And just like we promised, Zika and Yaetok joins us this morning on Off the Press. Zika, it's good to have you join us. That's a title, if you don't already know. It's always a privilege and a pleasure. Thanks so much for having me. Thank you so much for joining us. Let's run through the pages now. We have the leadership. The punch is also there. Hopefully you'll look at the Guardian amongst others. But I'd like to start off with the leadership newspaper. The banner caption talks about post-election crisis. Conflicting a door, that's a door state. The FCT court orders unsettled local party. That's both captioned that you find. Fate of national chairman Abruh hangs in the balance and caught in junctions, cripples, party activities. Abruh, a local party governorship candidate, accuses Abruh of forgery. That's underneath the rider now. Have Messi on a court of Madhu, wife. That's what the former president of Lushigun Obasanjo begs the United Kingdom courts. Now, I remember having a conversation with someone. I think it was just yesterday and I think that my name was common. Because every other time you hear Messi, you know, what is that? Then she reminded me that Messi is, you know, just what everybody says every other time. Okay. Just before we move away, federal government secures $800 million while banking funding for palliatives. That's subsidy removal. So we have gone to cushion the effect of subsidy removal. That's very interesting. I'm going United Kingdom envoy. I love Nigerian food. Dan, I'll be back. Okay, that's okay. I can agree with that. 775 killed, 1,321 injured by IEDS in the North East. That's according to the UN's report, Easter. Federal government declares Friday and Monday a public holiday. Tomorrow is a Friday. That's what it means. That's a public holiday. And Monday is also a public holiday. Happy holidaying already. Then we move our attention to the punch. New house leadership, opposition reps elect. Opposition reps elect, plot to upstage APC. Opposition reps elect. Plots to upstage APC. And so the politics and politicking continues. Opposition reps elect meets from greater majority bloc to tackle the APC. And group once members gains APC in filtration, targets key house position. Be warned, 2015s are key dagore action won't be allowed. APC tells reps elect. These are some of the riders you have underneath the caption on the punch newspaper. The federal government bores $800 million for mass transit and cash transfer. That's the reports that you have also. I think that this headline might just be dominating all of the front pages of the national dailies. Fresh promissory notes, increasing national debt. That's according to the debt management, you know, office, the demo. Ecuador Madu, Obasan Joe Bex, United Kingdom for linearcy. We talked about that in our top trending. And just before we move away, a rider on the one page, K.O. Colt in your DPO. That has also happened in Lagos. Very unfortunate in the cost because if you live in Lagos, I'm sure you are very conversant with the ban on Ocala. Now I can tell you for sure that, you know, these guys are back. So it was just like, hey, we took a breather and then we're back then. Okay. Lagos is about on express. You find ready April 30th and drainage delay or your or your section. That's what the federal government is saying. I would just leave it at that. So we move on to the Guardian then and then we look at the nation. The Guardian says neighbors feed fat on Nigerian, poorly funded, inefficient seaports. What neighbors? Local ports get to billionaire budgetary allocation eight years and ports recovering with current reforms. NPA boss is saying. I think it's something we need to look into. Affinity for leaders tackle lie Mohammed over treason and polls claim these conversation would continue. Ionic and imperative of financial accountability. Opposition parties plot to produce reps speaker. Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt's slowing regional growth says the World Bank. Oh no. That's not fantastic. Then we just move away from the nation newspaper. It's like saying you're in the seat. You're in a ship and then the ship is about to sink and then the founder that you are the reason for the ship sinking. So we're moving away from the Guardian to look at the nation newspaper. Quickly. The nation says showing card to turn it will make part devolution a priority. Make part devolution a priority. I want Peter to be that his supporters would make him lose the election. And I saw the thought from a president. Rights United Kingdom caught over a quarter. Madhu and his wife asking that justice should be tampered with a bit of messy. APC moves to reconcile Adam. Omishore with look man. Six died. 27 million recovered from accident scene in Oshun and Trump denounces felony charges against him. These are some of the headline. It's interesting that he's also a front runner for the 2024 elections. A court suspends Labour Party National Chairman Secretary orders. Then you continue post election issues. I'm sad to leave Nigeria says British High Commissioner. Well, it's okay. You can always visit. That's the site of it this morning on the pages that we've been able to look at. Then we have a Zika on the item. Thank you so much for making our time to be with us this morning on off the press. We really appreciate your time. Thank you. As always. Okay. So quickly, the headlines are quite interesting, but I think we start off with the letter that was written by former president. Oh, Lucia, going to passenger or to the United Kingdom court pleading for messy on behalf of a quarter. Madhu and his wife. What are your thoughts really? You know, the very first thing is that you need to take the issues in context. Number one is that a crime is a crime. You do the crime. You do the time. That's number one. And that letter addresses that very well. Number two is that there's always what you call prerogative of mercy. And under 16 circumstances, if you take time to read that letter, you will have nothing short of the highest level of respect for president, former president of passenger. That man comes time and time again to show himself as a nationalist. Why do I say this? In a country where you have a man like that, there are several international dimensions. And a passenger has come into play a role that in my opinion should have been played by the federal government. If they had what I call emotional intelligence, what a way for the North, let me just put it that, to tell the South is no, we're not against you. By doing what? By saying this, just take it on a national platform. This man has been in the Senate in my whatever serves me right for about three terms. Okay. And is a current serving senator and was once the number two man in the Senate. And you said, look, Nigeria is not like this. Yes, he might have been occasioned by, you know, a setting, you know, situation, family situation he found himself in. But you see, he didn't do it clandestinely. He actually went to the embassy, he got a visa, he boarded the flight, he came with it. But what he did was wrong under the current law. So please tamper justice with mercy. That's what he said. Now, imagine if this came from the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.  