Jackie Baillie
Scottish Labour · Scotland
“Is it not the case that the SNP was economical with the truth in its manifesto when it promised all those things, knowing that there was no budget to deliver any of them? Angela Constance: This Government will deliver a new hospital for the Monklands. This is not about ditching; it is about delivering.”
“I congratulate Marie McNair on bringing the motion to the chamber for debate and on her consistent championing of the cause. Asbestos was finally completely banned in 1999, the same year that the Parliament was established.”
“Today, Cape is owned by the construction engineering company Altrad, which operates around the world, and its UK arm alone made a pre-tax profit of £37.3 million in the year to August 2025.”
“Although shipbuilders and tradesmen might be the most affected, their wives and children might also have been exposed to asbestos dust, and, of course, all families are impacted by a loved one’s diagnosis.”
“I thank the cabinet secretary for the advance copy of her statement. First, there is no doubt in my mind that the people of Lanarkshire and the hard-working NHS staff at Monklands hospital will be bitterly disappointed by the cabinet secretary’s announcement. It does not sound like a reset; it sounds like an indefinite halt.”
“In 2024, the Scottish Law Commission recommended, helpfully, that the time bar be removed, but that was not legislated for in the previous parliamentary session. I hope that the Scottish Government will make such legislation an urgent priority in this parliamentary session.”
The complete record
Every one of 503 lines we hold for Jackie Baillie, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 3 of 11.
“Given that context, amendment 164 would require doctors to involve psychiatry and social work professionals when assessing young adults under the age of 25 who have an unpredictable or fluctuating condition. That would mean that there is appropriate and essential multidisciplinary support and specialist input for young adults under the age of 25, and it would provide a consistent national approach to ensure that the vulnerabilities of young adults are not overlooked. I commend amendment 164 to Parliament. I will move on to the second amendment in group 7 that I wish to speak to. I forget the number of the amendment, but it will come to me—it is amendment 95, which I have lodged on behalf of the Royal College of Nursing Scotland.”
“I will concentrate specifically on two amendments. I will start with amendment 164, which I have lodged on behalf of Children’s Hospices Across Scotland. The amendment focuses on ensuring that young people under the age of 25 with complex or unstable conditions receive specialist multidisciplinary input during assisted dying assessments. That protection is needed because we know that young people with serious conditions often have enhanced safeguarding needs. We know that their capacity can fluctuate, that communication methods may vary, and that decisions may involve significant family or social dynamics. Access to specialist psychiatry and social work would ensure that risks are fully explored and fully addressed.”
“Previous to that … advice as to assisted suicide would have, at times, been accepted by her, and I think that if she had lived in Canada or Holland she would now be dead.” I am concerned that that person would fit into the definition as proposed by Daniel Johnson, and I would be grateful for his comments on that when he sums up.”
“I listened carefully to Daniel Johnson when he spoke to his amendments. There is concern that they expand rather than restrict the definition of those who would be considered as eligible for assisted dying, which I understand is not his intention. However, I wanted to share an email from a constituent about his sister. This is what he had to say: “My sister is in a nursing home in Helensburgh and I have … power of attorney for her so I speak on her behalf. She has had a severe form of psychotic depression, which has caused her much suffering for nearly 45 years. She has been near death at least once from refusing food and drink. She … can be strongly influenced by outside suggestion. However the last eight years have probably been among the happiest of her life.”
