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.”
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“I am keen that we engage constructively with the industry to make sure that that is the case. Freight Vessels (Northern Isles)”
“That is an important issue. As Carol Mochan indicated, the fall in alcohol-related deaths is welcome. However, there remain a large number of deaths as a consequence of alcohol harm. The Government has made strategic interventions around minimum unit pricing, which are designed to address the issue. I am pleased to see the progress that has been made as a consequence, and we have updated that policy approach. The Government will take other steps in relation to public health education and advising individuals of the dangers of excess alcohol consumption. We also need to work collaboratively to ensure that all parts of the public and private sectors are working together to convey those messages. That will underpin our approach to the limitation of harm through taking steps on alcohol marketing and promotion.”
“The support of the Government and Highlands and Islands Enterprise in engaging with Christies, in recognition of its contribution towards the climate change activity, is merited, and I will make sure that it happens.”
“I am very familiar with Christies, which is a long-standing business in Fochabers. Richard Lochhead, who is the local MSP, has kept me up to date with the worrying situation that is being faced there. As Mr Ross will know, the Government has extensive tree-planting commitments as part of its climate change agenda. I was in the Moray area during the summer recess to open a very significant tree nursery that will support that activity. Despite the scale of investment in that tree facility, private sector capacity through Christies and other companies—I should not refer just to Christies—will still be needed to meet our tree-planting targets. The issue that Mr Ross raises is significant. The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands, Mairi Gougeon, will happily engage with him on that question.”
“That is concrete action that the SNP Government is delivering to support people in the cost of living crisis. Christies of”
“The Scottish Government has taken a number of steps, in our policy programme and in our decisions on public sector pay, in an effort to address the legitimate issues that Mr Stewart has put to me. In our public sector pay policy, we have put forward settlements that I believe are appropriate and which take into account the inflation pressures that Mr Stewart has set out. As part of our policy programme, a range of provisions are available in Scotland, such as free prescriptions and free eye examinations, free bus travel, free tuition for university students, and early learning and childcare support that is estimated to have a value of up to £6,000 for every eligible child. In recent weeks, the Government has abolished peak rail fares, which will save a commuter from Glasgow to Edinburgh nearly 50 per cent of their costs on a daily basis.”
“This will be a very worrying time for all the affected employees. They have my understanding and my support.”
“I very much agree with the concern expressed by Rona Mackay, who brings her formidable experience as a journalist before she became a member of Parliament. Local journalism is absolutely important for the scrutiny of public policy at all levels in Scottish society. I was concerned to hear this morning’s reports about STV and the recent news about the Daily Record. This morning, the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, Angus Robertson, has indicated to the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee that he will engage with STV, Ofcom and the trade unions to highlight our concerns. We will give whatever assistance we can in that respect. It is absolutely vital to our democracy that we have sustained media engagement, and the Government will do all that it can to support those who are affected.”
“That will be the focus of the Government’s activities in this area. We will be helped by the dialogue that has been initiated by the round-table discussion that I held in Bute house, by the considerable impetus to our thinking provided by the formulation of the dementia strategy, and by Sir Iain Anderson’s intervention to support me in that activity.”
“Does the First Minister accept that it is time to wake up to the dementia time bomb that Scotland is facing and prioritise prevention, early intervention and support for people who are living with the disease? The First Minister: Yes, I agree that those measures should be taken—they are in the population health framework and the dementia strategy and are exactly the approach that the Government is taking. There is a link between what Mr Choudhury has put to me and what Mr Whittle put to me a moment ago about the need to shift to early intervention and community support. I acknowledge the importance of the expansion of care to ensure that we deliver much more of it at home and in the community, where people want to care for their loved ones, according to their circumstances.”
“Our 10-year dementia strategy focuses on enhancing support in our communities, including through investing in grass-roots support, challenging the stigma that people face following a diagnosis, and improving the training and expertise of our health and social care workforce. Foysol Choudhury: Public Health Scotland estimates that by 2044, as many as 53,800 more people could be living with dementia compared with in 2019. Alzheimer Scotland has rightly warned about the state of investment in dementia now, let alone in the future. Is that any wonder, given that, under this Government, integration joint boards face an estimated funding gap of £560 million this year?”