Imagine how you would have told the Easterners that look, my goodness, this man is not a house man, he's an Igbo man and look at what the federal government has done. Is there an antecedence to this? Yes, there is. There was a young lady, I think Zainab or something like that, that was caught in Saudi Arabia with cocaine. I think it was hard drug, can't remember exactly what. And the penalty for that was death. The federal government, Mr. President mandated order instructed the attorney general of the federation to learn with the external affairs minister and then get to them and see how they can plead for that young lady. If they could plead for that young lady for leniency, they could on the double plead for the death of the president one time, serving senator and somebody who has contributed immensely to national progress over the years. They could have said this man did not, he could have done it, he had vested it and found a way of taking it to India, but he did it openly. He probably was ignorant, but whatever is what, he's broken the law, but he pleases have mercy on him. Now that shouldn't have come from Abbas and John. No, should have come from the president of the federal republic of Nigeria. And that again, like I said, is the aspect of emotional intelligence that would have led to national healing that would have gone beyond the man. And it's a good case because it's a father trying to save a dying child. You understand me, not a man who is trying to make money.  They had grounds to be able to make an emotional, a sentimental appeal. But they did not. And who stepped in again from a president of Abbas and John. So for me, he takes my salute this morning. I always feel very proud. That's why from time to time, I put up my picture with him and was like, why are you living this man? I said, no. Every time he does things that makes me proud, he's my father and I have a lot of respect for him. I do. Okay, but you know the case, the issue of leniency now and is left within the discretion of this country. It's a sovereign nation.  Unfortunately. But the best you can do is plead. That's all you can do. It's important for a lesser judgment not to say that it shouldn't be punished. But whatever it is that would be done should just not be as strong as it should have been based on character and what have you. Well, it can be very emotional if you want to think about it and go through it. But then would definitely follow up and see what happens. Just maybe the Nigerian government as well, like you have asked and said that it would have been possible to have the president make that letter or make that request. It would go a long way, you know, to heal the wounds of the people in Nigeria. But then again, we need to move away from that. There's also another interesting conversation on the front page and I'm sure that that's what a lot of Nigerians have been talking about since yesterday up until this moment is the fact that in the cost of trying to ensure that, hey, when subsidies removed in June and petrol probably might be selling at 700 or there about according to the marketers, the question. That's on the punch. It's also on the leadership newspaper dominating all of the papers this morning. It's that people would not have to suffer. There would just be palliative put out there to cushion the effect. Then again, we see on this paper that the government has gone ahead to borrow 800 million dollars from the World Bank to ensure that this also goes to some Nigerians to cushion the effect of it. Is it going to be as one who is very interested in government and governance and how the people fare? What do you make of this move by the government? You know, each time I see things like this, I feel very unhappy. Absolutely. I feel depressed. You know, I would say so because the level of insincerity in government using the name of the poor is infuriating. At the end of the day, there's a loan of about 800 million dollars. And you come to do an aggregate of the use to which these funds would be deployed. Number one, you say you are doing conditional cash transfer and I ask myself to who, at what exchange rate, what the level of transparency and accountability that we'll find in it. Will it be the same as the time when you are giving food to children in school who are at home?  Number two, you are getting it in the name of the poor. Number three, to what extent can we see how this will benefit the poor on the long run? So there are too many issues and I can tell the federal government what to do with such funds to really benefit the people in the rural areas. Can we deploy it to rural development? All this money I want to give first people money to eat, money to eat. Those things just don't make sense because at the end of the day, you create what you call a dependency syndrome. Look at all the money to eat on election day. They are finished. All that money is finished before the governors are even sworn in. The money is finished. There's a video I'm doing and like brothers, how far away is the money? It's finished and the governor has not even been sworn in yet. They never passed away in the person. That means the four years never even start. So the question is how are we thinking as government? When will we start to have people that have this heart, this level of sympathy for the poor?  I was called to be given a job by a governor.  