Davy Russell
Scottish Labour · Scotland
“More than that, I hope that the Scottish and UK Governments will be prepared to work together to come down on retail banking conglomerates like a ton of bricks if banks will not independently curtail their detrimental closures of high street branches.”
“However, it is only in the longer term that we will see the full extent of the economic impact to Larkhall’s high street, which has always punched well above its weight— similar to Rutherglen, to be fair—as an independent hub for retailers.”
“I promise them that the customers they will see are those who are vulnerable in our society. They may be older or have a disability. They might want to send money abroad or they might be desperate to seek a line of credit or forgiveness for being overdrawn, while they are being punished by penalties that they cannot afford to pay.”
“I must thank Clare Haughey for bringing this debate to Parliament, as bank closures have also been a big issue in part of my constituency. I will also mention Councillor Ricky Nelson, who has worked closely with me on the issue. In January, the Bank of Scotland branch in Larkhall closed.”
“They were committed to the closure, apparently in the interests of shareholders, while putting the interests of vulnerable customers at the bottom of the pile.”
“I think that many constituents would find that those billions of pounds would be better spent on the national health service, schools and lowering energy costs, rather than rewarding shareholders and awarding bankers bonuses. The bank’s motto should be “Didn’t care, didn’t listen, won’t care, don’t care”. I have one more thing to say.”
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“I think that many constituents would find that those billions of pounds would be better spent on the national health service, schools and lowering energy costs, rather than rewarding shareholders and awarding bankers bonuses. The bank’s motto should be “Didn’t care, didn’t listen, won’t care, don’t care”. I have one more thing to say. I have been here for only a short time, but I wish everyone who is leaving a safe journey through the rest of their life. 18:43”
“More than that, I hope that the Scottish and UK Governments will be prepared to work together to come down on retail banking conglomerates like a ton of bricks if banks will not independently curtail their detrimental closures of high street branches. Their actions to close high street branches—11 in the Bank of Scotland’s most recent announcement and dozens more to come, if it gets its way—will betray hundreds of thousands of loyal customers. A bank operator that puts profit before its customers does not deserve to make a profit. Maybe we should introduce a profits tax, similar to the tax that applies to the oil industry, for banks. The public should think about whether the company has its long-term interests at heart. We should note its uncaring, callous business model and the fact that the group made £6.7 billion in profit last year.”
“I promise them that the customers they will see are those who are vulnerable in our society. They may be older or have a disability. They might want to send money abroad or they might be desperate to seek a line of credit or forgiveness for being overdrawn, while they are being punished by penalties that they cannot afford to pay. I have no doubt that vulnerable groups of people are not profitable customers for the banks, but supporting vulnerable customers is part of the social contract that banks have entered into and have had for hundreds of years. That aside, the bank has many customers with broad shoulders. In one way or another, one of those customers is the Scottish Government, which I hope will consider its future relationship with the Lloyds Banking Group.”
“However, it is only in the longer term that we will see the full extent of the economic impact to Larkhall’s high street, which has always punched well above its weight— similar to Rutherglen, to be fair—as an independent hub for retailers. When I pointed out to Lloyds Banking Group officials that banking is not the same as selling luxury cars or package holidays because, for quite some time, it has been impossible to live life without access to banking services, they simply glossed over the issues that I raised. The Bank of Scotland is immune to the notion of responsibility. We should not assume that it is interested in the customers that it provides services to—only profit and bankers’ bonuses get its attention. I urge members to visit a Bank of Scotland branch—in fact, any bank—early in the morning.”
“They were committed to the closure, apparently in the interests of shareholders, while putting the interests of vulnerable customers at the bottom of the pile. That was regardless of the fact that, when they had made a sow’s ear of their banking finances, we the taxpayers bailed them out to the tune of millions—sorry, I mean thousands of millions—of pounds. In hindsight, it is jail that we should have given those so-called big bankers. I have since spoken with businesses in Larkhall that report the problems that they have had— wasted time travelling to Hamilton to get to a bank and then find parking, make deposits, collect change and access credit.”
“I must thank Clare Haughey for bringing this debate to Parliament, as bank closures have also been a big issue in part of my constituency. I will also mention Councillor Ricky Nelson, who has worked closely with me on the issue. In January, the Bank of Scotland branch in Larkhall closed. As that is in a rural part of my constituency, the branch provided banking services not only to Larkhall but to all the surrounding villages and farms, covering a population of roughly 25,000 people. For many months prior to that, I had meetings with the representatives of Lloyds Banking Group to urge them not to follow through with closing the branch, which I deemed to be a vital service to the community. However, my pleas fell on deaf ears.”
