14/10/2016 - Live Morning Session

:04:05. > :04:19.Good morning, delegates. I'l sorry for the slight delay. I know that a

:04:20. > :04:22.number of you were at fringd meetings, but the huge auditorium is

:04:23. > :04:28.filling up, so welcome back. We turn to resolution ten on dementha care.

:04:29. > :04:32.The motion will be proposed by Roderick Campbell and seconded by

:04:33. > :04:41.Maureen Watt, MSP. Please wdlcome back what Rick Campbell. -- Roderick

:04:42. > :04:44.Campbell. Thank you, Derek. Conference, amongst the manx health

:04:45. > :04:47.challenges facing us, none hs perhaps as far ranging and `ffecting

:04:48. > :04:52.more and more families in Scotland and other mainly developed countries

:04:53. > :04:56.in the world as dementia. Ddmentia costs the health service a huge

:04:57. > :05:00.amount of money and as we know from Police Scotland, a police thme and

:05:01. > :05:05.money too. One UK study suggests that the health and social care

:05:06. > :05:08.costs of dementia are almost match the combined costs of cancer, heart

:05:09. > :05:13.disease and stroke. As a result of our ageing population, the numbers

:05:14. > :05:17.with dementia are likely to increase. The motion refers to a

:05:18. > :05:22.current figure of 90,000, a figure which on current estimates were

:05:23. > :05:27.almost double in 20 years. But if we can delay the onset of dementia by

:05:28. > :05:31.even two or three years, thhs will have a significant effect not only

:05:32. > :05:37.on families, but on spending. That is why research is vital. L`st week

:05:38. > :05:41.in Birmingham, we had anothdr party conference. We heard much t`lk of a

:05:42. > :05:46.world where health services rely on locally trained doctors and medical

:05:47. > :05:51.staff. But what is clear about dementia is that it does not respect

:05:52. > :05:55.borders. It is perhaps appropriate to reflect on the international

:05:56. > :06:00.dimension of dementia. It w`s the G8 in London in December 2013 which

:06:01. > :06:08.encouraged an international approach to dementia. David Cameron

:06:09. > :06:10.championed it, stating that Britain would lead the search for what he

:06:11. > :06:17.described as one of the gre`test enemies of humanity. At least he was

:06:18. > :06:21.right about that. But at prdsent, over 47 million people are living

:06:22. > :06:24.with dementia worldwide. Ond of the recommendations of the World Health

:06:25. > :06:30.Organisation boss that everx country should have a national plan. The G8

:06:31. > :06:34.has accelerated progress on that, and the numbers of countries with

:06:35. > :06:39.such plans continues to risd. A global action plan is due for

:06:40. > :06:42.finalisation next summer. As we approach our third national plan in

:06:43. > :06:47.Scotland, we can see that Scotland is ahead of the curve. Scotland has

:06:48. > :06:51.a good record, a better record on early diagnosis than elsewhdre in

:06:52. > :06:56.the UK, with approximately 43,5 0 formally diagnosed with demdntia on

:06:57. > :07:04.the recent figures. The previous national plan incorporated that

:07:05. > :07:07.aspiration. Since that plan, the Scottish Government has madd a

:07:08. > :07:09.commitment to one year's post-diagnostic support for

:07:10. > :07:14.individuals and most import`ntly, their families, in the year

:07:15. > :07:22.following diagnosis. The next plan must build on this, making the

:07:23. > :07:26.process of getting support dasier, less daunting and more conshstent

:07:27. > :07:28.throughout Scotland. And it must build on the dementia champhons and

:07:29. > :07:32.ambassadors who have been a feature of the NHS and workplaces

:07:33. > :07:35.respectively over the last few years. And we should continte to

:07:36. > :07:39.recognise that where practical, we should aim to keep those living with

:07:40. > :07:45.dementia in their own home. Outside the home, we need to build on the

:07:46. > :07:48.plant established last year in Aberdeen and this year in Glasgow,

:07:49. > :07:52.providing information and stpport for those living with dementia and

:07:53. > :07:55.their families. But it is ilportant to recognise the importance of the

:07:56. > :08:01.integration of health and social care which came on stream this year.

:08:02. > :08:03.It is early days to assess the benefits of integration, but

:08:04. > :08:13.undoubtedly, it is tied with support for those living with dementia.

:08:14. > :08:21.Will need to recognise that we have a proud record on personal care it

:08:22. > :08:25.is an absolute must for those living with dementia, and we should be

:08:26. > :08:32.proud that we have a governlent that supports the Balmoral invaltable

:08:33. > :08:35.army of care workers from the EU and non-EU countries as well as Scotland

:08:36. > :08:38.by payment of the living wage from this month, and we also need to

:08:39. > :08:40.encourage the use of telly care adaptations at home, to makd living

:08:41. > :08:43.at home less stressful, and we need to recognise the importance of small

:08:44. > :08:48.things like electrical safety at home. And we should not forget the

:08:49. > :08:51.needs of many dementia suffdrers for palliative and and applied care

:08:52. > :08:56.They often have very signifhcant other health needs. Marray Keary

:08:57. > :08:59.produced a good report last year and I am pleased that the draft plan

:09:00. > :09:04.recognises this issue, becatse dementia is a terminal dise`se.

:09:05. > :09:09.Although its needs may slightly differ from other terminal diseases,

:09:10. > :09:13.as Mariko Oi argue, we need to obtain proper data and information,

:09:14. > :09:17.so that we can commit to providing from our end of life care in

:09:18. > :09:23.Scotland. In that respect I have noted the amendment to the lotion,

:09:24. > :09:26.which I am happy to support. Finally, the plan does need to

:09:27. > :09:31.recognise, as I said earlier, the importance of research, an

:09:32. > :09:34.organisation such as the clhnical research network and the Scottish

:09:35. > :09:39.dementia research Consortiul, as they seek to support research both

:09:40. > :09:44.at national, UK, and dare I say it European and international levels.

:09:45. > :09:49.Conference, can I commend this motion and the amendment to you

:09:50. > :10:00.APPLAUSE Thank you, Roderick. Maureen Watt to

:10:01. > :10:05.second the resolution. Roderick said he will accept the amendment but can

:10:06. > :10:11.I ask for a formal second over the amendment? Thank you. Mauredn. Thank

:10:12. > :10:17.you very much Derek and good morning delegates. I am very proud to be

:10:18. > :10:21.contributing to this debate today as Scotland's very First Minister for

:10:22. > :10:26.mental health, the first evdr dedicated minister to mental health

:10:27. > :10:33.champion mental health and physical champion mental health and physical

:10:34. > :10:37.health for parity of esteem, that we see the whole person, and rdcognise

:10:38. > :10:44.that mental health is as important as physical health throughott our

:10:45. > :10:48.lives. Starting well, living well, and ageing well, and that is why I

:10:49. > :10:55.dementia policy. Dementia h`s been a dementia policy. Dementia h`s been a

:10:56. > :11:02.priority of this government since 2007, and it very much remahn so. We

:11:03. > :11:06.have, as Rob said, have two National strategies and the third ond will

:11:07. > :11:09.come before the end of the xear We have seen significant progrdss in

:11:10. > :11:16.many aspects of dementia care and support. Dementia diagnosis rates

:11:17. > :11:21.have improved and Scotland compares well across the UK and

:11:22. > :11:25.internationally. In 2011, wd introduced the human rights -based

:11:26. > :11:30.standards of care for dementia in Scotland, and the National dementia

:11:31. > :11:34.workforce training and educ`tion framework, called promoting

:11:35. > :11:38.excellence, it is to support services across Scotland to meet the

:11:39. > :11:45.new standards, and of coursd this has been backed financially. In

:11:46. > :11:50.2013, we introduced what is still a world leading national post

:11:51. > :11:54.diagnosis service, offering a minimum of a year's work of

:11:55. > :11:59.dedicated support by a named and trained link worker for people newly

:12:00. > :12:05.diagnosed with dementia. Thd official data on how we are doing on

:12:06. > :12:08.this will be published shortly. We also have in place national bespoke

:12:09. > :12:16.improvement programmes for both general and specialist NHS dementia

:12:17. > :12:18.care, supporting the care of outside the Scotland dimension nursd

:12:19. > :12:28.consultants. We have trained over 600 dementia champions. 1000

:12:29. > :12:31.dementia ambassadors in sochal care. I am delighted we are seen `s world

:12:32. > :12:35.leading internationally and that is why Jeff wagons from the Scottish

:12:36. > :12:41.Government is leading for the UK in Europe. He is coordinator of the

:12:42. > :12:46.joint action on dementia and is coordinating the work shames on

:12:47. > :12:51.dementia. So the new strategy will take further action on diagnosis and

:12:52. > :12:55.post-diagnostic support, appropriate services in the community for all of

:12:56. > :13:01.our families. I'd take my h`t off to those who work in dementia care and

:13:02. > :13:04.we are going to make sure that through education and trainhng and

:13:05. > :13:10.developing of the workforce that continues. We have much to be proud

:13:11. > :13:16.of in Scotland, and I and your government are determined to make it

:13:17. > :13:19.even more consistently bettdr, so supports this motion, and the

:13:20. > :13:27.amendment. Thank you. Thank you Maureen. Tony McCandless will move

:13:28. > :13:32.the amendment to be followed by Michelle Campbell, who will speak in

:13:33. > :13:39.favour of the resolution. Tony. Thank you, Derek. Good mornhng,

:13:40. > :13:42.conference. My branch is very honoured to have amongst its

:13:43. > :13:49.membership many people that spend their time caring for others. I

:13:50. > :13:52.would like to make a note to conference that they are part of an

:13:53. > :14:00.NHS system in this country that we should be damp rather. Thesd are

:14:01. > :14:04.amazing people. APPLAUSE And they felt that they werd

:14:05. > :14:08.certainly behind the resolution here. They believe it is long

:14:09. > :14:16.overdue, the work taking pl`ce is fantastic. But there was also a part

:14:17. > :14:20.of dementia that impacts not simply the person suffering from

:14:21. > :14:26.themselves, but very much ilpacts the family around them, and it is,

:14:27. > :14:30.as has been said, a terminal condition. And sometimes it is when

:14:31. > :14:37.you reach the end of that journey that families need assistance, to be

:14:38. > :14:42.able to know what to expect, and how to react, and therefore the branch

:14:43. > :14:47.felt that we wanted to incltde education for families and carers

:14:48. > :14:54.both on the nature and the needs of people who are coming to thd end of

:14:55. > :14:59.their lives suffering from dementia. And on a personal basis, I have seen

:15:00. > :15:04.two parents pass away, and ht would have been helpful, I think, for

:15:05. > :15:09.somebody to tell me, you know, what I could expect, but also how I could

:15:10. > :15:13.best help them make a graceful exit, and therefore the amendment that has

:15:14. > :15:16.been proposed, and thankfully accepted, is really to help the

:15:17. > :15:21.families as well as the people. Thank you for your time this

:15:22. > :15:27.morning, conference. APPLAUSE Thank you very much, Tony. @nd

:15:28. > :15:30.Michelle Campbell to speak hn favour of the resolution to be followed by

:15:31. > :15:36.Hazel Gardner, who will also speak in favour of the resolution. Please

:15:37. > :15:39.welcome Michelle, who is a first-time speaker at conference,

:15:40. > :15:45.and also a mental health nurse in the NHS. APPLAUSE

:15:46. > :15:50.Thank you, convenor, and good morning conference. When I read this

:15:51. > :15:53.resolution, it really poured my heartstrings. I have specialised in

:15:54. > :15:58.the care of the older adult, and maturity by choice, I might add for

:15:59. > :16:04.a number of years. I am working in the NHS. I believe as a sochety and

:16:05. > :16:08.we need to be more informed and more supportive of individuals in the

:16:09. > :16:12.community. I have had hundrdds of patients coming into my card, and

:16:13. > :16:20.the teams have worked in, and some of those needs can be reallx complex

:16:21. > :16:23.and distressing. I still fedl that dementia is an illness we tried to

:16:24. > :16:27.hide from until it is in thd forefront of our mind because there

:16:28. > :16:32.is a fear of the loss of a person. And we can't continue to kedp facing

:16:33. > :16:37.it in that way. I am very privileged in the job that I do that I get to

:16:38. > :16:42.nurse people at end stage of their illness, and there has to bd dignity

:16:43. > :16:45.in dying. I feel that the individual's personality max feel

:16:46. > :16:49.that it has disintegrated for those who have known them to their lives

:16:50. > :16:52.but when I am nursing them hn those end moment and I say the sm`ll

:16:53. > :16:55.things I have seen in that individual and the family slile I

:16:56. > :16:58.am able to give them that moment because they see that part hs still

:16:59. > :17:03.there. I would like us for ` society to embrace dementia until wd find a

:17:04. > :17:07.cure to be able to give thel the support and together with the fear

:17:08. > :17:09.that they feel as well. Thank you very much, please support this

:17:10. > :17:17.resolution. APPLAUSE Thank you, Michelle. Hazel Gardner

:17:18. > :17:21.to speak in favour of the resolution. This is also Hazel's

:17:22. > :17:25.first time speaking at confdrence as well, so please give her a warm

:17:26. > :17:30.welcome. APPLAUSE To be followed by Dr Maggie

:17:31. > :17:35.Robertson. Thank you, Derek, I will try to keep within time and not get

:17:36. > :17:41.a red light. I am looking ott on a sea of faces. Amongst those faces, I

:17:42. > :17:48.know there are many people who are in a position of knowing soleone

:17:49. > :17:54.with dementia. We have heard today that dementia is a terminal illness,

:17:55. > :17:58.we have heard that dementia is impacting on society more and more,

:17:59. > :18:04.and I want to just bring it down to the very, very personal. And I just

:18:05. > :18:12.want to share with you a story of the Lady I call my AJ. That is sort

:18:13. > :18:19.-- short for aunt Jean, who was my Mum's best friend, and she still is.

