Heather Anderson
Scottish National Party · Scotland
“The support that Diane and her team provide is incredibly important to the men and women up and down the east coast of Scotland who find themselves suddenly diagnosed with asbestos-related conditions. They have supported hundreds of clients across Tayside over the past few years, almost half of whom live in Dundee.”
“Many who do that work have personal experience from their own families. They stand with those affected, and their families, at the hardest and most traumatic of times. It is emotionally demanding, but vital, work. One testimonial about Asbestos Action that I read really stuck with me, and I want to share it today.”
“I, too, thank Marie McNair for securing the debate and bringing this important motion to the chamber today. I start by stressing how important it is that we continue to raise awareness of mesothelioma.”
“However, any application for industrial injuries disablement benefit requires a person to identify exactly where and when they were exposed to asbestos, which creates an additional barrier for those women in seeking some form of compensation.”
“A few different charities work diligently across Scotland to support those living with conditions contracted due to exposure to asbestos. We have heard a lot today about the Clydebank Asbestos Group, but I want to focus on Asbestos Action in Dundee, a charity that supports those across the whole of the east coast who are living with asbes…”
“I will also take a moment to highlight the new generation of victims of this disease. Many of the new cases coming forward are women who did not work in industry but who were teachers, health workers and office workers.”
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“Many of those affected are currently missing out on relevant benefits and support, and the complexities involved are preventing them from getting the support that they need. Groups such as Asbestos Action are doing all that they can to raise awareness of those difficulties. I hope that today’s debate will raise further awareness of the issues affecting those who are living with the condition, and I will do all that I can to support Marie McNair in any work that she takes forward in the Parliament to remove the time bar and get those people the justice that they deserve.”
“However, any application for industrial injuries disablement benefit requires a person to identify exactly where and when they were exposed to asbestos, which creates an additional barrier for those women in seeking some form of compensation. We know from the statistics that the percentage of men getting some form of settlement is much higher than the percentage of women. If someone cannot identify the source site of exposure, or prove the link, their only route is to apply for a PWC1 lump-sum payment. However, that also requires those women to sign away any future claims they might have in future civil cases. More needs to be done to support this new generation who are finding themselves affected by asbestos in a different landscape.”
“I will also take a moment to highlight the new generation of victims of this disease. Many of the new cases coming forward are women who did not work in industry but who were teachers, health workers and office workers. We have heard some stories today, and it can be very difficult for them to pinpoint precisely where they would have been exposed to asbestos. It could have been in any of the offices, schools, healthcare settings or homes that they worked in. Such locations are less easy to identify than the large industrial sites, and the women may not have worked directly with asbestos, but they worked in buildings where asbestos is still present.”
“Many who do that work have personal experience from their own families. They stand with those affected, and their families, at the hardest and most traumatic of times. It is emotionally demanding, but vital, work. One testimonial about Asbestos Action that I read really stuck with me, and I want to share it today. It simply said: “Pass on my thanks for all the hard work undertook on behalf of my father. He was a very proud man and if he’s looking down would be delighted to know how much this ‘legacy’ has helped his daughters, and in particular, his granddaughter” When you or your family members find themselves a victim of an asbestos-related condition, it is groups such as Asbestos Action that step in to offer support and ensure that you and your family will get the advice that they need.”
“The support that Diane and her team provide is incredibly important to the men and women up and down the east coast of Scotland who find themselves suddenly diagnosed with asbestos-related conditions. They have supported hundreds of clients across Tayside over the past few years, almost half of whom live in Dundee. They also say that, wherever you call them from, you will get a home visit; whether you are in Inverness or Dumfries, they will come and see you. Often, Asbestos Action staff are dealing with people who are terminally ill. They and their families may have discovered the severity of the condition only very recently. The staff turn up, sit with people, listen to the stories of those affected, help them to trace their work histories, and support their families both before and after the illness has taken its toll.”
