Seòmar agus comataidhean

Thank you, convener. It is a pleasure to join the committee this morning.

I echo your comments about the work of Pinar Aksu from the Maryhill Integration Network and Doaa Abuamer from the Red Cross VOICES network, who drove the public campaign on extending free concessionary bus travel to people seeking asylum in Scotland, given the fairly onerous conditions in which they live, with no recourse to public funds and so on.

I am pleased that your efforts in the Conveners Group pressed the First Minister to consider the adoption of the policy. That was successful, although, as you mentioned, there was a mishap when the Government declined to carry it forward. I welcome the news that, in the most recent budget, the Government has included the policy in its programme.

I believe that the initial allocation in the budget for 2024-25 was £2 million, but the detail of how that latest iteration will be rolled out remains to be seen. That is where the concern of the petitioners continues to lie. There has been a stop-start approach from the Government in the past, and there is also concern that the scheme will not be on the same statutory footing as the other concessionary travel schemes in Scotland, including the over-60s scheme and the under-22s scheme. There is, therefore, a desire to ensure that it is done via statutory instrument, so that it is not some tokenistic measure that could simply expire after a year or so. The petitioners want a degree of permanence in the process, so, until that comfort is provided and the Government is prepared to furnish the committee with the detail of how the scheme will operate, I appeal to committee members to keep the petition open. We have had only a high-level commitment in the budget, which has never been progressed into how it will be operationalised.

Obviously, there is a real and continuing social need for the scheme. Government ministers expressed previously that it could be interdicted by adjustments to the no recourse to public funds rule by the Home Secretary. The nature of the change in Government since the election means that that risk is less obvious. There is a great opportunity to press ahead with the statutory instrument to introduce the scheme on a sure footing. Until we get that commitment from the Government, the petition merits being kept open.

I thank the witnesses for their contributions so far.

You have mentioned in evidence issues with resourcing and some of the practical challenges that the bill’s aspirations or intentions might present. Do you have any modelling or understanding of what increases in demand might be generated in terms of workforce numbers or man hours, and of which areas that might be particularly problematic or challenging in?

The picture that you paint seems to be quite complex with regard to patient flow, interaction and presentation, and whether you would then induce demand by creating an easier interface.

It would be interesting to know, for example, whether requests for referral to residential rehab are not being fulfilled, and whether that illustrates unmet needs in a more critical sense—not necessarily assuming that X thousand people would theoretically benefit and that therefore we can convert that to capacity. As you said, myriad complexities and risks are associated with the subject. It would not be the case that everyone would turn up on the first day. I am just trying to get a rough idea of the scale of financial and other resource capacity that might be needed.

Also, what impact would the reporting requirements that are set out in the bill have on healthcare professionals?

I want to raise with the cabinet secretary correspondence that we have received from the Royal College of Nursing, which has expressed particular concern about the proposed reduction in the working week for the agenda for change staff. It claims that there had been mixed messages from the Scottish Government and health boards; indeed, it was aware of some boards proactively informing staff that further reductions would go ahead in April, and that people had made plans and arrangements accordingly. Therefore, the late announcement from the Government that a further reduction would not go ahead this year has resulted in a great loss of trust. Cabinet secretary, do you want to respond to those points from the RCN?

Thank you.

That is all helpful context, but this is what I am trying to get at. There is currently a relatively known number of people in Scotland who use drugs and might benefit from rehabilitation if that service were available to them. If we assume a fairly high take-up rate, do we have an understanding of the capacity that would be required?

Obviously, everyone presenting at once would be unrealistic, but has there been any consideration on your part of the rough numbers that we would be looking at in terms of scale, staffing and facilities? It might be that all of that is perfectly fine—my question is about whether you have looked at the logistics in any detail.

I will raise the issue of the Glasgow school of sport at Bellahouston academy. The school has been operating since 1999 and currently has around 65 pupils, 40 of whom are from outside the Glasgow City Council area. It costs Glasgow City Council approximately £380,000 per annum to sustain pupils who come from outwith the local authority. The council has recognised the cost pressures, and it proposes to close the school in 2026. It closed to new admissions last year. I believe that it has engaged with sportscotland about a way forward for sustaining the school, but that was not successful. What is your position on whether the school offers a valuable contribution to Scotland’s elite sport development, and what could be done to broker a solution in order to sustain the school in the long term?

Has there been any discussion with the Scottish Event Campus about the planned expansion of its facilities and how that can support a legacy for the games?

I appreciate the feedback on the planning for the Commonwealth games.

I want to pick up on the point about legacy, and, in particular, the opportunities for developing capital facilities that are not currently being utilised. For example, Whitehill pool in the city’s Dennistoun district, which is close to Tollcross international swimming centre, has been closed since December 2023 due to the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, which has displaced a number of local clubs, including ones that focus on people with disabilities.

Has sportscotland engaged with the organising committee for the 2026 games and the Commonwealth Games Federation about what capital investment opportunities are available to ensure that facilities, in particular in the deprived parts of Glasgow, can be repaired in time for there to be a legacy proposition for the Commonwealth games?