:18:20. > :18:23.She was a scientist. She worked for British rail in the laboratories,

:18:24. > :18:30.she bought me my first dog, she bought me my first gold bracelet.

:18:31. > :18:37.She provided fun and endless support, and when my mum didd, she

:18:38. > :18:42.begets my second mum. So my AJ is enormously important in my life but

:18:43. > :18:49.that is not why I wanted to share with you simply for personal

:18:50. > :18:57.reasons, the journey that you go on when somebody suffers from dementia,

:18:58. > :19:01.for my AJ it went like this, she was a scientist, she netted change. She

:19:02. > :19:04.found it fascinating. She would look at the way her memory was f`iling,

:19:05. > :19:12.she would look at the fact she could not find the keys or the cigarettes,

:19:13. > :19:18.or anything like that any more. She would look at how her emotions were

:19:19. > :19:22.changing, and she got a powdr of attorney through her lawyer to take

:19:23. > :19:29.air of things because she h`d no children, and her cousin was in New

:19:30. > :19:32.Zealand. In a sense, I am hdr closest relative, although H'm not a

:19:33. > :19:37.relative, and that puts people like me in a very particular sittation.

:19:38. > :19:44.We hear about how people ard impacted by this. That is not just

:19:45. > :19:48.the family, but can I impress the need for support for familids,

:19:49. > :19:55.except sure, it is absolutely vital. I have had tremendous support from

:19:56. > :19:58.the house where my aunt is being taken care of. She fought a great

:19:59. > :20:05.fight but eventually her illness became so severe that she h`d to

:20:06. > :20:11.give up her independence, and she had to give up her pets, and she had

:20:12. > :20:15.to move into care accommodation And she is excellently cared for, I

:20:16. > :20:20.can't thank the staff enough for the care they take of her. But H didn't

:20:21. > :20:24.know what kind of dementia she had, I didn't know what stages she was

:20:25. > :20:30.in, and it took a lot of working to and fro between the house and I to

:20:31. > :20:38.understand my place in her life and to understand that, for me to

:20:39. > :20:42.understand her place in lifd. I support this motion, becausd as a

:20:43. > :20:49.community, we care for people, whether it is our neighbours, our

:20:50. > :20:56.AJs, whether it is our own lum, or whether it is other relativds. And I

:20:57. > :21:02.just want to say to conference that this motion is vitally important.

:21:03. > :21:12.Dignity in dying is vitally important. Support the motion,

:21:13. > :21:23.support my AJ. Thank you. APPLAUSE And Dr Maggie Robertson will speak

:21:24. > :21:26.in favour of the resolution. Maggie is a dementia researcher and a

:21:27. > :21:35.first-time speaker also. Th`nks Derek. Good morning conference, I

:21:36. > :21:41.have been working in Tampa hn various guises, first as a nurse,

:21:42. > :21:44.then a lecturer, then as a researcher. I am very proud to say

:21:45. > :21:49.that Scotland continues to lead the way in dementia care across the UK

:21:50. > :21:57.but improvements can and nedd to be made. My aim is to

:21:58. > :22:02.an area not always given full attention. It is not hard for us to

:22:03. > :22:08.understand that for each person living with dementia and thd family

:22:09. > :22:11.members, their experience of dementia will be different, not

:22:12. > :22:15.least because there are a ntmber of different types of dementia but not

:22:16. > :22:23.everyone will have the same symptoms or share the same experiencds.

:22:24. > :22:27.However, it is often not recognised that the fears and expectathons of

:22:28. > :22:34.the person living with dementia and other family members will also be

:22:35. > :22:40.unique. And it is the uniqudness of these expectations, their fdars and

:22:41. > :22:45.concerns, that ultimately m`nifest as a unmet needs, which may be

:22:46. > :22:50.emotional and all education`l. Posted diagnostic support ndeds to

:22:51. > :22:56.be able to address these nedds more. One important emotional need

:22:57. > :23:01.currently being reported is the need to have time alone with the care

:23:02. > :23:08.provider. No one asks me how I'm doing is a phrase heard oftdn from

:23:09. > :23:12.spouses. Care is often seen to be directed only to the person with

:23:13. > :23:17.dementia. Given the time thdy need, individuals would have a safe space

:23:18. > :23:21.to get things off their chest, talk things through with a dementia nurse

:23:22. > :23:25.or support worker a loan th`t they feel they would offend her or anger

:23:26. > :23:34.their significant other. Having this time could provide opportunhties to

:23:35. > :23:34.discuss and explore and unddrstand people's expectations around

:23:35. > :23:45.palliative care or end of lhfe care. Besides wanting to know mord about

:23:46. > :23:49.what to expect as dementia progresses, people often sax things

:23:50. > :23:53.like, it doesn't kill you, does it? Most don't view dementia is a

:23:54. > :23:57.illness. Other educational `spects include requests for genetic

:23:58. > :24:03.testing, risk estimates, iddas about how to reduce a person's risk. So

:24:04. > :24:07.attending to a person or falily s needs post-diagnostic support will

:24:08. > :24:11.have to tailor the response in more bespoke ways. Care providers will

:24:12. > :24:16.need adequate knowledge to respond to family requests for some

:24:17. > :24:19.families, support will need to continue beyond the current time

:24:20. > :24:23.frames to ensure that familhes receive the help they need `t the

:24:24. > :24:27.time they need it and at thd that suits them. Conference, ple`se

:24:28. > :24:37.support the resolution and hts amendments. Thank you, Magghe. I

:24:38. > :24:47.have time for one more speaker in favour of the resolution, Dtncan

:24:48. > :24:57.Ross. Please come forward. Good for you, you were lingering abott the

:24:58. > :25:01.stage, hopeful as ever. Thank you, Derek. Conference, dementia is not a

:25:02. > :25:06.disease from which you die. Dementia is a condition with which you live.

:25:07. > :25:13.That is the most important lesson I have learned from caring for my

:25:14. > :25:19.Father over the last six ye`rs. My father was diagnosed about six years

:25:20. > :25:22.ago. I have managed his card first at home through the fantasthc

:25:23. > :25:25.self-directed support systel that the Scottish Government introduced,

:25:26. > :25:32.and more recently through hhs transition to a care home. H am a

:25:33. > :25:37.member of the national dementia carers action network. We are proud

:25:38. > :25:43.of the work the Scottish Government has done. Building the third

:25:44. > :25:54.strategy now puts Scotland well into the vanguard of looking aftdr people

:25:55. > :25:56.with dementia, providing post-diagnostic support is

:25:57. > :26:02.fantastic. But it is still very patchy, and I am here to encourage

:26:03. > :26:05.Maureen to make sure local authorities are delivering through

:26:06. > :26:07.the health and social care partnerships, which are really

:26:08. > :26:16.important in delivering for their families. The in-home support and

:26:17. > :26:19.adaptations are helpful, but I want to ask you all to recognise that it

:26:20. > :26:25.takes a community to look after people with dementia. I ask you all

:26:26. > :26:29.to go on the Alzheimer's Scotland website, become a dementia friend,

:26:30. > :26:36.educate yourself about what dementia looks like in people that you might

:26:37. > :26:42.see and not know that they have the condition. Become a dementi` friend

:26:43. > :26:46.and make our communities more involved. In the way that it takes a

:26:47. > :26:51.village to raise a child, it takes a community to look after people with

:26:52. > :26:54.dementia. So I am grateful to the Scottish Government for the things

:26:55. > :26:58.they are doing. I'm here to push them further and I want to dncourage

:26:59. > :27:02.all of you to recognise that dementia is part of all of our

:27:03. > :27:07.communities. So please take whatever steps you can to help it be a safer

:27:08. > :27:18.and better community for all of our older people. Thanks very mtch.

:27:19. > :27:29.Thank you, Duncan. Tony, wotld you wave your right to sum up? @nd

:27:30. > :27:33.Roderick, would you like to sum up? Happy to waive you're right. There

:27:34. > :27:36.is no opposition to the amendment, so by your applause, can yot show

:27:37. > :27:53.that the amendment is passed? Thank you. And is the resolution passed by

:27:54. > :27:59.Acclaim? It is. Moving to rdsolution 11 on litter, to be proposed by

:28:00. > :28:09.Linda Vine and seconded by Councillor Jeevan Blackett.

:28:10. > :28:19.Welcome, Lynne. Good morning, Derek. Good morning, conference. I will try

:28:20. > :28:24.not to speak too much rubbish this morning(!). I would like yot to do

:28:25. > :28:32.something for me first of all, though, and don't be shy. H`nds up

:28:33. > :28:36.if you drop litter regularlx. Hmm. I didn't think so. In fact, I speak to

:28:37. > :28:44.no one who does. Most peopld I speak to hate litter and complain about it

:28:45. > :28:49.loudly and vociferously. So who are these people who litter our streets,

:28:50. > :28:53.our beaches, our verges, our roundabouts? It definitely hsn't

:28:54. > :28:58.just young people, but whoever they are, they are making this country of

:28:59. > :29:03.ours less than beautiful. I would go so far as to say that in sole

:29:04. > :29:10.places, especially approachhng roundabouts, it looks like ` dump.

:29:11. > :29:15.And there is no thought givdn to the staff who have to collect it in

:29:16. > :29:20.these dangerous situations dither. It is a huge irritation to lany of

:29:21. > :29:28.us, but it is so much more than that. It is a huge cost to our

:29:29. > :29:33.country in terms of collecthon, in terms of tourist goodwill. We are

:29:34. > :29:39.losing millions of bottles `nd cans which could be recycled or reused.

:29:40. > :29:44.In a way, it almost undermines our sense of pride in our country. It is

:29:45. > :29:47.certainly embarrassing to host people from abroad, as I did this

:29:48. > :29:52.summer, touring around Scotland These were French people who, as you

:29:53. > :29:57.know, go out on loads of big picnics in family groups and when they

:29:58. > :30:00.finished, you would not know they had been there because they have a

:30:01. > :30:09.black bin bag. They fill it and take it away. But it wasn't alwaxs like

:30:10. > :30:15.that in France. When I was `bout 16, I remember it well. 30 years ago,

:30:16. > :30:17.the government sponsored a campaign around French pride. Unforttnately,

:30:18. > :30:22.I have not been able to gather the details of this campaign, btt

:30:23. > :30:25.whatever it is comprised of, it worked. Now people in Francd, as in

:30:26. > :30:31.most European countries, Australia and Canada, just don't think about

:30:32. > :30:38.dropping litter. It is not hn their psyche. So why is it in the Scottish

:30:39. > :30:44.and British psyche that we drink from a can, and we got bit when it

:30:45. > :30:54.is finished? We don't even look for a bit, and there are loads of bins.

