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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“Those actions include the rural fellowship scheme, which offers GPs the opportunity to develop the required skills through direct experience of working in rural general practice. We will also be looking at the golden hello scheme to ensure that we are providing the right incentives for GPs to take up harder-to-fill posts in rural settings. That, too, is something that Mr Eagle asked me to consider: we are already doing it. We have commissioned NHS Education for Scotland to work with the profession to redesign the current GP retention scheme in order to make it more flexible, so that it supports GPs at times in their career when that flexibility is needed.”
“We have increased the funding for general medical services by £73 million this year to more than £1.3 billion. The role of the primary care team is vital in rural and island areas, where its wide- ranging expertise takes on added significance, as Christine Grahame referenced in her remarks this evening, and which the Deputy Presiding Officer referenced in response to the committee debate at the end of last year. In November, I announced an additional £13.6 million of recurring funding to support general practices in recruiting and retaining key staff. We have also published a plan that sets out a suite of 20 actions that the Scottish Government will take to improve GP recruitment and retention, including in rural and island areas, which is an issue that several colleagues have raised.”
“There is no doubt that that formula is leading to the closure of maternity services and cottage hospitals across the likes of Dumfries and Galloway. Neil Gray: The NRAC formula accounts for the additional cost of delivering services in rural areas. All boards are within less than 1 per cent of NRAC parity—I do not recognise the figures that Tess White gave in that regard, so I will need to go back and study her assessment more closely. Of course, the NRAC formula continues to be under review, and we make sure that we do our best to ensure that all boards receive a fair settlement. We are continuing to shift the balance of care to make it more preventative and community-based by increasing general practice capacity—which was a focus of Mr Eagle’s speech—and improving access by the end of 2026.”
“As members will be aware, the Government’s 2025-26 draft budget includes a £21.7 billion investment in reformed health and social care, which is an uplift that exceeds consequentials and takes funding to an all-time high. In recognition of the need for capital investment to support rural health services, the budget provides £139 million of additional investment for health infrastructure, including restarting the work on the replacement for Belford hospital, which Jamie Halcro Johnston referenced. Finlay Carson: I have no doubt that the cabinet secretary understands the issues of rural Scotland, but will he commit to reviewing the national resource allocation committee formula as a matter of urgency, as he committed to doing in the chamber last year?”
“I care deeply and passionately about the issue, as do the members of my ministerial team, both of whom represent rural and island communities. There are opportunities for us to work together across a number of areas to better meet the unique place-specific needs of our rural and island communities. In my closing remarks, I will set out our plans to deliver good-quality services that will be sustainable in the long term, in order to improve outcomes across those communities. I will also do my best to address as many as I can of the points that have been raised around the chamber. The motion calls for proper investment to be made.”
“I thank Tim Eagle for raising the subject, and I thank all the members across the chamber for their contributions to this important debate. Tim Eagle opened his speech by referencing the fact that rural depopulation was the subject of the first members’ business debate that he brought to the chamber. It was also the subject of the first interaction that I had with a political chamber when, as a teenager in Orkney, I attended a meeting of Orkney Islands Council and discussed island depopulation. For him, it was his first members’ business parliamentary debate, and for me, it was my first interaction with a political chamber. We both share a sense of responsibility for ensuring that we have sustainable rural and island communities.”
“Given what the cabinet secretary said, I do not know why NHS Highland has not restored the service to GPs. In 25 years here, I have never wished to be alarmist about a health issue, but if action is not taken soon, what will the cabinet secretary say if another infant’s life is lost because they cannot access life-saving vaccinations for diseases that we thought had gone for ever— The Deputy Presiding Officer: We need to move on. I call Finlay Carson. You have up to four minutes. 17:15”
“Will the member take an intervention? Fergus Ewing: Yes. The Deputy Presiding Officer: Be very brief, cabinet secretary. Neil Gray: I have met Fergus Ewing and those GPs’ colleagues, whose advice I am very grateful for. I hope that he will accept that I have also provided clear guidance and authority to NHS Highland to use the flexibility that is contained in the 2018 contract to ensure that, where general practice-led vaccination can take place in order to remove barriers to access to vaccines, it should and can do that. The Deputy Presiding Officer: You need to conclude. Fergus Ewing: I appreciate that the cabinet secretary’s intentions are entirely honourable and good. I entirely accept that. However, as a former minister, I gently say to him that good intentions are not enough.”
