writing with more detail on the reasons for the decisions that have been taken. Let me be clear. Addressing the pressures on NHS Grampian is a priority for the Government and for the new chief executive.”
“Neil Gray: I heard Mr Stewart’s point, and I was going to come it and to the points that other members have made about staff feeling listened to or otherwise. Clear routes are available to staff to ensure that their voices are heard, but I will take the point away and make sure that it is raised with the board. Further support that has been provided includes the centre for sustainable delivery providing bespoke clinical support to NHS Grampian. It has identified some opportunities that will support improvements, including for the women’s services that Carol Mochan raised. That support also includes a focus on reducing hospital occupancy to improve flow and reduce turnaround times for the Ambulance Service.”
“On that point, 79.2 per cent of ambulances currently do not convey to the ARI emergency department, and that is the best conversion rate in Scotland. The central aim is to improve patient flow through the system, including from the Ambulance Service to NHS Grampian’s acute sites as well as back into the community as soon as patients are fit for discharge. Kevin Stewart: Will the cabinet secretary give way? Neil Gray: I will give way briefly. Kevin Stewart: I welcome what the cabinet secretary has said, but the ambulance staff and hospital staff often feel that they are not listened to when they suggest improvements. Through his officials, will he ensure that folk start listening to those front-line staff and their good ideas?”
“Some of the key improvement works that we expect to be done include optimising and enhancing pathways that streamline patients away from the emergency department to be seen more quickly and in more appropriate areas, such as the rapid ambulatory assessment centre— Carol Mochan: Will the cabinet secretary take an intervention? Neil Gray: I am really sorry, but I have to make progress. That work includes the expansion of acute medical initial assessment, increased respiratory and frailty capacity, and the enhancement of the call before convey service, which provides clinical advice to Ambulance Service crews to enable other pathways to be utilised to reduce the number of conveyances to hospital.”
“How can an organisation that is having to ask for so much money from the Scottish Government possibly continue to deliver for patients while having to look to pay that money back? Neil Gray: We have been clear in the support that we provide to NHS Grampian that the way in which it delivers its services should not impact on front-line services, in spite of its financial difficulties. The repayment of that money can come only when NHS Grampian is on a more sustainable financial footing. We are not going to be requesting repayment to the detriment of front- line services. I hope that that will reassure Mr Ross and others.”
“Douglas Lumsden: The cabinet secretary mentioned the escalation procedure. Has he considered moving NHS Grampian to a higher level of escalation? There are a lot of problems that are not unique to NHS Grampian, but they seem to be worse there. Neil Gray: As I said, we keep the escalation framework under review. A recruitment process for a new chief executive is under way and we are sensitive to ensuring that support is provided to NHS Grampian and its leadership to ensure that it can navigate through the situation that it is currently in. However, we do keep the escalation framework under review. Douglas Ross: Will the cabinet secretary give way? Neil Gray: Briefly, yes. Douglas Ross: One of the challenges for the new chief executive will be funding and finances. Will the cabinet secretary explain the £67 million bridging loan?”
“Local communication with the public is key so that people know what services are available to them and where. During the meeting, reference was also made to leadership and the process for the appointment of a new chief executive, which Mr Lumsden has raised again today. When the new chief executive is in post, we will continue to work with them to ensure that NHS Grampian moves into a more sustainable financial position and to being a more resilient service. As I communicated to Mr Lumsden, I can say to Mr Ross, Mr Stewart and others that we also keep the escalation framework under review. In February, I visited Elmbank medical practice in Aberdeen and the Aberdeen royal infirmary, where I met— Douglas Lumsden: Will the cabinet secretary take an intervention? Neil Gray: Of course.”
“I am not going to stand before you, Presiding Officer, and suggest that the delays to patient care that have been raised by Mr Ross, Mr Marra and Mr Eagle and the increased pressure are at all acceptable. They are absolutely not. However, we are committed to supporting NHS Grampian to turn the position around. Earlier this month, Ms Minto and I met Mr Lumsden, and we discussed audiology services. We are aiming to move more of those services from secondary care into primary care. Mr Lumsden raised minor injuries units, which I explained are specifically for non-urgent interventions. They can provide services by appointment or otherwise for injuries that do not require accident and emergency attendance, thereby reducing pressures on emergency services.”