:30:55. > :30:58.I am an Angus councillor, and like all councillors just now, wd are

:30:59. > :31:03.having to take horrible dechsions about redesigning services `nd

:31:04. > :31:06.cutting services. While our collection of litter just ottside

:31:07. > :31:13.our eight secondary schools costs 75,000 per annum. On top of that,

:31:14. > :31:20.you have the cost of emptying litter bins, clear and staff etc, 0.8

:31:21. > :31:24.million. We are a small authority. Our costs for cleaning just a

:31:25. > :31:30.portion of the red 90 are about half a million. -- the red 90. When you

:31:31. > :31:36.multiply all of that all ovdr the country, it comes to between ?5

:31:37. > :31:40.million and ?56 million per annum. And that should make us angry in the

:31:41. > :31:51.days of austerity. It is unacceptable. So far, our lhtter

:31:52. > :31:54.strategy seems to be about giving responsibility to keep Scotland

:31:55. > :31:57.beautiful to charity to org`nise litter the country is. Don't get me

:31:58. > :32:04.wrong, I don't want to crithcise their efforts, because therd are

:32:05. > :32:09.loads of people cleaning be`ches, parks, towns. But they cannot take

:32:10. > :32:16.on the huge and dangerous t`sk of the verges and roundabouts. In

:32:17. > :32:20.essence, they are only doing a sticking plaster job. What we need

:32:21. > :32:25.is for people to drop far ldss bitter and stop selling the beauty

:32:26. > :32:31.of our country. -- they shotld stop dropping litter. But how do we do

:32:32. > :32:37.that? It has been talked about for long enough. I think we need to

:32:38. > :32:45.employ psychologists and PR experts to think up a national camp`ign for

:32:46. > :32:51.us, based on Scottish pride. We have had lots of wonderful ppbs, so we

:32:52. > :32:56.know we have the expertise. There has been a considerable amotnt done

:32:57. > :33:03.in primary schools over the years, but that can only work if the adult

:33:04. > :33:06.role models from them is a family and community are reached through

:33:07. > :33:16.this campaign. Don't throw `way your future could be a slogan, btt I will

:33:17. > :33:20.leave that to the experts. Please support this motion. Thank xou,

:33:21. > :33:24.Lynne. Can I copy and Lynn that Platt was exactly five minutes, so

:33:25. > :33:28.that was perfectly on time. For those delegates that were not here

:33:29. > :33:32.yesterday, I am being disciplined and ruthless with the magic button

:33:33. > :33:40.that cuts off the mike if speakers go over the time. But peopld have

:33:41. > :33:46.been very good this morning. Thank you, Derek. I hear what you say It

:33:47. > :33:51.wasn't personal! Conference, good morning. I am lucky enough to have

:33:52. > :34:02.been elected to represent one of the most stunningly beautiful areas of

:34:03. > :34:05.our country. Tourism is vit`l to our economy. My husband has unofficially

:34:06. > :34:13.adopted the roadside between home and Braemar, which is exactly 2 2

:34:14. > :34:17.miles. And he regularly collects a carrier bag and more of rubbish in

:34:18. > :34:27.most weeks. It is mostly food and drink containers, bought locally and

:34:28. > :34:30.then discarded when consumed. 2 2 miles outside each village, it is

:34:31. > :34:36.the same, because that is how long it takes to eat crisps and drink

:34:37. > :34:43.Coke and out of the window. We live in a national park. We are so have

:34:44. > :34:48.campers who stop overnight on attractive roadside areas of grass.

:34:49. > :34:54.But some then leave behind some or all of their waste, and somdtimes,

:34:55. > :35:02.that includes the tenth, thd deckchair, the air bed and worse,

:35:03. > :35:06.sometimes even discarded neddles. This is not responsible camping so

:35:07. > :35:12.they are breaking the law. But who has the time or the resourcds to

:35:13. > :35:19.police this? What sort of example are these adults setting thd next

:35:20. > :35:23.generation, and what can be done? I agree with my colleague, and that is

:35:24. > :35:29.why I have agreed to second this resolution. We need a total change

:35:30. > :35:34.in mindset, a strategy designed as my colleague says, by psychologists

:35:35. > :35:42.and PR experts. We need to start in the primary schools, linked to the

:35:43. > :35:46.curriculum for excellence come because then we are educating the

:35:47. > :35:50.next generation. Perhaps a competition in each council area,

:35:51. > :35:54.sponsored by government, to come up with localised campaigns th`t

:35:55. > :35:59.resonate with locals and visitors alike, and make dumping litter as

:36:00. > :36:09.socially unacceptable as tobacco barons. I am very happy to second

:36:10. > :36:16.this. Thank you. Thank you, Geva. Michael Cate Campbell, who will

:36:17. > :36:20.speak in favour of the resolution. She is a first-time speaker, one of

:36:21. > :36:28.many fantastic first speakers at conference. Welcome. Thank xou,

:36:29. > :36:35.Derek. Conference, there is nothing I disagree with in this resolution,

:36:36. > :36:40.but there is something misshng. Tourism and the money it brhngs into

:36:41. > :36:44.our economy is of course important. But our own communities must be

:36:45. > :36:47.forgotten. The areas that are worst affected by litter tend be the

:36:48. > :36:52.communities that score the highest on things like Scottish inddx of

:36:53. > :36:57.multiple deprivation. Communities that have suffered neglect from

:36:58. > :37:01.successive Labour led counchls. In the constituency that I livd in in

:37:02. > :37:04.Edinburgh East and, there is an excellent charity called colmunity

:37:05. > :37:14.renewal who are doing local working some of our most deprived

:37:15. > :37:17.communities. They are knockhng on doors and asking people, wh`t is

:37:18. > :37:23.good about your community? What is bad about your community, and what

:37:24. > :37:26.would you change? In one of these communities, rubbish came as the

:37:27. > :37:32.second-highest on the list of things that were bad. In the other

:37:33. > :37:35.community, it came first. A national awareness campaign is a good thing,

:37:36. > :37:38.but many people already havd a strong sense of civic pride. The

:37:39. > :37:44.problem is that they lack the tools as individuals to do somethhng about

:37:45. > :37:48.it, and they need help. Conference, we know that for many peopld, their

:37:49. > :37:52.main interaction with polithcs is through their experience of local

:37:53. > :37:56.services, and it is vital that we get this right. We must pledge next

:37:57. > :38:00.year, would we take over a great many councils, not just to `ddress

:38:01. > :38:03.the problem in the areas th`t shout the loudest, but also to address the

:38:04. > :38:08.problem in the areas where the need is greatest. Our environment has an

:38:09. > :38:12.effect on our mental and phxsical health and well-being, on how we

:38:13. > :38:16.feel about ourselves. It has a direct impact on our

:38:17. > :38:19.self-confidence, the confiddnce we have in our community and also the

:38:20. > :38:27.confidence that we have an ourselves as a nation.

:38:28. > :38:33.To become an independent cotntry. But for Scotland to become `n

:38:34. > :38:38.independent country, we need our citizens to believe that Scotland

:38:39. > :38:43.can be an independent country. Conference, pass this motion, but

:38:44. > :38:47.let's tackle litter not just for the tourist buffer ourselves. Ldt's sure

:38:48. > :38:51.the people of Scotland that the SNP will take on the issues that

:38:52. > :38:54.mattered to them and that ilpact on their everyday lives, and m`ke

:38:55. > :38:58.improvements to our communities that will give us confidence as ` nation.

:38:59. > :39:12.Thank you. APPLAUSE Thank you very much. There `re no

:39:13. > :39:20.cards in against, conferencd, does the resolution passed? APPL@USE

:39:21. > :39:24.It is and we now turn to resolution 12, becoming a good food nation to

:39:25. > :39:40.be proposed by Heather Anderson and seconded by Gale Ross, MSP.

:39:41. > :39:51.Welcome, Heather. APPLAUSE Has the time started. It has begun.

:39:52. > :39:55.Heather Anderson, organic f`rmer and campaigner for a better foods

:39:56. > :39:58.assistance in Scotland. I w`nt to thank Richard Lochhead, our previous

:39:59. > :40:01.Cabinet secretary on food and environment because he did `ll the

:40:02. > :40:06.groundwork of this bill and Richard understood that food was thd vehicle

:40:07. > :40:09.that brought together land reform, community empowerment, health and

:40:10. > :40:14.food citizenship, so thanks Richard, we will carry on the good work. So

:40:15. > :40:20.why do we need a good food bill now? We live in revolutionary tiles,

:40:21. > :40:23.three times over. Firstly, we are living in revolutionary timds

:40:24. > :40:27.because the way we farm is `bout to fundamentally change. We know that

:40:28. > :40:34.chemical farming is destroyhng our topsoil. 40% of the antibiotics used

:40:35. > :40:37.in Europe are used in livestock and human resistance to antibiotics is

:40:38. > :40:42.compromising basic medical procedures. We have lost 50$ of our

:40:43. > :40:47.wildlife in the last 40 years. We are told that unless we change the

:40:48. > :40:50.way we farm, there are less than 100 harvests left in England, qtite

:40:51. > :40:57.simply, we can't keep wreckhng the joint. So the chemical revolution is

:40:58. > :41:03.failing and the smart money is on Agro ecology. Scotland is vdry well

:41:04. > :41:07.suited to it, we can do carbon neutral beef, we can do org`nic

:41:08. > :41:11.whiskey, we can do carbon ndutral dairy, we are sorted. Secondly we

:41:12. > :41:15.are living in revolutionary times because Brexit changes ever thing.

:41:16. > :41:21.The loss of capital payments immediately wipes 20% out of farming

:41:22. > :41:27.income in Scotland, 20% of the money in Scottish farming is from Europe.

:41:28. > :41:29.75% of the net income in Scottish farming is subsidy, so leavhng

:41:30. > :41:36.Europe is potentially life-threatening for farming. This

:41:37. > :41:38.year, the sub city payments were a few months late, in three ydars

:41:39. > :41:42.time they will be gone, everything we previously believed to bd true

:41:43. > :41:45.about farming in Scotland h`s just been tipped on the floor. In the

:41:46. > :41:49.Brexit referendum, we were `ssured that Defra would save us, btt that

:41:50. > :41:57.would be a bit like believing the big numbers on the big red bus that

:41:58. > :42:01.Boris used to drive round. So anyone who believes... APPLAUSE

:42:02. > :42:06.Anyone who believes with -- that the Westminster Treasury will hdlp

:42:07. > :42:10.Scottish hill farmers in thd politest possible terms needs their

:42:11. > :42:13.heads looked. Thirdly it is revolutionary times because Paris

:42:14. > :42:17.changes ever thing, the Parhs climate change agreement ch`nge the

:42:18. > :42:20.future, and Scotland is now committed to world leading targets

:42:21. > :42:28.and reduce in carbon emissions by 50% by 2020. 22% of our emissions

:42:29. > :42:31.come from farming, mainly mdthane and nitrous oxide, so setting a

:42:32. > :42:37.nitrogen budget for Scotland and help meet those targets and it

:42:38. > :42:42.reduces our emissions in farming by reducing organically by 22%. We have

:42:43. > :42:46.a perfect storm, Brexit and climate change and chemical burn but we also

:42:47. > :42:50.have an amazing opportunity to do something world leading and radical.

:42:51. > :42:55.In revolutionary times it is sometimes good to remember some

:42:56. > :42:59.revolutionary thinkers. One such man was breaking ball and John Boyd all.

:43:00. > :43:04.A Nobel Peace Prize winner for his work on nutrition, an MP, a director

:43:05. > :43:08.of the food and agricultural organisation. John Boyd was a

:43:09. > :43:15.humanitarian, a teacher and somebody who did something radical about food

:43:16. > :43:22.in Scotland. In the 1920s hd proved the link between poverty and diet.

:43:23. > :43:27.John Boyd Orr completely understood you cannot bridge the attainment gap

:43:28. > :43:32.if you don't bridge the nutrition gap. He introduced school mhlk,

:43:33. > :43:37.saving the Scottish dairy industry. In 1936, this is the book that John

:43:38. > :43:42.Boyd Orr made the case for ` food plan based on nutritional ndeds His

:43:43. > :43:46.thinking and writing informdd rationing, and we have the best diet

:43:47. > :43:52.we have ever had during the war He set the gold standard for nttrition,

:43:53. > :43:58.saying basically there should be the best standard for nutrition would be

:43:59. > :44:04.that you could not improve xour health by eating better. It is fair

:44:05. > :44:09.to say that John Boyd Orr would be horrified by food banks in Scotland.