“I recognise the evidence that the member references. Many in the chamber will personally know an individual or a family impacted by dementia. That is why I recently held a round-table discussion in Bute house to discuss how we can better unlock innovation in supporting people with advanced dementia. That was suggested to me by Sir Iain Anderson, a distinguished Scottish businessman. I have asked the Minister for Social Care and Mental Wellbeing to take forward work on that. We will also build on efforts that we are already undertaking to better understand what interventions can make a difference to people’s dementia risk, learning from initiatives such as the Scottish Government-backed pilot of the brain health service and clinic in Aberdeen.”
“The Government has put in place a record funding settlement for the service to address the fact that we have an ageing population and consequently greater healthcare need. However, the budget needs to be supported in Parliament. I encourage Mr Whittle to use his influence in his party to secure support for the Government’s budget this year—such support was absent last year. If Mr Whittle is interested in having a collaborative discussion to ensure that we have all-party support for investment in our NHS, the Government is willing to take forward those proposals.”
“Mr Whittle has developed a contribution to Parliament that has focused unreservedly on the importance of early intervention and on the measures to reduce demand in healthcare services. Those messages are very much part of the population health framework that the Government set out earlier this year, so I welcome Mr Whittle’s engagement on that issue. The NHS is being reformed by the steps that we are taking. As I recounted in my answer to Mr Sarwar, we are undertaking more procedures within the national health service. However, there is a need for us to concentrate much more on early intervention and on good health protection. As I said, those steps are inherent to the Government’s policy programme. There is also the need to ensure that the NHS is well funded.”
“Despite the numbers of patients coming through the doors of A and E staying broadly the same, more people are waiting for longer to receive care. We need to bring forward serious, substantial plans to modernise the national health service. We need policies that reduce the need, we need to seize the opportunity that tech and artificial intelligence bring, and we need to vastly improve working conditions for those who care for us. Is the First Minister prepared to bring forward those substantial plans for us to debate? That approach would bring constructive support from across the chamber. The First Minister: I very much welcome Mr Whittle’s engagement on these questions.”
“Public Health Scotland has been clear that the change will support transparency and allow patients to identify a more accurate waiting time for their procedure. Brian Whittle: I thank the First Minister for that answer. I have to be honest, Presiding Officer—I was ready to stand up here and quote the unofficial motto of the Scottish National Party as being, “Why solve the problem when you can move the goalposts?” However, the truth is that that would do no more to reduce waiting times than the Scottish Government’s statistical tinkering will. Meanwhile, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine is saying that more than 800 people died last year because they had to wait for more than 12 hours in accident and emergency.”
“The change to official statistics is about ensuring that a patient’s wait is reflected accurately. Public Health Scotland made that decision to align with the latest waiting times guidance, which was published in 2023. The Welsh Government announced a not dissimilar move in April of this year. Previously, some long waits might have been recorded as such due to patient unavailability, multiple missed or cancelled appointments, or the refusal of two reasonable offers of appointments. Under the guidance, in such a scenario, the patient’s waiting times clock may be reset or adjusted where clinically appropriate. That change will result in a small drop in waiting times statistics for those waiting for more than 52 weeks, but no change to the overall waiting list numbers.”
“National Health Service (Waiting Times) 5.”
“The First Minister: The assurance that I can provide to Elena Whitham and older people in our society is that the provisions that the Government has put in place are part of the package of support that we believe is necessary for vulnerable pensioners. I point out that, sometimes, Parliament faces a call for us to clamp down on social security expenditure—I think that I have heard that language before—but nobody ever follows it up with specific suggestions about how that expenditure should be cut. So, of course, the benefits that I refer to could be under threat from the challenges that other parties put to us. However, let me be absolutely crystal clear to Elena Whitham that this Government stands in support of those payments and the support that we put in place, and that will remain the case in the Government’s provisions.”
“Labour promised no austerity and more support for pensioners, yet, in the midst of a cost of living crisis, it tried to slash winter fuel payments, attempted to cut disability payments and blocked WASPI women—women against state pension inequality—from getting compensation. All of that was during a time of rising energy bills, food prices and inflation— pressures that are hitting struggling households the hardest. What assurances can the First Minister provide to pensioners in Scotland that the Scottish Government is squarely in their corner and recognises the immense strain that many of them are under?”
