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 8 of 11.
“On a point of order, Deputy Presiding Officer. Unfortunately, I could not connect to the digital voting platform. I would have voted yes. The Deputy Presiding Officer: Thank you, Ms Baillie. I will make sure that that is recorded.”
“I am very grateful to those at the base, both serving personnel and staff, who are working for partners such as Babcock, which, through their efforts, contribute to the security of our country. We need to equip them to do their job, however. Defence might be reserved, but growing the economy, investing in manufacturing and providing skills and training are all devolved and the responsibility of the Scottish Government. The SNP has lost sight of that. Instead, it wants to play student politics. It is simply not serious. It is time for change. 16:58 Kate Forbes: At the outset of my closing remarks, let me speak once again about the importance that we place on Scotland’s defence sector, which plays a vital role—”
“Can the cabinet secretary explain to me why Ferguson’s shipyard, which is owned and funded by the SNP Government, is able to do contract work for BAE Systems, which builds warships? Just in case she did not know, warships have munitions on them. Thank goodness that John Healey, Labour’s Secretary of State for Defence, has said that he will step in, because the SNP has failed to step up. Conscious of the time and drawing my remarks to a close, I welcome the strategic defence review. I very much welcome the investment that has been brought forward by a UK Labour Government: billions of pounds for improved housing for forces personnel and for new submarines, which will have a direct and positive impact on His Majesty’s naval base Clyde in my constituency.”
“In so far as I understand its thinking, it was because the people being trained might work on the construction of a submarine, which has munitions on it. The training opportunities and the good jobs that Rolls-Royce would have provided for people in west and central Scotland should have been welcomed. So, too, should the investment by the Malin Group in establishing a marine technology park in West Dunbartonshire. Lorna Slater: Will the member take an intervention? Jackie Baillie: No. Apparently, it is SNP Government policy not to fund any jobs relating to munitions—a policy that is not fit for the world as it is now, a policy based on ideology, not security, and a policy that is inconsistently applied. Lorna Slater: Will the member take an intervention? Jackie Baillie: No.”
“Mr McDonald had more to say. He said that we should be more ambitious in our support of Scotland’s domestic defence sector, while still maintaining our commitment to good human rights practice. Indeed, he said all that in the policy paper “Think Like a State, Act Like a State”. Despite John Swinney’s recent rhetoric about dusting down his aspiration for independence, the SNP’s attitude to defence clearly demonstrates that it is incapable of the grown-up thinking and action required. Instead, the defence industries are treated like a dirty little secret and, as we now know, the SNP would send forces personnel into the field with peashooters. That is what lies behind the bonkers decision on Rolls-Royce. There was almost universal astonishment that the SNP Government withheld a grant of £2.5 million to Rolls-Royce for a welding centre. Why?”
“Four minutes is not a lot of time in which to sum up the debate, so let me get straight to the point and start with the wise words of Stewart McDonald, the former MP who used to be the SNP’s spokesperson on defence. He has already been referenced by Stephen Kerr, but this is well worth repeating. This is what he said: “Having worked hard on defence policy for my party when an MP, it pains me to see we are not evolving with the serious times we live in.” Stewart McDonald, who is the SNP expert on defence, is absolutely right. In these uncertain times, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and now the war between Israel and Iran, the world is now undoubtedly a less stable place. It is therefore the most important task of any Government to provide security for the country and its people.”
“I move amendment S6M-17981.3, to leave out from “; notes” to end and insert: “, and in protecting national security, especially at a time of increased global instability, and notes that defence is a matter reserved to the UK Government under the Scotland Act 1998 and that the Scottish Government’s long-standing position is that public money should focus on diversification.” 16:15”
“It is a matter that the Opposition is quick to remind us of in relation to how we spend our budget. Our approach recognises that defence is hugely important. Scotland will continue to play a key role in supporting our allies, including Ukraine. Our support will focus on creating high-skilled, sustainable jobs and supporting innovation across the defence sector. The defence sector is vital to our economy, and it will remain so. We will continue to invest in defence-related innovation, skills and infrastructure to build a defence economy that is fit for the future, productive and proud.”
