Page 9 - BPW-UK - E-news - Edition 123 - July 2024 - Binded

Visit to the Scottish Parliament 20-6-24

During our visit to Edinburgh for the day we went to the Scottish Parliament which Jo and
Margo had never visited before.

On entering we found that the working agenda for that day was the last First Minister’s
question time before the General Election.
In many ways the procedure and atmosphere is very similar to our UK Parliament with a
Presiding Officer(similar to our Speaker) keeping a handle on proceedings and calling the
Parliament to order when debates threaten to get out of hand.
Many of the issues discussed are also debated in our UK Parliament but with particular fo-
cus on Scottish affairs.

Environmentally the SNPs are not keen to grant new oil and gas licences without any scruti-
ny as they feel Scotland’s future lies in a green energy powerhouse. They are also not in
favour of nuclear energy because of the waste it produces. Opponents stressed the jobs a
reversal of policy would create.

Another concern is access to NHS treatment with ‘corridor care’ prevailing in A and E and
45% of patients with no access to private cubicles. Also issues around bed blocking due to
lack of availability and rapid response in providing social care packages.

The Scottish Government’s response is that they have
increased taxes on the highest earners in order to boost
recruitment and they hope to reinstate freedom of
movement to encourage more people to Scotland and
take further investment decisions to end austerity. Ref-
erence was made to the SNP’s manifesto setting out a
number of tax and spending changes and introducing a
remote visa pilot to benefit remote access areas such
as the Highlands where recruitment is difficult.

Margo, Jo, Chris by Scottish Parliament Mace.
Issues were also raised around cuts in funding to already successful pilots to help disad-
vantaged children and concerns around Parole Board procedures re-traumatising victims
of crime.

Cuts to cultural activities were also raised by Opposition members.

Overall we were left with the impression that the current
Scottish Government hope to tackle austerity by taxing
the highest earners.

I was impressed by John Swinney’s calm and balanced
responses to often contentious questions and the way in
which the Presiding Officer kept order.
Chris Nendick
https://www.parliament.scot/bills-and-laws
VP Advocacy Margo, Jo & Chris outside Scottish Parliament.