John Swinney
Scottish National Party · Scotland
“Since the report from several years ago was published, the Government has presided over the passage of legislation to rationalise that area of activity. Work is under way to transfer the responsibility for the funding of further education student support from the Scottish Funding Council to the Student Awards Agency Scotland.”
“I appreciate the urgency of the general policy elements of the question, because a number of applications are now being considered by planning authorities. My view is that, given the concerns that have been expressed by planning authorities, the Government has to be responsive to the issue.”
“For as long as we do not have a proper strategy on prison capacity, rehabilitation and clearing the court backlog, early release will be a revolving door, with people going in, coming out and going back into our prisons. Our justice system is in crisis, so we need a strategy.”
“I associate myself unreservedly Mr Cole-Hamilton’s comments about the feelings in the Muslim community. On Monday, I visited the Broomhouse mosque along with Simita Kumar and the Annandale Street mosque in Edinburgh with Ben Macpherson.”
“The development of further guidance will be undertaken in a manner consistent with the ruling by Lady Ross. Malcolm Offord: I thank the First Minister for his answer, which was more comprehensive than I expected.”
“I am a huge supporter of apprenticeship programmes. With foundation apprenticeships and graduate apprenticeships, the Government has brought forward important reforms that create new and successful pathways for young people. I am determined to make sure that every young person has that desirable pathway for their future.”
The complete record
Every one of 2,608 lines we hold for John Swinney, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 2 of 53.
“The Government has taken a number of steps to strengthen social care, not least of which has been to increase the payments made to social care staff, so that social care is an attractive profession. There is a substantive point to the issue that Mr Dunlop has raised. I have spent a significant amount of time with other ministers trying to take practical steps to reduce delayed discharge, because it is undesirable for people to be in hospital for longer than is required. The Government is considering the steps that need to be taken, and I am of the view that there is a necessity for significant reform in social care. The Government brought forward proposals for a national care service, but those did not command the support of Parliament and so we are looking at further proposals.”
“We committed to 150,000 extra appointments and procedures in the past year, and, in fact, we delivered more than 168,000 additional appointments and procedures. We have seen reductions in the number of in-patient and day case admissions. The number of people waiting for more than 52 weeks is down for 15 months in a row, and the number of out-patients is down for 11 months in a row. Our interventions are all helping to reduce the pressures on our health service, which will assist in reducing pressure on A and E. Delayed Discharge (Impacts)”
“That is what the Government is working to achieve. We have put in place a variety of different interventions to try to reduce demand and pressure on A and E services. For example, the introduction of the pharmacy first Scotland service is designed to provide ready high street access to diagnostic services for particularly low-level incidents; the expansion of general practitioner walk-in clinics is designed to ensure that we support that endeavour; and the increase in GP numbers is designed to ensure that there are alternatives to people undertaking visits to A and E. We are clearly wrestling with challenging circumstances in A and E services, but, in the health service as a whole, there has been an increase in the number of procedures that are being undertaken.”
“That is a focal point of the Government’s annual budget. The Government has put in place local government settlements that have increased the resources that are available to local government in recent years. Indeed, there is a real-terms increase in resources to local government in the current budget. As Iris Duane will know, the Government has to reconcile a variety of competing spending requirements as part of its budget, and we look forward to the engagement that will involve members of the Parliament in the course of the budget-setting process over the next few months. Accident and”
“It is part of the obligation of the SFRS to continue to monitor these issues and to address local concerns as they are expressed. Local Government Budgets (Glasgow City Council)”
“There are obviously opportunities for the Parliament to debate these questions, but I note that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service board is empowered by statute to take decisions about the operational delivery of services based on the financial allocations that are made by the Government. The Government has been increasing the resources that are made available to the SFRS. The budget for 2026-27 provides the SFRS with an additional £23.8 million compared with the previous year, bringing its total budget to £535 million, which is a 5.7 per cent increase. [The First Minister has corrected this contribution. See end of report]. I understand the concerns that Rachael Hamilton is raising about the circumstances in relation to the expansion of Center Parcs facilities, which is a development that will take place over a number of years.”
“That contributes significantly to our strong record on foreign direct investment, which has been recorded again today in EY’s foreign direct investment analysis, showing Scotland—for the 11th year in a row—to be the strongest part of the United Kingdom for foreign direct investment other than London and the south-east of England.”