“Just as we invest in the skills and technologies of the future, we must also ensure that our investment decisions reflect the kind of future that we want to build—one that is grounded in integrity and respect for human rights. That is why the Government signed up to the United Nations guiding principles on business and human rights and it is why our enterprise agencies operate a robust due diligence process to assess companies’ human rights records before funding is approved. That is why we voted for the Labour amendment that committed Scottish Enterprise to reviewing its human rights due diligence checks, and we plan to update Parliament on that before recess. Defence is a reserved matter under the Scotland Act 1998. Where UK Government funding is provided directly for munitions manufacturing, that is its prerogative.”
“We fund the young STEM leader programme, which has engaged more than 20,000 young people across every local authority in Scotland, and the STEM nation award programme, which has supported more than 8,800 teachers and almost 120,000 pupils in recognising and building excellence in STEM teaching. We are embedding STEM in the heart of our education system and supporting our current economic sectors. That is future proofing our economy for decades to come. We are investing up to £2 million to develop engineering skills in the Glasgow city region in a programme designed by the Clyde maritime cluster in partnership with Skills Development Scotland, of which a key player is BAE Systems.”
“We are supporting the future workforce through apprenticeships by backing around 25,500 new modern apprenticeships in 2025-26 and continuing to support more than 38,000 apprentices who are already in training, many of whom are in STEM fields that are critical to Scotland’s industrial future, including defence. More than 80 per cent of apprentices in STEM start their training at higher levels, ensuring that we develop the advanced skills needed in high- tech sectors, including those that support aerospace, marine engineering and advanced manufacturing.”
“For example, we have helped Leonardo to develop civilian radar and sensing technologies, we have supported Raytheon in expanding into commercial aerospace and we have backed Walker Precision Engineering in its aerospace and medical technologies. We are not only investing in businesses but in people, especially our young people. Scotland’s defence sector, like many others, depends on a skilled workforce, which is why the Government continues to make significant investments in science, technology, engineering and maths education and training. Last year alone, we invested more than £1.74 million in programmes that support the delivery of high-quality STEM learning in schools.”
“Will the cabinet secretary take an intervention? Kate Forbes: Members will appreciate that I think that my time has just been cut again and I want to cover quite a lot of space. Jackie Baillie: On a point of order, Deputy Presiding Officer, could you give an indication of whether the cabinet secretary’s time has been cut again? The Deputy Presiding Officer: I can confirm that the cabinet secretary’s time has not been cut, but it is still up to five minutes. I can give you the time back for that point of order, Deputy First Minister. Kate Forbes: My apologies to Jackie Baillie. I had been anticipating slightly longer, so I am going to try to compress my comments; unfortunately, I now have even less time to do so. We are targeting Scotland’s public support towards innovation, training and economic diversification.”
“I will be more than happy to work with her and other members to ensure that the vision for health and social care services that is set out in the documents is delivered. The Deputy Presiding Officer: I remind members who seek to ask questions to check that they have pressed their request-to-speak buttons.”
“The service renewal framework and the population health framework are about making generational shifts in the way in which we deliver our health and social care services by moving to a more preventative model, shifting the balance of care so that more services are delivered in our communities and ensuring that we intervene earlier and do not see an escalation in an individual’s poor health. The digital front door will go further than the NHS app that is available elsewhere goes. It will be an integrated health and social care digital front door to ensure that there will be the element of co- ordination that Jackie Baillie asked for but is not being delivered elsewhere in the UK.”
“Jackie Baillie: —with announcements of measures that will never deliver— The Deputy Presiding Officer: Will you please put your question? Jackie Baillie: I am trying to. The Deputy Presiding Officer: You are over your time, Ms Baillie. Jackie Baillie: —coming from a Government that is running out of ideas and fast running out of time. The Deputy Presiding Officer: I do not know that there was a question there. Jackie Baillie: There was. The Deputy Presiding Officer: Cabinet secretary, please respond. Neil Gray: I am not convinced that there was a question there, Presiding Officer. I am genuinely seeking to engage with members from across the Parliament on the contents of what we have put to them.”