“There was a time when hearing the sirens of an ambulance meant two things: first, that somebody was in trouble and needed help; and, secondly, that they would be rushed to hospital and immediately seen. Sadly, that is not the case any more. Delays happen too often, waits at A and E are too long, and corridor care is the new normal. On a Sunday morning in December last year—”
“Motion agreed to, That the Parliament agrees— (a) the following programme of business— Tuesday 3 March 2026 2.00 pm Time for Reflection followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions followed by Topical Questions followed by Stage 3 Proceedings: Contract (Formation and Remedies) (Scotland) Bill followed by Reconsideration Stage Proceedings: European Charter of Local Self-Government (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill followed by Committee Announcements followed by Business Motions followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions 5.00 pm Decision Time followed by Members’ Business Wednesday 4 March 2026 2.00 pm Parliamentary Bureau Motions 2.00 pm Portfolio Questions: Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands; Health and Social Care followed by Scottish Liberal Democrats Business followed by Business Motions followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions 5.10 pm Decision Time followed by Members’ Business Thursday 5 March 2026 11.40 am Parliamentary Bureau Motions 11.40 am General Questions 12.00 pm First Minister’s Questions followed by Members’ Business 2.00 pm Parliamentary Bureau Motions 2.00 pm Portfolio Questions: Social Justice and Housing followed by Stage 3 Proceedings: Digital Assets (Scotland) Bill followed by Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee Debate: Climate Change Plan followed by Appointment of Board Member to Environmental Standards Scotland followed by Business Motions followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions 5.30 pm Decision Time Tuesday 10 March 2026 2.00 pm Time for Reflection followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions followed by Topical Questions followed by Stage 3 Proceedings: Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill followed by Committee Announcements followed by Business Motions followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions 10.00 pm Decision Time Wednesday 11 March 2026 2.00 pm Parliamentary Bureau Motions 2.00 pm Portfolio Questions: Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, and Parliamentary Business; Justice and Home Affairs followed by Stage 3 Proceedings: Crofting and Scottish Land Court Bill followed by Business Motions followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions 7.30 pm Decision Time Thursday 12 March 2026 11.40 am Parliamentary Bureau Motions 11.40 am General Questions 12.00 pm First Minister’s Questions followed by Members’ Business 2.00 pm Parliamentary Bureau Motions 2.00 pm Portfolio Questions: Education and Skills followed by Stage 3 Proceedings: Building Safety Levy (Scotland) Bill followed by Stage 3 Proceedings: Greyhound Racing (Offences) (Scotland) Bill followed by Business Motions followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions 5.30 pm Decision Time (b) that, for the purposes of Portfolio Questions in the week beginning 2 March 2026, in rule 13.7.3, after the word “except” the words “to the extent to which the Presiding Officer considers that the questions are on the same or similar subject matter or” are inserted.”
“On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app would not refresh. I would have voted yes. The Presiding Officer: Thank you, Ms Baillie. We will ensure that that is recorded. For Adam, George (Paisley) (SNP) 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) Baillie, Jackie (Dumbarton) (Lab) Baker, Claire (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Balfour, Jeremy (Lothian) (Ind) Beattie, Colin (Midlothian North and Musselburgh) (SNP) Bibby, Neil (West Scotland) (Lab) Boyack, Sarah (Lothian) (Lab) Brown, Keith (Clackmannanshire and Dunblane) (SNP) Brown, Siobhian (Ayr) (SNP) Burgess, Ariane (Highlands and Islands) (Green) Callaghan, Stephanie (Uddingston and Bellshill) (SNP) Chapman, Maggie (North East Scotland) (Green) Choudhury, Foysol (Lothian) (Ind) Clark, Katy (West Scotland) (Lab) Coffey, Willie (Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley) (SNP) Cole-Hamilton, Alex (Edinburgh Western) (LD) 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) Duncan-Glancy, Pam (Glasgow) (Ind) Ewing, Annabelle (Cowdenbeath) (SNP) Fairlie, Jim (Perthshire South and Kinross-shire) (SNP) FitzPatrick, Joe (Dundee City West) (SNP) Forbes, Kate (Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch) (SNP) Gibson, Kenneth (Cunninghame North) (SNP) Gilruth, Jenny (Mid Fife and Glenrothes) (SNP) Gougeon, Mairi (Angus North and Mearns) (SNP) Grahame, Christine (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (SNP) Grant, Rhoda (Highlands and Islands) (Lab) Gray, Neil (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP) Greene, Jamie (West Scotland) (LD) Greer, Ross (West Scotland) (Green) Griffin, Mark (Central Scotland) (Lab) Harper, Emma (South Scotland) (SNP) Hepburn, Jamie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (SNP) Hyslop, Fiona (Linlithgow) (SNP) Johnson, Daniel (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab) Kidd, Bill (Glasgow Anniesland) (SNP) Lennon, Monica (Central Scotland) (Lab) Leonard, Richard (Central Scotland) (Lab) 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) Marra, Michael (North East Scotland) (Lab) Martin, Gillian (Aberdeenshire East) (SNP) Mason, John (Glasgow Shettleston) (Ind) Matheson, Michael (Falkirk West) (SNP) McAllan, Màiri (Clydesdale) (SNP) McArthur, Liam (Orkney Islands) (LD) McKee, Ivan (Glasgow Provan) (SNP) McLennan, Paul (East Lothian) (SNP) McMillan, Stuart (Greenock and Inverclyde) (SNP) McNair, Marie (Clydebank and Milngavie) (SNP) McNeill, Pauline (Glasgow) (Lab) Minto, Jenni (Argyll and Bute) (SNP) Mundell, Oliver (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Nicoll, Audrey (Aberdeen South and North Kincardine) (SNP) Rennie, Willie (North East Fife) (LD) Robertson, Angus (Edinburgh Central) (SNP) Robison, Shona (Dundee City East) (SNP) Roddick, Emma (Highlands and Islands) (SNP) Ruskell, Mark (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green) Russell, Davy (Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse) (Lab) Sarwar, Anas (Glasgow) (Lab) Simpson, Graham (Central Scotland) (Reform) 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) Sweeney, Paul (Glasgow) (Lab) Swinney, John (Perthshire North) (SNP) Thomson, Michelle (Falkirk East) (SNP) Todd, Maree (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP) Torrance, David (Kirkcaldy) (SNP) Tweed, Evelyn (Stirling) (SNP) Villalba, Mercedes (North East Scotland) (Lab) Whitham, Elena (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (SNP) Wishart, Beatrice (Shetland Islands) (LD) Yousaf, Humza (Glasgow Pollok) (SNP) Against Briggs, Miles (Lothian) (Con) Burnett, Alexander (Aberdeenshire West) (Con) Carlaw, Jackson (Eastwood) (Con) Carson, Finlay (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con) Findlay, Russell (West Scotland) (Con) Fraser, Murdo (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Gallacher, Meghan (Central Scotland) (Con) Golden, Maurice (North East Scotland) (Con) Gosal, Pam (West Scotland) (Con) Gulhane, Sandesh (Glasgow) (Con) Halcro Johnston, Jamie (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Hamilton, Rachael (Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con) Hoy, Craig (South Scotland) (Con) Kerr, Liam (North East Scotland) (Con) Kerr, Stephen (Central Scotland) (Con) Lumsden, Douglas (North East Scotland) (Con) McCall, Roz (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Mountain, Edward (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Smith, Liz (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Webber, Sue (Lothian) (Con) Wells, Annie (Glasgow) (Con) White, Tess (North East Scotland) (Con) Whittle, Brian (South Scotland) (Con) The Presiding Officer: The result of the division on motion S6M-20898, in the name of Graeme Dey, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, setting out a business programme, is: For 92, Against 23, Abstentions 0.”
“It is therefore critical that, when ministers such as the First Minister, in the job that they do, might be asked about a sensitive and difficult case, they are reminded that the ultimately important points are the protection of the rule of law; the protection of the accused person; the ensuring of a fair trial process; and the need not to make unlawful, illegitimate or ill-informed comment to whoever is asking questions about a live criminal case.”
“The terms of the indictment are not made public by the Crown but they, too, can come into the public domain by virtue of the same process that applies to the petition warrant, which is in the hands of the accused or his adviser and is within the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service; in some way, the document might be leaked. Both stages in the process raise risks of the disclosure of the content of charges that the Crown would not otherwise make public. Such disclosure is a risk to the fair administration of justice, which needs to be protected.”
“The petition is the initiating procedure and the indictment is the formal document that brings the accused person to court for a preliminary hearing and, ultimately, a trial, if they do not plead guilty. The petition warrant contains information that could be brought into the public domain by virtue of the actions of either the accused or someone who is acting on their behalf, or through some other process—for example, the details of the petition warrant might be leaked to a newspaper. In comparison and in contrast, the indictment is the formal document that is lodged with the court, at which stage a preliminary hearing is ordered by the independent court.”