“The Government’s green industrial strategy is designed to ensure that we capture many of the opportunities to which Mr McMillan has referred. The climate change plan supports the requirements of our action on net zero to ensure that we are making the necessary investment to support our activities. The Government has, in the budget, committed more than £5 billion of capital and resource expenditure to support measures that are designed to have a positive impact on Scotland’s climate change goals. It is welcome that, in recent analysis, the Confederation of British Industry in Scotland has set out that climate action contributes £10.2 billion to Scotland’s economy.”
“The Government will take steps and report to Parliament on how that approach is being taken forward.”
“The Government has taken steps to work with local authorities on the production of guidance and expectations around the participation of young people in education, and to tackle unacceptable behaviour in our schools. We have to work jointly with local authorities in this area to ensure that schools are well supported. Many of our schools operate with clear behavioural codes in place and there are consequences for those who do not follow those codes. I assure the member that the Government is working closely with local authorities to ensure that, in every circumstance, we will act to support teachers. We are also taking forward a ban on the use of mobile phone technology in schools, which we acknowledge contributes significantly to some of the difficulties and challenges in schools.”
“We already face an acute challenge, and there is a growing challenge because of the issues arising from the increase in drug use. My reflection on the Thistle is that it has helped to avoid more than 100 drug deaths, because it has intervened in more than 100 medical emergencies where people were at risk of losing their lives. Violence in”
“We are investing heavily in increasing rehabilitation services in Scotland, and one of the reasons that the Government did not support the Right to Addiction Recovery (Scotland) Bill is because of the expanded capacity that is being put in place. A range of other measures are being taken forward, but I am open to contributions and points about what more action can be taken to add to the steps that we are already taking, so I extend an invitation to members of the Parliament to contribute to that process. A final point is that we are experiencing an upsurge in drug deaths as a result of the increasing level of toxicity of the drugs that are being circulated in our society, which are synthetic opioids of enormous ferocity in their impact on people who are using drugs.”
“First, I express my condolences to Mr Kerr on the loss of his father; I appreciate enormously the agony that will be involved in considering the issue, given his personal circumstances. The Government recognises the significant challenge of drug deaths in our society, which are disproportionately higher than in any other jurisdiction in western Europe. On Friday morning, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Care, the Minister for Mental Wellbeing, Public Health, Sport, Alcohol and Drugs and I took part in an extensive discussion with a range of partners from across local government, the police health boards and other organisations—including people with lived experience, who gave astonishing testimony—to assess the steps that the Government is currently taking.”
“I recognise the significance of the issue that Martyn Day has raised. The opportunity to develop jet fuel at Grangemouth was one of the significant economic opportunities that arose from the debate on the facility’s future, and it is a matter of enormous regret that the UK Government’s promised interventions to safeguard Grangemouth’s future have not been taken forward as a consequence. I endorse the calls that Mr Day has made. Given that we still face significant uncertainty about the availability of jet fuel because of the uncertainty in the middle east, making progress on the issue is an urgent priority, and I assure Mr Day of the Scottish Government’s willingness to participate in that work.”
“I am certainly familiar with the issues that Mr Smith has raised, given my constituency workload and the visibility that they were being given when I visited the Royal Highland Show on Thursday morning. The Government is supporting action to tackle the issue through the work of the Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime, which is a multi- agency partnership, led by Police Scotland, that works with a variety of justice and rural sector partners to provide the necessary action in that respect. We provide Police Scotland with financial support for its work. We are increasingly concerned by the link between machinery theft and serious organised crime, and the partnership is focused on addressing that practice in rural communities. Grangemouth (Sustainable Aviation Fuel)”
“The issue that Ariane Burgess has raised is covered by a petition that the Minister for Agriculture, Marine and the Islands received this morning, which will, obviously, be the subject of engagement. Encouraging the protection and enhancement of our marine environment is a policy priority for the Government, but it must reconcile a variety of perspectives in that process. I assure Ariane Burgess that ministers will engage substantively on the issue, and we will set out our position once we have had the opportunity to consider the evidence that has been put to us. Organised Crime (Rural Scotland)”
“I would be very happy to do so. If Mr McArthur furnishes me with the details, I will ensure that the matter is attended to immediately. In principle, cross-border treatment within the health service is entirely conceivable, and our arrangements make provision for it. I will have to look at the specific details with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Care to see what the issues are. I am very happy to consider the case, and I give Mr McArthur reassurance that the possibility that he has set out is, in principle, entirely plausible within the health service. Marine Environment (Protection)”
“It is a part of our system’s architecture that enables us to be satisfied that the priorities of ministers are being delivered in practice in the health service around the country. Treatment Access (Lymphoedema)”
“The arrangements to which Helen McDade has referred are about ensuring the operational delivery of the Government’s priorities on health, and the statute requires ministers to be fundamentally responsible for the delivery of healthcare services in Scotland. The holding of those two posts—director general for health in the Scottish Government and chief executive of NHS Scotland—is to enable that link to be applied in the delivery of healthcare services in Scotland. When I am holding the health service to account—for example, on reducing long waits, which has been an absolute priority of mine during my time as First Minister—I am holding the chief executive of NHS Scotland, the director general for health, and health secretaries, accountable for that very important issue.”