“Amendment 51 agreed to. The Presiding Officer: I had hoped that we could have begun to debate the next group, but as we are so close to 10 o’clock, we will end consideration of amendments for today. Decision Time 21:58”
“For Adam, George (Paisley) (SNP) Adam, Karen (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP) Allan, Alasdair (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (SNP) Arthur, Tom (Renfrewshire South) (SNP) Baker, Claire (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Beattie, Colin (Midlothian North and Musselburgh) (SNP) Boyack, Sarah (Lothian) (Lab) Brown, Keith (Clackmannanshire and Dunblane) (SNP) Brown, Siobhian (Ayr) (SNP) Burgess, Ariane (Highlands and Islands) (Green) Burnett, Alexander (Aberdeenshire West) (Con) Carlaw, Jackson (Eastwood) (Con) Carson, Finlay (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con) Chapman, Maggie (North East Scotland) (Green) 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) Dornan, James (Glasgow Cathcart) (SNP) Dowey, Sharon (South Scotland) (Con) Dunbar, Jackie (Aberdeen Donside) (SNP) Fairlie, Jim (Perthshire South and Kinross-shire) (SNP) FitzPatrick, Joe (Dundee City West) (SNP) Forbes, Kate (Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch) (SNP) Fraser, Murdo (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Gibson, Kenneth (Cunninghame North) (SNP) Gilruth, Jenny (Mid Fife and Glenrothes) (SNP) Gosal, Pam (West Scotland) (Con) Grahame, Christine (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (SNP) Gray, Neil (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP) Greene, Jamie (West Scotland) (LD) Greer, Ross (West Scotland) (Green) Gulhane, Sandesh (Glasgow) (Con) Hamilton, Rachael (Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con) Harper, Emma (South Scotland) (SNP) Harvie, Patrick (Glasgow) (Green) Hepburn, Jamie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (SNP) Hyslop, Fiona (Linlithgow) (SNP) Kerr, Liam (North East Scotland) (Con) Kidd, Bill (Glasgow Anniesland) (SNP) Lennon, Monica (Central Scotland) (Lab) Lochhead, Richard (Moray) (SNP) Lumsden, Douglas (North East Scotland) (Con) 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) Mason, John (Glasgow Shettleston) (Ind) McAllan, Màiri (Clydesdale) (SNP) McArthur, Liam (Orkney Islands) (LD) McKee, Ivan (Glasgow Provan) (SNP) McLennan, Paul (East Lothian) (SNP) Minto, Jenni (Argyll and Bute) (SNP) Mochan, Carol (South Scotland) (Lab) Rennie, Willie (North East Fife) (LD) Robertson, Angus (Edinburgh Central) (SNP) Robison, Shona (Dundee City East) (SNP) Ruskell, Mark (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green) Slater, Lorna (Lothian) (Green) Somerville, Shirley-Anne (Dunfermline) (SNP) Stewart, Kaukab (Glasgow Kelvin) (SNP) Stewart, Kevin (Aberdeen Central) (SNP) Sturgeon, Nicola (Glasgow Southside) (SNP) Sweeney, Paul (Glasgow) (Lab) Thomson, Michelle (Falkirk East) (SNP) Todd, Maree (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP) Tweed, Evelyn (Stirling) (SNP) Webber, Sue (Lothian) (Con) Whitham, Elena (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (SNP) Wishart, Beatrice (Shetland Islands) (LD) Against Adamson, Clare (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP) Baillie, Jackie (Dumbarton) (Lab) Balfour, Jeremy (Lothian) (Ind) Bibby, Neil (West Scotland) (Lab) Briggs, Miles (Lothian) (Con) Callaghan, Stephanie (Uddingston and Bellshill) (SNP) Choudhury, Foysol (Lothian) (Ind) Duncan-Glancy, Pam (Glasgow) (Ind) Eagle, Tim (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Ewing, Annabelle (Cowdenbeath) (SNP) Ewing, Fergus (Inverness and Nairn) (Ind) Findlay, Russell (West Scotland) (Con) Gallacher, Meghan (Central Scotland) (Con) Golden, Maurice (North East Scotland) (Con) Gougeon, Mairi (Angus North and Mearns) (SNP) Grant, Rhoda (Highlands and Islands) (Lab) Griffin, Mark (Central Scotland) (Lab) Halcro Johnston, Jamie (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Haughey, Clare (Rutherglen) (SNP) Hoy, Craig (South Scotland) (Con) Johnson, Daniel (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab) Kerr, Stephen (Central Scotland) (Con) Leonard, Richard (Central Scotland) (Lab) Marra, Michael (North East Scotland) (Lab) Martin, Gillian (Aberdeenshire East) (SNP) Matheson, Michael (Falkirk West) (SNP) McCall, Roz (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) McMillan, Stuart (Greenock and Inverclyde) (SNP) McNair, Marie (Clydebank and Milngavie) (SNP) McNeill, Pauline (Glasgow) (Lab) Mundell, Oliver (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Nicoll, Audrey (Aberdeen South and North Kincardine) (SNP) O’Kane, Paul (West Scotland) (Lab) Regan, Ash (Edinburgh Eastern) (Ind) Roddick, Emma (Highlands and Islands) (SNP) Rowley, Alex (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Russell, Davy (Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse) (Lab) Sarwar, Anas (Glasgow) (Lab) Smith, Liz (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Stevenson, Collette (East Kilbride) (SNP) Stewart, Alexander (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Swinney, John (Perthshire North) (SNP) Villalba, Mercedes (North East Scotland) (Lab) Wells, Annie (Glasgow) (Con) White, Tess (North East Scotland) (Con) Whitfield, Martin (South Scotland) (Lab) Whittle, Brian (South Scotland) (Con) Yousaf, Humza (Glasgow Pollok) (SNP) Abstentions Doris, Bob (Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn) (SNP) Mountain, Edward (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Ross, Douglas (Highlands and Islands) (Con) The Presiding Officer: The result of the division is: For 73, Against 48, Abstentions 3.”