Something too good to be true. And when the governor sent for me and I went to him and told him, I told him, can we have the four eyes meeting? Because there's some other people. And he said, okay, so we move to a private place. I asked him, sir, is this project for real or for empowerment? He asked why. I said, if it's for real, I'll be grateful to you for the rest of my life because it's going to check my life. It's when I need money. But if it is for empowerment, I don't want because it is a project that has also benefited the poor. And I will not see myself being part of the money that is meant for the poor, that is being deployed to the rich, just so that tomorrow that man has the highest level of respect for me. And he told me what was to be done. And I was very grateful and I was really empowered. It really helped me, but it was a project that directly benefited the poor. What am I saying? You can have your own fallout as it were, but make sure that when you call the name of the poor, that the money actually gets to the poor. Don't use the name of the poor to enrich yourself. That's what's really bothering me in this whole thing. And then end up giving him a loan that he will have to come and pay all his children when you have left office and you and your children, a lot of you, are safely out of the country. How many former this or that are here with us and their children? Oh, they take off because they've created an alternate environment for themselves while they were in office. I think that this is an urgent need for us to really do things that will benefit the poor. That's really where my problem is. So the problem is not about the fact that we're boring to execute this sort of plan. The problem is that you don't trust the entire process that these funds will get to the poor. You couldn't have captured it better, exactly what it is. But what's the rationale? I know this is going to be the crux of our conversation for the first topic when we proceed, but just a little more before we move away from that. Do you think that it's rational that we probably have to bore in the first instance? Absolutely. You're taking a loan to solve the problem. And when you juxtapose that with the cost of the subsidy removal for 2023, is it not as good as saying go ahead and continue paying subsidy? I'll tell you this. One of the things I wanted to do as a governor was to get 10 people from every village. And we have 2,226 villages in our tribe. Get 10 people from each village, youths. Train them for three months. Three months training, not just throw money at them like these people are doing. Train them. Part of the training is regularity.  You are there till one hour break. It brings out certain things, certain disciplines in you and then tell them about bookkeeping. Tell them three solid months at the end of that period give them between 500,000 and say a million to do certain things you have trained them to do. What you end up doing is create a new class of employers who are productive in nature. Now, even the tax you get from them, which they will very happily pay because they saw country that trained them and gave them the capacity, that tax over period can even be used to aggregate the repayment of the facility. So what am I saying? There's nothing wrong in borrowing. But let the borrowing not be what we're just going to consumption, what you just take care of yourself. Let's have a little more thinking process into what we do such that it is sustainable. It creates more employment. It creates more wealth and it is sustainable and not what creates a dependency syndrome. When you dash people money, you create a dependency syndrome because when that money is gone, they will come for the next one. So away from that, the leadership is another interesting headline that you find there. It talks about post-election crisis and then the fact that there's conflict in a door, the FCT court orders some settled labor party. What do you make of this? I mean, we think that after the election, there should be peace, especially when there was a peace accord. That's a lot of rhyme. Peace with the peace accord. Yeah, the peace accord was intra-party. But the one is inter-party. And you know, I was in Akwaiboma, I was a little bit involved in the labor party thing because I was head of projects and even the minister in housing under the Big Tent. Okay? There was a relationship between my party and labor party and the other parties under what they call the Big Tent. Now, before the National Consultative Front, where Professor Patu told me was the chairman, I was the head of projects. And at the time I was the chairman of the Big Party Major Committee, you know, the Mega Party Major Committee. So I was a very vital part of it. Now, one of the understandings is that at the end of the day, there's a working relationship between the different parties. I'm one of the very few Nigerians that was openly endorsed by the obedient movement that was not in labor party. Okay? In which case it was like, when the ghetto is adopted in Akwaiboma, you know, under the labor, the obedient movement, the Big Tent. And it was done on tape by no less a person than the chairman of that whole organization, Professor Patu told me. What am I trying to say? Even with that, there were still issues of people going behind and getting certain things and levels of compromises and this and that. So there was a lot of disquiet within the labor party. That is why you would have, you know, the candidate of a Boeing state saying that he was unceremoniously removed and that his signatures were forged. So there's a lot of botched up, you know, anger, emotion by some of the members of labor party that felt they were, you know, had done by the system. And as a result, a lot of things are coming up. Now what you have as of today is too caught, one in the FCT, one in the DOS state giving conflicting statements as to the leadership of the labor party as of today. My hope and prayer is that there will be some elders that will be able to come into it and kind of put the party together because the war is not over. If they are going to the tribunal, like they've gone already, they need the party. It is a party that will go to the tribunal so they need to put themselves, their house in order. And again, one might look at the possibility of there being a fifth columnist in this whole thing. Is there any way that APC or any other party is coming into labor to destabilize the system to make sure that they are not as organized in the way