“I am concerned by those findings, which underline the hardship that older people are facing during the cost of living crisis. That is precisely why we are investing in support for low-income pensioners, including an estimated £157 million for pension- age winter heating payment and pension-age disability payment, which helps with additional costs for those who are living with a disability. Unlike in the rest of the United Kingdom, eligible low-income households, including pensioners across Scotland, are also guaranteed to receive support through our winter heating payment. Unlike the UK Government’s cold weather payment, it provides a guaranteed payment every year to eligible clients, rather than relying on sustained periods of sufficiently cold weather. Elena Whitham: The findings in the report should concern all of us.”
“As I said, I am very sympathetic to the point that Mr Greer puts to me, but we have to go through the detail to make sure that we can take such a course of action, which involves a great deal of dialogue with our local authority partners. Mr Greer will know about that because he and I spent quite a lot of time wrestling with issues of liaison with local authorities—if I can put it as delicately as that—while the Green Party was in Government with us. He knows what we have to go through. I say to him in all clarity that I am very sympathetic to his suggestion, but we have to ensure that we take all the steps to do that correctly. We will use our best intentions as we consider the bill and take any action as a consequence. Older People (Poverty) 4.”
“It would wipe out millions of pounds- worth of toxic, unpayable council tax debts that are trapping families in cycles of poverty and financial crisis. Will the Scottish Government support that Green proposal, wipe out that debt and give thousands of families the chance that they desperately need to escape from poverty? The First Minister: Mr Greer quoting SallyAnn Kelly, the chief executive of Aberlour, provides me with a welcome opportunity to record, in the Parliament, my appreciation for her work. She has been a formidable champion for the children of Scotland and for Aberlour. [Applause.] I record my warmest thanks and my good wishes to her on her impending retirement from that role, and I am grateful to Mr Greer for providing me with the opportunity to do so.”
“However, his mission is to eradicate child poverty, and he knows that everything that he has announced so far will not do that. Not long ago, SallyAnn Kelly, the chief executive of Aberlour, the children’s charity, said: “It is meaningless for ministers to prioritise child poverty and promise to help families struggling to get their heads above water while other public sector organisations are pressing them down.” SallyAnn is right. That is why Aberlour wrote to the Government to support a Green amendment to the Housing (Scotland) Bill to bring Scotland’s time limit on council tax debts down from 20 years to five years. I hear the First Minister’s support for the principle behind that, but I point out that the Parliament is due to vote on the amendment next Tuesday.”
“I know that related provisions are being considered in the context of the Housing (Scotland) Bill; those proposals have not been subject to the amount of consultation that would normally apply for legislation. The Parliament rightly pressurises the Government to ensure that there is proper consultation—as do stakeholders, including our local authority partners. Having said all that, I am sympathetic to Mr Greer’s point, and I am open to further dialogue on how we might pursue his ideas in that respect. Ross Greer: The First Minister is absolutely right to list the policies that the Scottish Government is delivering here that are not available to families in the rest of the UK. The Greens were proud to work with his party to deliver a number of them.”
“Mr Greer knows the absolute focus that I have on eradicating child poverty. When I became First Minister, I was asked what the clear mission of my Government was, and I said that it was the eradication of child poverty. I lead a Government that is taking measures such as the abolition of the two-child limit, which we will abolish in March next year. The Labour Government has failed to abolish that policy in the United Kingdom, but we will do so here next March. The Scottish child payment is already in place. We are adopting a range of measures, in addition to what we are doing on housing, childcare, transport and a variety of other issues. I have a lot of sympathy with Mr Greer’s point about long-standing council tax debt.”
“Our national health service depends on the flow of staff coming from other countries to support us, and our challenge in that respect is being made extraordinarily more difficult because of the immigration policies that are being pursued by the United Kingdom Government. Those policies are absurd and are making it more difficult to deliver public services. In Scotland, 26 per cent of social care staff are people who have come from other countries to this country, and the UK Labour Government is making such movement much more difficult. I suggest that Mr Sarwar should try to get his Labour Government in London to take a different stance on immigration; we would all be better off as a consequence. Child Poverty (Council Tax Debt) 3.”