:44:10. > :44:14.So let's on John Boyd Orr whth this bill. This bill must be world

:44:15. > :44:18.leading, like climate changd and land reform and it must be

:44:19. > :44:26.crosscutting. Not just about farming. It must link climate change

:44:27. > :44:33.with land use. We must shapd our new agricultural policy. We must support

:44:34. > :44:36.farmers in what we want thel to do and pay them to do. It needs to

:44:37. > :44:42.engineer direct supply change between farmers and ourselvds to

:44:43. > :44:45.reduce waste and to end food poverty in Scotland. The red button is

:44:46. > :44:51.going. The bill must be of hts time and speak to its time. It mtst

:44:52. > :44:55.address the agricultural tr`in wreck that is Brexit. Hold out hope for

:44:56. > :44:59.our farmers and we must all be involved in making sure it hs the

:45:00. > :45:05.best built it possibly could be Please make an old revolutionary

:45:06. > :45:11.proud. APPLAUSE Thank you, Heather. That was cutting

:45:12. > :45:16.it close to the wire there. The red light doesn't mean I'm moving on to

:45:17. > :45:20.conclude, it means you are `bout to get cut off. I'm sure that won't

:45:21. > :45:32.happen to Gale Ross MSP, who is seconding the resolution. Thank you.

:45:33. > :45:35.Conference, in our manifesto, we committed to bringing forward a good

:45:36. > :45:39.food bill. We want to build on the significant achievements th`t have

:45:40. > :45:43.been made since the first n`tional strategy in 2008, so how do we use

:45:44. > :45:47.our land and what grows on ht for the benefit of the people that live

:45:48. > :45:52.there? In Scotland we produce of the best food and drink in the world. We

:45:53. > :45:56.export our salmon and sea food, our whiskey and beef and lamb, `nd in a

:45:57. > :46:00.recent survey of the adult population, not everyone kndw that

:46:01. > :46:06.eggs came from chickens, or that beef cattle were different from

:46:07. > :46:10.dairy cattle. We have plentx of land, sea, growers, chefs and cooks,

:46:11. > :46:13.but many people, especially in more deprived areas, they lack connection

:46:14. > :46:17.to their food and where it comes from. We have drifted away from the

:46:18. > :46:20.notion that they can producd food themselves, and now they ard overly

:46:21. > :46:25.dependent on processed convdnience foods. Through the good food bill,

:46:26. > :46:29.we will draw together all the aspects of the Scottish Govdrnment's

:46:30. > :46:35.work on food and drink. We will look to strengthen the link betwden

:46:36. > :46:38.industry and the public sector, profession our food and drink

:46:39. > :46:44.strategy and look how procurement can be introduced to ensure that

:46:45. > :46:49.more Scottish projects is procured by local authorities and public

:46:50. > :46:52.bodies. We will look at food waste, food standards, and we will

:46:53. > :46:55.implement our good food nathon policy, drawing on the expertise of

:46:56. > :47:01.the Scottish food commission and the general public. Through the

:47:02. > :47:04.community empowerment act wd will cease to increase access -- sick to

:47:05. > :47:08.increase access to land the food growing purposes as part of our

:47:09. > :47:12.strong commitment to develop allotments and community gardens. We

:47:13. > :47:17.will appoint a national chef and set up a ?5 million fund to prolote

:47:18. > :47:21.Ireland and regional food and drink. Conference, it's time to talk and

:47:22. > :47:26.it's time to act. Heather c`ptured the moment perfectly in her intro

:47:27. > :47:32.and this is exactly what we need. Ideas input and vision. The food and

:47:33. > :47:37.drink industry employs over 350 000 people, and it is vital to the

:47:38. > :47:41.economic stability of the n`tion. We need to ensure growth, training

:47:42. > :47:44.opportunities, marketing strategy and encourage greater levels of

:47:45. > :47:49.research in order for the sdctor to prosper. And to the many thousands

:47:50. > :47:54.of workers from the EU countries that work in the industry, the

:47:55. > :47:59.message could not be clearer. You are not bargaining chips. Wd need

:48:00. > :48:08.you. You are valued. Scotland welcomes you. APPLAUSE

:48:09. > :48:13.Conference, child and adult obesity is rising rapidly around thd world.

:48:14. > :48:17.In 2014, 30 1% of Scotland's children were at risk at becoming

:48:18. > :48:22.overweight, and 70% were at the risk of becoming obese. It is about

:48:23. > :48:26.growing your own, it is abott every school growing and eating and

:48:27. > :48:30.selling their own progress. Not every school has an allotment and

:48:31. > :48:34.today I call on the Scottish Government to ensure policy is

:48:35. > :48:40.available so that every new school has the land to be able to grow

:48:41. > :48:43.their own food and learn about food. Conference, we want policy that

:48:44. > :48:51.reconnects the people. Sorrx, Gale, time is up, you want your! Thank you

:48:52. > :48:58.APPLAUSE I'll pay for that. The next speaker

:48:59. > :49:02.in favour of the resolution is John Gilchrist. John, can you cole

:49:03. > :49:10.forward? I understand you promote and eat yourself healthy programme.

:49:11. > :49:15.And with your card you attach the programme for my attention. I don't

:49:16. > :49:24.know what he was trying to say, but welcome, John. APPLAUSE

:49:25. > :49:28.Good morning, conference. I bring you greetings from the largd branch

:49:29. > :49:34.down in North Ayrshire. I would like to support this very import`nt

:49:35. > :49:39.resolution. It recognises that the annual cost of the NHS to the

:49:40. > :49:50.country is ?13 billion a ye`r and rising. It recognises that over 60%

:49:51. > :49:57.of ill health is diet and lhfestyle related. That's how important food

:49:58. > :50:02.is. We increasingly hear about all of the toxic chemical residtes in

:50:03. > :50:08.the food in our supermarket shelves. And the trouble is mostly wd do not

:50:09. > :50:15.know what we're eating. We do not know how many of the ingredhents

:50:16. > :50:20.were genetically modified. We do not know how contaminated the soil was

:50:21. > :50:26.it was groaning. Or how oftdn they crop was sprayed in the field. Or

:50:27. > :50:32.what chemicals have been added to it during the processing and p`ckaging.

:50:33. > :50:38.So we cannot know how healthy or unhealthy the food is, unless,

:50:39. > :50:45.whenever possible, we buy organic food. Free from chemical residues.

:50:46. > :50:53.We buy local food, so we know where it has come from. And, whendver

:50:54. > :50:59.possible, we cook from fresh, we don't use processed food. I know

:51:00. > :51:04.that many people think organic food is expensive, but if we eat

:51:05. > :51:12.nutritional food, we only e`t half as much. We actually save money And

:51:13. > :51:18.it is our best investment in ensuring the health of our family.

:51:19. > :51:24.But who is to blame for the cheap food that we find in the shops? The

:51:25. > :51:30.ridiculous agricultural polhcy from Brussels, which encouraged farmers

:51:31. > :51:35.to buy ridiculously big tractors that crushed the life out of the

:51:36. > :51:42.soil and inject toxic residtes into the food chain? Or do we bl`me

:51:43. > :51:48.Westminster and Holyrood, why have they not sorted this out? Or do we

:51:49. > :51:54.blame the supermarkets for filling their shelves with poor quality

:51:55. > :52:04.food? But they only stock what we buy. Actually, I am responshble you

:52:05. > :52:10.are responsible, you are to blame. Every time we enter a shop we

:52:11. > :52:17.determined by what we buy the agricultural policies of Scotland.

:52:18. > :52:25.And every time we buy local, we strengthen the Scottish economy and

:52:26. > :52:30.create jobs. As a good food nation, Scotland is well able to be

:52:31. > :52:35.self-sufficient in food. Thhs bill will enable each one of us to step

:52:36. > :52:41.up to the mark, take responsibility for our family's health and take

:52:42. > :52:47.responsibility for developing a vibrant and robust Scottish economy.

:52:48. > :52:54.Conference, I urge you to stpport the motion. APPLAUSE

:52:55. > :53:11.Thank you, John. Our final speaker on this resolution will be Tom Gray,

:53:12. > :53:30.a farmer and counsellor. Welcome, Tom. I saw a girl cut off there I

:53:31. > :53:33.hope I can carry on. Anyway, a good food nation is dependent on an

:53:34. > :53:37.enthusiastic population, skhlled in all levels of food production. Yet

:53:38. > :53:43.there is a distinct scarcitx of people to produce food. How can that

:53:44. > :53:49.be? We have schools and colleges at all levels, offering training in

:53:50. > :53:52.food production. 85% of our land is a less favoured area, more suited to

:53:53. > :53:57.livestock rearing and we ard an animal loving nation. The s`d truth

:53:58. > :54:03.is that there is a distinct lack of appropriate opportunity, lack of

:54:04. > :54:06.appropriate rural housing and lack of available land. Time and again, I

:54:07. > :54:11.hear the call for more people to join the farming industry. The

:54:12. > :54:15.government does, the farming industry does. Yet curiouslx,

:54:16. > :54:21.industry leaders persistently call for the scrapping of agricultural

:54:22. > :54:24.wages. How many students do you suppose studied agriculture with the

:54:25. > :54:29.ambition to work for someond else? I think they would rather go hnto

:54:30. > :54:31.agricultural College and le`rn about food production because thex wish to

:54:32. > :54:36.produce food for themselves and their communities. It is cldar to me

:54:37. > :54:41.that they invariably aspire to farm on their own account. But what

:54:42. > :54:49.chance? Available farms and subsidies are gobbled up by

:54:50. > :54:51.established farmers. Land is developed into suburbia likd hamlets

:54:52. > :54:58.for semi retired people. Farm cottages become holiday homds. Where

:54:59. > :55:03.do you suppose rural workers go Affordable homes in the nearest

:55:04. > :55:11.village? In effect, that is more subsidy to landowners. Is it any

:55:12. > :55:15.wonder our own fit and able turn their back on the farming industry?

:55:16. > :55:19.Is it any wonder our fruit `nd vegetable growers are dependent on

:55:20. > :55:22.migrant workers? Is it any wonder tractor drivers are thin on the

:55:23. > :55:28.ground and shepherds are like hens teeth? All my life, I have witnessed

:55:29. > :55:30.the needless loss of enterprise and generations have been denied the

:55:31. > :55:36.opportunity to produce and develop food products from their beloved

:55:37. > :55:40.countryside. Considering thd vast sums of public funds poured annually

:55:41. > :55:45.into the farming industry, this is a disgrace. We are seeking to become a

:55:46. > :55:49.good food nation, and I belheve we should and we can. We must dig deep

:55:50. > :55:53.into the real needs of people who are keen to contribute and stop

:55:54. > :56:03.pandering to the greed and complacency of those alreadx there.

:56:04. > :56:08.Give these people their own hill and Glen and home in the countrxside.

:56:09. > :56:12.Radical land reform with tedth on taxation and planning poliches all

:56:13. > :56:15.have their place in creating opportunities for enterprisd to

:56:16. > :56:32.maximise the diversity and sustainability of a good food

:56:33. > :56:42.nation. Perfect. Thank you. Can we move straight to decision? Hs the

:56:43. > :56:47.resolution passed by a clail? - acclaim. It is. Resolution 03,

:56:48. > :56:51.welfare powers devolved to the Scottish parliament, will bd

:56:52. > :57:01.proposed by Sandra White MSP and seconded by Francis Morrison. Sandra

:57:02. > :57:05.White. Thank you. Good mornhng, conference. As convener of the

:57:06. > :57:10.social security committee in the Scottish Parliament, it is ly

:57:11. > :57:14.committee post my job to scrutinise the new social security bill. When I

:57:15. > :57:21.talk about scrutiny, I mean we need to look at this to make surd we get

:57:22. > :57:24.the best policy for all of our people who are on benefits. And we

:57:25. > :57:32.need to treat them with dignity and respect. That is the only w`y to go

:57:33. > :57:37.forward. I want to thank thd ministers for the work they have

:57:38. > :57:41.done and all the people who have put forward their ideas and givdn

:57:42. > :57:47.evidence to the committee. They have been very helpful. You will

:57:48. > :57:51.understand that the Scottish parliament only has 15% of the

:57:52. > :57:57.powers of welfare devolved. Whilst we would have liked 100%, or we only

:57:58. > :58:03.have 15%. Westminster reserves the right of 85%. That is difficult but

:58:04. > :58:06.it is something we will work around and we were ensure that the powers

:58:07. > :58:10.we have devolved to the Scottish Parliament will work for thd people

:58:11. > :58:17.of Scotland and make sure they get a fair system and a better system

:58:18. > :58:23.Conference, it has been said that people will no longer have to have

:58:24. > :58:30.an assessment because of a long term condition. Assessments are something

:58:31. > :58:38.that cause a lot of problems, as do sanctions, for people with

:58:39. > :58:41.disabilities. I would take Damian Green's words just now, but there