“I addressed that on “Good Morning Scotland” this morning. We obviously wish to avoid that situation, not only for patients but for staff, and to ensure that we have a system that meets the needs of both groups. Bovaer 6.”
“First, the intervention that we seek to take in the budget is intended directly to address the issues that we face with scheduled care or waiting lists and to address the flow through the system by providing capacity in social care and primary care in order to reduce hospital occupancy and length of stay. Where we have worked with local systems in the health service and social care to reduce length of stay and hospital occupancy and to address pre-delay discharge from hospital, that has been successful, and that is the basis on which we will continue to intervene. I encourage Colin Smyth to support the finance that is being provided to ensure that that can happen through the budget interventions. Of course, I regret the situation that was raised in the Royal College of Nursing’s report.”
“Since then, 193,000 bed days have been lost to delayed discharge in NHS Dumfries and Galloway, and the latest figures show that that number is rising yet again. It is no wonder that, today, the Royal College of Nursing published devastating testimony of nurses who are having to care for patients on trolleys because there are no spare hospital beds. When will the Government finally deliver on its promise to eradicate delayed discharge, or is that just another broken Scottish National Party health promise? Neil Gray: I will address two elements of that situation.”
“The collaborative response and assurance group that I chair jointly with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities has met weekly with leaders from across the health and social care system, including from Dumfries and Galloway, since last June. Our most recent meeting was on Monday. We have been working to understand the challenges faced by areas with high levels of delay, including Dumfries and Galloway, and to support them to deliver the changes that will improve people’s journey from hospital to home or the care setting that is right for them. Our planned budget for 2025-26 will invest a further £200 million to reduce waiting list backlogs, improve capacity and remove the barriers that keep some patients in hospital longer than is necessary. Colin Smyth: A decade ago, the Scottish Government promised to eradicate delayed discharges.”
“Moreover, the forthcoming alcohol treatment guidelines will provide support for alcohol treatment that is similar to the medication-assisted treatment standard for drugs.”
“Neil Gray: I want to reassure Audrey Nicoll and other colleagues across the Parliament that we remain committed to and focused on tackling both issues. We remain committed to tackling alcohol- related harm on an equal footing with harm caused by drugs. Our forecast spend in 2025-26 of more than £150 million is for both alcohol and drug services, and our substantial investment supports services that are often delivered in tandem at the front line. In addition, national mission initiatives have made improvements in treatment for alcohol as well as drugs. For example, our substantial investment in residential rehabilitation is benefiting people with both alcohol and drug dependency.”
“They expressed strong support for minimum unit pricing and other measures to tackle alcohol harm. However, they also expressed some concern about a potential shift in the balance away from tackling alcohol harm—a point highlighted in the recent Audit Scotland review of alcohol and drug services. That is not to diminish the urgency of the work to reduce drug harm. In addition to previously announced efforts, such as a review of the evidence on alcohol marketing, increasing MUP and developing a service specification for alcohol and drug services, what assurance can the cabinet secretary give that the draft Scottish budget will support the action necessary to reduce the level of alcohol-related health and social harms and reduce the number of people who die as a result of alcohol?”
“The total funding proposed for alcohol and drug services, including health board baseline funding, is over £150 million in 2025-26. That includes maintaining £112 million of funding for alcohol and drug partnerships; continuing to fund grass-roots organisations through £13 million of funding via the Corra Foundation; supporting a wide range of activity, including residential rehabilitation; and making £2.3 million available to support the Thistle centre, the safer drug consumption facility. That adds to our significant investment over the past four years and means that I am confident that we will meet the national mission’s commitment to £250 million of additional funding over five years. Audrey Nicoll: During recent engagement with general practitioner practices, tackling alcohol harm was raised as an unrelenting health challenge.”
