Meeting of the Parliament

Time for Reflection: Linda Britton, Celebrant, Humanist Society Scotland followed by TOPICAL QUESTIONS Graham Simpson S6T-00146 1. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the announcement by the UK Government not to proceed with plans to introduce vaccine passports. Gillian Mackay S6T-00151 2. To ask the Scottish Government whether it is in discussions with the UK Government regarding its decision to terminate its supply agreement with Valneva for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, VLA2001. followed by First Minister’s Statement: COVID-19 Update followed by SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT DEBATE Humza Yousaf S6M-01190 A Caring Nation – Recovering, Remobilising and Renewing Health and Social Care in Scotland That the Parliament thanks Scotland’s NHS and social care staff for their heroic efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic; recognises that the pandemic has been the biggest shock that the NHS and social care services have ever faced; notes that the NHS is currently under intense pressure due to the pandemic and that primary care, ambulance and hospital staff are working around the clock to deliver care to patients; recognises that well in excess of £1 billion has already been provided this year to address COVID-19 pressures in health and social care and that further funding will be allocated to support service pressures; welcomes the £1 billion NHS Recovery Plan that will significantly increase NHS inpatient, outpatient and diagnostic capacity; notes that this increase includes recruiting an additional 1,500 staff to work in the network of National Treatment Centres; recognises that the Plan puts particular focus on early cancer diagnostics and referral pathways as well as child and adult mental health services; agrees that the mental health and wellbeing of health and social care staff is a key priority and central focus of the Plan; supports the commitment to create a National Care Service; recognises that ethical commissioning, and setting terms and conditions that meet the Fair Work principles, could greatly improve how social care is delivered, and believes that the voices of lived experience, including those who access support and care, the workforce and unpaid carers must be central to the ongoing consultation on the service. Jackie Baillie S6M-01190.2 A Caring Nation – Recovering, Remobilising and Renewing Health and Social Care in Scotland As an amendment to motion S6M-01190 in the name of Humza Yousaf (A Caring Nation – Recovering, Remobilising and Renewing Health and Social Care in Scotland), leave out from "thanks" to end and insert "appreciates all health and social care staff for their hard work both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic; recognises that the pressure they are currently facing is compounded by the historic workforce planning failures of the Scottish Government; regrets that the impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic on the NHS has been exacerbated by 14 years of Scottish Government mismanagement, which left NHS services struggling to keep up with demand long before the pandemic, with patients waiting too long to access medical treatment, and hardworking staff facing burnout and stress, and feeling undervalued; considers that the NHS is currently in crisis, with the average wait for an ambulance now at an alarming six hours, and recent statistics showing A&E under significant pressure as only 81.5% of patients were admitted, transferred or discharged within the four-hour target in July 2021, which is the lowest monthly percentage for at least 14 years; acknowledges that, despite there being over 600,000 people on NHS waiting lists for treatment, diagnosis or outpatient appointments in Scotland, the NHS Recovery Plan published by the Scottish Government does not include proposals on how to increase activity to address this backlog until next year; agrees with the BMA that the commitments within the plan are 'unrealistic' and that it has a number of 'worrying gaps', especially on how to address staff shortages; believes that tackling the mental health crisis facing Scotland should be an immediate priority for the Scottish Government, with new statistics showing that the number of children and young people waiting for appointments is at a record high, with almost 12,000 young people waiting to be seen at the end of June 2021; strongly believes that the Scottish Government urgently needs to get the pandemic under control by improving the Test and Protect system, which is currently failing to meet the World Health Organization’s standards on contact tracing, as only 60.5% of contact tracing in the week ending 29 August 2021 was completed within 72 hours; notes the Scottish Government’s commitment to create a National Care Service, but urges the Scottish Government to also address immediate issues in social care by restarting respite services, ending non-residential care charges and addressing poverty pay in the sector by supporting a pay rise for social care staff to at least £15 per hour." Craig Hoy S6M-01190.3 A Caring Nation – Recovering, Remobilising and Renewing Health and Social Care in Scotland As an amendment to motion S6M-01190 in the name of Humza Yousaf (A Caring Nation – Recovering, Remobilising and Renewing Health and Social Care in Scotland), leave out from second “recognises“ to end and insert "believes that concrete plans should be set out on tackling the immediate crisis in the NHS, such as the record A&E waiting times; recognises the publication of the consultation for a National Care Service; notes that the proposed scope of the National Care Service is a significant expansion of the recommendations contained in the Feeley Review and that the health and social care system is already under immense strain due to the pandemic and previous Scottish Government failures; considers that such a significant service reorganisation could be hugely damaging at this time, and believes that local delivery is key in delivering services.” Alex Cole-Hamilton S6M-01190.4 A Caring Nation – Recovering, Remobilising and Renewing Health and Social Care in Scotland As an amendment to motion S6M-01190 in the name of Humza Yousaf (A Caring Nation – Recovering, Remobilising and Renewing Health and Social Care in Scotland), leave out from "welcomes" to end and insert "notes that the NHS is under intense pressure because ministerial mistakes in workforce planning since 2007 contributed to the failure to meet key waiting times targets for years pre-pandemic; believes that the NHS Recovery Plan should be strengthened with a trajectory for meeting those targets to give new hope to overworked staff and patients waiting; further believes that there should be new national entitlements to guarantee quality of care for service users, with the funding to match, and new national fair work standards for staff to improve pay, conditions and career progression; believes, however, that Scottish Government proposals for a centralised ministerial takeover of social care will distract and detract from those ambitions; recalls the mistakes of previous centralisations conducted by the Scottish Government, and calls for the additional proposals contained in the Scottish Government consultation to use centralisation to seize control of other services, including children and young people, community justice and social work, described as an attack on local government, to also be withdrawn." followed by Committee Announcements followed by BUSINESS MOTION followed by PARLIAMENTARY BUREAU MOTIONS followed by DECISION TIME followed by MEMBERS' BUSINESS Karen Adam S6M-00946 2020 Tokyo Paralympics That the Parliament recognises the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, held from 24 August to 5 September 2021, for bringing people together from around the world and raising awareness of disabilities; congratulates the staff and volunteers whose tireless work makes this event possible; wishes good luck to the 33 Scots who are competing, and thanks them for the positive impact their inspiring endeavours have on society in the Banffshire and Buchan Coast constituency, Scotland and beyond