“I have the highest regard for the Lord Advocate, but the question that has been asked by some of my colleagues bears repeating. The question is not whether the Lord Advocate had seen the March 2025 minute in her name; it is to do with understanding why she sent the March 2025 minute, given that the indictment had not been completed, which was the justification that was given last week. It would be helpful if we could understand why the minute was sent in March 2025. The Lord Advocate: A petition warrant is the initiating process by which an accused person comes to court. A petition warrant sets down, at that stage, the prosecutor’s understanding of the charge that may eventually be brought before the court on an indictment.”
“Last time we debated this budget, I told members about delayed discharge at the Vale of Leven hospital, from which many of my elderly constituents from Helensburgh are unable to get home because of a lack of social care in Argyll and Bute. I said that someone with a care package had to die for the package to be reallocated. However, that is no longer true: now, when someone dies, the care package is cancelled and taken as a saving. This budget does nothing to fix that. After 20 years of the SNP being in charge, it feels as though the country is going backwards and we have lost compassion and care. SNP members should hang their heads in shame. 17:09”
“At the last count, in November 2025, more than 2,000 people were experiencing delayed discharge, and that number is going up, too. I remember the cabinet secretary telling us that delayed discharge would be ended—that was 11 years ago. Meanwhile, the health and social care partnerships that deliver social care in our communities are slashing services. Transport for people with learning disabilities to their local day centre is gone. Transport for older people in rural areas to hospital appointments is gone. In Dundee—the cabinet secretary’s back yard— mental health services for older people are under review and are going. Across Scotland, social care faces a £562 million funding gap in this financial year alone, and there is nothing in the budget for social care services for the coming year.”
“We could all tell countless stories about good social care: the quality and compassion of the staff, the social care provider that goes the extra mile and the care home that truly is a home from home. When it is driven by values and delivering care with dignity and respect, the contribution of social care to the fabric of our society cannot be overestimated. No one will disagree with what I just said but, when it comes to resourcing social care, the Government is not funding demand. Instead, we have sticking plaster solutions—but even the sticking plaster is no longer working. At the start of February, more than 10,000 people were waiting on a social care assessment or a care-at-home package. That number is a quarter higher than it was this time last year, and it is going up.”
“Nowhere is that more evident than in resourcing for primary care and GPs. That used to be 11 per cent of the health budget; now, it is 7 per cent. Although the SNP announced the introduction of walk-in clinics, GP surgeries are facing closure. This week, I heard from a GP in Perthshire whose practice lease expires in May. The SNP promised that health boards would take over practice leases, but that practice has heard nothing from NHS Tayside and it may have to close. The GP told me that that has caused them significant uncertainty and stress, and that it effectively binds their hands in relation to running an effective medical practice, with no future guarantee that the practice will be able to remain open. That is how the Scottish Government treats our GPs. In my remaining time, I will concentrate my remarks on social care.”
“Only last week, the statistics for healthy life expectancy came out, and what a damning indictment of the SNP’s record they were. Healthy life expectancy is falling. Despite all the advances in science and medicine, healthy life expectancy has been going down since 2014 and is now only 59.4 years for women and 59.1 years for men. Put simply, people are living longer in England. That is the legacy of almost 20 years of an SNP Government. It was enough time to be able to transform Scotland and make it better for the next generation, but the opportunity has been squandered due to incompetence and waste. Instead of prevention, the Government funds crisis—so it is no wonder that the nation is not getting healthier. Shona Robison: Will Jackie Baillie take an intervention on that point? Jackie Baillie: No—let me make this point.”
“The overall target across Government is £1.6 billion, so two thirds—by far the lion’s share—must come from health. It has to be said that that is a hugely ambitious saving to make—it is significantly in excess of what health boards have historically achieved. The Scottish Government has given them a mountain to climb. Undoubtedly, it will lead to cuts in some areas, deteriorating conditions and more pressure on staff. As David Phillips of the IFS—who we were fond of quoting the last time we had a debate on this budget—said: “funding allocations for health in 2026-27 look increasingly detached from reality.” That sums up the SNP’s approach: fantasy economics, divorced from everyday life Let me tell members about the reality of health in Scotland.”