“The funding that we are putting in is additional to the funding that we have put into areas such as residential rehabilitation, where, since 2021, we have seen bed numbers rise by 20 per cent. We recognise that this is a national mission and that we have to focus on all possible forms of intervention that can save lives. I agree with Douglas Ross that we must face this appalling situation, but we must take all possible steps, including those that feel radical, such as this one, to reach all the people who can potentially benefit from the services that are available across Scotland.”
“He asked how we would measure the success over the three years of the pilot. It is about reducing harm and deaths in Glasgow. It is also about allowing people we have been otherwise unable to reach with the treatment options that Douglas Ross speaks about to come in and access services that are available at the facility. That is the basis on which the Lord Advocate gave her statement of prosecution policy, which made it clear that this is about allowing people to access a service that they would otherwise not have been able to access. It is the first opportunity for many people to have conversations about things like mental health support and other treatment options, such as residential rehabilitation. It is not an either/or scenario.”
“Does he accept that, as the First Minister said yesterday, it is not a silver bullet and that we need more joined- up working across this area? For instance, if people go into the facility to inject themselves with drugs but need mental health support, they will still face lengthy waiting lists, and there is still a huge shortage of rehabilitation beds in Scotland. Is it not the case that the facility will simply make it more sustainable for people to remain on drugs, rather than getting off drugs and turning their lives around, and that backing the Right to Addiction Recovery (Scotland) Bill would be another element in our fight against the appalling drug deaths rate in Scotland? Neil Gray: I accept that the facility is one tool in the box; I do not think that it is a silver bullet, as Douglas Ross described.”
“Police Scotland will not alter the approach that it takes to patrolling the community as a result of the facility opening, and it will ensure that all communities in Scotland receive the same standard of service. Douglas Ross: There is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the policing, and I do not think that that will be addressed by the cabinet secretary’s response. He says that it is a matter for Police Scotland, and Police Scotland is saying that it is a matter for the Crown Office. Ultimately, the facility is supported by the Scottish Government, so I do not think that it is unreasonable for parliamentarians to expect a response here today. Turning to the facility more generally, what does the cabinet secretary believe will be a success of the pilot project? Over the next three years, how will he judge it a success or otherwise?”
“However, Police Scotland has been involved in the development of the proposal from the beginning, and I am very grateful for its support. It would not have been possible to reach this point without that collaboration and partnership working. As part of the proposal that went to the Lord Advocate, Police Scotland provided a paper, which was signed off by the chief constable and clearly set out its position. That paper makes the role of police officers clear and explains that the area surrounding the safer drug consumption facility would be policed in the same manner as it was prior to the establishment of the facility— unless otherwise required, due to any new identified risk.”
“The Lord Advocate and the police have said that people will not be prosecuted for drug possession in the facility, but can the cabinet secretary outline what the Government expects to happen outwith the facility? What is the cabinet secretary’s view and the Government’s view, for example, on someone who is in possession of drugs on their way to the facility? Should those drugs be removed if the police have good cause to stop the person and find them to be in possession? What is the cabinet secretary’s response to concerns in the local community that the area could become a criminal hotspot if the police are not policing immediately outside the new facility? Neil Gray: Douglas Ross will understand that that is an operational matter for Police Scotland and that it would not be right for me to comment on or influence decisions that it makes.”
“I am very pleased that the Thistle started supporting its first service users as of yesterday. Early engagement information will be reported in due course, but I understand that uptake was good, taking into account the presence of some media near the entrance, and that this was the first day of a unique service. There was very positive feedback from the first service users. I thank all those who were involved in getting the service up and running—the staff, those from the various engagement groups and those from the local community—for their support for the facility, and the relentless campaigners who enabled it to happen. Douglas Ross: I will use my first question to look at the policing of the facility. I remind members that my wife is a serving officer with Police Scotland.”