“Amendment 50 disagreed to. Amendment 51 moved—[Liam McArthur]. The Presiding Officer: The question is, that amendment 51 be agreed to. Are we agreed? Members: No. The Presiding Officer: There will be a division.”
“On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I could not connect either. I would have voted no. The Presiding Officer: Thank you, Mr Russell. That will be recorded. For Adam, George (Paisley) (SNP) Adam, Karen (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP) Arthur, Tom (Renfrewshire South) (SNP) Beattie, Colin (Midlothian North and Musselburgh) (SNP) Brown, Keith (Clackmannanshire and Dunblane) (SNP) Brown, Siobhian (Ayr) (SNP) Burgess, Ariane (Highlands and Islands) (Green) Chapman, Maggie (North East Scotland) (Green) Coffey, Willie (Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley) (SNP) Cole-Hamilton, Alex (Edinburgh Western) (LD) Dey, Graeme (Angus South) (SNP) Don-Innes, Natalie (Renfrewshire North and West) (SNP) Dornan, James (Glasgow Cathcart) (SNP) Dunbar, Jackie (Aberdeen Donside) (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) Grahame, Christine (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (SNP) Gray, Neil (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP) Gulhane, Sandesh (Glasgow) (Con) Harper, Emma (South Scotland) (SNP) Harvie, Patrick (Glasgow) (Green) Hyslop, Fiona (Linlithgow) (SNP) Kidd, Bill (Glasgow Anniesland) (SNP) Lennon, Monica (Central Scotland) (Lab) Lochhead, Richard (Moray) (SNP) Lumsden, Douglas (North East Scotland) (Con) 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) McAllan, Màiri (Clydesdale) (SNP) McArthur, Liam (Orkney Islands) (LD) McKee, Ivan (Glasgow Provan) (SNP) McLennan, Paul (East Lothian) (SNP) Minto, Jenni (Argyll and Bute) (SNP) Mochan, Carol (South Scotland) (Lab) Rennie, Willie (North East Fife) (LD) Robertson, Angus (Edinburgh Central) (SNP) Robison, Shona (Dundee City East) (SNP) Ruskell, Mark (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green) Slater, Lorna (Lothian) (Green) Stewart, Kaukab (Glasgow Kelvin) (SNP) Sweeney, Paul (Glasgow) (Lab) Todd, Maree (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP) Tweed, Evelyn (Stirling) (SNP) Against Adamson, Clare (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP) Allan, Alasdair (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (SNP) Baillie, Jackie (Dumbarton) (Lab) Baker, Claire (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Balfour, Jeremy (Lothian) (Ind) Bibby, Neil (West Scotland) (Lab) Boyack, Sarah (Lothian) (Lab) Briggs, Miles (Lothian) (Con) Burnett, Alexander (Aberdeenshire West) (Con) Callaghan, Stephanie (Uddingston and Bellshill) (SNP) Carlaw, Jackson (Eastwood) (Con) Carson, Finlay (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con) Choudhury, Foysol (Lothian) (Ind) Clark, Katy (West Scotland) (Lab) Constance, Angela (Almond Valley) (SNP) Doris, Bob (Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn) (SNP) Dowey, Sharon (South Scotland) (Con) Duncan-Glancy, Pam (Glasgow) (Ind) Eagle, Tim (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Ewing, Annabelle (Cowdenbeath) (SNP) Ewing, Fergus (Inverness and Nairn) (Ind) 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) Gougeon, Mairi (Angus North and Mearns) (SNP) Grant, Rhoda (Highlands and Islands) (Lab) Greene, Jamie (West Scotland) (LD) Greer, Ross (West Scotland) (Green) Griffin, Mark (Central Scotland) (Lab) Halcro Johnston, Jamie (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Haughey, Clare (Rutherglen) (SNP) Hepburn, Jamie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (SNP) Hoy, Craig (South Scotland) (Con) Johnson, Daniel (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab) Kerr, Liam (North East Scotland) (Con) Kerr, Stephen (Central Scotland) (Con) Leonard, Richard (Central Scotland) (Lab) Marra, Michael (North East Scotland) (Lab) Martin, Gillian (Aberdeenshire East) (SNP) Mason, John (Glasgow Shettleston) (Ind) Matheson, Michael (Falkirk West) (SNP) McCall, Roz (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) McMillan, Stuart (Greenock and Inverclyde) (SNP) McNair, Marie (Clydebank and Milngavie) (SNP) McNeill, Pauline (Glasgow) (Lab) Mundell, Oliver (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Nicoll, Audrey (Aberdeen South and North Kincardine) (SNP) O’Kane, Paul (West Scotland) (Lab) Regan, Ash (Edinburgh Eastern) (Ind) Roddick, Emma (Highlands and Islands) (SNP) Ross, Douglas (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Rowley, Alex (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Russell, Davy (Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse) (Lab) Sarwar, Anas (Glasgow) (Lab) Smith, Liz (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Somerville, Shirley-Anne (Dunfermline) (SNP) Stevenson, Collette (East Kilbride) (SNP) Stewart, Alexander (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Stewart, Kevin (Aberdeen Central) (SNP) Sturgeon, Nicola (Glasgow Southside) (SNP) Swinney, John (Perthshire North) (SNP) Thomson, Michelle (Falkirk East) (SNP) Villalba, Mercedes (North East Scotland) (Lab) Webber, Sue (Lothian) (Con) Wells, Annie (Glasgow) (Con) White, Tess (North East Scotland) (Con) Whitfield, Martin (South Scotland) (Lab) Whitham, Elena (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (SNP) Whittle, Brian (South Scotland) (Con) Wishart, Beatrice (Shetland Islands) (LD) Yousaf, Humza (Glasgow Pollok) (SNP) Abstentions Mountain, Edward (Highlands and Islands) (Con) The Presiding Officer: The result of the division is: For 49, Against 73, Abstentions 1.”
“He must heed Jackie Baillie’s warning and look at the statistics that bear out what we have seen in relation to issues such as acute hospital bed occupancy, so that we are working towards real improvement and real increases in the quality and pace of patient care. The health secretary must also listen to the words of the chief executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service, who points to mismanagement and a lack of planning in our social care sector on the part of the Government working its way up the chain to our acute medicine settings, with potentially deadly results. 17:31”
“In the past couple of weeks, I have heard about the inevitable escalation of the situation from another constituent who was suffering from the side effects of his diabetes. An ambulance was called for him, but it did not arrive for nine hours. By the time the paramedics arrived, he needed to be resuscitated. An ambulance had been dispatched after seven hours, but it had been diverted to someone in even more dire need. It is inevitable that, without immediate and transformative change in our A and E departments, people will die. The health secretary must immediately look at the real situation on the ground, not his own press releases.”
“The issue is not anecdotal—it is systemic. Time and again, I hear from constituents with a long list of praise for the health staff once they get there or when their family member has been seen. We simply must extend our appreciation to our emergency health staff who, day after day, go above and beyond the call of duty. It is only because of those countless extraordinary individuals that our emergency departments have lasted this long, and not one ounce of blame for the current mess should land at their feet. Jean is not alone in having to wait 17 hours for an ambulance. I know that there are worse cases out there. She is also not alone in having to wait nine hours in the back of an ambulance outside A and E. I heard from a constituent who had three separate ambulance crews spend their whole shift waiting with them outside A and E.”
“My thanks go to Jackie Baillie for bringing this incredibly important debate to the chamber, and for recounting the experience of one of my constituents, Jean. I fully expect that the Government will judge Jean’s experience to be “unacceptable” or “not what we want to see”—I do not think that it would disagree with that—but the sentiment is hollow when it is not followed by prompt remedial action. Perhaps that feeling of unacceptability will be wiped away by the notion that the issue is anecdotal or that it would not happen today. However, my office has been handling cases such as the one that Jackie Baillie highlighted for months and months. My constituents have been left in pain and panic, trying to get an ambulance to the same A and E departments that they share with the health secretary’s constituents.”