“A statement that relates to non-domestic rates will be made shortly by the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government. Therefore, if Mr Bannerman will forgive me, I will not give a specific answer to his question. The Deputy First Minister will update Parliament on the latest developments in the Government’s thinking on non-domestic rates shortly. NHS Scotland (Dual Roles)”
“I assure Patricia Gibson that the mechanisms to ensure the distribution of those resources will be taken forward at the appropriate opportunity, when the data is available, to ensure that local authorities can receive the funding that has been allocated to them. Business Rates Relief (Vacant Properties)”
“All funding to local government is subject to consideration by the joint settlement and distribution group and agreed to by Convention of Scottish Local Authorities leaders. To date, £44.9 million of previously undistributed revenue funding has been discussed and agreed through those formal governance processes. As a result, North Ayrshire Council will receive an additional £1.2 million, which will be paid as a redetermination of the general revenue grant in the normal way. Alongside a number of other smaller funding lines, £37.6 million for the teachers’ induction scheme remains undistributed, because the data will not be available until later this year, and £19.6 million for discretionary housing payments will be distributed following a reconciliation at the end of the financial year.”
“On that specific last point that Mr Sweeney raises with me, it is obviously a matter for individual local authorities to decide on their own position. However, for my part, I set out, on behalf of the Scottish Government, my appreciation of the service of all members of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, and indeed of the service of all members of the armed forces. They undertake a perilous task on our behalf to keep us safe. I express my sympathy to Mr Sweeney on the loss of his friend, Robert Hetherington, and commend him for his service and sacrifice in ensuring the safety and security of our country. It is important on armed forces day—and every day—to remember the sacrifice of members of our armed forces, and I do so unreservedly in Parliament today. Local Authority Funding (North Ayrshire)”
“There is the redesign of services in different parts of the community, with the creation of new stations to reflect changes in population growth. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service board is empowered by law to take those decisions to ensure that we have sustainable services. Obviously, members of Parliament can raise individual issues and questions in Parliament, but I am satisfied that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service board has undertaken its scrutiny of this important issue with a very strong evidence base to enable it to come to the conclusions that it has come to. Royal Regiment of Scotland (20th Anniversary)”
“I understand the concerns that Katy Clark has put to Parliament today and the concerns that are expressed by members of the Fire Brigades Union. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service board has consulted extensively on the changes. The board decided not to take forward a whole host of changes that were part of the consultation, which was because of the very point that I have explained to Parliament on previous occasions: that individual changes would have to be assessed to determine their suitability and sustainability to ensure that an effective fire and rescue service is in place. Some of the changes involve the closure of a number of stations that have not operated and have had no staff for some time.”