“That commitment has been broken but, cynically, it is now being reannounced. The cabinet secretary rightly talks about prevention, but for the past 18 years the SNP Government has funded crisis rather than prevention. Audit Scotland has identified cuts of £560 million in social care— The Deputy Presiding Officer: Ms Baillie, please put your question to the cabinet secretary. You are over your time. Jackie Baillie: Of course. In this year alone, services are being cut to the bone— The Deputy Presiding Officer: No, Ms Baillie—we need questions. Jackie Baillie: Today’s statement amounts to little more than gaslighting the people of Scotland— The Deputy Presiding Officer: Ms Baillie, please put your question. You are well over your time.”
“This is simply tinkering around the edges. The Scottish National Party Government’s plan would simply merge two special boards rather than implement effective reform. It amounts to gesture politics that will not create an NHS in which systems work together and money follows the patient. Whatever the new board might be called, the hallmark of this Government will be its lack of delivery. If Neil Gray wants me to come up with ideas, he should tell John Swinney to call the election now and I will do the job for him. I am not holding my breath over the promise of using an NHS app that has been used by NHS England since 2018 and that, although it was developed by a Glasgow headquartered company, has been ignored by the SNP. The SNP made a manifesto commitment to have an all-Scotland app, but we are to have a pilot in NHS Lanarkshire alone.”
“To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to reduce ambulance turnaround times at hospitals, in light of figures showing that so far in 2025 more than half of conveyances recorded a turnaround time of longer than 45 minutes. (S6T- 02591)”
“To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the reasons for there being more private hospital admissions in 2024 than in any previous year on record, according to recent Private Healthcare Information Network data. (S6O-04791)”
“There is also the McDonald’s roundabout on the A811, which backs up on to the A82, causing gridlock. If you live locally, as I do, you stay at home or head in the opposite direction if the sun is shining, because the A82 becomes a car park, with traffic at a standstill. Adding 250 to 280 additional cars a day would add to the existing infrastructure problems.”
“Ross Greer’s petition of 155,000 people rejected it. My local survey of 3,000 households in Balloch, Jamestown, Tullichewan, Levenvale and Haldane saw 65 per cent of local residents rejecting the application. All that local knowledge and expert opinion surely counts for something. The Scottish Government appointees on the board or the planning officers at the national park should surely be listened to, with their years of experience. I will give a small local example. I invite the minister and his colleagues to come out and visit on a sunny day at the weekend. If they were to try getting up Loch Lomondside in a car, they would be stuck on the A82 all the way from Milton at the start of my constituency in Dumbarton right up to and beyond the Stoneymollan roundabout, and it would be the same in reverse.”
“I would be happy to take an intervention from the minister so that he can explain what has changed. No? I can see that I am not going to get anywhere with that, so let me welcome the SNP’s U-turn and tell members why the application should be called in for ministerial determination. First, the decision being made by a single unelected reporter—no matter how good he might be—is a democratic affront. The national park board, which was appointed by ministers, and some members of which were elected by their local community, was unanimous in its rejection of the application. The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency—one of the Government’s own expert agencies—recommended rejection because of flooding. The Woodland Trust, the National Trust for Scotland and countless other expert bodies all rejected the application.”
“In response, he said: “I have no intention of recalling the appeal”.—[Official Report, 20 May 2025; c 5.] Two weeks ago, the First Minister also refused to intervene. Yesterday, there was a spectacular U-turn. Now, according to the minister, there are “issues of national significance” that justify the call- in. What are those issues? What has changed during the past two weeks? Loch Lomond and the Trossachs remains an area of outstanding natural beauty. It is Scotland’s first national park and the jewel in our crown; that has not changed during the past two weeks. The national planning framework 4, which was published in 2023 and voted for by this Parliament, notes problems with flooding across Scotland. Part of the area for development is subject to flooding. That has not changed in the past two weeks.”