“I start by joining others in wishing Shona Robison well on her retirement from the Parliament, and indeed on whatever she does next. I hear every week from front-line NHS staff, who go above and beyond in the most pressing of circumstances. They deserve our thanks, and they certainly deserve every penny of their pay increase. Indeed, the bulk of the uplift in health is for pay. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has noted that, when pay is excluded, funding for NHS Scotland is actually down by 0.6 per cent in real terms. In other words, it is NHS services that will be impacted and, ultimately, patients will be the ones who will suffer. On top of that, the health portfolio has been set an efficiency target to achieve of £1.1 billion.”
“Today, as we remember those who lost their lives, their homes and their families in the blitz, let us honour them by paying tribute to their determination to rebuild and to defend their nation. 19:00”
“The building was on fire at the bridge end, and to keep Goering’s Bombers with a good target Singer’s enormous piles of wood got set to a raging furnace which could be seen for miles and high. They peppered away, never a lull in all this time.” Time prevents me from sharing more, but I commend the letter to members. Within weeks of that devastation, production resumed along the Clyde. Thomas Kearns, who wrote that letter, was among those who had returned to work. The people along the Clyde were not intimidated, and the same spirit endures today. The threats that we face today may be different, but they are present and evolving. We need to make sure that the lessons of the second world war are never forgotten. A previous generation rebuilt the towns along the Clyde from the ashes.”
“The letter talked about “a ‘Murderous Attack’ on the poor defenceless women and children in their homes, terrorising and sending to eternity the peaceful and industrious citizens of the industrious town of Clydebank.” Thomas continued: “We were just sitting at the fire after the children got to bed, the gunfire started, this made us a bit panicky naturally, a hurried dressing of the children and rush down to the close level with our neighbours and there we remained for 9½ hours, with the bombs and land-mines dropping from the moon-light heavens. They seemed never to cease … The buildings began to rock with the heavy high explosives, windows began to blow in, doors and ceilings, slates and plaster with mixtures of soot and God knows what.”
“I came across a letter from Thomas Kearns, a riveter who fled his home the day after the raid with his family and moved to Main Street, Alexandria. He wrote it to his pal Patrick Diamond. Unfortunately, Patrick never received it, because the censor would not let it through, such was the detail it contained. I will share some of it with the chamber.”
“As Jamie Hepburn rightly noted, misdirection measures were subsequently implemented, with starfish bunkers presenting a series of decoy fires that directed German bombers away from Dumbarton in further raids. However, in Clydebank, the devastation was significantly worse. As Marie McNair rightly said, 528 people lost their lives that night, a further 617 were seriously injured and thousands more were hurt, cut or traumatised by the blast. Some 12,000 dwellings were destroyed. Every community, from Bowling and Old Kilpatrick through Dalmuir, Radnor Park, Parkhall, Mountblow, Whitecrook and Duntocher to Yoker, was razed to the ground. The next day, almost 40,000 people started the great evacuation out of the area. Some ended up walking to Glasgow, others to Kirkintilloch. The lucky ones came to Dumbarton and the Vale of Leven.”
“I start by thanking Marie McNair for bringing the debate to the chamber. Like others, I pay tribute to the resilience of the people of Clydebank. They paid a heavy price, with direct strikes by the German Luftwaffe in one of the most destructive bombing raids of the second world war almost 85 years ago. As we have heard, the raid started on Thursday 13 March 1941, just after 9 pm, when 236 German bombers arrived above Clydeside. Towns along the River Clyde were targeted because of their shipyards and factories, which were the engines of Scotland’s war effort. Even Dumbarton was not spared, as a plane got lost and mistook the town for Clydebank, with the result that high-explosive devices and parachute mines destroyed more than 100 homes and claimed 17 lives in the town.”
“Let me finish on a note of consensus, with Michelle Thomson and Liz Smith. We need to thank the Scottish Fiscal Commission, the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Fraser of Allander Institute for their work in shining a light on what is a less-than-transparent budget and for highlighting the challenges for the future. 16:23”
“The irony is not lost on the sector. The consequence of that cut would have been job losses, the slashing of services, some organisations going to the wall and returning to institutionalised models of care from the past. I welcome what has been done on social care, and I also welcome hospice funding. I would say to Jamie Greene that some of us have been arguing about this for a long, long time. I am pleased that the SNP has now U-turned, but I have to ask what that says about its motivation in the first place, given how damaging the original decision would have been. It tells me that this Government is failing health and social care, it is funding crisis, not prevention, and it is asking health and social care workers to operate in intolerable conditions, risking burnout without the resources that are needed to provide quality care.”