:58:42. > :58:46.are questions to be answered about that. What constitutes a long term

:58:47. > :58:54.conditions? We can see physhcal illness, but we can't always see

:58:55. > :58:58.mental illness. Assessments and sanctions are causing great

:58:59. > :59:02.difficulty for our most vulnerable citizens, particularly thosd with

:59:03. > :59:08.mental health problems. In some cases, it is killing them. H have a

:59:09. > :59:15.case in my constituency where this unfortunately did happen. A man was

:59:16. > :59:18.sanctioned. The only way thdy found out that he didn't turn up for his

:59:19. > :59:23.assessment was when they broke down the door and unfortunately, the man

:59:24. > :59:27.was there. He didn't survivd. He had no money. Is that the kind of

:59:28. > :59:30.country we want to live in? Absolutely not. When people are

:59:31. > :59:39.sanctioned because they havd mental health problems in the diffhcult

:59:40. > :59:43.lifestyle? And I cannot put themselves forward for assessment,

:59:44. > :59:50.so they cut their money. Thhs poor gentleman had no money whatsoever

:59:51. > :59:53.for food or anything else. He is not the only one. There are lots of

:59:54. > :00:01.people like that, and we nedd to make sure we stop that. That is why

:00:02. > :00:06.I want to make sure this resolution is talking about the diffictlties of

:00:07. > :00:09.mental health. People who present themselves with mental health

:00:10. > :00:12.issues, or even don't present themselves with mental health issues

:00:13. > :00:18.because they feel that they are all right, they don't have a phxsical

:00:19. > :00:21.disability. They may present themselves and they are find, but

:00:22. > :00:28.once they go through that assessment and once they get sanctioned, they

:00:29. > :00:30.cannot go back again. That hs why this resolution is here, to make

:00:31. > :00:36.sure that people who do havd mental health issues who have more

:00:37. > :00:41.difficulty than others with physical disabilities are treated in the best

:00:42. > :00:53.way possible. I know our ministers will do that. I hope people are

:00:54. > :00:56.treated with dignity and respect. I have issued this resolution today

:00:57. > :00:59.for the sake of all the people out there who have mental health

:01:00. > :01:06.problems and do present thelselves and who get sanctioned. We have the

:01:07. > :01:09.responsibility to ensure thdse people are treated as everyone else,

:01:10. > :01:19.with respect and dignity. Thank you very much. Thank you, Sandr`. And to

:01:20. > :01:30.second this, Francis Morrison and Pam Mitchell will speak in favour of

:01:31. > :01:38.the resolution. Francis is ` first-time speaker. Welcome. As a

:01:39. > :01:41.health care worker, I have witnessed the emotional devastation pdople

:01:42. > :01:45.with mental illness experience when involved with the benefits system.

:01:46. > :01:50.The fear of the brown envelope hitting the doormat, the te`rs, the

:01:51. > :01:54.shaking hands and worse can occur as frequently as every three months

:01:55. > :01:58.when reassessments are calldd for. Reassessments done by doctors who

:01:59. > :02:02.are not psychiatrists and do not know the patient, nor do thdy seek

:02:03. > :02:09.the guidance of the general practitioner. We call upon our

:02:10. > :02:13.government when ESA and PIP devolved to give people with mental health

:02:14. > :02:18.issues the dignity they desdrve to reject the Tory template of

:02:19. > :02:23.operation mastered by Iain Duncan Smith and stamp compassion `nd

:02:24. > :02:39.dignity through their decishons and practices. I am happy to second this

:02:40. > :02:43.motion. Thank you, Frances. And in speaking less than I thought you

:02:44. > :02:50.might have done, we were just wait a moment for Pam Mitchell, who will

:02:51. > :02:57.speak in favour of the resolution, to be followed by Lackey McNeill,

:02:58. > :03:02.who will speak in favour of the resolution. And Angela Crawley, MP,

:03:03. > :03:15.stands by to support the resolution also. Please welcome Pam Mitchell.

:03:16. > :03:22.Thank you. Good morning, conference. This particular resolution hs close

:03:23. > :03:29.to my heart. I am ex-RAF, and too many of my colleagues who h`ve PTSD,

:03:30. > :03:37.which is a mental health condition, ended up on when -- on welf`re and

:03:38. > :03:43.then promptly had their income from welfare sanctioned. I know two, who

:03:44. > :03:48.will not mention for family reasons, who commit suicide. This cannot be

:03:49. > :04:03.acceptable in this day and `ge. It simply can't. Intimidating `ssessors

:04:04. > :04:11.who, when they do the assessment, failed to put all of the information

:04:12. > :04:15.in their report. Consequently, people who are on DLA or PIP either

:04:16. > :04:20.have it taken away completely or it is reduced dramatically to the point

:04:21. > :04:30.where they have to choose bdtween food or hit. Again, not accdptable

:04:31. > :04:37.-- they have to choose betwden food or heat. Humiliation at varhous

:04:38. > :04:46.assessments. People with conditions like blood cancer, not being

:04:47. > :04:51.recognised as a disease that is terminal in many cases. The constant

:04:52. > :04:57.assessment, the constant having to prove your disability, parthcularly

:04:58. > :05:00.when it is mental health, and I worked in pharmaceutical mental

:05:01. > :05:09.health. You cannot expect to treat people that way and for thel to

:05:10. > :05:12.survive. I therefore welcomd the new powers of the Scottish Government

:05:13. > :05:18.and I hope they will address some of these issues. There are so lany

:05:19. > :05:23.things I could talk about, but I don't have time. But when a friend

:05:24. > :05:37.of mine who has had no legs from birth is denied DLA, there hs

:05:38. > :05:44.something very, very wrong. I think we all need to be aware that mental

:05:45. > :05:48.health isn't always visible. So look out for one another. Look for the

:05:49. > :05:56.signs, learn about it and ghve them your support. But most importantly,

:05:57. > :06:10.please support this motion. Thank you, Pam. And to speak in f`vour of

:06:11. > :06:21.the resolution, Lachie McNehll. He will be followed by Angela Crawley.

:06:22. > :06:29.Conference, there are three reasons for passing this resolution. The

:06:30. > :06:37.first is that it sets an objective which is both good and important.

:06:38. > :06:48.The second is that it is an objective which is now capable of

:06:49. > :06:54.being achieved and implemented. And the third is that whenever the

:06:55. > :07:01.Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government used the powers that are

:07:02. > :07:06.at their disposal to make Scotland a better country, we take one step

:07:07. > :07:13.closer to that day when the people of this nation demand to take full

:07:14. > :07:17.responsibility for their cotntry's future and for their countrx's

:07:18. > :07:30.engagement with the rest of the world. Support the resolution.

:07:31. > :07:37.Angela Crawley will speak in favour of the resolution, to be followed by

:07:38. > :07:45.Emma Cunningham. Angela Crawley MP. APPLAUSE

:07:46. > :07:48.Conference, I would like to start by saying thank you, first ball to

:07:49. > :07:54.right for opening this motion and thank you to my colleague 's, the

:07:55. > :08:00.MSP 's and Scottish Governmdnt ministers in Holyrood, for work that

:08:01. > :08:04.they do each and every day, and the work that they have undertaken to

:08:05. > :08:10.build a new social security system is not an easy task. Designhng a new

:08:11. > :08:16.system that offers dignity `nd respect as its hallmark is ` huge

:08:17. > :08:23.challenge, but it is an ambhtion, an ambition that every governmdnt

:08:24. > :08:30.should have. Now, it's a sad reality that this UK Government does not

:08:31. > :08:33.have this in its priorities. It does not consider this its first

:08:34. > :08:40.priority. That is a damning indictment of our UK Governlent

:08:41. > :08:45.APPLAUSE As the SNP spokesperson at

:08:46. > :08:50.Westminster for women and epuality is, this week has been one of the

:08:51. > :08:53.highlights since being elected, as I and my fellow SNP MPs from `cross

:08:54. > :09:02.this country and it over thousands upon thousands of signatures, on the

:09:03. > :09:07.half of all SP women, while on the other hand I have never been prouder

:09:08. > :09:10.to represent my constituents in Lanark and Hamilton East, and while

:09:11. > :09:17.I have never been prouder to make Scotland's was heard, one thing is

:09:18. > :09:22.clear. This UK Tory austerity of first government to not havd their

:09:23. > :09:26.priorities right, whether it is Brexit, state authorise drone

:09:27. > :09:31.strikes insular, renewable Trident nuclear weapons, is this re`lly a

:09:32. > :09:35.United Kingdom? One thing is for sure, Scotland, here in Scotland,

:09:36. > :09:39.the new powers through the Scotland Bill, we can start to changd and

:09:40. > :09:46.build the kind of society that we want to live in. 15% of Sochal

:09:47. > :09:48.Security powers cannot and will not mitigate for the worst effects of

:09:49. > :09:54.this Tory austerity obsessed government. 85% of the power

:09:55. > :09:59.continues to lie with Westmhnster, we still have no work to do. While

:10:00. > :10:03.80% of women are affected bx it Tory austerity cuts, hard-working

:10:04. > :10:07.families up and down this country are struggling to make ends meet. In

:10:08. > :10:12.my constituency one in five children grow up in poverty. That is one

:10:13. > :10:15.child to many, never mind the one in five. We have already heard about

:10:16. > :10:22.the devastating impact of mdntal ill health. As a child who lost their

:10:23. > :10:28.mum to suicide, we must get this right. Because inequality costs

:10:29. > :10:34.everyone in society, and we must get this right. So I trust that Scotland

:10:35. > :10:39.will chart its own course and that in the future we must evolvd each

:10:40. > :10:42.and every aspect of the Dep`rtment for Work and Pensions to Scotland.

:10:43. > :10:49.Let's get this right. Thank you Angela. CHEERING

:10:50. > :10:57.Thank you, Angela, and our final speaker on this resolution hs Emily

:10:58. > :11:07.cunning ham from the London branch, who is a first-time speaker, so

:11:08. > :11:13.welcome Emily. Hello, conference. The current tick box system of work

:11:14. > :11:16.capability assessment is fahling those with crippling or fluctuating

:11:17. > :11:20.mental health problems, which means sufferers can be. Like when they are

:11:21. > :11:25.completely psychologically tnfit to do so. Mental health problels are

:11:26. > :11:29.not always obvious. People with depression don't always go `round

:11:30. > :11:31.looking sad, people with obsessive-compulsive disorddr that

:11:32. > :11:35.necessarily have an urge to wash their hands all the time. I myself

:11:36. > :11:39.had battled with a mental hdalth problems eight years but I `m lucky

:11:40. > :11:46.I have managed to live and work with my condition. Others are not so

:11:47. > :11:49.lucky. That is why it is essential that we have a Social Securhty

:11:50. > :11:58.system that fully recognises mental health outcomes can have devastating

:11:59. > :12:03.impacts. The UK Government continue to ignore the evidence that these

:12:04. > :12:06.assessments are not fit for work. In stark contrast, the SNP govdrnment

:12:07. > :12:10.in Scotland have committed to creating a Social Security system

:12:11. > :12:14.with dignity and respect at its core. And they are consulting widely

:12:15. > :12:20.with a variety of sectors to ensure a system as robust and incltsive as

:12:21. > :12:23.possible. I fully trust the SNP government to deliver on thhs

:12:24. > :12:26.resolution and I want to th`nk the Kelvin branch for bringing this

:12:27. > :12:33.extremely important matter to the attention of conference, th`nk you.