“We are stacking up problems and will be looking to fewer people to sustain an ever more costly welfare system in the future. Many Governments are choosing to act on the issue, but Scotland is not one of them, which is an unfortunate and sad state of affairs. 13:16”
“Sometimes they blink and pay the childcare costs themselves; sometimes they do not blink and leave their jobs for three, four or five years, which means that the Government loses the income tax that they would otherwise have paid during that time. According to Pregnant Then Screwed, the Scottish economy loses out 71 per cent of the time for mums and 51 per cent of the time for dads. There is much more to say on the matter, including about the cognitive development of toddlers, who benefit from professional enrichment and from mixing with others. It is obvious that the most common response from parents is not to swallow the cost of childcare themselves or to decide not to work, but to choose not to have children. Scotland’s fertility rate should be 2.1, but it is 1.2 at the moment, which does not bode well for the future.”
“Expanding funded childcare— The Deputy Presiding Officer: Mr Russell, I am sorry to interrupt you, but could you please move your microphone up? Thank you. Davy Russell: I am sorry. Where were we? There is a long-term impact when a parent has to leave work. It is harder to save on one income and non-working parents pay rent or mortgage interest for far longer than they would have done if they were working. Childcare makes a big difference to ending generational poverty. I have a few cases from new mums in my inbox at present. Some can choose to go back to work, but if someone does not earn enough, they do not have a choice, because they just cannot afford childcare. They feel that the Government is playing a game of chicken with them.”
“The career benefit to parents is hard to calculate, but, depending on the number of children that someone chooses to have, the lack of childcare provision in Scotland could cost them four, five or six years of their salary over their career, not to mention the detrimental effect on promotions and pension contributions. We must be cognisant that the burden falls primarily on women now and in later life. There are long-term impacts of having a parent leave work. It is harder to save on one income, and as has been said people have to make conscious decisions when they are paying for kids. There is a strong correlation between someone, as a child, having a parent who was not in work and that person growing up and not being at work.”
“I thank Roz McCall for bringing the debate to the chamber. Childcare is a matter dear to my heart. I am a grandpa, and my grandson is lucky that, as well as mum and dad, he has grannies and grandpas— and great-grannies and great-grandpas—to fill the gap from time to time. It is also a matter that comes up regularly in our caseloads. The question at the heart of the motion is whether funded childcare can be a net contributor to the Scottish economy. Nobody questions whether free public education for all is a valuable or necessary step for our economy, and if that level of provision was adopted in early years childcare policy, perhaps we would not question that either.”
“I will join my Scottish Labour colleagues in abstaining on the budget in order that police officers, teachers, nurses and other vital public service workers get their wages. However, that does not mean that we agree with it—far from it, as it is letting Scotland down, as per usual. The SNP Government’s budget will not improve things. People are being systematically ground down into accepting poor service, as though the Scottish Government is doing us a favour. However, on Thursday 7 May, the Scottish people will have a chance to vote for hope, improvement and better lives. We need to get rid of this diabolical, deceitful SNP Government. We, the people of Scotland, have a big decision to make— either to be burdened with Mr Swinney and his motley crew or to vote for a better, brighter future with Scottish Labour. 17:33”
“No doubt, every member in this place has heard similar stories. I told the First Minister about a shortage of co-codamol; the next day, NHS Lanarkshire told its GPs not to discuss the matter with its patients. I will be joining Scottish Labour members in abstaining on the budget in order that police officers, teachers, nurses and other vital public service workers can get paid in a few weeks’ time. Kevin Stewart: The member mentioned a real difficulty in the supply of certain drugs. A lot of that is down to Brexit and down to the UK Government and reserved policy. Will he join me in calling on the UK Government— The Deputy Presiding Officer: Briefly, Mr Stewart. Kevin Stewart: —to sort this out once and for all? Davy Russell: I was making a point about incoherence in the SNP Government’s approach.”
“They can then face a nine-hour wait in the car park because accident and emergency cannot admit them. Ambulances sit and wait. It is a vicious cycle. Some of my constituents have taken taxis to A and E because they know that it will be faster than waiting for an ambulance. The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care knows this because I have sent him details of numerous cases. Every time a constituent reaches out to me with an even more unbelievable complaint, the cabinet secretary gives me the same old reply, telling me that everything is all right out there, that it is a garden of roses and that nothing is wrong with our hospitals. Perhaps he could tell that to my constituent who had to be resuscitated after a seven-hour wait for an ambulance. That is the latest in a long line of such stories.”