“I thank Mr Lumsden for securing the debate, for bringing it to the chamber and for the way in which he introduced it. Like him, I have family members who reside in the Grampian area, and I, too, thank the staff for the work that they do day in, day out, and for serving my family members, as they do his. I recognise the significant pressures that NHS Grampian has been experiencing over recent months, which have specifically impacted on delays at the front door of its emergency departments and Scottish Ambulance Service turnaround times. That is largely due to capacity issues in the community as well as in the acute hospital—Kevin Stewart raised some of those issues incredibly well—and the availability of appropriate beds for patients who are ready to be discharged.”
“It was not a promotion or anything, and it was a similar discipline, but she was told that she would have to be interviewed for that job. What is the point? The Deputy Presiding Officer: Mr Stewart, you are over your time. Could you please conclude? Kevin Stewart: I will finish. I have heard the same from cleaners who have had to be interviewed to move wards. None of that makes any sense whatsoever. That bureaucracy, in my opinion, should not be there and needs to be investigated. There are other issues around bed counts, but I will write to the cabinet secretary on that point. 18:14”
“It says that there are not enough acute beds, but if it opened those units, there would be no difficulty at all. We have yet to get clear answers on those issues. I again ask the cabinet secretary to approach NHS Grampian about that, so that we can have that family hospital to deal with maternity, gynaecology, neonatal and breast services as well as reproductive medicine, and the ANCHOR unit, which will bring together oncology, haematology and radiotherapy, with a capacity to see 65,000 out-patients each year. That would make a real difference. My other ask of the cabinet secretary is simple. It is about recruitment, including internal processes for staff changing jobs. I have been told that NHS Grampian’s processes are far more bureaucratic than those anywhere else. I will give an example. A nurse told me that she wanted to move ward.”
“I recognise the disparities in delayed discharge performance, not just in the NHS Grampian area but in other parts of Scotland. Mr Stewart’s ask of me is to ensure that lessons are learned from the better performing areas. At the weekly collaborative response and assurance group, which is chaired by me or Maree Todd, we ensure that exactly what he asked for is conveyed across Scotland. Kevin Stewart: The cabinet secretary is well aware of questions that I have asked about NHS Grampian, and I have relayed to him some of the situations that exist with the Baird family hospital and ANCHOR, which is the Aberdeen and north centre for haematology, oncology and radiotherapy. Even on Friday, NHS Grampian could not give us opening dates. That is unacceptable.”
“Keep up. The Deputy Presiding Officer: Excuse me, cabinet secretary. I am answering a point of order. Thank you for respecting the chair doing that. As I was saying, there will be no opening speaker from the Scottish Government in the debate, which I am sure that the member has also noted. I hope that that addresses the issue that has been raised and that we can move on.”
“I understand that the integration joint board met last week to confirm its 2025-26 budget and that it agreed to reduce the number of link worker posts from nine to five whole-time equivalents. I stress the principle that link worker capacity should be targeted towards the greatest patient need, and my officials will continue to work with local partners to be clear about that principle. The Deputy Presiding Officer: That concludes portfolio questions on health and social care. Before we move to the next item of business, there will be a brief pause to allow the front-bench teams to change positions. Points of Order 16:05”
“However, the Labour-led West Dunbartonshire Council has cut that service despite the council receiving the highest per-head- of-population settlement of any mainland local authority. The decision has, rightly, been criticised by many, including the GMB trade union. Will the cabinet secretary join me in condemning these Labour cuts and call for them to be reversed? Neil Gray: I, too, have concerns about the planned cuts to link workers in West Dunbartonshire and the impact that they might have on patients, particularly those on low incomes. We know that there are clear and inextricable links between poverty and ill health and between poverty and barriers to accessing healthcare.”