they want to pursue their case at the tribunal? It's a lot of things that the labor leaders, let's say the big tens Professor Patutomi and his group have a big job to step into labor party. Even the NLC also have a big job to come in to stabilize the system so that the revolution that the labor party kind of stands for with a man like Mr. Peter will be being the face of that movement is not truncated. So we must be careful to make sure that the baby is thrown away with the bath water. I think labor party leaders need to come on board now not just to watch and see because to an extent it will reach and become too messy and the answer might not come too easily. This is the time for them to come together and decide what to do. They look at the cases in question and if there is need to advise the chairman to step aside that even also look at the other side specify them and let them be peace in the labor party. Let's get to the economy of Nigeria and that's on the Guardian. It's very very important to look at this. It talks about the fact that the reports saying that the neighbors are feeding fat on Nigeria's polyfunded inefficient seaports. However they are very expensive in South Africa in the region West Africa but they are not properly funded by the government and that does not allow for efficiency at the end of the day especially when there can be as a means of revenue contribute to development. What do you make of it? You also have statistics to this effect that for the past eight years the allocation that has gotten to airports facilities about 1.7 billion this figure has been dismissed like a drop in the ocean. Do you agree with this expert and those who are saying that our seaports are underfunded? You see the the issue of the seaports is one that needs what we call a national discourse. That's all we're having? Yes, there's a lot of things that are not straightforward with our seaports the Nigerian port authority their operations their models operandi there are many things that are just not right then the system is managed by people that don't understand how business works when you say that government has no business in business the most stupid thing I've heard because government is the management of the resources of the generality of the people and what is business? Business is making good management of the resources to the larger interests of the shareholders so within this context we now look at chapter 2 section 14 subsection 2B of the condition that says that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government that is a matching order in business like I'm a private sector of business the matching order in business is that you've got to make profit as much profit as you can make the better for you and you can bend the law just don't break it you break the door you do the crime you do the time so what am I trying to say coming down here if we had people who think well in government they'll realize that the seaports are part of our highest revenue earning and generating system or setup in that context why is thinking shows you that if you have a cow that you milk from you have a choice either to keep draining the milk without feeding the cow and then I mean I'd like to end on this this is very important at a stage you discover that nothing is coming out but if you feed that cow well it will continue to give you more milk it's a business thinking argument if you apply that to the seaport because they generate funds for you so what do you do you make sure that you fund them well you make sure that you control them well you make sure you put systems and structures and processes well that means for transparency, accountability and happiness with the workers and what do you get in return higher returns and money and that takes somebody who thinks well but when you have people who say just bring the money just bring the money they will end up sucking that place dry not funding it and at the end of the day you don't get anything good out of it again well we have to let it go at this point in time but for me it's just I mean I continue to ask the question as to if government is really really in the business of should be in the business of managing business and they have any business in business because if you were the case government is managing your life but you can also if you look at those reports now the complaint here is that budgetary allocation to the seaports have not been anything to write them about for the past six people don't understand but then again is government then again is government is not you and I, it's the government that is making this government manages your life and mine and the most competent people should be putting there if not so you and I are then become the problem because we the elites should understand that government is the management of your life and my life and that I cannot take the risk of being where my life is managed by an incompetent person so I think we the elites need to step up to the game and make sure that whoever goes for any government office must be the brightest and the best if not so my life and your life is in trouble we have to let it go at this point I'm sure that we would have we should have a robust conversation around this issue in terms of seaports and the fact that usually the argument would be concessioning which is like a guise it feels like government is hiding under that guise to evade injection injecting funds into this sector it's like saying hey wherever your money is that's where your heart is and you know what you're coming from that area but then thank you so much for being part of the show this morning I always like to have you on the show thank you so much well that's the size of our conversation this morning on off the press we just take a breather when we return we'll dev to a first major conversation right here we'll have a guest who's a legal practitioner who joins us we need to understand what a treason is that's a very huge thing if you are declared an enemy of the states then you need to hide for your life stay with us we'll be right back after this time out