“People know that fiddling around with the 19 and 20 per cent tax bands does not amount to anything. A few of them might save 9 pence a day in tax, but that is set against the hundreds of pounds going on top of their council tax. What do Scotland’s people get out of the piece of fiction that is the budget? Certainly not an improved NHS. They get token gestures including providing walk-in GP surgeries, which means that patients now need to travel further to get a service poorer than the one that they relied on 10 years ago. Meanwhile, stories of 12, 18 and 24-hour waits for ambulances fill my inbox and, once people are able to get in an ambulance— Jamie Hepburn: Will the member give way? Davy Russell: Not just now; I have a big speech to do. Once someone is in an ambulance, it can take hours for them to get to hospital.”
“The crumbs from the table that my Lib Dem colleagues have negotiated will probably never see the light of day, but I cannot fault them for trying. The Government will be saying, “Yes!”, because the Lib Dems took the bait. Time and again, the SNP has shown itself to be incapable of basic arithmetic, so, regardless of what happens at the election in May, there will be a new budget in the autumn, when chronic underfunding of local councils, which deliver the vast majority of services for people, will continue. If the SNP Government’s plan is that people will not notice council tax rates going up by 5, 6 or even 9 per cent, it is surely mistaken. People are not stupid. They know that the mismanagement and waste coming from this dysfunctional Government mean that councils are having to increase tax on family homes.”
“It is evident that this lacklustre Scottish National Party budget is miles off the mark on improving the lives of hard-working Scots. Members should mark my words: each bit of spin produced, each fact manipulated and each cover-up made does not go unnoticed by Joe Public. In 10 weeks’ time, the Scottish people will call out this tired, weary and sick SNP Government. This budget is one made by an SNP Government that has neglected public infrastructure. We have crumbling roads that are full of potholes, bridges that have been closed for years, schools that are not fit for purpose and a chronic housing shortage. Local councils have no choice but to cut vital public services that we all need. The SNP is pinching the councils’ dinner money and telling them that a bad boy from Westminster did it.”
“We should concentrate on the bread-and-butter services that affect every single person—even people in the chamber. Creating more of the same without fixing the basics, including the funding methodology, is wrong. We need to roll up our sleeves and get on with the job in hand. 13:10”
“A public service should be exactly what it says on the tin—it should be fit for purpose and have the ability to do what it is designed for, as an efficient, sustainable, fully funded public service. We need a full shake-up from top to bottom, rather than the jigsaw that we have at present. We need to improve the staple methodology for funding public services in a way that the Scottish people deserve. Transition should not be pie in the sky. To achieve that, we should be setting a challenging, achievable and clear road map to success. We need to untangle the current cash- absorbing, shambolic mess. We in this Parliament should spend less time talking about seagulls, greyhounds, independence and kicking Americans out of Prestwick airport.”
“I will name and shame a couple of them: Sustrans, Zero Waste Scotland and Strathclyde Partnership for Transport. SPT has almost £200 million in reserves. We could pay for 1,000 doctors, 1,000 nurses, 1,000 street cleaners and 1,000 road workers all at the one time from that £200 million pot. Why are we, the Scottish people, putting up with that nonsense? It is a disgrace. Many chief executive officers and directors in those organisations pay themselves inflated salaries and bonuses for delivering poor, out-of-touch services. While I acknowledge that increasing funding for something does not necessarily mean that it will get better, rebranding organisations or adding commissioners, or some other fudge mechanism, does not improve things either.”
“Over the same period, the Scottish Government has habitually wasted significant pots of money. We have had the ferries fiasco; Gupta’s invisible Fort William smelter; and thousands of civil servants spending time redacting responses to freedom of information requests, to name but a few examples. The cost of those alone comes to about £1 billion. What about the blunders and cover-ups that we have not even heard about yet? We are running more than 130 unelected quangos that are eating into public money. Some are supposed to distribute public money, but, in some cases, they are hoarding public funds while—in my experience—we had to beg to get access to those funds. If we did not do what the unelected organisations wanted, we did not get the funds. They used it as a method of control, and that is the Scottish Government’s fault.”
“We used to categorise services as being: statutory services, where you must do it or face a fine or imprisonment; essential services that affect people’s lives; services that are nice to have; and, finally, the category that we still do too much of, which is the “What are we doing this for?” category—and the answer is usually, “Because we have always done it” or “I don’t really know what the answer is.” During this period of managed decline, we who manage and provide public services have still managed to work wonders, doing the impossible while being starved of funds. However, that is mainly down to the hard-working, committed workers and staff, many of whom are on low wages but have a true sense of pride in their work and a profound respect for the people they are providing the service for.”
“I thank Alexander Burnett for bringing the debate to the chamber. It is on a wee subject that is dear to my heart, as I have over 40 years of experience in the public sector at a senior level, and I know that, over a long period, we have had both good times in the public sector and some very hard times. That aside, since 2010, all of us as chief officers, whether in health, social care or education, or just in general bread-and-butter services such as refuse collection or fixing potholes, have been managing decline.”