“General practice community link workers play a critical role in addressing the social determinants of health. Social determinants such as debt, social isolation and housing can have a negative impact on people’s health. In such cases, link workers provide crucial support by linking people with community resources. There is good evidence from local data and evaluations from wider research of the positive impact of community link working. Our national review of community link workers will look to expand the existing evidence base, including by improving the consistency of the data that health and social care partnerships and link worker services collect. Marie McNair: Community link workers in my constituency provide a vital service to the most deprived communities.”
“The increases in national insurance contributions that the United Kingdom Government introduced in its autumn statement have created additional costs for practices that impact on their ability to recruit. In November last year, I published our plan to improve GP recruitment and retention, including by retaining our newly qualified GPs in Scotland. I will continue to engage with the RCGP, the BMA and the local medical committees to ensure that we have a thriving GP community.”
“What steps is the Scottish Government taking to reduce costs for GP practices to enable them to hire more GPs? Neil Gray: I recognise the challenges that general practice faces at this time. I regularly engage with the Royal College of General Practitioners and the British Medical Association. Indeed, I met the chair of the GP committee of the BMA, Iain Morrison, last week and I met the entirety of the BMA committee this morning in order to understand its concerns. We have invested an additional £73 million in general practice this financial year. That includes the investment of £13.6 million to support GPs to retain and recruit key staff.”
“GPs are essential to the delivery of high-quality, sustainable general practice. In November 2024, I published a plan with a suite of 20 actions to improve GP recruitment and retention. Those actions include reshaping the GP retainer scheme to provide GPs with flexible support when it is needed, expanding the Royal College of General Practitioners leadership scheme to support mid-career retention, and establishing early career fellowships to help newly qualified GPs to develop the skills for a career in general practice. In the current financial year, we have invested an additional £13.6 million to support the retention of key general practice staff. Colin Beattie: The Royal College of General Practitioners and the British Medical Association say that some practices are freezing recruitment due to financial pressures.”
“The Scottish Government has not obstructed any changes in the vaccination model used in NHS Highland; indeed, the board has followed the required process, which is set out in legislation, to change its model. It is for NHS Highland to examine the evidence in its area and determine the model that is appropriate to those circumstances. We have facilitated that move to the new proposed model for exactly the reasons that Fergus Ewing set out, in order to make sure that we protect public health and continue to save lives.”
“The advice that I have had from GPs is that that risk is heightened, because they do not know who has been vaccinated and who has not, because the civil servants advising the cabinet secretary allowed the system to be brought in when, in fact, it is a reckless risk to public health. Neil Gray: I thank Fergus Ewing for his question and his engagement—and that of the GPs he represents—over a number of meetings with me. It is not true to say that GPs do not know who has been vaccinated. As I just outlined, boards provide GPs with a list of vaccinations that they have administered across the vaccination programmes for practices to manually enter into GP systems. I recognise the point that he made about the cumbersome nature of that task, but funding is in place to allow that to happen, and it is not a novel situation.”
“Any associated patient risk is mitigated by health boards providing GPs with a list of childhood and non-routine vaccines that they have administered. The Scottish Government funds GPs to manually input those into their GP systems. Fergus Ewing: The health board system has already failed. One infant lost her life because her mother did not get the vaccination offer letter until it was too late. The cabinet secretary knows that that was the case. His officials knew that, when they brought in the system, the information about who had been vaccinated could not be shared with GPs at that time. The paper chase of doing that through thousands of inputs just does not work. Surely the service must be returned to local GPs. That is necessary to prevent the risk of further loss of life in the Highlands, which I know that we all wish to avoid.”
“Since April 2022, health boards have been responsible for delivering vaccines. The vast majority of adult vaccinations, including the flu, Covid, respiratory syncytial virus, shingles and pneumococcal vaccines, are visible to GPs via their general practice information technology system. Currently, childhood and non-routine vaccinations do not automatically flow into GP IT from the separate systems that record them, but that predates the move from GP to health board delivery, as Fergus Ewing outlined. Some health boards may have data-sharing arrangements in place with general practices that allow health board vaccination teams direct access to patient records to add vaccination history without GPs being required to do that manually. That should be explored locally wherever possible.”