“Mr Kerr raises important issues around the economic impact of Brexit, which is relevant given that today marks 10 years since the Brexit referendum. Year on year, the scale of the Brexit disaster becomes more apparent. Modelling by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research estimated a 3.2 per cent hit to gross domestic product due to Brexit in 2025, increasing to an estimated 5.7 per cent by 2035. That equates to a cut in public revenues of around £3.3 billion in 2025 in Scotland. It is absolutely crystal clear that the Brexit experiment has failed. It is an unmitigated economic, political and societal disaster. We are clear that Scotland must rejoin the European Union as an independent member of it. Scottish Fire and”
“We are doing that through a number of steps, including the “We are Scotland” campaign, which encourages cohesion in our communities; the work that is being taken forward in the education system to ensure that there is an awareness of the importance of cohesion in our communities; and making sure that our police are supported to undertake the valuable and critically important work that they undertook on Friday evening to protect members of the public who were subject to such a terrible attack. I would say to Parliament, as I have said on a number of occasions, that there needs to be clear and emphatic leadership in this country that our politics are about bringing people together. That will always be what I say to Parliament and to the people of Scotland. Transgender Prisoners (Court of Session Ruling)”
“I associate myself unreservedly with the comments that Kate Campbell has put on the record and I unequivocally condemn the horrendous attacks that took place on Friday. Yesterday, along with Simita Kumar and Ben Macpherson, I visited the mosques in Broomhouse and Annandale Street and I met two young men who had been injured in the attacks. They have suffered physical injuries, but they are also clearly utterly traumatised by their experience on Friday night. They are a valued part of our community. The Scottish Government will do all that we can to ensure that community cohesion is at the centre of all our work.”
“However, I assure him that our legislative framework, the steps that have been taken in the Government’s programme and the availability of the resources in our budget—which the Liberal Democrats supported, for which I am very grateful—will ensure that we can take the necessary action to address the issue and reassure members of the public who are affected by it. I am very happy for ministers to provide update reports to Parliament in the next 12 months, to make sure that the public’s concerns, as expressed by Mr Cole-Hamilton, can be properly and fully addressed.”
“Will he guarantee that, by the time we reach the 10th anniversary of Grenfell, next year, every single one of those vital checks will have taken place? The First Minister: Let me reassure Mr Cole- Hamilton that a variety of interventions are taking place, some of which involve building assessments and some of which require mitigation measures in buildings. That work is under way, but it will not show up in the statistics that Mr Cole- Hamilton has put to me today. What I am saying, essentially, is that Mr Cole- Hamilton does not present a complete picture of the activity that is under way.”
“Alex Cole-Hamilton: We are nearly 10 years on from Grenfell, and the response that we have heard from the First Minister will come as no comfort whatsoever to the people who cannot insure or sell their homes or to the people who fear for their lives and want to know that their homes are safe. The United Kingdom Government gave Scottish ministers £100 million to conduct the cladding assessments. Therefore, money is not the problem; the lack of urgency is. It appears that not a single building has been checked during the past six months. More than two years ago, the Parliament passed the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024. Ironically, ministers said that that would speed up the process. Will the First Minister get a grip on this?”
“One of the issues that we have had to wrestle with has been not having an effective legislative framework in place to enable us to deal with a number of issues, not least of which is multiple ownership in individual buildings. That legislation has now been put in place by the Government and, as a result of having it in place, we are able to proceed with the important work that is necessary to investigate properties and to identify the remedial action that is required and the steps that have to be taken as a consequence. I understand the importance of our doing so with urgency, but the Government must have a legal framework within which to act. We secured that during the previous parliamentary session, and we are now taking steps to ensure that actions can be taken to provide that reassurance to members of the public.”
“If Douglas Lumsden was at his work on any occasion, he could be held to account for his activities, but, for weeks and weeks, Douglas Lumsden has been skiving somewhere else. What on earth has the Conservative Party become? They are a bunch of skivers. Cladding 5.”
“John Swinney pretends to support oil and gas while still backing the anti-drilling policy of Nicola Sturgeon and the Green Party. One thousand jobs are being lost every single month. When will John Swinney start telling workers the truth? The First Minister: Russell Findlay makes ever more desperate attempts to avoid the responsibility that the Conservative Government carried for the difficulties in the oil and gas sector, because Mr Findlay and his party, when it was in government, introduced the energy profits levy. His party applied it with impetus, increased it and extended it, and what is the levy doing? It is culling jobs in the north-east of Scotland. The levy is the responsibility of the Conservatives.”