:12:34. > :12:42.APPLAUSE Thank you, Emily. There are no cards

:12:43. > :12:49.in against. Sandra, are you willing to waive your right to sum tp? Yes,

:12:50. > :12:52.you are, thank you very much. So can I ask, conference, is the rdsolution

:12:53. > :13:15.passed by a claim? APPLAUSE Moving slightly ahead of schedule,

:13:16. > :13:20.which will take us to her sdssion on the work of our Westminster group. I

:13:21. > :13:29.am going to invite a number of MPs to join us, but who better to give

:13:30. > :13:33.the report, the update from our Westminster group than the new

:13:34. > :13:34.deputy leader of the Scottish National Party, please welcome Angus

:13:35. > :13:54.Robertson MP. APPLAUSE

:13:55. > :14:00.Thank you. Thank you very mtch. Thank you, colleagues. Thank you,

:14:01. > :14:07.thank you. Conference, it is a huge honour to be able to report on the

:14:08. > :14:09.work of the SNP in Westminster, the strong communities, effective

:14:10. > :14:16.opposition to the Tories in the House of Commons. Make no doubt that

:14:17. > :14:20.with Labour in disarray, it is only the SNP that will stand up for

:14:21. > :14:33.Scotland against this right wing Tory UK Government. APPLAUSD

:14:34. > :14:35.Indeed. And as we sort the votes of people in last year's gener`l

:14:36. > :14:39.election, we promised we wotld be stronger for Scotland and that is

:14:40. > :14:43.exactly what we have done. Hf you haven't already noticed, it its SNP

:14:44. > :14:47.'s MPs who are leading from the front when it comes to the campaigns

:14:48. > :14:53.and to the causes that really, really matter. An example, Han

:14:54. > :14:59.Blackford took up the cause of the brain family, Greg, Catherine, and

:15:00. > :15:05.their sun block Lynn, who moved to Dingwall in 2011 on their student

:15:06. > :15:09.Visa, and who wanted to stax and contribute to Scotland. But they

:15:10. > :15:16.were told by the UK Governmdnt that they weren't welcome here. Han was a

:15:17. > :15:21.formidable opponent to this patented nonsense from the Home Office, and

:15:22. > :15:24.working with Scottish Government and First Minister Nicola Sturgdon, Ian

:15:25. > :15:29.was successful in his campahgn to win the right for the Brains to

:15:30. > :15:34.stay. I am very, very proud that we have MPs like Ian fighting for the

:15:35. > :15:42.people of Scotland, and I al very proud... APPLAUSE

:15:43. > :15:47.I am very proud that Greg, Catherine and Loch Lomond are with us here

:15:48. > :15:55.today. That show the Brain family a worm SNP conference welcome.

:15:56. > :16:05.CHEERING -- a warm welcome.

:16:06. > :16:12.Now it has not all been good news stories. The conflict has ldd to an

:16:13. > :16:18.unprecedented displacement of people. There is now huge global

:16:19. > :16:24.challenge and SNP MPs have been at the forefront of efforts to pressure

:16:25. > :16:28.the government to do more to alleviate the humanitarian crisis.

:16:29. > :16:30.There are almost 90,000 reftgee children alone in Europe without

:16:31. > :16:33.their families but the UK Government would not commit to putting a number

:16:34. > :16:38.one Hamley children they wotld give a home in the UK too. Joann` and

:16:39. > :16:42.Stuart have visited the camp at Calais and seeing the kids `ffected

:16:43. > :16:44.by this crisis. They have bden relentless in their efforts to

:16:45. > :16:48.secure protection for his children, and I know that they will continue

:16:49. > :16:55.their hard work to ensure that the UK Government takes a more humane

:16:56. > :16:57.approach to this crisis. Just last week SNP MPs delivered petitions to

:16:58. > :17:00.the House of Commons supporting thousands of women in Scotl`nd who

:17:01. > :17:04.will be affected by the UK Government's unfair pension changes.

:17:05. > :17:09.When Mhairi Black took up the cause of the Waspy women should ddlivered

:17:10. > :17:13.one of the most impassioned speeches in the House of Commons. Shd rightly

:17:14. > :17:18.accused the scoring governmdnt of the wrong priorities, of choosing to

:17:19. > :17:20.find billions of pounds the new nuclear weapons and said of choosing

:17:21. > :17:25.to provide some security and dignity to women in their time on. Ht is

:17:26. > :17:30.Mhairi Black and the SNP th`t had that fair solutions on the table,

:17:31. > :17:33.and the UK Government must `ct. Conference, we will never stop

:17:34. > :17:36.fighting for a fairer deal for the Waspy women and please show your

:17:37. > :17:49.appreciation to them and to Mhairi Black. CHEERING

:17:50. > :17:56.And, conference, I think we have to contrast the hard work of SNP MPs

:17:57. > :18:01.with what can only be called the shambles of the Labour Partx. As

:18:02. > :18:06.David Cameron sought approv`l for a bombing campaign in Syria, ht was

:18:07. > :18:12.the SNP that secured and led the cross-party opposition to the plans,

:18:13. > :18:15.whilst Labour fought with itself. As Labour let the Tories away with

:18:16. > :18:18.writing a blank cheque for the renewal of Trident, it was the SNP

:18:19. > :18:23.that have been the principldd opposition in Parliament. L`bour had

:18:24. > :18:27.the opposition to vote, havd the opportunity to vote down thd

:18:28. > :18:32.Tories's austerity Charter. They were found wanting and only the SNP

:18:33. > :18:37.have been clear and consistdnt in our opposition to Tory austdrity.

:18:38. > :18:42.And as we approach and expand's open statement the SNP will conthnue to

:18:43. > :18:46.argue for an end to austerity, that is damaging economic growth and

:18:47. > :18:50.public services, for meaningful fiscal stimulus to mitigate against

:18:51. > :18:53.the impact of leaving the Etropean Union, and tangible support for our

:18:54. > :18:59.oil and gas industry. This hs the Brexit recovery plan that the UK

:19:00. > :19:03.Government must deliver. Indeed an effective opposition to the Tories

:19:04. > :19:10.is more important now than dver before. Conference, we are hn a

:19:11. > :19:13.bleak Brexit Britain. And wd are in the eye of the storm, and there is

:19:14. > :19:19.worse, much much worse still to come. In contrast to the work taken

:19:20. > :19:23.by our First Minister in thd Scottish Government to reassure EU

:19:24. > :19:29.nationals living in Scotland, the UK Government has referred to them as

:19:30. > :19:41.cards to be bargained with. How shameful. How shameful. APPLAUSE

:19:42. > :19:43.The UK Government's plans to name and shame firms by making them

:19:44. > :19:51.reveal what proportion of their workforce is foreign is deplorable,

:19:52. > :19:54.it is xenophobic. And as thd First Minister says, the fact that they

:19:55. > :19:59.now want to keep this inforlation in secret lists will be of no

:20:00. > :20:02.consolation to anybody. And as much as to who is a monster run `nd hide

:20:03. > :20:17.from her record, how can we forget, how can anybody forget her hnfamous

:20:18. > :20:20.go home foreigners vans. APPLAUSE It is a disgrace that race `nd

:20:21. > :20:26.religious hate crime has increased in some parts of the UK by over 40%,

:20:27. > :20:30.and conference, let us be clear that those politicians that funeral a

:20:31. > :20:35.climate of xenophobia with their damaging policies and their reckless

:20:36. > :20:44.words must access to their share of responsibility for this. APPLAUSE

:20:45. > :20:50.The SNP will always stand up against prejudice and hatred, and stand by

:20:51. > :20:56.those EU nationals that do ts the honour, the honour, of making

:20:57. > :21:07.Scotland their home, and make such a valued contribution to our society.

:21:08. > :21:11.APPLAUSE And so, conference, that is why

:21:12. > :21:15.today I can confirm the SNP will be using our opposition day debate in

:21:16. > :21:21.the House of Commons next wdek to demand that the UK Government end

:21:22. > :21:23.this unacceptable situation right now and give EU nationals a

:21:24. > :21:36.cast-iron guarantee that thdir status will be protected. CHEERING

:21:37. > :21:43.I am proud as I know you ard right, that Scotland is a welcoming and

:21:44. > :21:47.outward looking country. Thdre are thousands of EU nationals who study

:21:48. > :21:52.at our universities and thex make up around 5% of the NHS workforce in

:21:53. > :21:55.Scotland. EU citizens who come to live and work in Scotland are also

:21:56. > :21:59.critical to key sectors of our economy. In Scotland, where

:22:00. > :22:03.employment is high, we requhre more people to come and work in Scotland

:22:04. > :22:07.and help our economy prosper. Over 12% of the people who work hn our

:22:08. > :22:15.agricultural centre and 11% of people who work in our food, fish

:22:16. > :22:18.and meat processing sector `re EU citizens were supposed to come to

:22:19. > :22:22.live and work in Scotland contribute to our economy, they make a switch

:22:23. > :22:36.and more diverse. Scotland hs their home, and they are welcome here

:22:37. > :22:39.APPLAUSE On the issues that matter to

:22:40. > :22:42.Scotland, the Tories aren't listening. When they sought the

:22:43. > :22:48.votes of the people of Scotland to take us out of the EU, they made all

:22:49. > :22:52.kinds of promises. That mord powers currently held by the EU wotld come

:22:53. > :22:56.to Scotland. But in Westminster the Tory environment minister told us,

:22:57. > :23:00.and I quote, these policies are devolved now, but the gener`l

:23:01. > :23:08.consensus is that there needs to be a UK wide framework.

:23:09. > :23:13.Conference, this is not just failing to meet their promise. The Tories

:23:14. > :23:16.are now talking about reverse devolution, about taking powers away

:23:17. > :23:20.from Scotland as part of thdir Brexit power grab. In her conference

:23:21. > :23:25.speech, Theresa May said th`t there will be no opt out from Brexit. She

:23:26. > :23:30.said the UK Government would negotiate its departure frol the EU

:23:31. > :23:34.as one United Kingdom, and we will leave the European Union is one

:23:35. > :23:39.United Kingdom. And Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Tory leader, rditerated

:23:40. > :23:44.that Scotland has no veto over the UK leaving the EU. This is despite

:23:45. > :23:51.being told in 2014 that we were an equal partner in this United

:23:52. > :24:01.Kingdom. It is time for Theresa May to prove it. Scotland's membership

:24:02. > :24:07.of the single market... The single market of 500 million peopld is

:24:08. > :24:12.vital to Scotland's interests. With a reputation for punching above

:24:13. > :24:17.their weight in ensuring access to competitive research funding and the

:24:18. > :24:20.global collaborations that flow from it matter. For a country th`t needs

:24:21. > :24:24.to grow its population to hdlp address skills gaps and deal with an

:24:25. > :24:30.ageing population, free movdment of people matters. All of that is now

:24:31. > :24:36.at risk, and it will be the people who pay the price of this in real

:24:37. > :24:40.life, in jobs and investments and living standards, and they will

:24:41. > :24:43.suffer as a result. Take our financial services sector. Scotland

:24:44. > :24:48.has a distinguished history in banking that dates back over 30

:24:49. > :24:52.years. We are one of Europe's leading financial centres, `nd the

:24:53. > :24:57.second financial hub in the UK outside London. Over 150,000 people

:24:58. > :25:02.in Scotland are employed in financial services. The success of

:25:03. > :25:05.this industry, which brings big jobs and revenue to Scotland, relies upon

:25:06. > :25:09.our membership of the singld market. We cannot allow that to be

:25:10. > :25:13.threatened by the reckless behaviour of Theresa May and her right-wing

:25:14. > :25:25.Tory government. But there hs an alternative. The alternativd is

:25:26. > :25:29.economic vandalism. The report by the Fraser of our land Insthtute

:25:30. > :25:35.published last week made for spine chilling reading. The real hmpact of

:25:36. > :25:40.leaving the EU is between 30000 and 80,000 Scottish jobs lost, `nd our

:25:41. > :25:43.GDP being 5% lower. It is clear that the Tories represent a clear and

:25:44. > :25:50.present danger to Scotland's interests. Theresa May says that

:25:51. > :25:53.options for keeping Scotland in the EU are impractical, that we have had

:25:54. > :26:00.our referendum and that there will be a UK approach to Brexit. She

:26:01. > :26:18.refuses to accept that for Scotland, for us, Remain means Remain.

:26:19. > :26:26.My message to the Prime Minhster is this. If you continue to ignore the

:26:27. > :26:31.expressed will of the peopld of Scotland, if you refuse to dven

:26:32. > :26:39.consider how we might protect Scotland's place in the EU, then be

:26:40. > :26:40.in no doubt. Your days as Prime Minister of a United Kingdol are

:26:41. > :27:06.numbered. So conference, let our mess`ge to

:27:07. > :27:11.the people of Scotland B thhs. Whether you voted yes or whdther you

:27:12. > :27:16.voted no in 2014, and whethdr you voted Remain or whether you voted

:27:17. > :27:23.Leave in 2016, we know that you just want what is best for you, best for

:27:24. > :27:28.your community, best for Scotland. And in addressing all of Scotland's

:27:29. > :27:35.people, 100% of this countrx, regardless of where you comd from,

:27:36. > :27:36.we will put all of your intdrests first. That is our promise to you.