“Perhaps it was because it counted the thousands of emails that were sent to ministers by people from my constituency and across Scotland and realised how angry people were about the proposed development. Perhaps it was because the SNP Government realised that the Scottish Labour motion had the support of the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens. Defeat for the Government was a certainty, so it sought to get ahead of the Parliament. The Government will of course say that it was none of the above, so let us explore what has changed. Three weeks ago, the Lomond Banks proposal was raised by Ross Greer during topical question time. I, too, asked the minister, Ivan McKee, to call the application in, as did Pam Gosal.”
“Drawing on those principles, and considering the expert planning opinion on the application, the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority made a unanimous decision to reject the bid from Flamingo Land for a resort in Balloch. Flamingo Land appealed the decision, and I have to say that, in all my 25 years in the Parliament, the reporter’s decision to grant the appeal and overrule everyone else was, frankly, extraordinary. It is not often that an MSP lodges a motion and the Scottish Government caves in before a word has been spoken; I have certainly never experienced that before. Perhaps it was in anticipation of the quality and persuasiveness of the speeches to come that the Scottish National Party Government changed its mind.”
“When Loch Lomond and the Trossachs became Scotland’s first national park in 2002, it was after 60 years of campaigning. Generations of Scots wanted to protect its unique geology, history and beauty, and that still applies today. There is, after all, only one Loch Lomond, and we are the custodians of our environment for future generations. When Sarah Boyack was the Minister for Transport and the Environment, the Parliament passed legislation to create national parks. I spoke in the stage 1 debate. We recognised then that there was no contradiction between protecting the environment and boosting the local economy, but we made it clear that, if there was a conflict, the principle of conserving the park’s natural and cultural heritage came first.”
“Our national health service is on its knees. There are thousands of vacancies for doctors and nurses, and yet we are turning them away as posts lie unfilled or, even worse, are cut. When 860,000 Scots are on a waiting list for tests or treatment, delayed discharge remains stubbornly high, the number of general practitioners is reducing instead of increasing, and there are shortages in almost every area of the NHS—from nurses to allied health professionals— the fact that we are training people to end up unemployed is, frankly, a disgrace.”
“However, having spent many millions on this, the government have chosen to ignore what would have been a huge starting point.” She ends by saying: “We need ACTION!” It is in that spirit of action that Scottish Labour has worked with the Government to salvage what is possible from the bill, and I commend the minister and her officials for working with us on a series of amendments: on Anne’s law, so that those in care know that they will always have the right to see a loved one—righting the wrongs done to them during the pandemic; on breaks for unpaid carers; on better sharing of information between health and social care; and on fair work, with better procurement and more besides. Taken together, those measures will improve the social care system. Let us be clear, however: it is a job half done. 18:17”
“The Feeley review based its recommendations on testimony from people with experience of social care. Rather than implementing those recommendations, however, the SNP Government set up more conversations with those with lived experience. I do not demur from that, but people have consultation fatigue; what they want is action. As Lorraine, a parent of a young man with special needs, told me: “The Feeley Report was really good and well received by carers.”
“The Feeley review outlined the importance of paying social care staff properly—something that Scottish Labour has been calling for over the past four years in budget after budget, to which the SNP has kept saying no. Fair work is a principle that we all support but, when it comes to taking action, the SNP is last in the queue. In fact, at the stroke of a pen, it has cut £38 million that was earmarked to improve the terms and conditions of social care workers. Just think what could have been done with that money, or indeed the £31 million that has been spent on the bill: that would be the equivalent of 1 million hours of social care. Right now, nearly 10,000 Scots are waiting on a social care assessment or a care-at-home package, yet the bill does not pay for a single extra carer.”
“Unless social care has true parity of esteem with the NHS, the SNP will continue to underfund services. Just look at John Swinney’s raids on integration joint boards’ budgets, which have left them on a financial precipice. Just this March, Audit Scotland warned that there will be a projected funding gap of £560 million next year. As for the reality on the ground, while the SNP spent four years tinkering with its failed bill, there have been social care transport cuts in Aberdeenshire, supported living services put at risk in Glasgow, cuts to learning disability services in Edinburgh and the closure of the work connect project for people with learning disabilities in West Dunbartonshire.”