“As part of any assessment of the appropriateness of any new licences in the oil and gas sector, the question of the total emissions of any individual project must be considered when the United Kingdom Government makes any decision. That is exactly what Scottish Government policy says on that issue. Russell Findlay: The First Minister did not answer the question but talked about the EPL, which his party was the first to call for. My colleague Douglas Lumsden is Aberdeen’s oil and gas champion, and he has persistently demanded to know when the Scottish National Party Government will publish its delayed energy strategy. We have now discovered that SNP ministers have done precisely nothing about it during the first five months of this year—absolutely nothing. For years, the sleekit SNP has behaved in the most dishonest and despicable way.”
“What has undermined the North Sea oil and gas sector has been the energy profits levy, which was first applied by the Conservative Government. That is precisely the difficulty just now. Companies tell me that they are finding it difficult to invest because of the energy profits levy, which was started by the Conservatives and has been carried on by the Labour Government at Westminster. There is a legitimate argument to be advanced relating to an assessment of the emissions from the activity that takes place in our domestic energy sector and the emissions from activity that arises from the extraction of fossil fuels that are then imported into this country because of our ongoing requirement to use oil and gas resources in our energy mix.”
“Indeed, much of the content of national planning framework 4 is predicated on the basis of what I have just set out to the Parliament. Mr Greer will be familiar with the formulation of that document. The Government will, of course, consider all emerging planning issues, and we must monitor the implications of local planning decisions. However, if the Parliament wishes there to be a fundamental change to the way in which we determine such issues, it will have to have an open discussion about whether such powers should be exercised nationally by the Government, not locally by individual local authorities, which has been the prevailing view in the Parliament until now. The Parliament is welcome to consider that issue. Oil and Gas Industry 4.”
“The First Minister must recognise that that is not possible, so will he come back to the Parliament next week, before we suspend for the summer, to announce a pause on approvals for new hyperscale data centres until some kind of national plan is in place? The First Minister: Mr Greer raises an important issue that gets to the nub of how prescriptive planning policy should be in Scotland. It is a reasonable point, but members often argue in the Parliament for local decision making within a policy framework that is set by the Government. Mr Greer is asking me to do something much more specific, instructive and determinative than that. It is a perfectly reasonable point, but it is different from the prevailing mood in the Parliament in relation to how members have argued planning policy should be undertaken.”
“They have not undergone such an assessment because councils are dealing with the applications in the dark and have not been given the guidance that the First Minister is implying that they have been given. One of the proposals that have not undergone an EIA is the one at Auchtertool in Fife. The data centre there would be the size of 100 football pitches, and its 600MW of energy need would be monumental. That is the same need, for just one private business, as that of 1.3 million households. I am not asking the First Minister to comment on individual applications—he cannot do that—but I bring him back to the point that the 24 applications that have been announced so far would require, in total, 6,000MW, which is more than one and a half times our country’s entire peak energy demand right now.”
“There must, obviously, be extensive interaction and dialogue with individual communities before those applications are determined, but the criteria for the consideration and assessment of such developments are very clearly set out in planning policy. Ross Greer: I cannot reconcile what the First Minister is saying about planning policy with how that operates in practice. He says that a green data centre is one where environmental considerations have been taken into account, but there is no requirement to do an environmental impact assessment on a data centre application. In fact, six of the proposed hyperscale data centres that are in the pipeline have not undergone any environmental impact assessment, so they cannot possibly meet the definition that the First Minister has just set out.”
“Data centres can play an important role in our economy, but not if we allow a free-for-all of unworkable applications to continue. Will the First Minister agree today to a moratorium on new data centres of above 50MW until we can agree on a clear national strategy and give councils the specific guidance that they need before they make decisions on individual applications? The First Minister: I understand the concerns that Mr Greer puts to me, but the detail of the planning policy addresses the issues that he is concerned about, particularly in relation to renewable energy use, to energy-efficient technologies and to water consumption and the generation of heat. The planning policy is there to enable local authorities to make the determinations that they consider appropriate and necessary.”
“Ross Greer: The First Minister’s response indicates that the Government expects each data centre to be approached individually, but we need a coherent national strategy. This is not an abstract issue: huge energy demands from these data centres will mean higher energy bills for everyone else and real problems for the communities that surround them. There are multiple reports of London boroughs putting a freeze on the building of new houses because of the impact of data centres on the grid. Those centres use so much power that, if additional homes were to be built in those areas, there would not be the grid capacity to supply them with electricity. This is urgent because some applications are set to be decided perhaps before Parliament returns from summer recess.”