“To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the changes to automatic early release for certain prisoners, what additional support will be available to parole services and services that support victims. (S6O-05523)”
“Eddlewood and Edinburgh South are community exemplars. That is why I support the motion for a team from across the country. I had not heard much about Edinburgh South until I read the motion, but I whole-heartedly support and congratulate Edinburgh South. Congratulations for its efforts and being a community exemplar are well deserved. The Deputy Presiding Officer : I call the minister, Maree Todd. 13:14”
“It is probably slightly behind in some respects, because it is not as big as other teams—although it has a big catchment area—but it recently completed a community asset transfer, so it is going to have a grass park and we are trying to get funding for an astroturf park. It will be a main community hub. It is fortunate that 2,000 brand new houses are being built near it, because that will help the footfall. The community development fund will also contribute to the upgrading of its facilities. So far, it has raised money for solar panels and heat pumps. When I played with the club, there were cold water tanks for the showers, so we would be staunin under them. We actually only used to wash our boots in it; we didnae ago in the shower. The club is raising money and upgrading facilities, and just getting on with it.”
“Coaches— or a pal’s dad, because nine times out of 10 that is who the coach is—volunteer and spend their free time managing the team. When my boy played on Saturday mornings—when I might have been hungover—I would be standing getting soaked with all of the other dads and some mums as well, watching them play football, and at the end of the game everyone would shake hands. A lot of friendships from then still carry on to this day. The phrase it takes a village to raise a child comes to mind. The facilities and opportunities that are offered by clubs such as Edinburgh South are the modern equivalent of that. I also take this opportunity to talk about Eddlewood Football Club.”
“There are a lot of good footballers, and they all started at grass-roots level in wee local teams. They went from boys’ football up to amateur and then progressed further. There is step-by-step football development. Without local clubs and grass-roots football, Scotland probably widnae be in the World Cup this summer, because there widnae have been a route for the team to follow. Local football clubs also help to foster healthy lifestyles, which was touched on earlier. The benefits are physical and mental, as people have the opportunity to take off the stress of day to day life and get away from the screens that dominate their days. The opportunity to be present in a team game is therefore more important than ever. Local football teams also provide an opportunity for another role model in a child’s life.”
“There are also some heated debates afterwards about whether something wis or wisnae a penalty. That aside, football is tremendously important to our culture. Nowadays, we might think that we are known for whisky, haggis and Hogwarts, but I assure you that is disnae matter where you go on this planet, everybody knows Celtic and Rangers. They are known the world over. Unfortunately my local team—Hamilton Accies—has not made it to that echelon. They have not played at Bernabeu stadium or Parc des Princes. Nevertheless, they are loved just the same. There are tonnes of grass-roots football clubs, such as the ones in my constituency—Eddlewood Football Club, Fairhill amateurs, Larkhall Thistle and Mill United boys’ club. Some amount of footballers come out of my constituency too—Phil O’Donnell, Jim Bett, Bobby Shearer and Ally Maxwell.”
“I, too, thank my colleague Daniel Johnson for bringing the motion to Parliament for debate. I love football. Believe it or not, I am still playing two or sometimes three games a week. I am getting a wee bit slower, but I get there. Although I do not know much about Edinburgh South Community FC, other than what I have found out from Daniel Johnson, football clubs in my area have the same problems. When we talk about football, the most important word is “inclusion”. For decades, Scottish football has been a nucleus of inclusion in our communities, our cities and our schools. It crosses cultural and language barriers and allows people from vastly different backgrounds to play. Men, women, pensioners, including in walking football, and children—they all play footy. They celebrate together and, on occasion, commiserate.”
“Aye, right. The SNP Government can con some people some of the time, but the people of Scotland are finally beginning to see it for what it is doing in wrecking essential public services and breaking community spirits. Scottish Labour will fight that every step of the way. 16:29”
“Starving vital police services of essential funding is not like the mismanagement of health services. Families cannot go private, as they have to for hip replacements. It is clear that the SNP does not have a plan to make our streets safer. The lack of community policing—in fact, any policing—will lead to more antisocial behaviour and people feeling less safe in their homes. Scottish Labour will restore much- needed investment in community policing, with a named officer responsible for every council ward, as has been mentioned. If constituents want to feel safe where they live, they need to kick out the SNP Government in May. The SNP acts as though it does not care about the people it is there to protect. The SNP says that, if people vote for it and independence, it will be utopia, the garden of Eden and heaven all rolled up into one.”