“The Presiding Officer: The cabinet secretary will now take questions on the issues raised in his statement. I intend to allow around 20 minutes for questions, after which we will move on to the next item of business.”
“Health and social care partnerships have been working hard to make sure that as many people as possible who are clinically ready to leave hospital can do that, whether they are returning home or to a care home. That includes maximising the use of discharge to assess, hospital at home and other initiatives that help to make sure that people can get the right care in the right place. Winter tests every one of us. It tests individual people, families and our healthcare systems. However, this year, thanks to the incredible efforts of NHS staff and sure-handed planning, we are facing winter with resilience and resolve. I am sure that the whole chamber will join me in supporting and once again thanking the staff of our NHS and social care services, who provide so much to this nation in these difficult and challenging times.”
“That proactive support reinforces our health service by preventing the need for hospital admissions at a difficult time, while ensuring that individuals are cared for in the most appropriate setting. Care homes have, of course, been affected by flu and, in some cases, have been required to close, in line with infection control procedures. We have engaged with local systems to make sure that they have the latest guidance and support on infection control, and I know that they are working collaboratively to manage that pressure. As in previous years, there has been significant work to reduce the level of delayed discharge across the system in advance of Christmas.”
“They are often the overlooked heroes of our health and social care system, and I thank them. I reiterate the Government’s commitment to supporting general practice during this critical time. On 29 November, I announced an additional £13.6 million investment in general practice for this financial year. That funding is aimed at addressing financial pressures, supporting staff costs and enabling practices to recruit and retain staff. It is a practical response to the challenges that GPs face, especially during this period of high demand. Our dedicated social care and social work workforce have worked tirelessly throughout the festive period, supporting people to remain well and live independently in their communities.”
“As I have stated throughout recent weeks, it is important for everyone to be familiar with the different resources that are available, including NHS Inform’s online tools that can help them to get appropriate health advice as quickly as possible. People should always call 999 in a life- threatening emergency, but if that is not the case they should first visit the nhsinform.scot website or call NHS 24 on 111. I must thank those who are looking after, or even just looking out for, other people—those who have checked in on elderly relations or friends, helped with getting their messages and provided other support over this, the hardest time of the year. I would also like to recognise the role of unpaid carers the length and breadth of Scotland, who, year round, work to support their loved ones.”
“Vaccination offers the best protection against serious illness from flu, so I urge all those who are eligible for vaccinations this winter to come forward as soon as possible, to protect themselves and to support our health and social care services. Beyond vaccination, everyone can reduce the chance of catching flu or spreading it to others by practising good hand hygiene, taking other precautions and staying at home if they have respiratory symptoms. I have thanked our health and social care workforces and will continue to do so. However, I also take this opportunity to thank the Scottish public for taking heed of our messages about accessing the right care in the right place and for taking steps to slow the spread of infections.”
“Out-of-hours services have remained resilient and responsive thanks to that approach and to our continued investment in the service and rigorous planning of staff cover for winter. The flu vaccination programme runs until the end of March and the Covid vaccination programme until the end of January. As of 15 December 2024, we had administered more than 1.2 million adult flu vaccinations. The Scottish Ambulance Service has been instrumental in collaborating with boards during the winter vaccination programme. Its mobile vaccination outreach service has provided accessible vaccination facilities to remote, rural and island communities.”
“That recruitment programme has been a success, with call handlers now fully established and additional clinical staff in post. Health boards have ensured the provision of NHS pharmaceutical services, so that people continue to have access to prescribed medicines and to services such as NHS pharmacy first Scotland. That service is available in all community pharmacies, to anyone registered with a GP practice in Scotland. It allows members of the public access to expert healthcare professionals without the need for an appointment. In making those winter planning efforts, we have learned from previous intense winter pressures and we have built our approach to out-of-hours services, escalation and board delivery support on the basis of our experience.”