“He requires round-the-clock supervision, and has been assessed as requiring nursing home care, but the health and social care partnership was not prepared to release funding for him. It wanted to send him home today to his wife, who has terminal cancer. He has seriously endangered himself in the past and the strain on his wife is profound at an already difficult time for her. I have intervened to make sure that he remains in the nursing home, but what intolerable stress that places on families, and it is down to a lack of money. That is the reality of social care in SNP Scotland. Yesterday, I met social care providers that are deeply concerned about the Government’s approach. On the one hand, it says that it wants to work in partnership with the sector on fairer funding; on the other, it plans to cut £19 million from the staffing budget.”
“More than 11,000 Scots are waiting for a social care assessment—an increase of almost 28 per cent on the same time last year. More than 2,000 are stuck in hospital with their discharge delayed. People in my constituency are unable to get a care package in Argyll and Bute because they are waiting for people to die so that funds for new care packages can be released. That is how dreadful the underfunding of social care has been, and the buck stops with the SNP Government. I have another constituent, this time in West Dunbartonshire. He has advanced dementia and is in a nursing home because his family are desperate to give his wife respite, and they paid for it themselves.”
“Instead, the NHS is having to slash services because of efficiency savings totalling a staggering £1.1 billion next year. The Scottish Government is giving with one hand and taking away with the other. The SNP’s approach is to expect public services to deliver even more for even less, which is putting an intolerable strain on staff. Services are being slashed, and nowhere is this more evident than in social care. There is little money for social care packages. We are told that social care requires £550 million to plug the funding deficit this year alone. Next year, the level of need is anticipated to be £750 million. There is not a penny in the budget to meet the pressure on some of the most vulnerable people in our society—older people, the sick and disabled people.”
“Having such a short time to discuss a budget allocating £68 billion is unsatisfactory, but I will not waste any more of my four minutes debating that point. However, I will repeat one thing: “funding allocations for health in 2026-27 look increasingly detached from reality.” That comment was made by David Phillips of the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Excluding pay, funding is down by 0.6 per cent in real terms. That is a cut. However, there are pay rises of 3.75 per cent, going up to almost 10 per cent, and it is NHS services that will pay for the gap. I do not begrudge staff a penny of that—they are really hard working—but we need to ask the Government where the money is coming from. The SNP cannot tell us, because it has no credible plan.”
“Daniel Johnson (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab) rose— Jamie Greene: The budget was always going to pass, but the question for Opposition members, including Mr Hoy, is, what did they get out of this budget? I got £300 million. As far as I can see, that is £300 million more than anyone else in the chamber got. The Deputy Presiding Officer: We now move to the open debate. 16:04”
“For example, I called for a complete freeze on business rates for all hospitality businesses, as has been done in Northern Ireland. At the end of the day, this is not my budget; it is the Government’s budget, and it must make and own those decisions. The £178 million relief package that we got was far more than what we had when I started the negotiation. The same goes for the funding for the college sector, and the same goes for the funding that we achieved for young entrepreneurs. Will all of that save the Scottish economy from its perilous state? No, it will not, but the main difference between my approach and the approach of others in the chamber is simple: I did not walk away from this game with nothing. Craig Hoy: Will Jamie Greene take an intervention?”
“Seriously? Jamie Greene: Yes, seriously, Ms Baillie. Would you like to intervene, because you are shouting at me from the front there. Did you get an email from the sector thanking you for supporting it? The Deputy Presiding Officer: Through the chair. Jackie Baillie: I actually did. The difference is that this is not the first time that I have stood up to support hospices or social care; I have done so consistently over a number of years. Jamie Greene: The big difference, Ms Baillie, is that you walked away from the discussion and negotiation on day 1. The Deputy Presiding Officer: Through the chair, please. Jamie Greene: The budget was going to pass anyway, thanks to Mr Marra and members on his front bench. There is stuff in this budget that I am concerned about.”