“Given that the heart keeps getting ripped out of small towns, has the SNP Government forgotten about community spirit and the people SNP members were elected to serve? It is shameful that vital services are falling by the wayside while the Scottish Government does nothing about it. If members speak to people in Larkhall, they will tell them that they now have to travel to Hamilton, take justice into their own hands or just not bother complaining and be a victim of crime. However, I am told that the desk at Hamilton police station is not manned in the evening, so I do not know where we go with that. I wonder which of those options the justice minister would like to suggest to my Larkhall constituents, because I do not know what to tell them.”
“They feel alone, because they know that, when they are in need of police assistance, help will be a little bit further away than it should be—if it comes at all. Larkhall police station, in my constituency, is set to close its doors to public access, and the same is true for stations in Bellshill and Blantyre, in neighbouring constituencies. That ties in with the pattern of local services closing. A bank in my constituency closed recently, which will affect the vulnerable in society, and the police station is now set to follow suit. People are worried that their town, which is not insubstantial—15,000 people live in Larkhall, and it supports a further 15,000 people in the surrounding rural areas—is being forgotten.”
“SNP members often like to hide behind carefully chosen statistics that hide the real situation on the ground and how people are feeling, but, on this issue, the numbers speak for themselves. As was mentioned earlier, there are now 1,000 fewer officers than there were when Police Scotland was established. Many officers are now on clerical duties, because many support staff have been done away with. That ties in with the complaints that I get about never seeing a police officer. There are 25 fewer officers in this quarter than there were in the previous quarter. Crime is up 2 per cent, violent crime is up 3 per cent and sexual crime is up 7 per cent. Those statistics reflect what people feel on the ground. It is not fear that people feel.”
“Funding for local authorities has been whittled down by successive SNP Governments time and again. They have asked local authorities to do more and more with less and less. As we saw in the provisional budget, Shona Robison and John Swinney occasionally like to come after some small sections of the population, so that they do not upset too many people close to an election. This time, they have come after businesses, with the business rates revaluation, and the people who live in properties worth more than £1 million or £2 million.”
“To ask the Scottish Government how its employability programmes support parents of children aged nine months to three years to return to work, in light of the lack of funded childcare for that age group. (S6O-05451)”
“My concern is that the bill will have minimal benefits—if any—for animal welfare and that Parliament risks wasting time banning something that does not happen anyway, which does not sit well with me. The bill would also have a detrimental impact on certain constituent groups, namely elderly gentlemen who like a wee bet on the dogs or the horses. It is a recreational activity from former mining areas, where people couldnae afford a horse but could afford greyhounds and used to run them. That is how this kind of thing started. Will horse racing, or even pigeon racing—which some people still do—be next? The fact is that greyhound racing is legal in the rest of the UK, so any market demand would simply shift over there. It does not happen here anyway.”
“I have been contacted by local general practitioners who are concerned about the sudden, unexpected shortage of co- codamol in Lanarkshire. The First Minister should be aware that some 40,000 people are addicted to that medication and that shortages will have consequences for everyone else who is in need of pain relief. Can he advise whether that is a short- term supply problem in Lanarkshire or a problem across the country? What action will he take to ensure that there is a continuing supply?”
“This Parliament was not created to be like the Russian Kremlin. My fellow Scots deserve better. If patients are misled on how long they can expect to wait to receive a hip replacement, shame on the Scottish Government. If sick children are put at risk because certain politicians want to have a bit of good press, shame on them. The people in this SNP cabal, who have no interest in accountability or in improving things for anyone other than themselves, should have a really good look at themselves, because history will not judge them kindly. 16:07”
“That is not serious government—it is just keeping the dishes spinning and the hype going. As the current Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care knows, every single one of my constituents knows that it is sometimes quicker to take a taxi to the emergency unit than to wait on an ambulance. He hides behind mutilated statistics that do not reflect the sorry state of NHS waiting lists. However, SNP members’ weak arguments in defence of the situation are always put in a nice, plausible way. They do that to con the public, because they think that the public do not know any better. They are treating my fellow Scots with contempt. Is it not true that the standard SNP story is to manipulate circumstances and data and then announce that it is doing a good job? I think that they actually believe their own tripe—sorry, hype.”
“If we were independent, we’d be all right.” The situation is part of a wider pattern of non- accountability from this SNP Government, which is currently being taken to court for not disseminating information that was requested by its own Information Commissioner, despite having more than 10,000 extra civil servants to process such things since the pandemic. We should sack them all and hire 10,000 new nurses. The Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs misled the Parliament but keeps her job because what she did was not quite severe enough—well, you can think what you want about that. I have a letter here from Shona Robison in which she claims that fiddling around with tax bands is not intended to fool anyone. Given that it is worth a mere nine pence a day to some of my constituents, is the Government actually having a laugh?”