“A few different charities work diligently across Scotland to support those living with conditions contracted due to exposure to asbestos. We have heard a lot today about the Clydebank Asbestos Group, but I want to focus on Asbestos Action in Dundee, a charity that supports those across the whole of the east coast who are living with asbestos-related diseases, including pleural plaques, asbestosis, asbestos-related lung cancer and mesothelioma. Diane from Asbestos Action is in the public gallery today, and I hope that she will excuse me for sharing some details and praise for its work. It is a really small team of four people, and they do a huge amount of work to raise funding to keep the charity going.”
“I, too, thank Marie McNair for securing the debate and bringing this important motion to the chamber today. I start by stressing how important it is that we continue to raise awareness of mesothelioma. I do not have a family member who contracted the disease, but I saw a poster for an exhibition of portraits of people who had suffered from it. I thought it was such an astounding poster that I got in touch with Asbestos Action in Dundee and said, “I’m really sorry, but I didn’t manage to make it to that exhibition. Can I come and talk to you?” When I met the asbestos campaigners in Dundee, they were very quick to highlight the excellent work that Marie McNair has undertaken in the Parliament to raise awareness of the associated conditions and to advocate on behalf of those affected.”
“It will be the choice of the Parliament how much we invest in education in the next budget. If we want to realise our potential as a nation, engage in preventative spending, remain competitive economically and improve our society, education is an excellent investment to make. Learning Priorities (Primary Schools) 5.”
“I associate myself with the comments of the previous two speakers. I welcome young people entering further and higher education; their choices should not be talked down or denigrated in any way. There was bumper funding for the education portfolio for this year. Can the minister give some information about how that funding is supporting young people to make the right choices so that they meet their full potential? Ben Macpherson: I have already talked about the increase in the college budget and the university budget. The Government is investing £3.5 billion in the sector as a whole, in order to improve outcomes and ensure that our young people can fulfil their potential in further education, higher education or apprenticeships. As a Parliament, we will soon enter a period when we make budgetary decisions.”
“Amendment agreed to. The Presiding Officer: I advise members that, if the amendment in the name of Duncan Massey is agreed to, the amendment in the name of Finlay Carson will fall. The question is, that amendment S7M-00434.4, in the name of Duncan Massey, which seeks to amend motion S7M-00434, in the name of Gillian Martin, on meeting the challenge of climate change, be agreed to. Are we agreed? Members: No. The Presiding Officer: There will be a division. The vote is closed. The Presiding Officer: Kate Campbell has a point of order. You have just squeezed it in.”
“On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I could not connect, either. I would have voted yes. The Presiding Officer: Thank you. Your vote is recorded. For Adam, George (Paisley) (SNP) Adam, Karen (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP) Adamson, Clare (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP) Ahmed, Irshad (Edinburgh and Lothians East) (Lab) Anderson, Heather (Dundee City West) (SNP) Arthur, Tom (Renfrewshire West and Levern Valley) (SNP) Baillie, Jackie (Dumbarton) (Lab) Baker, Claire (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Barratt, David (Cowdenbeath) (SNP) Baxter, Andrew (Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch) (LD) Beattie, Colin (Midlothian North) (SNP) Bibby, Neil (West Scotland) (Lab) Black, Dawn (Angus North and Mearns) (SNP) Bonnar, Steven (Uddingston and Bellshill) (SNP) Bouse, Gary (Falkirk West) (SNP) Brown, Alan (Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley) (SNP) Brown, Keith (Clackmannanshire and Dunblane) (SNP) Brown, Siobhian (Ayr) (SNP) Bruce, Holly (Glasgow Southside) (Green) Burgess, Ariane (Highlands and Islands) (Green) Campbell, Kate (Edinburgh Eastern, Musselburgh and Tranent) (SNP) Campbell, Michelle (Renfrewshire North and Cardonald) (SNP) Chapman, Maggie (North East Scotland) (Green) Chou Turvey, Yi-pei (North East Scotland) (LD) Clark, Katy (West Scotland) (Lab) Constance, Angela (Almond Valley) (SNP) Day, Martyn (Falkirk East and Linlithgow) (SNP) Dijkstra-Downie, Sanne (Edinburgh Northern) (LD) Doris, Bob (Glasgow Kelvin and Maryhill) (SNP) Duane, Iris (Glasgow) (Green) Dunbar, Jackie (Aberdeen Donside) (SNP) Dunlop, Duncan (South Scotland) (LD) Fagan, Joe (South Scotland) (Lab) Fairlie, Jim (Perthshire South and Kinross-shire) (SNP) Gethins, Stephen (Dundee City East) (SNP) Ghani, Zen (Glasgow Cathcart and Pollok) (SNP) Gibson, Patricia (Cunninghame South) (SNP) Gilruth, Jenny (Mid Fife and Glenrothes) (SNP) Goodlad, Hannah Mary (Shetland Islands) (SNP) Gray, Neil (Airdrie) (SNP) Green, David (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (LD) Greer, Ross (West Scotland) (Green) Griffin, Mark (Central Scot and Lothians West) (Lab) Hagmann, Katie (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (SNP) Harley, Adam (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (LD) Harvie, Patrick (Glasgow) (Green) Haughey, Clare (Rutherglen and Cambuslang) (SNP) Hepburn, Jamie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (SNP) Johnson, Daniel (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab) Kerr, Alex (Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse) (SNP) Kerr, Calum (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (SNP) Kinross-O’Neill, Kayleigh (Edinburgh and Lothians East) (Green) Kumar, Simita (Edinburgh South Western) (SNP) Leask, Kristopher (Highlands and Islands) (Green) Linden, David (Glasgow Baillieston and Shettleston) (SNP) Long, Joe (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) MacCallum, Morven-May (Highlands and Islands) (LD) MacGregor, Fulton (Coatbridge and Chryston) (SNP) Mackay, Gillian (Central Scot and Lothians West) (Green) MacKinnon, Donald (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (Lab) Macpherson, Ben (Edinburgh North Eastern and Leith) (SNP) Manivannan, Q (Edinburgh and Lothians East) (Green) Marra, Michael (North East Scotland) (Lab) Martin, Gillian (Aberdeenshire East) (SNP) McAllan, Màiri (Clydesdale) (SNP) McArthur, Liam (Orkney Islands) (LD) McKee, Cara (West Scotland) (Green) McKee, Ivan (Glasgow Easterhouse and Springburn) (SNP) McLennan, Paul (East Lothian Coast and Lammermuirs) (SNP) McMillan, Stuart (Inverclyde) (SNP) McNair, Marie (Clydebank and Milngavie) (SNP) Melville, Lloyd (Angus South) (SNP) Merrick, Colm (Glasgow Anniesland) (SNP) Middleton, Jack (Aberdeen Central) (SNP) Minto, Jenni (Argyll and Bute) (SNP) Mitchell, Laura (Moray) (SNP) Mochan, Carol (South Scotland) (Lab) Moodie, Laura (South Scotland) (Green) Nevens, Kate (Edinburgh and Lothians East) (Green) Oswald, Kirsten (Eastwood) (SNP) Rennie, Willie (Fife North East) (LD) Ruskell, Mark (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green) Sangster, Katherine (Edinburgh and Lothians East) (Lab) Slater, Lorna (Edinburgh Central) (Green) Smith, Alyn (Stirling) (SNP) Somerville, Shirley-Anne (Dunfermline) (SNP) Stafford, Pauline (Bathgate) (SNP) Stevenson, Collette (East Kilbride) (SNP) Sweeney, Paul (Glasgow) (Lab) Swinney, John (Perthshire North) (SNP) Thewliss, Alison (Glasgow Central) (SNP) Young, Jenny (Central Scot and Lothians West) (Lab) Against Bannerman, Max (Highlands and Islands) (Reform) Beresford, Senga (South Scotland) (Reform) Bland, Amanda (Central Scot and Lothians West) (Reform) Briggs, Miles (Edinburgh and Lothians East) (Con) Burnett, Alexander (Aberdeenshire West) (Con) Carson, Finlay (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con) Currie, Victor (Highlands and Islands) (Reform) Eagle, Tim (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Fraser, Murdo (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Gallacher, Meghan (Central Scot and Lothians West) (Con) Hamilton, Rachael (Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con) Hoy, Craig (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Kerr, Liam (North East Scotland) (Con) Kerr, Stephen (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Kerr, Thomas (Glasgow) (Reform) Kirkwood, David (South Scotland) (Reform) Langan, Jamie (South Scotland) (Reform) Lindsay, Amanda (Central Scot and Lothians West) (Reform) MacDougall, Julie (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Reform) Massey, Duncan (North East Scotland) (Reform) McDade, Helen (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Reform) Offord, Malcolm (West Scotland) (Reform) Ross, Angela (Edinburgh and Lothians East) (Reform) Schmulian, Kim (Glasgow) (Reform) Simpson, Graham (Central Scot and Lothians West) (Reform) Simpson, Mark (North East Scotland) (Reform) Smith, David (West Scotland) (Reform) The Presiding Officer: The result of the division on amendment S7M-00434.2, in the name of Claire Baker, is: For 92, Against 27, Abstentions 0.”