“It is expected that there will be 213,000 extra appointments and procedures, which exceeds our commitment, as promised in our programme for government, by more than 60,000; the number of operations that were performed in July was the highest in five years, with an increase of 8.9 per cent compared with July last year; and the number of hip and knee operations reached an all-time high in 2024. Mr Sarwar raised issues in maternity care. Some of those will be assessed following clinical advice about the sustainability of services in some rural areas in Scotland. That is a difficult issue, but the Government listens carefully to clinical advice, as the Parliament would expect it to do. There is another issue that is difficult.”
“Every part of our NHS is struggling on John Swinney’s and the SNP’s watch. What does John Swinney say to all those families who have lost loved ones due to long waits, to all those who have waited for hours in pain for an ambulance and to mothers in rural communities who cannot access the maternity care that they need because of his Government’s incompetence? The First Minister: As I have indicated since I became First Minister, I recognise that there are challenges and weaknesses in the provision of healthcare in the aftermath of the pandemic. Along with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, I am absolutely focused on addressing those issues. As I indicated in my previous answer, 97 per cent of discharges from Scottish hospitals happen without delay.”
“As I said earlier, the Government is addressing those issues, which reflect the whole-system challenges that we face in the aftermath of Covid. Anas Sarwar: That is 819 apologies in just a few minutes from the First Minister to people whom he has failed across the country. Across Scotland, our NHS is on life support. In 2018, on the SNP’s watch, the maternity facility in Stranraer was temporarily closed. Seven years on, it is now permanently closed, putting women at risk. The mothers whom I met are distraught. Claire Fleming said that her cousin had to travel from Stranraer to Dumfries to give birth. She ended up having to pull into a farm drive and have her baby there. Angela Armstrong, who is a retired general practitioner, added: “My fear is that we are going to have a death”.”
“We have to look into whether an error was made and whether steps need to be taken to remedy the situation. The Government’s efforts to resolve the challenges that sometimes affect the Ambulance Service’s ability to respond, which relates to the congestion of ambulances at hospitals, require a whole-system response. We need to reduce any delays that individuals experience when leaving hospital—97 per cent of patients leave hospital without any delay to their discharge. It is also about the availability of social care and the throughput of different accident and emergency departments to ensure that the Ambulance Service is able to respond timeously. Those issues are all at the heart of the points that were made by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.”
“The Scottish Ambulance Service blamed the five-hour delay on hospital turnaround times, which it said range from 90 minutes to three hours in the area. The Ambulance Service has apologised, but it is not the Ambulance Service that has broken the system. Is it not John Swinney who should be apologising to Brooke? The First Minister: I apologise to Brooke Paterson. This morning, I read the story and made some investigations into the issue. I very much regret her experience. Further scrutiny will have to be done, because I have had limited time to look at what happened, but it appears to me as though an error was made in the classification of the call, which was not given the priority that it should have been given. That is not acceptable.”
“Of course, that whole period was affected by the recovery that we are having to make from the effect of the pandemic on the operation of the health service. Anas Sarwar: To be clear, that is 818 apologies from the First Minister, because that is the number of excess deaths as a result of the Government’s failure to properly operate our national health service. The sad fact is that, despite the heroic efforts of NHS staff, the SNP is failing patients across Scotland. John Swinney will be aware of the case of Brooke Paterson, a 19-year-old footballer who broke her leg while playing in North Lanarkshire on Sunday. Despite the clear medical emergency, Brooke was left lying in pain on the pitch under jackets and coats for five hours until an ambulance arrived.”
“The first thing that I want to say is that, in any circumstance in which an individual loses their life while in the care of the national health service, especially if they have experienced a long wait in an accident and emergency department, I express my regret and my apology to the families of the affected individuals, because I accept that people are waiting too long in accident and emergency— whether that is for four hours, eight hours or 12 hours. I say to Mr Sarwar that the Royal College of Emergency Medicine’s contribution contains challenging information, but the Government welcomes the royal college’s challenge, and we are addressing the issues that it has put to us. It is encouraging that the latest monthly A and E figures, for July 2025, showed the lowest number of 12-hour waits for any month since September 2023.”