I remind members of the Covid-related measures that are in place and that face coverings should be worn when moving around the chamber and across the Holyrood campus. The final item of business is a member's business debate on motion 792, in the name of Stuart McMillan, on national eye health week 2021. The debate will be concluded without any questions being put, and, with those members who wish to speak in the debate, please press the request to speak buttons now. I call on Stuart McMillan to open the debate up to seven minutes, please, Mr McMillan. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I'm delighted to secure this important member's debate, and I want to thank the many MSPs across the chamber who have signed the motion. I also want to thank all those organisations who have provided briefings for the debate, RNNB Scotland, Sight Scotland, Optometry Scotland and the RPP group. As convener of the cross-party group on universal impairment, I every year try to highlight the importance of national eye health week, to raise awareness of the importance of looking after our eye health, but I don't just do it in one week a year. I do talk to constituents and do raise the issue throughout the year also. Since 2006, people in Scotland have been able to attend a free eye health check every two years, and it's vital that we all make use of that service, even if we think that our eyesight is fine. That's because eye examinations not only help to detect changes to the eyes before they affect vision, but they can pick up on other health conditions such as high blood pressure, raised cholesterol, diabetes and increased risk of stroke. Going for your free eye examination every two years isn't just important for your eye health, but it's also important for your overall health. Covid-19 has made us all pay more attention to our physical and mental health, but worryingly there were 4.3 million fewer eye appointments during the pandemic. That is very much understandable, but concerning at the same time. Covid-19 has also resulted in increased waiting times for appointments, with many postponed understandably once again due to the lockdown. The longer patients wait to receive treatment, the more serious their eye condition is likely to become, which can also result in further deterioration of vision. Vital eye care has, however, been available throughout the pandemic at emergency eye care treatment centres and through virtual appointments. Once restrictions were eased, optometrists offered routine eye health checks with measures in place to minimise the risk of spreading Covid-19. At present, there are around 178,000 people in Scotland with sight loss, including almost 3,000 people in my constituency. That national figure is expected to double over the next 20 years. The most common cause of sight loss is age-related macular degeneration, but people of all ages can experience sight loss and with the most common cause among working-age people being diabetic retinopathy. According to the RPP group in Scotland, glaucoma affects approximately 10 per cent of those over the age of 75, or around 47,000 Scots, and it only becomes more common and severe with increasing age. Glaucoma is also responsible for approximately 10 per cent of UK blindness registrations. Considering that 50 per cent of sight loss is avoidable, I cannot stress enough the importance of using the free eye examinations. I did this again this summer and the experience was excellent once again. My message to Scotland is very simple. Now that the restrictions have eased greatly and optometrists are open for business, please pay that visit. Another way we can reduce our chance of developing sight loss and improving our overall health too is to quit smoking. I have never smoked, but I know that people who have both successfully quit, as well as others who have struggled to quit. Research shows that smokers are twice as likely to become officially impaired compared to non-smokers. As a chemicals in the cigarettes can affect the lenses and blood vessels in the eyes. Wearing sunglasses is also important to protecting your vision. Although sometimes we may have a joke about the Scottish weather in the Scottish summer, it does not need to be scorching hot and sunny for ultraviolet light to harm your cornea retina in lenses. Eating a well-balanced diet is also important as a diet rich in vitamins can preserve your eye health for longer. National Eye Health Week is also about recognising the issues that are facing people who are already living with sight loss, and for them the last 18 months have been additionally challenging. Sight Scotland asks over 400 people for their views on how they were impacted by coronavirus restrictions. The main findings show that 70 per cent said that their sight loss had made lockdown an even harder experience, and 43 per cent said that they were still not confident about going back into society with social distancing requirements in place. How we emerge from the pandemic and what our recovery looks like has to be mindful of people living with sight loss. Additional outdoor seating and reconfiguration of public spaces and payments is of course welcome, but we have to consider how that affects visually impaired people. Those adaptations should seek to improve accessibility for everyone. They should not make navigating payments paths or parks more difficult for people who are visually impaired. That is an issue that has come up in the cross-party current visual impairment in the past, which Miles Briggs is very much aware of. It is also important that we improve support and services available to people living with sight loss, as the latest research carried out once again by Sight Scotland showed that 55 per cent of participants said that they had not enough information about where they could find support after their diagnosis, and 83 per cent said that it was important to provide more support for family members and carers. In addition to that, 58 per cent said that they had not been made aware of financial support available to them. Therefore, welcome at Sight Scotland's new national support line, launched today by the minister for visually impaired people to access advice and talk through concerns. That number is 0800 024 8973. The Sight Scotland support line is part of Sight Scotland's new family wellbeing service, which aims to reach everyone living with sight loss across Scotland. It is free and open nine in the morning to 5pm Monday to Friday, and a person can get in touch by telephone, email or by requesting a call back from an adviser. RNIB Scotland offers advice and support by phoning its help line on 030 123 99 99, and it