“I have to say that I am surprised at this astonishing level of complacency. There are so many questions that the public deserve answers to. Unfortunately, the Scottish Government cannot actually confirm whether the hospital is safe today, so I say to it: reassure patients by providing plans for protecting at-risk patients right now; validate the ventilation and the water throughout the hospital; and make sure that the validation reports are shared with whistleblowers and are published. Families and whistleblowers deserve nothing less. The Deputy Presiding Officer: That concludes the debate on the safety of the Queen Elizabeth university hospital. There will be a brief pause before we move to the next item of business. Community Policing”
“He noted: “given the … clinical activities and patient groups involved, I would have anticipated a greater degree of testing.” The counsel to the inquiry went on to say: “the whole hospital ventilation system has not been validated. The general wards have not been validated. It’s most concerning that it’s still not been done.” The inquiry says that we should not wait for the conclusion of its report, because patient safety demands changes now. In his contribution to the inquiry, Neil Gray told the inquiry that he would be surprised if the ventilation system of the hospital was not validated against any standard before opening, but it was not, was it? Is Neil Gray surprised that Shona Robison did not seek that assurance? Is he surprised that the ventilation system has still not been validated?”
“The Poplett report, which the Government has relied on, covered ventilation and water, but it was restricted in scope. In fairness, Mr Poplett did what he was asked to do. It was a desktop exercise covering limited wards and not the whole hospital. It relied on paperwork that was provided by the health board. It failed to consider the logs of issues and associated clinical risk, because that information was not provided. The whistleblowers, who are the infection control experts, were not involved. The report was on the management of the system, and not the original design of the system. In fact, Mr Poplett said that the water was the minimum required by the Scottish health technical memorandum standards.”
“The cabinet secretary, Neil Gray, was unable to give that absolute reassurance when we last debated the Queen Elizabeth university hospital, and he cannot with confidence answer the question today. Neil Gray: Will the member take an intervention? Jackie Baillie: No. The cabinet secretary did not take one from me, so he should let me finish my point. We need the evidence to reassure staff and patients that the water system is safe and that the ventilation system is safe. He should publish the reports that are in his possession, because it took cross-party support across the Parliament to shake the Government out of complacency. I am grateful to the Greens and all Opposition parties for coming together again today. The counsel to the inquiry noted that validation had only been carried out in selected wards.”
“Yes, the staff at the hospital do a tremendous job—they are second to none and this is not their fault—but there is a problem with the building. Patients are now supplied with bottled water. There are filters on the taps because the water is not safe. There are too many people in rooms in which the ventilation is inadequate, and air changes are half what they actually should be. The atrium, where people arrive, is filled from floor to ceiling with masses upon masses of steel scaffolding. There are yellow buckets to catch water that is coming in from the ceiling in some ward areas, and it appears that the hospital is being rebuilt from the inside out, and it is only just over 10 years old. The key question that the Government needs to answer for patients’ reassurance and for the staff is whether the hospital is safe today.”
“Did the reports get read or acted on, or is it another example of complacency that resulted in patients dying? Brian Whittle: Will the member take an intervention? Jackie Baillie: I do not have time. It is little wonder then that the assurances from the Scottish Government ring hollow. The lack of transparency and the toxic culture of secrecy unsurprisingly mean that very few trust the Scottish Government or the health board. Both have spent the past 10 years gaslighting whistleblowers, dismissing the concerns of families and covering up the truth from the people of Scotland. The staff at the hospital are superb. Let me tell you how I know that. Neil Gray: Will the member take an intervention? Jackie Baillie: No, sorry. Last week, I visited the Queen Elizabeth university hospital and I saw with my own eyes the challenges that remain.”
“Back in 2015, I asked the then health secretary, Shona Robison, whether she would learn the lessons of the Vale of Leven hospital inquiry and carry out an independent audit into the new hospital. She agreed, and then she changed her mind and claimed that there was no need to follow the MacLean report’s recommendations because there was “robust reporting and monitoring in place.” Had there been an independent audit, it just might have saved lives. The hospital opened too soon, when it was not safe to do so. During the first three years of the hospital’s operation, the Scottish Government was alerted to at least 14 serious infection outbreaks. Each of those reports would have landed on Shona Robison’s desk. What was the result of that robust monitoring and reporting?”