“One of the issues that businesses are wrestling with today is the increase in employer national insurance contributions, which is stifling growth in our country. That was not a decision of my Government; it was a decision of the hopeless United Kingdom Labour Government, which is damaging our economy. I rest my case—if we had the powers in Scotland to take our own economic decisions, we would be better off through independence. Accident and Emergency Departments (Waiting Times) 2.”
“Will the First Minister accept that his Government is actively harming Scottish business innovation and putting jobs at risk? The First Minister: No, I will not accept that doom-laden analysis of Scotland’s position, because the facts do not support Mr Findlay. Since 2007, when the SNP Government came to power, gross domestic product per person in Scotland has grown by 10.3 per cent, compared with growth of 6.1 per cent in the rest of the United Kingdom, while productivity has grown at an average rate of 1.1 per cent, compared with the UK average of 0.4 per cent, so growth in Scotland has been stronger compared with growth in the rest of the United Kingdom. Mr Findlay was surprised that I picked up on his open support for Scottish independence in his question to me, but let me give him a practical example.”
“I am delighted that Mr Findlay has come to the Parliament today to make the economic argument for Scottish independence. Russell Findlay: The independence klaxon after question 3—I had expected it after question 4. We need innovation to grow the economy. That is how to deliver more jobs and more money for public services, but I have lost count of the number of hard-grafting Scottish businesspeople who tell me about their despair at the SNP Government’s anti-business actions. They are being stifled by a torrent of regulation. The SNP has imposed more red tape on businesses in hospitality, oil and gas, house building, food and drink and more. SNP income tax rates are punishingly higher than they are elsewhere in the UK. All that means that there are fewer opportunities for aspirational Scots to get on in life.”
“The SNP claims that the performance of high-growth businesses is improving, but the scorecard reveals that Scotland is ranked 23rd out of 28 European countries. Under the SNP, we are behind Romania, Bulgaria and Lithuania. Within the UK, we are behind Wales and almost every English region. Is that really a record to be proud of? The First Minister: Our assessment of high- growth companies has found that that activity is at its highest level since 2019. That indicates that we are making progress beyond pre-pandemic levels in Scotland. Mr Findlay gave me a range of examples of other European countries. I simply make the point to him that those other European countries are all independent countries, with the full range of economic powers at their disposal.”
“The collaboration between our universities and the gaming industry, to take the example that I cited in my first answer, is a clear example of how our university community collaborates with the business community to generate economic growth. The Government is always attentive to supporting, encouraging and nurturing innovation in Scotland, because that is the route to prosperity for our country. The Government is delivering on that agenda. Russell Findlay: It is innovation week and I asked about innovation, but John Swinney starts talking about something completely unrelated. He seems to be in a state of denial. The SNP marked the scorecard itself, and that shows that it is failing. Even when we look at one of the measures in the scorecard that the SNP claims is improving, we find that it is not much to shout about.”
“That is measured using well-established rules from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and it reveals a deeply worrying fact: under the SNP, Scotland is ranked behind every single region of England. In the week of Scotland’s first-ever innovation summit, can John Swinney explain why Scotland is trailing behind the rest of the United Kingdom? The First Minister: Recent data indicates that Scotland has the highest rate of start-ups in the United Kingdom apart from one part of England, which indicates the culture that we are creating in Scotland to encourage business growth and expansion.”
“The Government takes forward a range of measures to encourage innovation in our economy, because economic growth is central to the Government’s policy agenda, as I have explained to the Parliament on countless occasions. The Deputy First Minister took part in the innovation summit this morning, and I have had some recent discussions on the matter. Just last week, I met representatives of the games industry, which is a sparkling example of innovation in Scotland through which collaboration between the business sector and our universities is generating substantial economic growth for Scotland. That is just one example of how the Government takes forward its innovation agenda. Russell Findlay: Let us look at the issue in a little more detail. One of the measures on the SNP’s scorecard is the number of Scottish businesses that are innovating.”
“Amendment 123 agreed to. Section 2—Report to Scottish Ministers following periodic assessment Amendment 124 moved—[Màiri McAllan]. The Deputy Presiding Officer: The question is, that amendment 124 be agreed to. Are we agreed? Members: No. The Deputy Presiding Officer: There will be a division. The vote is closed.”
