Patricia Ferguson
MP for Glasgow West · Labour · United Kingdom
“The Scottish Secretary will be aware that no NHS board in Scotland has met its target for starting cancer treatment within 62 days since 2012, that Public Health Scotland data shows that one in seven Scots are on an NHS waiting list, and that the Scottish Government’s own figures show that home completions fell by 10% in the year to March…”
“I absolutely agree with the hon. Member. I know that there have been such examples in Gaza, too. I raised that in a Westminster Hall debate almost two years ago, and I was reassured by the Minister that none of those drones are being produced in this country, which is at least a start.”
“I absolutely share that outrage, and I will mention it later in my contribution. We cannot as a country allow this situation to continue. We are out of step with so many of our European partners.”
“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield Central (Abtisam Mohamed) for securing the debate and speaking with so much passion about an issue that concerns us all. The ever-increasing number of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal—each and every one of them.”
“A ban that simply covered agricultural products, for example, would just encourage the movement of activity into those other areas. We know that existing restrictions on trade have been neutralised, in effect.”
“The level of violence instigated by the settlers has increased; more than 1,700 settler attacks causing causalities or property damage have been recorded across 270 Palestinian communities in the west bank in 2025 alone.”
The complete record
Every one of 393 lines we hold for Patricia Ferguson, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 2 of 8.
“So far, it has distributed more than 7 million books in the UK. When researching for this debate, I noticed an interesting poll from More in Common—maybe I pay too much attention to polls in my reading. That poll suggested that Conservatives and Reform have more in common than just the revolving doors of Tories defecting to Reform. It would seem that supporters of both parties identified “Paddington” as their favourite children’s book. “Paddington” is a terrific book, as we all know, but I think it is a wee bit ironic that it tells the story of a displaced bear who comes to the UK from his home in Peru due to a change in family circumstances. To be more serious for a moment, we know how unstable the world currently is and how vulnerable children are in so many countries.”
“Martha explained that she enjoyed that book, and highlighted its “heartwarming touch of funniness” as one of the reasons for her choice. As Martha rightly says, books can be funny and make us laugh, they can be thought-provoking and they can help us learn. They can also take us to places we might never visit and open our minds to new ideas. We owe the National Literacy Trust a debt of gratitude for consistently promoting World Book Day on an annual basis over the years. I want to mention another initiative that I had the pleasure of being a very small part of last year. That is the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, which operated, among other places, from Drumchapel library, which I mentioned earlier. That initiative provides young people with one free, high-quality, age-appropriate book per month, from birth until the age of five.”
“Reading has been important to me ever since. It is something I do every day—and I am not talking about emails. This year I decided to organise a competition among the primary schools in my constituency of Glasgow West to mark World Book Day. I thank Liam, the librarian at Drumchapel library who judged the competition. On World Book Day, I thank him and all the librarians across Glasgow West for the work they do throughout the year. I also thank all the schools that took part in the competition and, of course, the winners: Mac Wallace of Scotstoun primary, Yahia of Hyndland primary and Robert Kwiatkowski of Knightswood primary, and the overall winner, Martha Cavanagh of Notre Dame primary school. All entrants were asked to write about their favourite book, and Martha chose “Anne of Green Gables” by L.M. Montgomery.”
“It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mrs Hobhouse. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes) for securing the debate, and for her excellent contribution that set the scene for our discussion. I am sure we all remember what triggered our own love of reading—a particular book or story, or perhaps a movie or play that inspired us to read the book upon which it was based. For me, it was the birthday gift of two books from my grandfather when I was six. They were “Heidi” by Johanna Spyri and a follow-up called “Heidi’s Children” by Charles Tritten. I admit that it was the illustrations in “Heidi’s Children” that first attracted me, because they were so beautiful, but I was soon drawn into the story of the orphaned Heidi as she made her home in the Alps with her elderly grandfather.”
“I draw the hon. Member’s attention to a scheme that has been running in Scotland since about 2000. It used to be called “Bookstart” and is now called “Bookbug”. New-born babies through to children at the beginning of primary school go along to the library with their parent or carer and take part in communal reading, singing and action. It is an amazing experience to see, and a wonderful way of getting those children hooked on reading and communicating about it with other children.”