can even ask a lexer to call its help line without needing to touch your phone. It also has various other services and resources to help to rebuild any lost confidence. I am sorry that I cannot attend the optometry Scotland webinar tomorrow, entitled Future of Community Eye Care in Scotland, as I will be attending a funeral of a former MSP Bruce McPhee. However, I encourage MSPs and their staff to log on and engage in that. I know that Optometry Scotland works very well with the Scottish Government and I encourage that engagement to continue. Sight is the sense that most people say they fear losing the most. Taking care of your vision is a key, and it is very much key to prevention. With that, I want to thank everyone once again for signing the motion, so we can have the debate and certainly look forward to other contributions from colleagues. I welcome the opportunity to speak in the national eye health week and congratulate my colleague Stuart McMillan on securing it. Eye sight is one of the most important senses. 80 per cent of what we perceive comes through our sense of sight. This week, the national eye health week has been established to communicate the importance of good eye health, and it rightly encourages people from every walk of life to take better care of their eyes and have regular sight tests. There are five key areas to protecting and promoting good eye health, and Stuart McMillan has covered in more detail than perhaps I will in my time, but it is worth reiterating that healthy diet is really important, because studies show that what we eat can affect our vision. Antioxidants can help to prevent retinal damage, and one antioxidant that is hugely beneficial is lutein. Exercise is important. Lack of exercise contributes significantly to several eye conditions, particularly among people aged over 60 and over. Reduced alcohol is an interesting one, because excessive alcohol consumption can lead to serious health conditions, which can have a detrimental effect on eye health. Stopping smoking after ageing is the biggest factor for developing macular degeneration. My younger sister, Buffy, is an ophthalmic nurse specialist. She specialises in glaucoma care, and she keeps me and her patients right with her expert knowledge. It will be interesting to hear from her later on what she thinks of the debate, because I know that she is watching tonight. Optometrists play a crucial role in our community. However, as with all health professions, they have been particularly hard-hit by the pandemic. Over the course of the pandemic, I engaged with Optometry Scotland under the negative impact that the pandemic has had on Optometry Scotland with eight months of no face-to-face appointments. Sight Scotland has carried out research where they spoke to people with visual impairment, and those close to them in Scotland since lockdown. I thank Sight Scotland for their briefing ahead of the debate. The report highlighted that 70 per cent of people said that their sight loss has made lockdown a worse experience. 50 per cent would not be confident about offering support to someone with visual impairment, and a large number of people were unable to attend their optometrists and therefore attended hospital instead. I recognise the impact that Covid has had on Optometry services and encourage the Scottish Government to ensure that they are supported in the upcoming budget. We have heard that, potentially, the optometrists are looking for a 3 per cent fee increase that has been required or requested by Optometry Scotland. In 2016-17 alone, community eye care in Scotland saved the NHS £71 million through carrying out £1.8 million primary care or primary eye examinations. Importantly, the community optometry services in 2016-17 stopped over 370,000 people from attending hospital for eye issues. In 2019, I went along to see for myself the very positive impact that community optometry can have when I visited Stranraer Speck Savers, where I met the chair of Optometry Scotland, Dave Quigley, prescribing optometrists Elaine Hawthorne and the communications officer, Ross Stevens. During the visit, I was able to hear directly about how, as well as identifying any specific issues with sight that an eye check, which is free in Scotland, can help to identify conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure arthritis and even signs of dementia. I was able to hear about the benefits of having a 3D eye scan done, which can allow the optometrists to have a greater picture of the eye and therefore be able to pick up any developing issues early, preventing late diagnosis and the need for secondary acute care. One interesting thing that was highlighted is that the optometrists are not recognised as allied health professionals, but they are saying that that would help them to be better at working in partnership with the national health service. One thing that I would ask the minister to consider is whether allied health professionals would be added to the list as optometry personnel would be part of that. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I realise the time is on. I want to again welcome the debate and thank Optometry Scotland for all that they do. I encourage everyone to regularly have their sight checked. I now call on Miles Briggs up to four minutes, please, Mr Briggs. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I thank Stuart McMillan for bringing forward this important debate this evening, but more importantly, for all the work that he does in this Parliament campaigning on eye health issues, it is really important that we recognise that as well. The national eye health week is an excellent opportunity to highlight the importance of good eye health. I also start by paying tribute to Sight Scotland and R&IB, as members already have, for their useful briefings ahead of this evening's debate. Both charities do exceptional work on supporting blind and partially sighted people across Scotland. In the Edinburgh event news today, I noted Edinburgh OAP Charlie Burns, who is 83, and his daughter Gail Burns praised Sight Scotland for their new national support line. Charlie is being diagnosed with macular degeneration at the most common cause of sight loss, but Gail got in touch with Sight Scotland to ask for what support would be available to both Charlie and herself and said that it has made a huge difference to have that