“The events at the Queen Elizabeth university hospital resulted in the deaths of patients—adults and children. It is one of the worst scandals in the history of the Parliament and is on a par with the tragedy that occurred at the Vale of Leven hospital. The loss of life was entirely preventable. I am so disappointed in Christine Grahame’s shameless and factually inaccurate speech, which I will take up with her later. It was to the credit of Jeane Freeman that she established the Scottish hospitals inquiry after hearing about the concerns. I offer my condolences to Susan and to Jeane’s family and colleagues. The inquiry has spent the past five years trying to undo the culture of secrecy and uncover exactly what led to the deaths of those patients. An inquiry’s job is to make sense of the past so that we can learn lessons for the future.”
“I will not pre-empt the inquiry’s final conclusions and recommendations, but I am pleased that, during its course, we have been provided with important reassurances about the hospital’s water and ventilation. As I did in my speech two weeks ago, I will finish by bringing my focus back to the patients and families. I sincerely hope that, when the inquiry’s final conclusions and recommendations are published, they will finally gain a sense of closure and feel that their questions have been answered. 15:28”
“That is why we know that Lord Brodie commissioned the reports and audits that have been referenced already on water and ventilation from Andrew Poplett, the inquiry’s expert; that Andrew Poplett’s view is that the Queen Elizabeth university hospital’s current procedures for managing the water system are suitable and safe; that he noted that the facilities team is now exceeding standard guidance and adopting a proactive and preventative approach that prioritises patient safety and resilience; and that expert testimony to the inquiry has advised that governance arrangements for water and ventilation are now optimal. Those independent judgments are important markers of the progress that has been made and of the seriousness with which patient safety is now embedded in day-to-day operations at the hospital.”
“Will the member take an intervention? Clare Haughey: I do not have time. Not only would it be completely inappropriate for ministers to seek to do anything other than allow that process to continue—which, yet again, is being obfuscated by the Labour motion today—but it would be unlawful. The clue is in the name: public inquiries, such as the one that is being led by Lord Brodie, are obliged to conduct their work in an open and transparent manner.”
“Neil Gray: Given that recent revelations show that the NHS in England has been paying trusts to incentivise them to remove patients from lists, that is probably not the best route for Ms Baillie to go down in terms of a comparison between Scotland and England, because we certainly do not deploy that tactic in Scotland. We are making demonstrable progress in reducing waiting times, not by incentivising our boards to remove patients from lists but by increasing capacity and improving patient delivery. Cancer Treatment Waiting Times 4.”
“Spin is clearly not a novelty with the Scottish National Party Government, because the First Minister said that he would end waits of more than a year by March this year, yet, according to Public Health Scotland, there were almost 63,000 waits of more than a year and more than 8,000 waits of more than two years, compared with just a few hundred in England. Does the minister accept that the First Minister has broken yet another promise and that patients are waiting too long for treatment? Is this the usual case of the SNP promising the world but delivering absolutely nothing?”
“To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that a former chief nursing officer offered the parents of Sophia Smith £20,000 and a holiday following her death in the Queen Elizabeth university hospital in 2017. (S6T-02884)”
“The First Minister: I reassure Jackie Baillie that GP numbers are going up under the Scottish Government’s watch to make sure that we have in place the services that are required in our communities. The Government is going further with GP walk-in centres to make sure that there is even more access for members of the public. That is this Government listening to the people and delivering on the national health service. The Presiding Officer: We move to constituency and general supplementary questions.”
“The reality is that the SNP is busted. Today, we have seen that it keeps important information from the public and pretends that it is cleaner than clean. The Scottish Government promised 800 more GPs, but it has failed to reach its target. Despite that promise, there are fewer whole-time equivalent GPs than there were a decade ago. Those GPs are seeing more patients. They now see 1,700 patients, compared with 1,500 in 2013. Primary care is under incredible strain, and both the British Medical Association and the Royal College of General Practitioners have been critical of the walk-in centres, calling instead for the money to go to existing GP services. How will the First Minister ensure that the walk-in centres are adequately staffed when that is not currently the case in local GP practices?”
“The responsibility for complying with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 rests with individual organisations. Poverty and Social Exclusion (Support for Projects in North East Scotland) 3.”