“The issue is about dignity and women’s safety, so will the cabinet secretary urgently write to all health boards to find out what their policies on single-sex spaces for women are? Once the responses are received, will he share those responses with MSPs? Neil Gray: As I said at the outset, it is a matter for individual boards, as it is for all employing organisations, to ensure that they comply with the law. We will continue to interact with boards to ensure that the guidance that the Equality and Human Rights Commission produced is being maintained. We will keep Parliament updated on that progress.”
“That is a matter for individual boards, which must ensure that all their facilities comply with relevant legislation, including the Equality Act 2010. Responsibility for complying with the requirements of the 2010 act rests with individual organisations. The act is enforced by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which has produced guidance to support separate and single-sex service providers. Meghan Gallacher: I asked a basic question, and I find it difficult to believe that the cabinet secretary cannot tell me today in the chamber how many NHS boards have single-sex spaces for women. Worse still, ministers have told parliamentary committees that they have no clue whether hospitals and health boards are following the law.”
“She showed me I mattered. She taught me to stand With wisdom, with laughter, with a gentle hand.” That came to Christina instinctively through who she was—her generosity, her gallusness and her graft for people. Christina is the best of us. While we will not see her again or get that hug, Christina’s legacy lives on in all those she sought to serve. She gave them hope and she left the world better than she found it. Thank you, Christina. We will miss you desperately. [Applause.] 14:37”
“She made sure to surround herself, as Martha put it, with similarly bolshie, trade union-trained staff. Christina was clear in the way that people should be treated. I am so sorry to all those across Government, her constituency and civic Scotland, who will miss her dearly. Most of all, my heart truly breaks for Keith, Jack and Lewis and Christina’s family: while we have lost one in a million, you have lost your world. I hope that they can take comfort in the wave of messages and tributes that have been paid to Christina—all testament to her ability to build and forge relationships. A perfect example of that is from a member of the Gypsy Traveller community, who wrote the most beautiful poem about Christina. This paragraph encapsulates what I mean: “A Gypsy man once lost, unheard, Found strength in her promise, her every word.”
“I will visit the bench in St Andrew’s Harbour that you told me your Mum loved and I hope you will be sitting right beside me.” Rachael is right: Christina was always there. I have heard so many stories of people Christina quietly supported through their cancer journey while she was going through her own. Christina lifted those around her—friend or stranger—with her love, her kindness and her generosity. She drove those of us around her with her wit, her fire and her principled determination. I will very much treasure Christina’s messages of encouragement and pride when I joined her in government. She put her arms around me and built me up. Her long-time office manager, Martha McAllister, told me that that was the way she was with her staff, too.”
“Christina is the best of us. She was a force of nature, a warrior for those she served and a rock for those she loved. Christina gave a great hug. They were indeed powerful, and I will cherish the memory of our last hug. Christina gave more than just physical hugs, though. The way that she built relationships with her staff, her friends, and those she met as an MSP and a minister was by metaphorically putting her arms around you and pulling you in. Rachael Patterson, Christina’s most recent private secretary, shared the following with me: “from the moment I met Christina, I felt a warmth and noticed she was like this with everyone she came across— it didn’t matter who you were. She taught me so much in the time we spent together.”
“That the Parliament agrees that the Social Security Up- rating (Scotland) Order 2025 [draft] be approved. That the Parliament agrees that the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee be designated as the lead committee in consideration of the UEFA European Championship (Scotland) Bill at stage 1. The Presiding Officer: That concludes decision time. Sexual Violence (Hospitals)”
“The Presiding Officer: Unless any member objects, I propose to ask a single question on five Parliamentary Bureau motions. As no member objects, the final question is, that motions S6M-16857 to S6M-16860, on approval of Scottish statutory instruments, and motion S6M- 16861, on the designation of a lead committee, all in the name of Jamie Hepburn, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, be agreed to. Motions agreed to, That the Parliament agrees that the National Bus Travel Concession Schemes (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Order 2025 [draft] be approved. That the Parliament agrees that the Community Care (Personal Care and Nursing Care) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2025 [draft] be approved. That the Parliament agrees that the Social Security (Up- rating) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 [draft] be approved.”