“The Government’s definition of a green data centre is one that has been approved with due account taken of the environmental implications of all required developments. That will, of course, cover a range of the issues that Mr Greer highlighted in his question. In defining green data centres, it is for planning authorities to interpret and apply national planning policy to the circumstances of each case. They should consider factors such as renewable energy use, energy-efficient technologies, reduced water consumption and the opportunities to reuse excess heat. The Government’s planning hub has been working with planning authorities to ensure that there is a wide and consistent understanding of those factors when coming to those conclusions.”
“I say that to Parliament to provide reassurance to families that, when those reports are undertaken by Healthcare Improvement Scotland, they result in learning and in the application of processes by health boards around the country, to ensure that we constantly focus on improving services. That is what the Government is trying to do in the delivery of maternity services and, crucially, the work of Healthcare Improvement Scotland helps us to scrutinise and identify weaknesses so that they can be addressed and recommendations implemented. That will be the approach that the Government continues to take. Hyperscale Data Centres 3.”
“The Government has required a number of such reviews to be undertaken. As Mr Sarwar correctly identified, reviews have taken place in Tayside and Lothian. We now have the report on NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and reports are being done on other health boards around the country. Crucially, when those reviews identify recommendations, the Government discusses those recommendations with the relevant health boards to ensure that they are implemented. That is the case with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Also, the patterns of evidence that come out of those reports are drawn out and are then the subject of a focus on improvement with all health boards in Scotland.”
“Warnings are raised, whistleblowers speak out, patients suffer, ministers promise that lessons will be learned, a review is commissioned and then the next scandal arrives. That it has taken seven months to appoint a chair is not good enough, when every day that passes without action risks another adverse incident and another broken family. The review needs to be more than just a process—it needs to improve services. When will John Swinney be able to guarantee that all women and babies will be safe in maternity services across the country? The First Minister: The point that Mr Sarwar puts to me is a fair one, but I reassure him that, in the period in which we have been preparing the national review, a series of inspections have been undertaken at the Government’s behest.”
“Ministers are very happy for there to be family engagement with the review—indeed, they would think that essential— and I give an assurance that that will be the case. With regard to the specific families that Mr Sarwar mentioned, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Care has committed to meeting those families, and I know that she will undertake that engagement. Anas Sarwar: I welcome that commitment, but families are worried not only about what happened but about the fact that it could happen again. That is their fear. John Swinney often tells us that the pressures on the national health service are unprecedented, but the women in question were not failed by a virus or by bad luck—they were failed by a system that knew that there was a problem and did not act quickly enough to fix it. Time and again, we see the same cycle.”
“Will John Swinney now make a commitment that the already delayed review will meaningfully involve the women and the families who have first-hand experience of the failures of Scotland’s maternity services? The First Minister: I give Mr Sarwar such an assurance. In response to the recommendations that were made in connection with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, an approach has been taken that has resulted in most, if not all, of the recommendations in the report being implemented. In addition, midwife employment has been increased to ensure that some of the other capacity issues are properly addressed. The Government committed to the establishment of a maternity and neonatal task force, and steps were taken at the start of this year to take forward that agenda.”
“Staff repeatedly raised concerns, warnings were made about unsafe pressures and concerns were raised about staffing levels and capacity, yet women continued to wait and to experience delays in treatment. The situation was the same in Lothian and Tayside. It is clear that there are systemic nationwide problems. That is why we called for a national review in November, and it is why we welcomed the Government’s announcement that such a review would take place. However, seven months on, the review only now has a chair. Julie Keegan, who lost her baby boy, and Lori Quate, who lost both his wife and his unborn child, were promised that they would be involved in the work of the task force and the review. Seven months on, despite those promises, the families affected have heard nothing.”
“The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Care has already met Healthcare Improvement Scotland and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to relay the Government’s concern and to ensure that all 26 of the report’s requirements are taken forward urgently by the health board, and we have had reassurance on those issues. The cabinet secretary will meet the chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde again before the parliamentary recess to review progress and to receive further reassurance that steps have been taken to implement the report’s requirements. Anas Sarwar: The pattern that was revealed in the report on the Queen Elizabeth university hospital was not new.”