support at an early stage after her dad's diagnosis. The experience of Charlie and Gail reinforces recent findings by Sight Scotland, where 83 per cent of participants said that it was important to provide more support to family members and carers, and 87 per cent said that support with the emotional impact of sight loss was so important. We are facing huge challenges in preventing sight loss across Scotland. There are currently 178,000 people in Scotland who have sight loss, with that number expected to double over the next 20 years. The pandemic has clearly had a negative impact on eye health, with fewer eye checks being carried out, but that is over the past year and a half. In my region, for example, in Edinburgh, low-diam patients are experiencing extremely long waits for ophthalmology services. All that combined presents a number of concerns that I hope that the debate can bring to ministers' attention. I also noticed ahead of the debate that there has been a significant call to ministers by the sector to look at a proper long-term funding settlement. Optometry Scotland had asked for a minimum budget increase of 3 per cent annually in real terms on fees and for the Scottish Government to also agree an annual process around reviewing and negotiating eye care examination fees. I hope that something that the minister can touch upon when she is closing the debate on how we can make sure that services recover post-pandemic and that as many people as possible are going to be able to access eye health services across Scotland. On a separate note, at the end of the last session, SNP ministers had announced that they were also withdrawing funding for a replacement Princess Alexandria at Hypervillian. Throughout the past year, I, along with other colleagues—I see Sarah Boyack in the chamber still as well—have campaigned to make sure that we did see a U-turn on that from ministers. It is also an important opportunity to highlight the need of Edinburgh and the Lothians for information to be brought forward on when we will see that long-term new hospital replacement brought forward. I also appreciate whether or not ministers could align a timetable and timescale for that replacement hospital and whether or not ministers have also looked at the need specifically for maintenance for the old eye pavilion here in the capital, which is no longer fit for purpose and which already is demonstrating significant challenges, including old lifts that are often out of use. To conclude, Deputy Presiding Officer, because I know that time is tight, can I put on my record, like others have already, a huge thank to opticians across Scotland and healthcare professionals who continue to provide eye health checks during the pandemic? Most importantly, can I fully support the call by Stuart McMillan, and up Tomasherys Scotland and RNIB Scotland to encourage people who have not had an examination over the last two years to now return to practices to get their eye health checked? I also want to start by congratulating Stuart McMillan for the work that he does and for securing this excellent debate tonight. For the praises rightly given to RNIB Scotland, Optometry Scotland, and I also want to thank Site Scotland for the fantastic work that it is doing across the country. I am keen to support eye health for my constituents in the Lothians, whether it is at the very local level, whether it is getting access to emergency services. Over the past year, as Miles Briggs has said, it has really been brought to the forefront by firstly the cancellation of the new eye pavilion, and then the very welcome U-turn of a commitment that we will get that eye pavilion. However, as Miles Briggs has said, it is five years off, even though there is a huge amount of work that has been done for it by the NHS Lothian. Stuart McMillan's motion rightly highlights how vital it is for people to book their eye check every two years. It is free, and I think that the impact that the pandemic has had has made many people not do that. It is understandable that people are nervous about going back to clinical settings. The briefing that we had from RNIB Scotland outlined just some of the fantastic steps clinicians are making so that it is a safe service, so that people do not need to be worried and that they can get their eyes checked. The work that is being done by optometrists, which was highlighted by Emma Harper and Miles Briggs, was very important during the pandemic, but crucially going forward. I also hope that the minister will say what response she is going to give to the request from Optometry Scotland for a fee increase this year, but also an agreement about fees being reviewed going forward so that they can plan ahead. As Miles Briggs has said, the announcement about the new eye pavilion in Edinburgh really lifted people's spirits. It was a welcomed U-turn. It took a lot of campaigning to get there. It came up at a lot of hustings before the election, but I think that the other thing that really struck me was the series of articles by the evening news in Edinburgh that told about people's real life experiences, how important all of our eye services are, whether it is at the community level, whether it is going to the eye pavilion, but also just the emergency experience that people had, where, literally, their eyes were saved in a matter of minutes and the access to that clinical expertise and the excellence. I know from personal experience that the very long-hours staff do, the 24-hour service, even through the pandemic, that has been absolutely fantastic and we need to thank those staff. Let's see that we get the rapid progress on the new eye hospital. As we have said, a lot of work has been done by NHS Lothian already on the project. A key thing is thinking about the community services that sit alongside that emergency treatment, not just getting your eye checked, but making sure that people follow up and making sure that any diagnosis is followed up. I really want to thank the awareness-raising work that has been done right across the NHS and third sector organisations to make sure that we see improved eye health outcomes for people across Scotland. I think that that is what this debate is all about. I also want to urge everyone to book an eye check-up and then book another one in two years' time. It is not a one-off and it is a free, accessible service and it is vital for