“Member agree that we must turn our attention to that area if we are going to enable communities to generate their own electricity and power and be the beneficiaries of that?”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairpersonship, Dr Huq. I thank the hon. Member for securing the debate. I intervene in my capacity as Chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee, of which she and many other hon. Members here today are valued members. As she knows, our Committee has been examining this entire topic as part of a large-scale inquiry into energy and a just transition. One of the areas we have turned our attention to is the question of fairness across the UK as we transition to cleaner energy systems. We have heard evidence from Scotland’s community-owned renewable energy sector that they face a significant number of barriers when it comes to connecting their projects to the grid. They also have some unique challenges created by the differences between the grid in Scotland and the grid in England and Wales. Does the hon.”
“The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pizzaballa, recently said of Palestine: “Peace and reconciliation are beautiful concepts, but they risk remaining mere slogans if they are not accompanied today by concrete actions, gestures and testimonies that physically demonstrate the possibility of rebuilding trust.” Does the commissioner agree with me that Christian Churches are ideally placed to work with other faith communities to lead that rebuilding of trust?”
“My right hon. Friend is well aware of the ongoing issues with Royal Mail and the concerns of many Members and constituents about the delayed delivery of hospital appointment letters and other important correspondence. The Communication Workers Union advises that the problem of delivery office staff turnover is worse in Scotland than in other parts of the UK. Does he share my concern that the imminent Scottish Parliament elections bring a fresh cause for concern? Voters anxiously awaiting their polling cards and postal ballots will be understandably concerned about the possibility of being disenfranchised by any delay. Does he agree that Members of the House should be reassured by Royal Mail that it has adequate staffing to discharge its responsibilities regarding the smooth running of May’s election?”
“Any support for Scottish hospitality businesses is welcome; however, the recent Scottish Budget simply tinkers around the edges, with many businesses still in line for a 400% tax hike. Does my hon. Friend agree that a fundamental overhaul and redesign of the current system is required so that we can deliver stronger economic growth in Scotland?”
“The draft order has important constitutional implications. It is right that these issues have been properly scrutinised, and I hope that the Scottish Affairs Committee’s report will be useful to the Committee and to the wider House. The Department has responded to the Committee’s report, and that response will be considered by the Committee at our meeting tomorrow. We will make every effort to ensure that the response is published before the House votes on this instrument. I look forward to the Minister’s response to the points I have highlighted, particularly regarding the need for clarity on any forthcoming section 104 orders, the novel role for UK Ministers and the implications of the proposed time limit.”
“The powers that the draft order confers would effectively expire if the current Bill does not complete its final stages before the Scottish Parliament elections this year. When questioned on this approach, the UK Government confirmed that they are willing to devolve competence only in respect to the specific Bill currently under consideration. However, what is less clear is how the time limit would affect subsequent amendments to the primary legislation further down the line—for example, if the Scottish Parliament wish to change the regulation-making powers of the Act. For the benefit of the Committee, I hope that the Minister will outline in her response whether the Scottish Parliament would be able to amend or repeal the Act’s regulation-making powers in a future Scottish parliamentary Session.”
“The default approach is that, when a matter has been devolved, the Scottish Parliament confers powers on Scottish Ministers, who are then answerable to the Scottish Parliament. However, this section 30 order envisages that some regulations resulting from the Act could be made by a UK Government Minister acting alone. Those regulations would not be subject to scrutiny by MSPs. This approach is unusual, as the Scottish Parliament does not normally confer powers on UK Ministers. Will the Minister clarify in her response how the remaining competence issues will be resolved and what consideration the Government have given to implications for effective scrutiny? Finally, our report draws special attention to the time-limited nature of the draft order. While time limiting a section 30 order is not in itself new, this one is slightly different.”
“On that point, I will take this opportunity to gently highlight to the Minister that it might have been courteous and helpful for the Department to have written to the Scottish Affairs Committee before this Delegated Legislation Committee was scheduled to respond to that specific and time-sensitive recommendation. Our report also casts light on the ongoing role retained by UK Ministers within this draft order. The manner in which the draft order confers powers relating to medicines and devices means that these powers are only nominally transferred to the Scottish Parliament. The Secretary of State will retain the ultimate say over how those powers are used. It is clear that the approach has been agreed by both Governments. However, our report highlighted that it is a novel, though perhaps not unprecedented, approach.”
