Carol Mochan
Scottish Labour · Scotland
“I think that we could take a different approach in that area. A number of older people have been convicted of terrible crimes, but their risk to the general population is much lower than it used to be because of their age and circumstances.”
“Industrial conditions such as those that my constituents were exposed to show what the approach of big business and the insurance giants has been.”
“I am interested in the point about upstream measures, and I am particularly interested in women, because we know that they should not always enter the criminal justice system and prisons in particular. Perhaps there is more that the cabinet secretary could do in that area, because there is a lot of research on it.”
“Those who were members during the previous session of Parliament will know not only that Richard Leonard was a passionate and committed campaigner but that his speeches were also very passionate—as passionate as his beliefs. I thank him for his time in the Parliament, for his guidance and for his commitment to economic justice.”
“I support the Cape must pay campaign, which calls on the former asbestos manufacturer Cape plc, now Altrad, to donate £10 million to mesothelioma research. As my colleague Jackie Baillie said, that is a small amount to expect. Such companies and the state owe a great deal to individuals, families and communities.”
“For a number of years, I was a director of Turning Point Scotland, which is Scotland’s biggest social welfare charity, although I am not any more. Fifteen years ago, we commenced an initiative called housing first, which is primarily a way of dealing with homelessness.”
The complete record
Every one of 657 lines we hold for Carol Mochan, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 14 of 14.
“To my mind, we are elected to ensure that society is fairer and that barriers to inequality are broken down. We cannot be a country where politicians are letting down its people and we cannot be a country where the poorest pay the price of neglectful government. We all speak in this chamber of the root causes of poverty. Nowhere are their impacts more acutely felt than in life expectancy and health inequalities. That is why the Government must be more honest about its poor performance in early learning and childcare, the actual outcomes of its policies on the provision of free school meals and affordable housing budgets and, of course, its poor record on local government funding. There can be real change only if some honesty is allowed to be part of the discussion.”
“I remind members that, in Scotland, women from more affluent areas are more likely to attend screening appointments while women in our most deprived areas have significantly lower attendance rates. Suicide rates in our most deprived areas are higher than they are in our more affluent areas, as are cancer rates. The gap in life expectancy between the most and least deprived areas has widened. That is shocking and should worry us all. We are talking about areas of devolved responsibility, and we must spend more time in the chamber addressing those issues. In researching for this debate, I came across a quote from a report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation: “The patterns of inequality in life expectancy between different places are not a matter of chance or fate, but a reflection of the stuff of life itself”.”
“We need to do more of that and ensure that members and the Government can have genuine debate about how devolved government can work to benefit our constituents. Earlier in this session of Parliament, the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee held an inquiry into health inequalities. We sought honest answers to how to tackle the situation of people living in our most deprived communities, and we did so on a cross-party basis. It is essential that we recognise that as one of the most significant political issues to date that we should address in Parliament. In a debate on child poverty, it is important to speak to the scale of the problems in health inequalities that we face. If we do not change the trajectory, children who grow up in our poorest communities today will see only increased disadvantage.”
“The Scottish Government knows that my Scottish Labour colleagues and I are working with and seeking to influence the UK Government, yet rather than seeking to work with us on devolved issues, the SNP is looking to divide. It is my view that we can work together. Let us take women’s health and women’s reproductive health. There has been a good, collaborative approach between members of the Parliament, with all of us seeking to ensure that women can safely access health care. We are all included in discussions with the current women’s health champion for Scotland, and I am glad that I can put on record my thanks to Jenni Minto, the Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health, for that.”
“I fully agree with the First Minister’s point on austerity, which has decimated the communities that I represent. However, as I often say in the chamber, we must be honest about our responsibility here, in Scotland. John Swinney and First Ministers before him all promised to eradicate child poverty, yet those promises have been broken over the 17 years of SNP Government and SNP budgets. As we have heard, the reality, for young people and their families in Scotland today, is that the Government is set to fail yet again to meet its own targets on child poverty. Yet here it is, taking—I think that it is fair to say—an arrogant approach to today’s debate. It is not seeking to genuinely debate what can be done here in Scotland; rather, it is taking to grandstanding to ensure that division continues.”
“The End Child Poverty coalition briefing indicates that, “In the period 2020 to 2023, 1 in 4 children in Scotland were growing up in poverty.” I have made it clear before, and I make it clear once again, that I deplore the previous Tory Government’s attack on working-class people. The Tories are the friends of the rich and show no interest in redistributing wealth to those most in need. The approach that Tory Governments have taken is to benefit those with the most wealth and power. In response to Russell Findlay’s points, I say that the Tories do not seek to change inequality. In fact, they embed it within our society, to ensure that change never comes to those who are most in need. After 14 years in Government, the Tories must accept their part in the poverty that is felt by our constituents today.”
“It is my view and my party’s view that the overarching priority of the Scottish Parliament should be to tackle, reduce and eradicate child poverty. Child poverty is a huge challenge that our country faces. It limits the opportunities of children in every town and deepens the inequalities that already exist in our society from the second that a child is born. It should shame us all that child poverty remains as prevalent as it is in our country today. Week in, week out, we discuss the modern, inclusive and progressive Scotland that we think exists, so it is shocking that, in reality, according to some of the most recent estimates, hundreds of thousands of children in Scotland grow up in poverty.”