“Just imagine two football pitches full of wildflowers, such as viper’s bugloss, with the bees buzzing so intensely that people walking there stop still in amazement just to listen to the racket. We are protecting all those homes and businesses and getting people out walking, and the bees, bugs and beasties are loving it. That is good work. That is how we tackle climate change. Scotland has made great progress towards meeting our net zero targets, and I trust that, with the renewed focus and the updated climate change plan, we can finish the job. The Climate Change Committee has said that we can do it, so let us get on and do it. 16:52”
“We have formed Climate Ready Tayside with Perth and Kinross and Angus Councils, because we understand that adverse weather events do not respect council boundaries. The group is focusing on nature-based solutions and is developing community resilience to future events. It knows that once-in-a-generation storms are now occurring on an annual basis. Storm Babet caused devastating flooding across the region, most noticeably in Brechin, but also in Dundee, where the Dighty burst its banks. Working with nature to re-meander the Dighty is now a regular topic of debate and a work in progress. Also in Dundee, thanks to 80 per cent funding support from the Scottish Government, we have invested in the Broughty Ferry flood protection scheme. We have combined it with an amazing active travel route, sand dune restoration and wildflower meadows.”
“We need to work with nature to enable us to withstand the impact of climate change that is already baked into the 1.5°C target. This is where local authorities come in. I always say that local authorities are the fourth emergency service. Whenever there is an adverse weather event, it is the local authority that steps in to support households that have been experiencing flooding, fires or severe heat. Local authorities are also key to ensuring that communities are supported to identify risks and improve climate resilience. In Dundee, we recently updated our climate risk and vulnerability assessment, assessing the impact of a 2°C or 4°C increase in temperature on nature, infrastructure, buildings and people. It made pretty uncomfortable reading.”
“For food producers, reaching net zero is not a target, it is a necessity. Finlay Carson: Could the member set out what she believes is a show-stopping policy that this Government has introduced in the past 10 years that has allowed farmers to move quickly towards becoming net zero? Heather Anderson: I will be guided by the cabinet secretary, who was here in previous sessions, but the main thing is that we are trying to involve farmers in the move to net zero. We are trying to support farmers to survive and to diversify the way they rear their animals and the way they farm. We are trying to support active farming and more organic farming. We need organisations such as the James Hutton Institute, just outside Dundee, to develop more climate-resilient plant breeds to contend with increasing unpredictability.”
“That is why every decision that we make in this Parliament must take account of the impact that we will have on this place that we call home, on our children and on our grandchildren. Continuing to wreck the joint and saying that it is someone else’s problem is not forgivable or excusable. Members of this chamber may know that I was a farmer, and farmers do not need to look at the data charts. Farmers live in the weather every day. Harvests were impacted by record-breaking rainfall in 2024. Every farmer knows that the loss of hard frost over winter increases disease burden in the soil. Every grower knows that the increasing unpredictability of seasons disrupts cultivation plans. I want everyone in this chamber to take a minute to understand that everything that we eat was planted or reared by a farmer somewhere. No farmers, no party.”
“The 10 warmest years on record here in Scotland have been in the past 27 years, with 2022 recorded as Scotland’s hottest year ever. 2024 was the UK’s warmest year on record and that record is likely to be broken in this session of Parliament, if not this year. Limiting global warming to 1.5°C is not a woke mantra. 1.5°C is not a target, it is a limit. If our planet warms up by more than 1.5°C, a number of tipping points are breached. Oceans are already warming faster than predicted, glaciers are melting faster than we had hoped, and the permafrost is thawing at an alarming rate. Once those tipping points are breached, we run out of road. If we breach those tipping points, we cannot control any of it. However, we can control it now.”