“It would not be possible for MSPs to assess the section 104 order, which will be used to fill the legislative gaps, before the Bill is passed. Our report suggested that any uncertainty could be remedied by the UK Government publishing their section 104 order in draft, before the Scottish Parliament’s stage 3 consideration. Given the draft order’s constitutional significance, we also recommended that the instrument should be debated on the Floor of the House, rather than in a Delegated Legislation Committee; I note that that the approach has been taken in the other place. However, Members will know that this recommendation was not adopted by the Government, which is disappointing.”
“They also said that section 104 cannot be used to confer powers to make subordinate legislation, which the Bill’s provision on substances and devices for assisted dying would require. That explains why not all issues were dealt with using a section 104 order, but it does not explain why some issues are being dealt with by a section 104 order rather than this section 30 order. Our report highlighted that this approach has implications for effective scrutiny. In particular, it means that while the Scottish Parliament will have clarity over how issues relating to substances and devices will be handled, there will be no such clarity in respect of the other two competence issues. The Scottish Government have already indicated that some provisions will need to be removed from the Bill before the final stage 3 vote.”
“The other two outstanding competence issues, relating to the “regulation of medical professions” and “employment and industrial relations”, are expected to be resolved via a section 104 order. A section 104 order would make consequential provision after the Bill receives Royal Assent. That requires the relevant provisions to be removed from the Bill before it is passed by MSPs. The Scottish Affairs Committee asked the UK Government why they adopted the two-stage approach, rather than addressing all the competence issues in one go. In response, the Government said that their approach would allow the Scottish Parliament to debate “with clarity” how the Bill’s “core” issues will be handled, rather than issues that might arise as a consequence.”
“During the Bill’s scrutiny stages in the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish Government identified three areas that relate to reserved matters under the Scotland Act. If the UK Parliament does not take legislative action, the Bill as it currently stands would be outside the Scottish Parliament’s competence. The specific way in which those issues are being resolved through this order gives rise to three observations that I would like to draw the Committee’s attention to. The Governments have adopted a two-stage, bifurcated approach to address the three competence issues. The draft section 30 order will only resolve the issues related to the “regulation of medicines and medical devices”.”
“Our report does not comment on the substance of that sensitive matter, but it does draw Parliament’s attention to some unusual features of the draft order. Given the relative rarity of section 30 orders, our interest is in the legal and constitutional implications of the order. I will give an overview of those issues in my remarks, but I will first take the opportunity to express my gratitude to my fellow Committee members, some of whom are here today, for their thoughtful consideration of the issues. This statutory instrument would use powers under the Scotland Act to extend, in a narrow and time-limited way, the Scottish Parliament’s law-making powers. It would do that to enable the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill to become law if the Scottish Parliament so decides.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. Instruments such as this draft order alter Scotland’s devolution settlement and require inter-governmental co-operation: areas that fall squarely within the remit of the Scottish Affairs Committee. For that reason, as members of this Committee will know, the Scottish Affairs Committee has scrutinised the draft order and published a report to aid Parliament’s consideration of the instrument. I should put on record that I am grateful to the Scotland Office for its engagement with us, and that our correspondence is of course published on the Committee’s website. I wish to make it clear that the Committee remains neutral on the issue of assisted dying.”
“I thank the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister for his statement. Could he tell the House how the Prime Minister is considering strengthening the role of the Ethics and Integrity Commission, given his commitment to improving standards in public life?”
“My hon. Friend has given a good explanation of some of the Committee’s work. Does she agree that one of the most impressive things that we have seen this year has been the commitment of the apprentices at BAE Systems and elsewhere, such as at Babock International? They are young people with a clear idea of what they want in their lives and how they are going to achieve it, recognising that the jobs that they are being equipped to take in the shipbuilding and submarine-building industry are going to give them a lasting career. Seeing that was particularly inspiring. It was also good to see the skills that they were achieving at BAE Systems through the skills academy created by the company.”
“By its very nature, FGM is a hidden tragedy for many women and girls, and it is important that prosecution rates are increased. One way to do that would be to emphasise and publicise the use of FGM protection orders, which can help to prevent the carrying out of FGM both here and abroad, and now apply in all UK jurisdictions. Will the Solicitor General advise what action the Department can take to make the possible use of such orders better known?”
“I thank the Foreign Secretary for such a strong statement this afternoon. She has rightly highlighted the disgraceful use of rape as a weapon of war in this conflict, but it happens in many other conflicts around the world, from Ukraine to Myanmar. May I urge her to use her office to lead international efforts to bring the perpetrators of this disgraceful violence against women and girls to justice, wherever that violence may be happening and no matter how long the process takes?”