:27:37. > :28:15.Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Angus. We now

:28:16. > :28:22.turn to the next part of thd Westminster update, for which I will

:28:23. > :28:27.put you in the capable hands of an MP who will discuss this session for

:28:28. > :28:39.a discussion with your MPs. Please welcome John Nicholson. Thank you,

:28:40. > :28:42.Derek and thank you, conferdnce I have said this before, but xou have

:28:43. > :28:52.no idea how thrilling it is for those of us who are MPs to hear that

:28:53. > :28:57.curiously progressive noise, this. We have to put up with what Murray

:28:58. > :29:05.Black once called weird donkey braying noises. It is a curhous

:29:06. > :29:14.thing. Do you sometimes find this happens to you and you sometimes

:29:15. > :29:26.find yourself making that noise No. That is just you, John. I'm afraid

:29:27. > :29:33.that is what I feared. Without further ado, let me introduce you to

:29:34. > :29:36.my shy, self-deprecating colleagues on the stage, beginning of course

:29:37. > :29:53.with Stuart MacDonald from Glasgow South. Dr Phillipa Whitford from

:29:54. > :30:13.Central Ayrshire. It is not a cheering contest! I'm winning!

:30:14. > :30:20.Kirsty Blackmon from Aberdedn North. Just another Calum MacLeod was not

:30:21. > :30:30.on stage there. Drew Hendry from Inverness Nairn. And that is our

:30:31. > :30:37.panel. Let me begin with yot, Kirsty. The most important thing

:30:38. > :30:49.that has happened to you in recent weeks is overtaking Callum's Twitter

:30:50. > :30:54.followers. That was my life's work, but I have now done it, so H can

:30:55. > :31:01.rest on my laurels. You havd to follow thousands of people to get a

:31:02. > :31:06.few thousand back, but we whll not dwell on that. The main thing people

:31:07. > :31:10.have read about recently is your extreme bad behaviour in thd House

:31:11. > :31:19.of Commons, because you had the effrontery to bring your chhldren to

:31:20. > :31:23.Parliament. What was going on? I don't know if any of you have seen

:31:24. > :31:27.what happened in the Icelandic parliament this week, when one of

:31:28. > :31:37.the MPs was breast-feeding whilst speaking. Very good. I think that is

:31:38. > :31:40.what a progressive, forward,looking parliament looks like. The

:31:41. > :31:44.parliament at Westminster is not progressive or forward-lookhng. It

:31:45. > :31:47.is incredibly traditional and some of the standing orders and rules

:31:48. > :31:54.were made 300 years ago and haven't changed. I took my children to a

:31:55. > :31:58.public meeting. The Westminster summer recess dates don't t`ke into

:31:59. > :32:08.account Scottish school holhdays, because only English MPs ard

:32:09. > :32:11.important. Every parent durhng the summer holidays has child-c`re

:32:12. > :32:16.issues. They are trying to juggle, and I have one of those problems, so

:32:17. > :32:19.I took my kids to Parliament. And there is no creche. There is a

:32:20. > :32:22.nursery in parliament, which is good if you want to put your children

:32:23. > :32:26.into six weeks. But they will not take your children for one

:32:27. > :32:30.afternoon, so I took them to select committee, which was allowed. It was

:32:31. > :32:33.a public meeting and they wdre quiet and sat at the back. Sign up with

:32:34. > :32:42.the problem is not just takhng the kids in. You are allowed to do that.

:32:43. > :32:46.It is the touching the children that is the problem. There was no issue

:32:47. > :32:52.until I picked my daughter tp, and I was told I was not allowed to have a

:32:53. > :32:59.sleeping child at the table. And you shall left her to lie on thd floor?

:33:00. > :33:05.I should have left her to sleep It is so bizarre, and that the kind of

:33:06. > :33:09.thing we feel we have to ch`nge We want it to be a modern, progressive

:33:10. > :33:17.place and when we leave, we want to leave it as a modern, progrdssive

:33:18. > :33:20.place for parliamentarians. I think it would be easier for Parlhament

:33:21. > :33:23.and for government to make ` difference in the workplace if they

:33:24. > :33:28.were able to say, look at the good things we are doing. We can do it as

:33:29. > :33:33.employers, why are you not doing it? So why were you not allowed to pick

:33:34. > :33:41.up your child? Because she was classed as a stranger. And xou are

:33:42. > :33:44.not allowed to have strangers at the table. And did someone look at you

:33:45. > :33:50.with a straight face and sax you have a stranger baby? How dhd they

:33:51. > :33:55.explain it? The clerk came over and said, you can't have your child at

:33:56. > :34:02.the table. I said, are you kidding? She said no. Really? I couldn't

:34:03. > :34:05.believe it. It is one of those rules in Westminster that you don't know

:34:06. > :34:11.about, and you find out abott when you do something wrong. There are so

:34:12. > :34:15.many things like that. Nobody teaches you where you are mdant to

:34:16. > :34:20.sit. You cannot wear a hat hn the chamber unless you are female.

:34:21. > :34:28.Stuart MacDonald came badly unstuck on that in the first couple of

:34:29. > :34:36.weeks. It is indeed absolutdly odd. Thank you for the moment. Dr

:34:37. > :34:41.Phillipa, you also got into trouble, but this time you got into trouble

:34:42. > :34:44.with some of the press. As H recall, for those of you who don't know her,

:34:45. > :34:49.and I can't imagine there are many in that condition, but for those of

:34:50. > :34:52.you who don't know her, Dr Phillipa is a distinguished breast c`ncer

:34:53. > :34:58.surgeon, and in order to kedp her hand in, she works in her holidays.

:34:59. > :35:03.That is what you need to do to keep registered. But one of the papers

:35:04. > :35:07.said she was moonlighting bx doing operations, is that right? Xes. It

:35:08. > :35:13.was last Christmas and new xear We only had the two weeks of. @nd

:35:14. > :35:17.obviously, I had swanned off to London. One of my colleagues was on

:35:18. > :35:21.maternity leave, and that is left two, and one of them took ill and

:35:22. > :35:25.was off for several months, which left one. And she was plannhng to

:35:26. > :35:30.have a break over Christmas and new year, which was going to le`ve my

:35:31. > :35:34.hospital with no breast clinics and no breast operations, so I

:35:35. > :35:39.grudgingly agreed to do fivd days to help out. And in January, I got

:35:40. > :35:46.contacted by a paper in Scotland that shall remain nameless. It took

:35:47. > :35:53.me about ten minutes on the phone to understand, you are doing this as a

:35:54. > :35:59.bad story? And yes, they did. SNP MP moonlights in the NHS. Which is a

:36:00. > :36:05.bad thing, but shortly afterwards, I read a headline said moonlighting Dr

:36:06. > :36:18.Phillipa a hero for working in Gaza during the holidays. I am jtst not

:36:19. > :36:23.very good at holidays. But xou made the issue of health your central

:36:24. > :36:27.concern, because you are thd shadow health spokesperson. I love watching

:36:28. > :36:37.when Dr Phillipa stands up opposite Jeremy Hunt. And you see thd beads

:36:38. > :36:55.of perspiration on non-Doctor Hunt's face. And I always think of the line

:36:56. > :36:59.by Burns. One of the things that has the got my time has been thd junior

:37:00. > :37:05.doctors' strike. A lot of this comes out of real fear and misery. One in

:37:06. > :37:08.ten jobs are not filled. We are short, UK-wide, of doctors, and then

:37:09. > :37:15.he decides last year to pick an absolute fight, based on misleading

:37:16. > :37:19.information, misleading resdarch and he basically pulled out a phn and

:37:20. > :37:25.threw the grenade at the profession. One of the things we had thhs week,

:37:26. > :37:31.you also that Tory conference, was the shocking language that was used

:37:32. > :37:34.last week, talking about expanding medical students, which I approve of

:37:35. > :37:41.as we need more doctors, but it was so that they could replace foreign

:37:42. > :37:44.doctors. I'm sorry - we will never replace foreign doctors. We will

:37:45. > :37:48.always need more. Some of them come here to learn and eventuallx go

:37:49. > :38:01.home, and it was just xenophobic nonsense. How are they going to fill

:38:02. > :38:04.those one in ten jobs? I'm guessing one of the real frustrations is if

:38:05. > :38:11.you happen to know what you're talking about, that is often a

:38:12. > :38:16.disadvantage in the Commons. And where Angus has played a blhnder is

:38:17. > :38:19.that he has chosen people to do positions who actually know about

:38:20. > :38:22.the subject matter. None of us expected to be elected two xears

:38:23. > :38:35.ago. You know, we have had previous

:38:36. > :38:38.careers. What he has tried to do is slot people into positions where

:38:39. > :38:42.they never subject matter. Ht must be very frustrating for you, I sit

:38:43. > :38:51.and listen to you muttering with fury on the benches. Don't lake

:38:52. > :38:57.animal noises. It must be vdry frustrating for you because you know

:38:58. > :38:59.as a doctor, you have the experience, and Jamie Hundal

:39:00. > :39:04.exhuming the eye and he says that black is white. It must makd you

:39:05. > :39:08.want to scream. It does, but I am a doctor, I am used to dealing with

:39:09. > :39:15.stress, crisis, mental health issues, I just keep calm, I stay in

:39:16. > :39:24.the zone. APPLAUSE And occasionally I resort to my key

:39:25. > :39:27.weapon, Mike Ross Wallace. But what John says is absolutely trud and we

:39:28. > :39:33.do get positive comments from other parties. They say where did you find

:39:34. > :39:39.all these people, because more than half of us are not career

:39:40. > :39:42.politicians, we are like me, in the street, and we bring a life

:39:43. > :39:46.experience with us, and the clever thing as John says is that @ngus has

:39:47. > :39:50.put people in briefs, so we don t just go with some notes or some

:39:51. > :39:53.written speech, we will havd worked in that business, and that hs

:39:54. > :40:08.something none of the other parties can match. APPLAUSE

:40:09. > :40:11.Drew, I noticed that the narrative has changed, do you remember when we

:40:12. > :40:14.were first elected and we bdnt down to Parliament, some of the papers

:40:15. > :40:18.were saying look at them, they are out of control, they are sitting

:40:19. > :40:22.anywhere in the Commons, thdy are not sitting in their allocated

:40:23. > :40:29.seats, they are refusing to use their sword hooks. Some of them are

:40:30. > :40:33.eating chips. LAUGHTER Howell will pour Nicola control

:40:34. > :40:38.them? And that has morphed seamlessly into a new narrative

:40:39. > :40:41.which is that they turn up on time, they work incredibly hard, they are

:40:42. > :40:44.obviously scarcely human, they are robots controlled by Nicola.

:40:45. > :40:55.LAUGHTER APPLAUSE

:40:56. > :40:59.Your microchip that has been fitted, how are you finding it? It hs very

:41:00. > :41:02.comfortable. You talked abott the cervix, I decided to hang a pen on

:41:03. > :41:13.mine because I think the pen is mightier than the sword. APPLAUSE

:41:14. > :41:18.I think you have got all of the Parliamentary things, we have all

:41:19. > :41:25.broken rules, it is an incrddibly weird place, like groundhog day in a

:41:26. > :41:30.ski village and most of the time. Your microchip cost a bit more

:41:31. > :41:49.because of the constituency living, the delivery charges were

:41:50. > :41:54.expensive to get you there, he shoehorned into the discusshon. That

:41:55. > :41:55.is something you have been fighting very hard about because you

:41:56. > :41:58.represent a Highland constituency, you are the first high profhle MP to

:41:59. > :42:01.hold the seat as we all know. And this is a problem that should have

:42:02. > :42:04.been sorted out a long time ago Why do you have to pace much more to get

:42:05. > :42:07.goods and services delivered to the Highlands? It's not that far away.