“I declare an interest, in that I am an elected councillor on Dundee City Council. I will start my speech by stating an inconvenient truth. Climate change is real. It has been an emergency for some time and it is already affecting communities across Scotland, as we well know. If I could stop it by clicking my heels and denying it three times, I would, but that would not make it go away. It is already happening. Winters are already wetter. Summers are already drier. Storms are increasing in frequency and intensity and, unbelievably, droughts are being predicted in Scotland. Duncan Massey: Will the member take an intervention? Heather Anderson: No, I am not taking an intervention. The member got to put out a lot of misinformation earlier. I am carrying on.”
“There is no industry more subsidised than the nuclear industry, despite what Duncan Massey seems to be suggesting. Historically, subsidy for nuclear far outstretches what has gone into renewables. Duncan Massey: I do not recognise that. The contracts for difference scheme that is driving renewables is extremely high in cost. The supply chain for basic metals and rare earths is hugely polluting.”
“I stress that I am in regular contact with the trade unions and will be meeting them tomorrow and again on Monday. We are trying to get the best possible support for all the people affected at this really difficult time. We must ensure that all future governance models are far more accountable and totally robust. 16:39”
“That work brings together senior management, staff, trade unions and students to recognise and offer solutions to the problems faced by the sector, and a report is due in the autumn. I very much hope that it will echo the sentiments expressed in the debate about what universities are and about their importance to the future of our country and our economic ecosystem. The immediate priority must be to minimise job losses during the current crisis in Dundee. There is ongoing work to try to do that and to support the staff and students affected by the recent announcements. Although it will be of little consolation to those affected, we all know that things could have been so much worse without the significant and extraordinary support provided by the Scottish Government.”
“I am glad that the Scottish Government is taking the University of Dundee’s current situation so seriously, and I point out that, this week, the cabinet secretary intervened to try to put a halt to the announcement and is working behind the scenes and talking to the Scottish Funding Council. Without world-class universities here, Scotland would not be the country that it is. I am glad that the Scottish Government has also identified the significant issues facing the wider sector and is aiming to address those. The Scottish Government and Universities Scotland are working jointly on a future framework for the sustainability and success of Scotland’s universities.”
“As the Gillies report for the Scottish Funding Council recognised last year, although the lack of transparency about financial matters was not the primary cause of the university’s collapse, it certainly contributed to the scale of the problem. However, the University of Dundee is a victim not only of its own governance approach but of financial shocks that have affected the whole sector. The UK Government’s increasingly hostile immigration policies have hamstrung universities at a time when costs were already spiralling, and that Government’s decision to increase employer national insurance contributions last year also dealt a mighty blow to university finances by significantly increasing wage bills. As Universities Scotland said, those funding pressures create a “perfect storm”.”
“There are those who are concerned about their own jobs and others who are concerned about the impact on students and the future of the university as they know it. There are dedicated, hard-working academics, lecturers and researchers, but also librarians, administrators, student support staff, gardeners and artists, all of whom are part of that ecosystem. Those staff have contributed to the university’s many successes and have helped to build its global reputation as a place of excellence. Those are the staff who have stepped up to mitigate the 700 job losses so far, only to find that they, too, are now at risk. The University of Dundee is a living, breathing example of what happens when there are failures of governance and a severe lack of transparency in the decisions taken by senior management.”
“I thank Maggie Chapman for bringing this debate to the chamber: she and I have communicated a lot this week about issues in Dundee. It has, understandably, been a rough week for staff and students at the University of Dundee in my constituency. I have been in regular contact with the trade unions and my inbox is full of personal letters about the impact. In the past 18 months, more than 300 staff at the university have taken voluntary severance and a further 300 people have retired without being replaced. Tuesday’s announcement that a further 190 jobs are being cut was not the news that the university’s hard-working staff expected or deserved. There is a family and community impact behind that statistic, because the university is right at the heart of Dundee’s ecosystem. I have heard from many members of university staff in the past week.”