“He said that those living in conflict zones have the right to expect medical care, and that children in conflict zones should have the right to expect an education, in spite of what is going on around them, no matter how difficult that might be. I am sure that we all have a view about the board of peace that has been created to look after Palestine and Gaza. I have many concerns about it, but I want to talk about one today: the fact that there is only one woman on the board of peace. I do not for one moment suggest that men do not care about children, but I think that women have a particular perspective. They are often the people who are now left to look after children with no support, often having lost their breadwinner. The Government could use any influence they have to advocate—”
“The situation is compounded by the rise of new weapons technologies such as cluster munitions, and the increase of conflict being conducted in cities, with bombs and drones often striking—in fact, targeting—schools, hospitals and homes. The report makes a number of calls on the Government, one being to publish what would be the first-ever cross-departmental children in conflict strategy. I hope the Minister will address that in his winding-up speech. I was very pleased that the hon. Member for Maidstone and Malling (Helen Grant) mentioned education in conflict zones. It is an issue that the former Prime Minister Gordon Brown raised a number of years ago.”
“The verified number of Palestinian children killed and maimed by Israeli forces in 2024 was 3,867. Most instances were caused by the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. As of July 2025, over 40,500 children in Gaza were estimated to have been injured. The occupied Palestinian territory is now home, shamefully, to the largest cohort of child amputees in modern history. As of July 2025, at least 21,000 children were living with permanent disabilities, which included traumatic brain injuries, burns, complex fractures and hearing loss. The Save the Children report, “Children and Blast Injuries”, explains that the reason for that is because children are uniquely vulnerable to blast injuries, as they are more likely to die as a result of attacks, or to suffer more severe physical harm, in comparison with adults.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Hyndburn (Sarah Smith) for securing the debate. I know how interested she is in these issues, and how much she cares about them, so it is good that we are having this debate today. I make no apologies for enumerating some figures that I think we would all do well to remember. As we have heard, for the second year running, the Occupied Palestinian Territory was the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. In 2024, Israeli armed forces were responsible for 7,188 grave violations against Palestinian children. That means that Israeli forces were responsible for more than one in five of the total number of verified grave violations committed globally in 2024.”
“Often, the threat of a visa being revoked or of a worker being returned to their home country is used to stop people speaking up about poor conditions. As Unison argues, a sector-wide sponsorship scheme, run by a public sector body, would take away those fears and reduce the costs incurred when a worker moves jobs. Looking at the Government’s proposals—”
“Research by Unison indicates that, of the more than 3,000 people who have come to the UK recently to work in the care sector, 15% paid money to an employer for the privilege; 31% had problems with their pay not being given to them on time; and some were not paid for travel times between care visits or were penalised when they were ill. Many reported racial abuse, including verbal and physical abuse. I suggest to the Minister that a reform that we could usefully put in place for these people would be to establish a better way of granting visas to such staff. Too many have visas linked to their employment but arrive to find that there is not actually a job for them, or else the company holding their visa fails and staff find themselves in financial hardship.”
“In spite of their qualifications and dedication, they are just not well paid. As 31% of those employed in the health and care sector are now from overseas, it is clear that our NHS and the care sector could not function without them. As we have heard, the Government’s proposals would mean that for lower-paid workers in the public sector, the waiting period for indefinite leave to remain will increase to 15 years. I suggest that a person’s value to our country should not be measured just in terms of their salary; it should reflect their value to our society. People working in the health and care sectors should be judged on their contribution to our society. Let us remember that the people we are talking about pay taxes, pay national insurance and are often very constructive members of our communities too.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Lewell. I thank my constituent Favour Deedam and her colleagues in Unison’s migrant worker network for sharing their experiences, views and concerns about the proposed changes to indefinite leave to remain. I am grateful to the many constituents in Glasgow West who have shared their histories and their concerns, and of course I am also grateful to the petitioners. One of the most important but too often undervalued roles in our society is that of the care workers—the people who look after our elderly family members and the most vulnerable people in our communities. Many of those carers are skilled, and they are often studying and achieving national vocational qualifications to equip them to do their job to the very best of their ability.”
“I am grateful to the Minister for taking an intervention. Given that we reckon that some 30% of posts in the NHS and care sector are taken up by people who have come from overseas, at what point will the reforms that he referred to just now get us to the point where we can do without that 30% of people? It strikes me that, before we do anything along these lines, he needs to do an awful lot of work with the Department of Health and Social Care to make sure that the balance can be had.”