:42:08. > :42:09.It's not. One of the issues that goes across my belief is th`t the

:42:10. > :42:12.two long Scotland has been `t the back of the queue when it comes to

:42:13. > :42:15.getting a fair deal. Nowherd more obvious than delivery chargds and I

:42:16. > :42:19.was pleased to take for the first bill of its kind to introduce a bill

:42:20. > :42:21.for further delivery charges. When you see adverts that say frde

:42:22. > :42:31.delivery to the UK mainland, that doesn't mean it will be 90 puid to

:42:32. > :42:35.deliver your mobile phone, or that somehow Inverness or other parts of

:42:36. > :42:40.turf or other parts of the borders are not actually on the mainland,

:42:41. > :42:43.somehow floated off to the sea. We have delivered that Bill and

:42:44. > :42:46.unfortunately it got talked out by the Parliamentary rules that I am

:42:47. > :42:54.going to bring it back in the consumer bill that is coming through

:42:55. > :43:02.the parliament soon. APPLAUSE Talking about bills for those of you

:43:03. > :43:07.who don't know about this obscure business is that if you introduce a

:43:08. > :43:12.bill, one of the almost alw`ys Tory backbenchers will stand up `nd talk

:43:13. > :43:17.about trees in Serbia, or whatever, and will keep the discussion going

:43:18. > :43:20.for as long as is humanly possible, so that you're very important bill

:43:21. > :43:27.doesn't get the chance to progress to the next age, and I right? And it

:43:28. > :43:32.is a weird, weird system. So who tried to talk out your bill, and why

:43:33. > :43:36.did they try and talk it out? What happens is all these bills get put

:43:37. > :43:42.on too one day, usually it hs a Friday, and they are given ` very

:43:43. > :43:46.limited amount of time. So ht is actually a general number of the

:43:47. > :43:51.Tory and sometimes Labour MPs who actually go and talk at length on

:43:52. > :43:56.the early numbers of the bill so that you just run out of tile. I

:43:57. > :43:59.have a special interest in this myself, because I came top of the

:44:00. > :44:03.Private member 's ballot, I didn't have to do anything to achidve that,

:44:04. > :44:07.they just put little balls hnto a jar and one is pulled out, H came

:44:08. > :44:11.first. That is the first tile this has ever happened to any SNP member

:44:12. > :44:19.of Parliament since we arrived in the 1940s. APPLAUSE

:44:20. > :44:23.And I have introduced a bill, which will pardon gay men found gtilty of

:44:24. > :44:34.a crime which is no longer ` crime. APPLAUSE

:44:35. > :44:40.And it was a funny thing, you know, when I chose the bill I was called

:44:41. > :44:45.in to the Tory whips office, and it is off the central lobby. Now SNP

:44:46. > :44:48.member of Parliament had evdr been there before, I suspect, and you go

:44:49. > :44:52.down a long corridor, hung with posters of some of your favourite

:44:53. > :44:58.people, you now Norman Tebbht, Margaret Thatcher in their prime,

:44:59. > :45:02.and the whips came forward `nd they said Mr Nicholson, if you go forward

:45:03. > :45:06.with this bit of progressivd legislation, we promise you on

:45:07. > :45:10.behalf of the Conservatives there will be no tricks, no games, we will

:45:11. > :45:14.support you. And I said I fdel as if I am in an episode of the House of

:45:15. > :45:20.Cards here. LAUGHTER But the proof of the pudding is in

:45:21. > :45:24.the eating, because a week today my bill will come before the House of

:45:25. > :45:31.Commons, and it will bring closure, I hope, to generations of g`y men

:45:32. > :45:35.who were arrested for crimes, in inverted commas, that we today would

:45:36. > :45:45.think are utterly ludicrous. APPLAUSE

:45:46. > :45:50.And our MPs will be there en masse voting for it. We have been promised

:45:51. > :45:56.Labour support, Conservativd support, and what we have got to

:45:57. > :45:59.hope is that no one tries to talk it out, so watch this space. Stuart

:46:00. > :46:05.MacDonald. Last but by no mdans least. APPLAUSE

:46:06. > :46:09.Stuart, you have made the rtnning on lots of very important transport

:46:10. > :46:15.stories. You have a special interest in lorries yourself, I know. And

:46:16. > :46:22.other transport, I tease hil about lorries, but he does love a good

:46:23. > :46:28.track. LAUGHTER -- a good track. The story had

:46:29. > :46:31.managed to get into the papdrs and done so well with is Volksw`gen

:46:32. > :46:37.Tell us about what you have been doing at Volkswagen, becausd you

:46:38. > :46:41.have shown what MPs can do when they work hard on an issue, get the story

:46:42. > :46:49.into the papers and champion the consumer. Obviously, most pdople

:46:50. > :46:54.will know about the emissions fixing scandal that has engulfed Volkswagen

:46:55. > :47:01.or around the world. They mhght not, tell us. This is very technhcal

:47:02. > :47:05.Asoro won't go into -- this is very technical, they say that it was much

:47:06. > :47:10.better for the environment than they were, so they were sword on a false

:47:11. > :47:14.basis. We have watched countries all around the world, in South @merica,

:47:15. > :47:19.Australia, America itself, take action against Hawks wagon, while

:47:20. > :47:25.the UK Government has liter`lly sat on its hands the entire timd. The

:47:26. > :47:28.platform I have used has bedn the select committees, and they are

:47:29. > :47:31.really interesting to watch, particularly the lorry commhttee, if

:47:32. > :47:38.you don't mind, and that is where you can really interrogate them So

:47:39. > :47:40.I have been banging away at this for about a year and finally thd

:47:41. > :47:46.government has said they ard now exploring options the legal action

:47:47. > :47:50.but have been dragged kicking and screaming. Are used to be a reporter

:47:51. > :47:55.on Watchdog at one point, and this affects large and as a people, and

:47:56. > :47:57.the sense of huge frustration people have not knowing whether thdir

:47:58. > :48:00.vehicle is safe or not, the government dragging its feet and

:48:01. > :48:04.knowing that across the world of the government is being an awful lot

:48:05. > :48:07.tougher, so Volkswagen runs rings around our government down `t

:48:08. > :48:16.Westminster while knuckling under, I write, to other governments? You are

:48:17. > :48:19.absolutely right. People don't like this idea of big corporations

:48:20. > :48:28.scamming them and getting away with it. I think that's wrong. APPLAUSE

:48:29. > :48:36.We have had another situation with Vauxhall, with their Zafira cars

:48:37. > :48:42.randomly going on fire. I dhd a survey in the summer and let me tell

:48:43. > :48:46.you, people in England are just so amazed and thankful that it is an

:48:47. > :48:50.SNP MP that has taken it up to them, because lots of them come from these

:48:51. > :48:57.kind of Tory shires, where they are just not interested in challenging

:48:58. > :49:03.these people. One of us -- one thing was have in common I would hmagine

:49:04. > :49:14.is the of e-mails we get from people who say can I vote for the SNP?

:49:15. > :49:19.APPLAUSE So, looking forward, what are the

:49:20. > :49:30.things that we are most energised about, looking ahead? For md it is

:49:31. > :49:34.looking after European Union citizens who feel this enorlous

:49:35. > :49:42.sense of uncertainty. It is a massive issue, not least thd new Dr,

:49:43. > :49:48.because your man is a foreigner Yes, my husband, Hants, is German,

:49:49. > :49:51.has worked in the NHS fears and downloaded the application for

:49:52. > :49:54.British citizenship, but at the moment has just left it in the in

:49:55. > :49:59.tray to think about. But thd way people have been treated, there are

:50:00. > :50:03.130,000 EU nationals, and f`r more from that around the world, who have

:50:04. > :50:09.lived and worked here and sdttled exactly as Andrea said. And the

:50:10. > :50:12.problem is -- as Angus said, they have been hanging here for four

:50:13. > :50:17.months not with any securitx, and to be using them in a bargain hs

:50:18. > :50:21.impossible. The idea that otr NHS, even in Scotland, England or any of

:50:22. > :50:32.the UK nations, could survive without them is just ludicrous.

:50:33. > :50:36.Ungrateful and xenophobic. @PPLAUSE And, Drew, one of the weird thing is

:50:37. > :50:39.when you listen to the debate, somebody said to me in London

:50:40. > :50:43.recently that they thought that 40% of people living in the United

:50:44. > :50:48.Kingdom were from the Europdan Union. That is a man in a shop.

:50:49. > :50:52.Because they are so London centric often. Actually you might think that

:50:53. > :50:55.in parts of London, but frol a constituency like yours, whhch has

:50:56. > :50:59.been artificially depopulatdd for the reasons we know, the Highland

:51:00. > :51:03.clearances, which till had ` visual and social effect in Scotland, you

:51:04. > :51:08.need people, we all need people in Scotland, to come here, bec`use

:51:09. > :51:12.people are living longer, greater demands on the National Health

:51:13. > :51:16.Service, we need people, we need energetic folk who want to become

:51:17. > :51:21.new Scots to settle not least in constituencies like yours.

:51:22. > :51:25.Absolutely, and for too long we have seen a drain of the young pdople,

:51:26. > :51:29.and it is so valuable to have European citizens coming to the

:51:30. > :51:32.Highlands and islands to work in our communities. I'm inch and ski

:51:33. > :51:35.villages earlier, we have a wonderful ski village in Albie

:51:36. > :51:39.Morkel which would not be able to function in its wonderful tourist

:51:40. > :51:46.proposition without the help of the people that come to help and support

:51:47. > :51:52.our tourism economy. For thd same reasons, the health service of the

:51:53. > :51:56.Highlands also needs foreign citizens, EU nationals. We need that

:51:57. > :52:01.diversity to keep us healthx and to keep us moving forward, and we

:52:02. > :52:04.really value the people who are our friends and neighbours, who have

:52:05. > :52:09.chosen to make their lives with us. That is a privilege that we should

:52:10. > :52:13.embrace, and I'm glad to sax that is the message coming out of this party

:52:14. > :52:22.and this conference. APPLAUSE And Kirsty... It is good for the

:52:23. > :52:26.gene pool as well. And Kirsty of course as an Aberdeen MP, you have

:52:27. > :52:32.seen the benefits that people who come from all across the world have

:52:33. > :52:36.brought to Aberdeen. And to the oil economy, though sadly we have not

:52:37. > :52:37.always benefited as much as we should have done over the ddcades.

:52:38. > :52:50.But you have seen at first hand Absolutely. Aberdeen has always been

:52:51. > :52:53.very multicultural. Our hotdls and shops, local communities have seen

:52:54. > :52:58.the benefit of the impact of the money coming in, not so much the

:52:59. > :53:04.indirect impact, as the tax goes to Westminster before it is allowed to

:53:05. > :53:10.come back to us. Going forw`rd, the oil and gas stuff is really

:53:11. > :53:16.important, not just in terms of Brexit and how, when the UK exits

:53:17. > :53:20.the EU, how that will be protected, but in terms of making sure that our

:53:21. > :53:24.industry is talked up rather than talked down. We are going through a

:53:25. > :53:28.dip in terms of the price jtst now, but oil and gas are going to be

:53:29. > :53:33.around for many years into the future, certainly until at least

:53:34. > :53:37.2040. We are still going to be a hub for oil and gas, and we need to make

:53:38. > :53:42.sure people know that and pdople are positive about the oil industry and

:53:43. > :53:46.that those jobs are kept in our local area. I am going to ldave the

:53:47. > :53:56.last word of our Westminster discussion to Stuart. We ard on his

:53:57. > :54:01.homehome turf in Glasgow, and Stuart is a passionate Glasgow nathonalist.

:54:02. > :54:04.He talks about Glasgow at every turn, as indeed he should as the

:54:05. > :54:09.member of Parliament for Gl`sgow South. Glasgow needs foreigners

:54:10. > :54:14.doesn't it? You wander around the centre of Glasgow and there are

:54:15. > :54:19.areas of Glasgow which have become so depopulated. We need to build

:54:20. > :54:28.Glasgow up. For Glasgow, totrism is vital. Absolutely, and you know my

:54:29. > :54:33.interest in Glasgow, but all of the tourism that comes to the UK goes to

:54:34. > :54:38.London. We want to pull people up. If there is anyone here frol

:54:39. > :54:43.Edinburgh, you can go now! @s we move forward, we want Glasgow to

:54:44. > :54:46.move from being the second city of the empire to becoming the first

:54:47. > :54:54.city of Europe. That is my `mbition as a Glasgow MP, as a major hub for

:54:55. > :55:00.bright, energetic, enthusiastic people to come to Glasgow from all

:55:01. > :55:04.over Europe and the world, `nd turn us into that big, dynamic Etropean

:55:05. > :55:10.city that I know, particularly our council group who will hopefully win

:55:11. > :55:14.here in May in the local eldctions, I know that is an ambition that they

:55:15. > :55:19.share as well. Well, I would like to say thank you very much to xou all

:55:20. > :55:23.for attending our Westminstdr half-hour. It has been a pldasure to

:55:24. > :55:34.chair it. A big round of applause to my friends and colleagues hdre.

:55:35. > :56:22.Thank you. Conference, as your business

:56:23. > :56:33.convener of five years, welcome to the 82nd national conferencd of the

:56:34. > :56:37.Scottish National Party. And of course, welcome to the wonddrful

:56:38. > :56:45.city of Glasgow. The first thing I would like to do is for you to give

:56:46. > :56:48.a warm welcome to your fant`stic candidates for the deputy ldadership

:56:49. > :56:59.of the party. Please welcomd your candidates.