“The pilot has been so successful that it is leading to systemic change in the way that we provide services in Dundee, with a whole family-based approach now being embedded in the way that we will work with families going forward. I was excited to hear the cabinet secretary’s announcement on whole family support.”
“I refer members to my entry in the register of interests and declare that I am a serving councillor on Dundee City Council. During the previous parliamentary session, families in Dundee benefited from the Scottish Government-funded pathfinder initiative. The whole family support approach ensured that families who were struggling with poverty-related issues were at the heart of decision making and were given the opportunity to contribute towards finding a solution that worked for them. More than 1,200 people engaged with the programme, more than 180 families increased their employability opportunities, and the programme directly benefited 250 children.”
“This morning, I was dismayed to learn that the principal of the University of Dundee has gone ahead with an announcement of a further £20 million of cuts, which would require up to 200 more job losses at the university. The impact that that is having on staff at the university and our town cannot be overstated. I am particularly concerned that the university has, in my view, failed to adequately engage with trade unions, despite significant public funding having been provided to prevent further job losses. Does the First Minister share my deep concern on behalf of my constituents, and will he provide an update on the Scottish Government’s engagement with the university’s leadership?”
“I refer to my entry in the register of members’ interests and declare that I am a serving councillor on Dundee City Council. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to calls from the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh for a national pilot programme to monitor air pollution around city primary schools. (S7O-00061)”
“That has been underpinned by increased activity that is delivered by our dedicated staff, including more than 168,000 additional appointments and procedures last year and a 7 per cent increase in operations over the past 12 months. Scotland’s Rural College (Elmwood Campus) 4.”
“I thank Mr Marra for his interest in waiting times across NHS Tayside, and I share some of his concerns. However, I am very conscious that the Scottish National Party Government has achieved month-on-month reductions in waiting times for 11 months in a row. I would appreciate it if the cabinet secretary could update us on how the Scottish Government will build on that progress and deliver for patients not just in Dundee but across Scotland as a whole. Angela Constance: We are committed to building on progress. There is always more to do. Since July last year, long waits have fallen significantly, with new out-patient waits of more than a year down by 76 per cent and in-patient day-case waits of more than a year down by almost half.”
“If Scotland is to remain a global leader in renewable energy, we must continue to support institutions such as Dundee and Angus College that are quietly doing the hard work of turning ambition into reality and developing the technicians, engineers and skilled professionals who will power our future economy. I fully support the motion and all that the SNP Government is doing to continue to grow Scotland’s economy. 17:12”
“Thankfully, however, our job is to set the direction of travel and let other organisations address the skills shortage. Here in Dundee—I think that I am in Dundee all the time—Dundee and Angus College is one of those key institutions. It is doing the real job of ensuring that the future workforce is ready. It enrols around 800 students a year in construction, engineering and building services. It has worked out that skills for mechanical engineering are equally applicable to maintaining wind turbines. Working closely with industry partners such as Vestas, the college is ensuring that its students’ skills are fully compatible with and transferable to offshore wind technology. It has diversified its courses to ensure that its students achieve the mandatory qualifications that they need to work offshore. That is real work in the real world.”
“It has worked out how many tilers, brickies, carpenters, joiners, scaffolders, plasterers, roofers, painters, surveyors, electricians, glaziers, architects, managers and professional staff are needed to get the job done. In Dundee, that job is installing the insulation, replacing the windows and boilers, fitting the solar and photovoltaic panels and installing the smart decarbonised energy systems that we need. It will transform people’s quality of life and, if we are able to take advantage of the opportunity, provide real work for about 1,600 people a year as we go forward. Those are jobs that Dundee could do with. To give a sense of the scale of that, if members had to do it, it would take all MSPs 120 years—or probably much longer, because we do not have any of the necessary skill sets.”
“Right now, what the sector needs is leadership and political stability to ensure that it will continue to attract long-term investment. The SNP has provided and will continue to provide that stability and leadership. The success of our energy sector must be determined by not just how many turbines we install but evidence on the skilled workforce that the industry nurtures and the number of households that live in warmer homes and pay lower bills. In Dundee, a company called Whole Life Consultants Ltd has used smart modelling to work out that it would take 15,990 person years to deliver all the interventions that Dundee needs.”