“For Adam, George (Paisley) (SNP) Adam, Karen (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP) Adamson, Clare (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP) Allan, Alasdair (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (SNP) Arthur, Tom (Renfrewshire South) (SNP) Baillie, Jackie (Dumbarton) (Lab) Baker, Claire (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Beattie, Colin (Midlothian North and Musselburgh) (SNP) Boyack, Sarah (Lothian) (Lab) Briggs, Miles (Lothian) (Con) Brown, Keith (Clackmannanshire and Dunblane) (SNP) Brown, Siobhian (Ayr) (SNP) 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) (Lab) Clark, Katy (West Scotland) (Lab) Cole-Hamilton, Alex (Edinburgh Western) (LD) Constance, Angela (Almond Valley) (SNP) Dey, Graeme (Angus South) (SNP) Don-Innes, Natalie (Renfrewshire North and West) (SNP) Doris, Bob (Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn) (SNP) Dornan, James (Glasgow Cathcart) (SNP) Dowey, Sharon (South Scotland) (Con) Dunbar, Jackie (Aberdeen Donside) (SNP) Duncan-Glancy, Pam (Glasgow) (Lab) Eagle, Tim (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Ewing, Annabelle (Cowdenbeath) (SNP) Fairlie, Jim (Perthshire South and Kinross-shire) (SNP) Forbes, Kate (Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch) (SNP) Fraser, Murdo (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Gallacher, Meghan (Central Scotland) (Con) Gilruth, Jenny (Mid Fife and Glenrothes) (SNP) Golden, Maurice (North East Scotland) (Con) Gougeon, Mairi (Angus North and Mearns) (SNP) Grahame, Christine (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (SNP) Grant, Rhoda (Highlands and Islands) (Lab) Gray, Neil (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP) Greene, Jamie (West Scotland) (LD) Griffin, Mark (Central Scotland) (Lab) Hamilton, Rachael (Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con) Harper, Emma (South Scotland) (SNP) Haughey, Clare (Rutherglen) (SNP) Hepburn, Jamie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (SNP) Hyslop, Fiona (Linlithgow) (SNP) Johnson, Daniel (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab) Halcro Johnston, Jamie (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Kerr, Liam (North East Scotland) (Con) Kerr, Stephen (Central Scotland) (Con) Kidd, Bill (Glasgow Anniesland) (SNP) Lennon, Monica (Central Scotland) (Lab) Leonard, Richard (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, Rona (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (SNP) Macpherson, Ben (Edinburgh Northern and Leith) (SNP) Maguire, Ruth (Cunninghame South) (SNP) Mason, John (Glasgow Shettleston) (Ind) Matheson, Michael (Falkirk West) (SNP) McAllan, Màiri (Clydesdale) (SNP) McCall, Roz (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) McKee, Ivan (Glasgow Provan) (SNP) McLennan, Paul (East Lothian) (SNP) McMillan, Stuart (Greenock and Inverclyde) (SNP) McNair, Marie (Clydebank and Milngavie) (SNP) Minto, Jenni (Argyll and Bute) (SNP) Mochan, Carol (South Scotland) (Lab) Mountain, Edward (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Mundell, Oliver (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Nicoll, Audrey (Aberdeen South and North Kincardine) (SNP) Regan, Ash (Edinburgh Eastern) (Alba) Rennie, Willie (North East Fife) (LD) Robertson, Angus (Edinburgh Central) (SNP) Robison, Shona (Dundee City East) (SNP) 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) Simpson, Graham (Central Scotland) (Reform) Somerville, Shirley-Anne (Dunfermline) (SNP) Stevenson, Collette (East Kilbride) (SNP) [Proxy vote cast by Fulton MacGregor] Stewart, Alexander (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Stewart, Kaukab (Glasgow Kelvin) (SNP) Stewart, Kevin (Aberdeen Central) (SNP) Sturgeon, Nicola (Glasgow Southside) (SNP) Sweeney, Paul (Glasgow) (Lab) Swinney, John (Perthshire North) (SNP) Todd, Maree (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP) Torrance, David (Kirkcaldy) (SNP) Tweed, Evelyn (Stirling) (SNP) 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) Against Balfour, Jeremy (Lothian) (Ind) Burgess, Ariane (Highlands and Islands) (Green) Chapman, Maggie (North East Scotland) (Green) Greer, Ross (West Scotland) (Green) Harvie, Patrick (Glasgow) (Green) Mackay, Gillian (Central Scotland) (Green) [Proxy vote cast by Ross Greer] Ruskell, Mark (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green) Slater, Lorna (Lothian) (Green) Villalba, Mercedes (North East Scotland) (Lab) The Deputy Presiding Officer: The result of the division is: For 101, Against 9, Abstentions 0.”