“My right hon. Friend is a very serious individual and his statement was very serious. It helpfully enumerated that the majority of pensioners on lower incomes are women and that women make up the majority of those depending on pension credit. The anger that WASPI women feel about the steep increase in age is very understandable. Many of those women paid what my mother used to call “the small stamp”, which makes their situation even more vulnerable. I accept that the Secretary of State’s statement is largely about the ombudsman’s decision. Will he indicate what conversations he has had with the ombudsman, specifically about why he made that recommendation? Will he also tell the Chamber what communication he has had with the WASPI women about his decision?”
“At a time when the Government are promoting a duty of candour to ensure that all public servants, including Ministers, have a legal duty to act with transparency and frankness, and when the Scottish Government have indicated that they hope that that legislation will apply in Scotland too, does the Deputy Prime Minister support calls for the current First Minister, a former First Minister and a former Health Minister to appear before the inquiry into the deaths of adults and children as a result of contaminated water at the Queen Elizabeth university hospital in Glasgow, a scandal widely thought to be the worst since devolution began?”
“The Scottish Government’s 2022 Act also legislated for the establishment and implementation of a new licensing scheme, which would require members of the public to obtain a licence before being allowed to purchase, possess or use fireworks. However, at the end of last year the First Minister announced that the implementation of the scheme would be paused due to its complexity, which I understand, and the cost of introducing it.”
“Residents living within those zones have reported a calmer environment, a quieter evening and a better experience, but Glasgow as a whole still recorded the highest number of firework-related calls to the police in Scotland—in fact, double the second-highest reported number, which was in Edinburgh. Sound does not observe boundaries and does not understand the limitations of zones, and residents living in control zones noted that firework-related noise continued to be an issue, so there is a question of how to police such areas. To tackle noise and antisocial behaviour effectively, the implementation of a city-wide control zone would have made more sense, but the current legislation does not allow that, which seems to me a real problem.”
“The unpredictability of backyard displays also places an unnecessary burden on vulnerable groups in our society and on pet owners, preventing them from planning ahead and putting precautions and coping strategies in place to limit the distress. In Scotland, when and where fireworks can be discharged is a devolved issue. As we have heard, some measures have been introduced to further restrict their use. In response to the antisocial behaviour associated with fireworks, the Scottish Government’s Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022 provides local authorities with the power to designate firework control zones. In Glasgow, three such zones were implemented last year between 1 November and 10 November, although, frustratingly, the bid for a zone in my constituency was rejected by Glasgow city council.”
“However, the easing of restrictions, while intended to allow the marking of significant cultural celebrations, creates extended periods when private backyard or back-garden displays can occur sporadically with no prior warning. The extended easing of restrictions over bonfire night has been highlighted by veterans charities as a particular point of concern. The bright flashes of light, loud bangs and smell of smoke lingering in the air can trigger PTSD in veterans. Moreover, that period of sale coincides with the period during which we remember those who have fallen in war and compounds the distress already associated with that time.”
“It is always a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Jardine. I thank the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore) for the way in which he laid out the debate, and the petitioners for taking the time to give us their views. As we have heard, fireworks can be a source of entertainment and play a very important role in cultural celebrations, but, sadly, for many people and animals they are a source of anxiety, distress and danger. Product safety and the sale of fireworks are consumer safety issues and so reserved to Westminster. Current regulations prohibit the sale of fireworks to the public except during certain periods of the year: Chinese new year, Diwali, bonfire night and new year.”
“Apart from anything else, I do not actually think the Scottish Government’s licensing scheme would work. We need measures that are easily understood and easily enforceable. As we have heard, silent or much quieter fireworks and organised displays seem to be the way forward. If we do not listen to what people are telling us, we will continue to perpetuate an environment that detrimentally affects animal welfare and the welfare of vulnerable groups in our society. This has been an interesting and worthwhile debate, and I hope that we will all resolve, and the Minister will agree, that we should not be back here having it again next year.”
“I thank my hon. Friend. I was just saying that as well as its complexity, which I understand, another reason for not introducing licensing in the way that the Scottish Government originally wanted to was the cost, which seems particularly ironic given that they have had a record devolution settlement for the second year running. I understand his point, and his constituency neighbours mine. In previous years—fortunately not for some time now—we had instances in my constituency of thugs, frankly, using scaffolding poles to fire fireworks at the police, who ended up having to bring in the riot squad to deal with it. That kind of behaviour cannot be allowed, and any action that is taken must show understanding that not everyone is a good actor.”