“Published on 24 September, the winter plan was developed with input from the whole health and social care system, in partnership with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, bringing together best practice and improvement work to ensure that the most appropriate care is received in the right place and at the right time. Our investment in the hospital at home service has paid dividends, as it has enabled patients to spend Christmas in their own homes, with their families, where that is clinically appropriate. That vital service reduces hospital occupancy while still providing high-quality care. As part of the winter plan, we committed to providing additional staffing for NHS 24 to support demand over the winter period.”
“Data from Public Health Scotland shows that the incidence of influenza in the community in Scotland has continued to increase in the latest week for which figures are available, although the rate of increase has slowed. We have seen the impact of flu in our hospitals, where there have been more than 1,500 influenza-related admissions in the latest week, surpassing the peak of around 1,400 in the winter of 2022-23. Every year, the demands of winter challenge our health systems. That is why, in preparation, we published our winter plan a month ahead of the equivalent date last year, and earlier than ever before, to allow more time for whole-system preparedness.”
“That kind of co-ordination has played an important role in protecting resources for those who are most urgently in need. I express my regret that anyone seeking care has to wait longer than necessary to receive it— as, no doubt, will have happened during this difficult period—but, at this point, thanks to our robust preparation and the dedication and hard work of staff across the health service and the social care sector, our services continue to hold up well in the face of the additional pressures. That has been important, because there is no doubt that Scotland has been hit hard by flu this winter. Although we planned for increases in flu over the winter, the very high levels that we are experiencing inevitably put additional strain on the system.”
“The Scottish Ambulance Service and board senior clinical managers have been present on hospital sites, assessing risk and prioritising patients who are most in need of urgent treatment. GPs from out-of-hours services have been working in minor injuries departments and helping to treat and discharge patients, where clinically appropriate. The Scottish Ambulance Service’s integrated clinical hub, which receives calls transferred from NHS 24, has calls reviewed by GPs in the call centre. They help to advise self- care, prescribe medication, or refer to out-of-hours services when it is clinically appropriate to do so. That helps more patients to be treated at home or in the community, and prevents unnecessary ambulance conveyance to hospital.”
“In recent days and weeks, I, with the First Minister, have been meeting health boards, representatives from the Scottish Ambulance Service, health and social care partnerships, Public Health Scotland and NHS 24. We have discussed the latest system updates, the high cases of influenza and how the health service is responding to increased demand. I am very encouraged to hear about the collaborative working right across the system, with strong leadership and staff supporting one another. In practice, that co-operation has seen boards working closely with the Scottish Ambulance Service to manage the flow of patients through emergency departments across Scotland.”
“I thank the social care staff who are doing extra shifts to make up for staff being off sick with flu. I thank the general practitioners who are working at the weekends to offer appointments and bolster the resilience of the entire system. I thank hospital staff, such as the porter I met at St John’s hospital in Livingston on Christmas eve who was working extremely hard to turn around beds as quickly as possible. We, in this chamber, often talk about service, but that is the reality of public service: the hard, relentless, skilled, devoted and dedicated work to serve the people who need it most. We owe all of them a debt of gratitude.”
“In the face of that particular issue, and the wider winter pressures, I would first like to express how enormously grateful I am— and, I am sure, everyone in the chamber is—to all those working in our health and social care settings for their immense efforts over the busy festive period. The resilience and determination shown by staff in the face of pressures across the health and care sector are inspiring. There is so much to thank them for. Every part of our health service has gone above and beyond to serve the country during the hardest months of the year. I thank the staff of the Scottish Ambulance Service staff for their sacrifice and devotion to their task in staying at work beyond the end of their shift as they wait to turn around at hospitals.”
“I thank the Presiding Officer for this opportunity to update the Scottish Parliament on how our health and social care system is responding to the pressures of winter. It is clear that our health and social care services and the people that they serve are experiencing the impact of peak winter demand. It is traditionally a challenging period of the year, and this year has been no different. In particular, the national health service continues to see significant numbers of cases of influenza A, which have been, and remain, very high. This extraordinary flu surge of course adds to the normal respiratory issues that we might expect at this time of year.”