“On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I would just like to check: I voted yes, but my app does not seem to be recording that. It is okay now—sorry. The Deputy Presiding Officer: I can confirm that your vote was recorded.”
“The role of Minister for Higher and Further Education is crucial in ensuring that our education institutions can play a full part in delivering an agenda of dynamic economic growth that will benefit all the people of Scotland, and in ensuring that individuals in Scotland—especially our young people—have access to higher and further education opportunities that will meet their needs and provide the foundations for their later life. I know that Ben Macpherson will give energetic commitment to advancing that important work and to taking forward the Government’s skills agenda, through which we must ensure that we have all the skills and talent in our economy to support the developments that the Government wishes to see in place. With pleasure, I move, That the Parliament agrees that Ben Macpherson be appointed as a junior Scottish Minister.”
“Ben Macpherson was a valued minister between 2018 and 2023, when he served under my predecessors in a variety of positions, including as Minister for Europe, Migration and International Development, Minister for Public Finance and Migration, and Minister for Social Security and Local Government. To each role, he brought a constructive approach, building coalitions to deliver the Government’s ambitious and shared agenda. As a back bencher, Ben Macpherson has brought a collaborative approach to the Parliament. Most recently, he served as a member of the Criminal Justice Committee—indeed, he took my place on that committee—and as convener of the SPCB Supported Bodies Landscape Review Committee, which included leading the committee debate on the review last week.”
“I am pleased that Graeme Dey, who is widely respected across the Parliament, will now take up the role of Minister for Parliamentary Business. His formidable experience in working with others to create common ground will be invaluable to us all as we complete the business of this parliamentary session. I have also asked him to continue his excellent work as Minister for Veterans. I am pleased to welcome Ben Macpherson to the role of Minister for Higher and Further Education, subject to the Parliament’s approval this afternoon, to build on Graeme Dey’s work.”
“The ministerial changes that I am making today arise from the resignation on Friday of Jamie Hepburn as Minister for Parliamentary Business. Jamie Hepburn did not behave as he believed he should have done in the Parliament last Wednesday, so he tendered his resignation to me. A few moments ago, he offered an apology to the Parliament, which, along with his decision to resign, demonstrates the strength of character that he brings to his parliamentary service. I thank him for his service as a member of the Government in a number of different portfolios, and especially for the way in which he has worked with other parties in taking forward the parliamentary business programme in a collaborative and consultative way throughout his time as Minister for Parliamentary Business.”
“I move, That the Parliament expresses its profound sadness at the death of George Reid; extends its deepest sympathy and sincere condolences to his family and friends; appreciates the many years of public service that he gave as an MP, MSP, Presiding Officer, and Lord Lieutenant; recognises the substantial contribution that he made to the establishment of the Scottish Parliament and the securing of its place in the life of the nation, and acknowledges his humanitarian work over many decades and the high regard in which he was held by colleagues across the world. [Applause.] 14:08”
“I would like to end this tribute by reflecting on a section of George’s 1995 Donaldson lecture, an exposition of values and political thought that stands as a defining contribution to the development of my party and of modern Scottish politics. In that lecture, George said: “Our future cannot be a continuation of our past. Too often, we Scots are concerned about the day before yesterday.” Instead, he implores us “to say, with a sense of purpose, ‘Today is tomorrow.’” With those words, George encourages us to use today to secure the future, to think optimistically of what might be possible and to pursue a common determination to shape and improve Scotland’s future. I commit today to doing that and, in so doing, I hope that that can be the on-going tribute of us all to the life and legacy of Sir George Reid.”