“A constituent of mine requires to renew his driving licence annually because of his age. He applied for a renewal in September 2025 and has now been told that his hospital consultant was asked for verification of his ability to drive in January 2026. Unfortunately, his consultant has not yet received such a request. Meanwhile, my constituent has lost three job offers because he does not have a valid driving licence. The Leader of the House is not unfamiliar with the issue of delays at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. Given this particular case and what we have heard in previous weeks, I wonder whether a debate about the problem of delays at the DVLA is now appropriate.”
“The Secretary of State is aware that the Scottish Affairs Committee recently conducted an inquiry into the Thistle safer drug consumption room in Glasgow. I hope that this innovative facility will help to cut drug death numbers in Scotland, but does he agree that the Thistle on its own cannot end the drug crisis? Does he therefore agree that a real-terms cut of £1.3 million to alcohol and drug services was entirely the wrong move in yesterday’s Scottish budget?”
“My constituency is rather a long way away from Cornwall and the Scilly Isles, but I do live in a part of the country that is not immune to major storms. The Scottish Affairs Committee, which I chair, has undertaken an inquiry into connectivity, particularly in the islands and in rural areas. It has been reported to us that, after a recent storm, islanders on the isle of Tiree were without any connection to even the 999 service for six days. That is clearly unacceptable and should not be happening anywhere on these islands. The point made to us already in the early part of our inquiry is that people want resilience, and resilience is difficult when connectivity is very poor to begin with. Will the Minister look at the issue of resilience, so that people across the country have some assurance about future activity?”
“I thank my right hon. Friend for her strong words. Like many hon. Members, I have been contacted by constituents who are very concerned about not being able to contact friends and family who are still in Iran. I join my right hon. Friend in applauding and congratulating the female activists in Iran, who have been relentlessly targeted by this oppressive regime, on fighting very bravely for their freedom this week. When the time comes—I sincerely hope it comes very quickly—will she ensure that their voices and their actions can be part of building a new democracy in Iran?”
“However, as our report sets out, it would be undesirable for the Thistle or any other future facility to operate, potentially indefinitely, under the Lord Advocate’s prosecutorial discretion. The UK Government should recognise these realities, and if the Thistle is deemed a success, they should work with the Scottish Government to ensure that there is a full, sustainable legal framework for such facilities. If they do not do so, the Government would be permitting the current unstable legal position to persist. I look forward to hearing the contributions of other Members and the Minister.”
“I hope the Minister might reflect on the logic that granting exemptions to reserved legislation is best done by the Lord Advocate through prosecutorial discretion rather than by the UK Government, who retain responsibility for drugs law. I have one further point. The Thistle is already operating, and it may evolve to provide more services in future. Meanwhile, it is becoming increasingly likely that similar facilities may be established elsewhere in Scotland. All of that is happening whether the UK Government approve or not. To a certain extent, that reflects the proper operation of devolution and Scotland’s separate legal system, which enables Scotland to take a different path from the rest of the UK.”
“An inhalation room could therefore be key to maximising the Thistle’s effectiveness, and a fair evaluation of the facility’s full potential efficacy could be inhibited without one. Since the publication of our report, the Glasgow City integration joint board has announced plans potentially to provide an inhalation space within the Thistle. The board has approved plans to develop a full business case to explore it, and our report calls for any application to enable an inhalation space to be considered by the UK Government on its merits. In response to our report, the Government said that it “does not support” enabling inhalation. The Government suggest that it would be for the Lord Advocate, rather than the UK Government, to grant an exemption to reserved legislation.”
“We highlight the expert medical advice from Dr Saket Priyadarshi and others that shows that inhalation is a safer method of consumption than injection. Introducing an inhalation space could expand the reach of the Thistle by attracting those who smoke and inhale drugs rather than inject them. Dr Priyadarshi describes how it would reduce the appalling physical harm caused by injecting at wound sites. The Thistle does not currently have inhalation facilities. Such facilities would be prohibited under both reserved and devolved legislation, most notably Scotland’s smoking ban. Our report makes it clear that, for the Thistle to be effective, it must be able to meet the needs of the population it is trying to help.”