“Of course, with the powers of independence, we could act on energy pricing for the benefit of the people in Scotland. Duncan Massey: On the member’s claim that renewables are an extremely cheap form of energy, perhaps she could explain why the current contracts for difference costs for offshore wind are sitting at £95 per megawatt hour, which is significantly higher than the market price of gas. Heather Anderson: My statistics are taken from reports from the industry, which explain those costs. I am not working in the industry, so I cannot answer the member’s question directly, but I am relying on reliable resources, which gave me those prices from the industry. As I have said, if we had the powers of independence, we could act on energy pricing for the benefit of people in Scotland.”
“Having won the energy lottery yet again, Scotland has a renewables sector that already supports 24,000 jobs, and every gigawatt of new offshore wind capacity delivers £2 billion to £3 billion to the economy. Renewable energy production has tripled in the past 10 years, and renewable energy is now one of the cheapest and fastest ways to generate energy at scale. Liam Kerr: Will the member take an intervention? Heather Anderson: I am very conscious of the time, so I will continue. That is because our natural resources are not globally traded or subject to volatile price hikes. New onshore wind is now half the cost of new gas, and new offshore wind is 40 per cent cheaper. Right now, the price of electricity is coupled to the price of gas, which makes electricity artificially costly.”
“We sold the farm a few years ago, but my heart still stopped when I heard Rachel Reeves announce the employer national insurance hike, because I knew immediately how that would affect the bottom line of every hospitality and retail business in Scotland. Now we are going through another wave of energy price spikes, and I applaud everything that our Government is doing to continue to support small, medium-sized and large businesses across Scotland. However, the focus of my speech is the huge opportunity that Scotland’s economy has been given with the vast renewable resources that it has. In such an uncertain world, home-grown renewable energy is our path to energy security, more affordable bills, long-term economic growth and environmental resilience.”
“As one of the few people in the chamber who has run a medium-sized business, which I did for 15 years, I start by expressing my admiration and support for everybody in Scotland who has had the courage and determination to start up and run a business. As everyone out there who knows what it takes to cover the wages every month knows, we have withstood enormous shocks since the financial crash in 2008. We have traded through the economic disaster of Brexit and we were dragged out of the world’s largest free market against our will. My food business imported fresh fruit and vegetables every week, and we certainly felt the impact. The UK now has the unique distinction of being the first country in the world to impose economic sanctions on itself. Like other food businesses, we then traded through Covid and somehow came out the other side.”
“That represents a huge opportunity for change, and indeed for making businesses more resilient to global shocks that are outwith our control when it comes to fuel prices.”
“Our pathway has to be fair, deliverable and achievable. We have worked closely with the Climate Change Committee, and its advice has informed our emissions trajectory and the policies that are set out in the climate change plan, with a couple of exceptions. I am meeting the committee’s chair in the next couple of days. The plan is to have a road map for what Heather Anderson is asking me to consider. One area where we are doing a great deal of work is the decarbonisation of transport, and I will be working closely with my Government colleagues on that. I will be having a meeting with the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport, who is sitting beside me, on what is happening in the transport area.”
“I will reduce my question, Presiding Officer. I welcome the cabinet secretary to her role, and I declare an interest as someone who believes in the science of climate change. I welcome the Climate Change Committee’s approval of our revised climate change plan, with its focus on feasible and deliverable change. However, I am slightly dismayed at the lack of progress, and I accept the Climate Change Committee’s view that we must accelerate action. I would like to hear some detail from the cabinet secretary about the areas where she thinks acceleration in action can be focused, and about what she would hope to prioritise over the next 12 months. Gillian Martin: We need to ensure that our pathway is ambitious, deliverable and central to the Government’s approach. Being ambitious on its own is not good enough.”