“Amendment disagreed to. The Presiding Officer: The next question is, that motion S6M-16844, in the name of Mark Griffin, on children’s rights and temporary accommodation, as amended, be agreed to. Motion, as amended, agreed to, That the Parliament notes the publication of In Their Own Words: Children’s Experiences in Temporary Accommodation, a research publication commissioned by Shelter Scotland from De Montfort University and University College London; accepts the findings of the publication, which concludes that children in Scotland are adversely affected by the shocking conditions found in some forms of temporary accommodation; recognises that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) provides children with rights to have their best interests considered when decisions about them are being taken, including the right to life and the ability to develop, the right to school, the right to protection from violence in all forms, and the right to play and rest; notes with concern that the report highlights a number of examples of these rights being breached; accepts that the use of hotel-like accommodation for children in temporary accommodation carries a high risk of breaching children’s rights under the UNCRC; notes that amendments to the Housing (Scotland) Bill have been laid that would require relevant bodies to have regard to the rights of the child in dealing with cases of homelessness; calls on the Scottish Government to ensure that children in Scotland are placed in safe and secure homes which take account of their rights under the UNCRC; notes the actions taken to address the issues highlighted in the report, including the publication of the temporary accommodation standards framework and bringing forward the amendment to implement Awaab’s Law in the Housing (Scotland) Bill, and welcomes that the number of children in temporary accommodation has reduced in 20 local authority areas.”
“For Baillie, Jackie (Dumbarton) (Lab) Baker, Claire (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Balfour, Jeremy (Lothian) (Con) Bibby, Neil (West Scotland) (Lab) Boyack, Sarah (Lothian) (Lab) Briggs, Miles (Lothian) (Con) Burnett, Alexander (Aberdeenshire West) (Con) Carlaw, Jackson (Eastwood) (Con) Carson, Finlay (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con) Choudhury, Foysol (Lothian) (Lab) Clark, Katy (West Scotland) (Lab) Cole-Hamilton, Alex (Edinburgh Western) (LD) Dowey, Sharon (South Scotland) (Con) Duncan-Glancy, Pam (Glasgow) (Lab) Eagle, Tim (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Findlay, Russell (West Scotland) (Con) Fraser, Murdo (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Gallacher, Meghan (Central Scotland) (Con) Golden, Maurice (North East Scotland) (Con) Grant, Rhoda (Highlands and Islands) (Lab) Greene, Jamie (West Scotland) (Con) Griffin, Mark (Central Scotland) (Lab) Gulhane, Sandesh (Glasgow) (Con) Hamilton, Rachael (Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con) Johnson, Daniel (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab) Halcro Johnston, Jamie (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Kerr, Liam (North East Scotland) (Con) Lennon, Monica (Central Scotland) (Lab) Leonard, Richard (Central Scotland) (Lab) Lumsden, Douglas (North East Scotland) (Con) Marra, Michael (North East Scotland) (Lab) McArthur, Liam (Orkney Islands) (LD) McCall, Roz (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) McNeill, Pauline (Glasgow) (Lab) Mochan, Carol (South Scotland) (Lab) Mountain, Edward (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Mundell, Oliver (Dumfriesshire) (Con) O’Kane, Paul (West Scotland) (Lab) Regan, Ash (Edinburgh Eastern) (Alba) Rennie, Willie (North East Fife) (LD) Ross, Douglas (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Rowley, Alex (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Sarwar, Anas (Glasgow) (Lab) Simpson, Graham (Central Scotland) (Con) Smyth, Colin (South Scotland) (Lab) Stewart, Alexander (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Sweeney, Paul (Glasgow) (Lab) Villalba, Mercedes (North East Scotland) (Lab) Webber, Sue (Lothian) (Con) Wells, Annie (Glasgow) (Con) White, Tess (North East Scotland) (Con) Whitfield, Martin (South Scotland) (Lab) Wishart, Beatrice (Shetland Islands) (LD) Against Adam, Karen (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP) Adamson, Clare (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP) Allan, Alasdair (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (SNP) Arthur, Tom (Renfrewshire South) (SNP) Beattie, Colin (Midlothian North and Musselburgh) (SNP) Brown, Siobhian (Ayr) (SNP) Burgess, Ariane (Highlands and Islands) (Green) Chapman, Maggie (North East Scotland) (Green) Coffey, Willie (Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley) (SNP) Constance, Angela (Almond Valley) (SNP) Dey, Graeme (Angus South) (SNP) Don-Innes, Natalie (Renfrewshire North and West) (SNP) Doris, Bob (Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn) (SNP) Dornan, James (Glasgow Cathcart) (SNP) Dunbar, Jackie (Aberdeen Donside) (SNP) Ewing, Annabelle (Cowdenbeath) (SNP) Ewing, Fergus (Inverness and Nairn) (SNP) Fairlie, Jim (Perthshire South and Kinross-shire) (SNP) FitzPatrick, Joe (Dundee City West) (SNP) Forbes, Kate (Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch) (SNP) Gilruth, Jenny (Mid Fife and Glenrothes) (SNP) Gougeon, Mairi (Angus North and Mearns) (SNP) Grahame, Christine (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (SNP) Gray, Neil (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP) Greer, Ross (West Scotland) (Green) Harper, Emma (South Scotland) (SNP) Harvie, Patrick (Glasgow) (Green) Haughey, Clare (Rutherglen) (SNP) Hepburn, Jamie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (SNP) Hyslop, Fiona (Linlithgow) (SNP) Kidd, Bill (Glasgow Anniesland) (SNP) Lochhead, Richard (Moray) (SNP) MacDonald, Gordon (Edinburgh Pentlands) (SNP) MacGregor, Fulton (Coatbridge and Chryston) (SNP) Mackay, Gillian (Central Scotland) (Green) Mackay, Rona (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (SNP) Macpherson, Ben (Edinburgh Northern and Leith) (SNP) Maguire, Ruth (Cunninghame South) (SNP) [Proxy vote cast by Rona Mackay] Martin, Gillian (Aberdeenshire East) (SNP) Mason, John (Glasgow Shettleston) (Ind) Matheson, Michael (Falkirk West) (SNP) McAllan, Màiri (Clydesdale) (SNP) [Proxy vote cast by Jamie Hepburn] McKee, Ivan (Glasgow Provan) (SNP) McKelvie, Christina (Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse) (SNP) [Proxy vote cast by Jamie Hepburn] McLennan, Paul (East Lothian) (SNP) McMillan, Stuart (Greenock and Inverclyde) (SNP) McNair, Marie (Clydebank and Milngavie) (SNP) Minto, Jenni (Argyll and Bute) (SNP) Nicoll, Audrey (Aberdeen South and North Kincardine) (SNP) Robertson, Angus (Edinburgh Central) (SNP) Robison, Shona (Dundee City East) (SNP) Ruskell, Mark (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green) Slater, Lorna (Lothian) (Green) Somerville, Shirley-Anne (Dunfermline) (SNP) Stevenson, Collette (East Kilbride) (SNP) Stewart, Kaukab (Glasgow Kelvin) (SNP) Stewart, Kevin (Aberdeen Central) (SNP) Sturgeon, Nicola (Glasgow Southside) (SNP) Thomson, Michelle (Falkirk East) (SNP) Todd, Maree (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP) Tweed, Evelyn (Stirling) (SNP) Whitham, Elena (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (SNP) Yousaf, Humza (Glasgow Pollok) (SNP) The Presiding Officer: The result of the division on amendment S6M-16844.2, in the name of Meghan Gallacher, is: For 53, Against 63, Abstentions 0.”
“On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I apologise, but I could not connect to the app. I would have voted no. The Presiding Officer: Thank you, cabinet secretary. We will ensure that that is recorded.”