“The SNP promised to implement the Feeley recommendations, but, instead of steering safely into harbour, it headed straight for the rocks. The Feeley review highlighted the importance of national accountability while allowing for local delivery. Instead, the SNP attempted a power grab by centralising control. It is therefore no surprise that COSLA walked away, warning that the bill could lead to significant destabilisation of services. Four years later, three First Ministers later, three health secretaries later and £31 million later, we have before us a drastically reduced bill with no national care service in sight, and not a single extra penny of that money has gone directly into social care. That, of course, is the elephant in the room: the lack of funding for the social care sector.”
“A decade and a half ago, I stood here and outlined Scottish Labour’s vision for a national care service—not a quango or more civil servants but a co-ordinated national approach to provide locally delivered care, raise standards and end the postcode lottery. How we care for our most vulnerable people is more important than party politics, which is why Scottish Labour committed to help the Scottish Government to deliver such a service. However, I warned at the time that the devil would be in the detail. In 2021, Derek Feeley published his review of social care. Having listened to people with lived experience of social care, those delivering social care and front-line workers, the review provided a blueprint for a national care service that we all supported.”
“That record will be crucial in ensuring that the right people have access to the right information at the right time. It will help to reduce the upset and frustration that are caused to people who receive care when they have to retell their story again and again across all points of their care. A digital care record will also empower individuals by giving them the ability to more easily access their own health and care information and contribute to it where it is appropriate to do so. Amendments 4 and 9 make technical adjustments to make references to health and social care information throughout part 2 of the bill consistent with the definition that will be inserted by amendment 2. I move amendment 2. The Presiding Officer: I call Brian Whittle to move amendment 2A and speak to all amendments in the group.”
“Before I speak to the amendments in this first group, I want to put on record my thanks to the minister and her officials for drafting a series of amendments and, indeed, improving my humble efforts at stage 2. Amendments 2, 4 and 9 are designed to create a digital health and social care record. Amendment 2 will place a duty on the Scottish ministers to exercise the powers in part 2 of the bill to create an information-sharing scheme and lay down information standards. That is in order to ensure that every person who receives healthcare or a social care service in Scotland can have a digital care record. The amendment will secure the delivery of a digital care record to address the issues that were highlighted in the independent review of adult social care.”
“To ask the Scottish Government for what reason Scottish Enterprise has reportedly refused funding to Rolls- Royce Submarines, resulting in the potential loss of jobs. (S6T-02556)”
“I am committed to supporting the staff to deliver against the clear priorities that we have set on waiting times, planned care and access to unscheduled care pathways and general practice to ensure that, whether in NHS Grampian or any other part of the country, we continue to see improvement for the people of”
“Will the cabinet secretary finally heed the warnings from Audit Scotland and cut the number of health boards to improve governance arrangements? Neil Gray: No, I will not, because I do not think that taking that top-down structural approach at a time when we need to deliver for people is the action that is required. We have set out the first stage of our plans for immediate delivery in the operational improvement plan, and we are doing further work on our vision for health and social care services in Scotland by developing a population health framework and a service renewal framework, which will look at reform and renewal and the way in which we deliver our services in Scotland.”
“NHS Grampian was escalated to stage 3 in January and, four months later, it has been escalated to stage 4. The Government knew that the situation was bad in January, and it was told that again in March, when the health board submitted its financial plans, so why on earth did the Government wait before acting and further escalating the board’s status? Why has the Government allowed 13,500 patients in Grampian to wait for more than a year for tests or treatment? Why have both the 31-day and 62-day cancer treatment targets been missed? In the interests of patients and staff, the Government really should have acted faster. There are seven other health boards in the escalation framework because of poor performance. That means that more than half the health boards in Scotland are failing staff and patients.”
“I want to raise the tragic case of Isla Sneddon, who died at the age of 17 after a six-month battle with cancer. She first went to her general practitioner in 2022 with lumps in her breast. In June 2024, the GP made an urgent referral to the breast clinic for a biopsy, but it was downgraded to routine status. By the time that she was diagnosed, she had a sarcoma in the lining of her heart and the cancer had spread from her breast to her lungs and lymph nodes. If she had been an adult, the biopsy would have been urgent, but it was downgraded because she was under 18. Will the First Minister ensure that there is explicit guidance that suspicion of cancer in children and young people must be treated with the same urgency as cases in adults?”