“When we think about prevention, it is always worth asking: what would Boyd Orr do? He never lacked ambition. I think that he would give a wry smile if he were to look at our aims to link public health and the price of core food essentials, and I am sure that he would have a thing or two to say to the supermarkets about their public health responsibilities. I fully support the motion and am glad to contribute to the debate. I hope that we get more innovative on prevention and community support. 15:25”
“Boyd Orr wrote “Food, Health and Income” back in 1936—90 years ago. He was working in Glasgow and was shocked by the levels of rickets and poor health in the schools. He then trained as a doctor and made the link, in that document, between poverty, poor diet and ill health. He discovered back then that around one third of the population simply could not afford a healthy diet. Everything that we can do to help people in Scotland to get access to good food is important. Boyd Orr always argued that we should prioritise the nutritional needs of women and their children, and we are doing that with all our work on best start grants and best start foods. He was instrumental in introducing school milk, before Mrs Thatcher took it away, and we are doing our bit in schools, with free school meals.”
“As of yesterday, since its opening nearly three years ago, more than 2,700 people have been supported by the service. It has made more than 15,400 contacts with the public. Around 60 per cent of the contacts that Hope Point makes are between 6 pm and 8 am. Being there when people need help is vital, and peer-to-peer support is life changing. Hope Point provides us with a model that can be replicated across the whole of Scotland. I would be delighted to invite the cabinet secretary to Dundee to meet the staff and see the work that they are doing. I cannot talk about health without acknowledging one of my heroes—and he should be one of Scotland’s huge heroes: John Boyd Orr, the pioneering Scottish scientist and nutritionist who became the first director general of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.”
“In Dundee, a woman living in one of the least deprived communities can expect to live 26 years more of a healthy life than a woman living in one of the more deprived communities. That desperately needs our attention. Poverty, insecure work, poor living conditions and hopelessness take their toll. Helping people to improve and maintain their health and to prevent illness is equally important. One service in Dundee that is doing just that for people with mental ill health is Hope Point, which is a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week service provided by Penumbra with support from the Dundee health and social care partnership. No referral is needed. Anyone can drop in, phone or text and, even without an appointment, the peer supporters on duty will be there for you.”
“One of the things that I am most optimistic about is the shift to prevention and community-based care. Public Health Scotland says that, overall, around 20 per cent of our health is determined by access to the NHS. When we need help from the NHS, it is vital that it is there for us, as I have just testified, but the other 80 per cent of our health is shaped by our employment status, our prospects, our income—or lack of it—our living environment, our neighbourhood and the decisions that we make based on the options that we have. From 2010, Westminster austerity caused a decline in life expectancy, and we now face a very big gap between a healthy life expectancy and an unhealthy life expectancy.”
“Every single decision over the past year was based on medical need and patient care, not on our ability to pay the bill, whenever it was delivered. It was about care, not cost—and that is priceless. Thankfully, the NHS is in safe hands. As the cabinet secretary clarified, the NHS in Scotland, under the SNP, will never be for sale. I am glad to report that the patient is on the road to recovery. Our manifesto is packed with commitments to continue to invest in and protect the NHS. We are spending £22.5 billion this year; waiting lists and waiting times are coming down; and the numbers of operations, GPs and staff are going up. Over these first 100 days, we will deliver on the many key targets that we have listed in our “100 Days of a New SNP Government” document.”
“Like so many others who have been in that position, I have nothing but gratitude and admiration for the consultants, surgeons and nursing staff, all of whom have been intimately involved in our lives over the past 12 months. The care and treatment have been exemplary. Some MSPs might talk glibly about the need to move from a universal, rights-based system to an insurance-based system. I find that terrifying. I doubt that I would ever have earned enough money to ensure that we had sufficient insurance to cover the scale of the treatment that we have just received: scans, chemotherapy, community pharmacy, no less than four operations, intensive care, acute care and nursing care accompanying every intervention.”
“I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate on protecting and renewing our NHS. I congratulate Angela Constance on her appointment as the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Care. We are truly privileged to live in a nation where there is an unequivocal commitment to the continued provision of a publicly owned NHS that is free at the point of use. We use the phrase “free at the point of use” all the time, but it is not until we suddenly need the NHS that we fully realise just how precious that principle is. Over the past year, I have witnessed the NHS at first hand as I have supported a family member through a year of cancer treatment.”