“Therefore, will he take the time to visit the site, talk to local people and, on the back of that, review all the decision making and call in the planning application? Ivan McKee: All the issues that Jackie Baillie has raised have been addressed in the reporter’s considerations. As I have said, 49 planning conditions, addressing all of her points, have been put in place and must be satisfied before the application is taken forward. As I said earlier, because the appeal remains live, members will understand that it would not be appropriate for me to comment on any of the specifics of the case, other than to say that those issues have been addressed by the reporter.”
“I have had the benefit of reading the report, but I say to the minister that the A82 has insufficient capacity to carry the volume of existing traffic, never mind more traffic being added to it. When there is the slightest bit of sunshine, the A82 becomes a car park as people from across Scotland flock to Loch Lomond. Flamingo Land will make the position worse. The minister will know that the reporter’s decision flies in the face of expert evidence, the unanimous decision of the national park authority, the view of SEPA and the overwhelming majority of local people. I am bemused that the reporter’s opinion outweighs the opinions of all those ministerial appointees and expert agencies and, indeed, the view of my local community.”
“However, at a systemic level, it would be difficult to collect or assemble the kind of data that Jackie Baillie is asking for. United Kingdom-United States of America Trade Deal (Implications for Businesses) 6.”
“I stress that I am not a clinician, but, from what Jackie Baillie said about that case, it sounds like a call that should have gone directly to the Scottish Ambulance Service, because, if someone has difficulty breathing, that raises some pretty acute issues. I simply offer that as an observation, and I am very sorry to hear the circumstances that Jackie Baillie puts to me. We could consider Jackie Baillie’s suggestion in relation to individual cases, as there would be merit in exploring the journey that individuals have to go through, and it would be possible to do so. Many of us will have had the experience of having to tell our story multiple times. If that process can be made smoother, we should absolutely aim to do so.”
“The First Minister will know that, when NHS 24 triages a call, the caller can be phoned back by a nurse or doctor—often more than once. The caller is then triaged again by the health board, and it can take hours before they are seen. Thomas Rodger, who was 27 years old and from Falkirk, phoned NHS 24 several times before dying in hospital because he was struggling to breathe. Will the First Minister publish data on the time from the initial call to the point of treatment? The First Minister: I will explore that point. However, it might be difficult to provide a complete picture other than in an individual case. I understand that, in the case that Jackie Baillie raises, that would undoubtedly be possible.”
“Would one of the few Labour Party members who are in the chamber today like to tell me whether the £300 million that will be going directly from health and social care in Scotland this year and every year from now on will support social care in our communities or worsen the £500 million gap? [Interruption.] The Deputy Presiding Officer: I encourage members to ask questions and listen to the responses, rather than provide a running commentary.”
“Instead of addressing any of those issues and improving the terms and conditions of social care staff, the SNP simply blames someone else for its failures. After 20 years, Scotland needs a change. Maree Todd: The fact that Nigel Farage is praising Keir Starmer for copying his policies should shame the Labour Party, which is an increasingly unrecognisable party of austerity cuts, Brexit and hostile migration policies. The Labour Party’s damaging migration plans will leave communities across Scotland worse off by making it more difficult to recruit vital care workers, by squeezing economic growth and by harming Scotland’s valued international workforce.”
“What the minister will not tell the Parliament is that Audit Scotland said that there is a £560 million black hole in the finances for social care this year, which is down to the SNP; nor will she tell the chamber about the £30 million that was wasted on a national care service bill that had to be renamed because it did not deliver a single hour of extra care, which is down to the SNP. The minister will choose to ignore the fact that Scottish Labour has for four years demanded an increase in wages to £15 an hour to stop care workers leaving the profession to work in Aldi and Lidl, which pay more. That is down to the SNP. She will not talk about training some of the 119,000 unemployed Scots to fill the estimated 9,000 vacancies across all social care settings. That is down to the SNP.”
“I regret that I cannot support the bill in its current form, but whatever happens at the end of today, I will continue to engage with the process. 15:19”