everybody's health and wellbeing. I want to thank the Presiding Officer for our understanding that I will not be able to stay for the whole of this debate, but it is great to be here. I think that the energy and enthusiasm for everybody for that service is really important for us all to agree on tonight. I thank Stuart McMillan for tabling his motion on national health week. I have the pleasure of being a member of the cross-party group on visual impairment of which Stuart is the long-standing convener and I was pleased to see that it will continue to have a large active membership in this new parliamentary term after attending the AGM earlier this month. Presiding Officer, I want to take the opportunity of national eye health week to say thank you to all those who look after our eye health, to our optometrists, our opticians and everyone who helps us to take care of our vision. Key to that care are those eye health checks that are local optometry practice. Since Labour introduced free eye health checks in 2006, anyone in Scotland can book an eye check-up every two years at no expense and I would strongly encourage everyone to do so, because we can have an eye condition frankly without knowing it, conditions such as glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy affect the eyes before they affect the vision. Whilst the changes in those conditions initially cause aren't always noticeable, they can be picked up by an optometrist and eye health check. They can then be treated before the affect site slowing the progression of that condition. Eye checks can also be crucial in picking up conditions before they get worse. I want to very briefly share my own experience. I noticed what appeared to be a few floating objects in my eye in a little flash of light. I didn't think much of it, but I popped into my local spec savers, although of course other brands are available. I described my condition and asked for advice. I was seen straight away, I was diagnosed with a torn retina very quickly. I was referred to the hospital that day to see the on-call opnothologist and the next morning they carried out the laser treatment to repair that tear. Had I not had that prompt service, that tear could easily have become very quickly a detached retina and affected my vision permanently. As Stuart McMillan highlighted, as well as picking up conditions, eye checks can also detect general health conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. The ability to pick up on both eye and general conditions through those checks makes eye health checks one of the most vital forms of preventative medicine. Like all health services, optometry practices have had to adapt to the pandemic to create a Covid-secure environment and minimise the risk of transmission of infection. They have done so superbly and their constituents can be assured that it is safe to attend their local optometry practice. Despite that safe environment, it has been worrying to hear in the debate that there has been a significant reduction in the number of people choosing to attend eye health checks over the past 18 months. As a result, fewer eye conditions will have been picked up while still at the early stages, which means that more people will have been diagnosed with more advanced eye conditions. We need to keep high light on the importance of those routine eye health checks. If someone is diagnosed with a more advanced condition, it is vital that they do not face that diagnosis without support. Being diagnosed with an eye condition can leave people feeling shocked, saddened and scared about their future. They have worries about whether they will retain their employment and be able to pay the bills and continue to take part in the things that they love. That can be deeply overwhelming. However, it does not have to be like that. We know that, with proper support, people, even with the most complex eye conditions, can often continue to maintain financial stability in their jobs and be eligible for payments to cover the increased cost of living independently and continue to do the things that they love. A key group of people who provide support to help those who do that are eye clinic liaison officers. Based on eye clinics, they discuss the impact that eye conditions have on the patient's life with them, listen to any fears or worries that they have, answer questions that they may not have had at the time that they were given a diagnosis. They can also advise on services from rehabilitation to financial support and the benefits of registering as sight impaired or severely impaired. That support can be both emotional and practical, making it easier for people to get used to how they are going to live with sight loss. In this national health week, I want to thank all our ECLOs, our opnothologists, our optometrists who have continued to work through the pandemic to detect, treat and help people with eye condition. In fact, everyone of our health workers who have done so. I also want to thank all those charities and groups who support for people living with visual impairment from RNIB to sight Scotland for the extraordinary work that they do. They really have made a difference to so many people's lives. I now call on Maria Todd Minister to wind up the debate up to seven minutes. I have listened with great interest to the debate this evening. I want to add my thanks to Stuart McMillan for giving us this opportunity to mark national eye health week, and to discuss eye health and eye care services in Scotland. I would also like to thank Goss Grick, pettinger and optometrists who are doing well practice. I had the pleasure of visiting on Monday, and I visited sight Scotland this morning to help to launch their new national support line for visually impaired people and their families. It is a pleasure to hear my colleague Miles Briggs mention Charlie and his daughter Gail who I met this morning. Gail spoke so eloquently about the support that sight Scotland gave them when Charlie first developed visual impairment, and she talked about telephoning that helpline and it being like a warm blanket wrapped around her. Wonderful to hear such a glowing report of a service. I am sure that we can all agree that general ophthalmic services is one of the many NHS success stories in Scotland. I can assure members that remuneration for the service and the system for reviewing such remuneration is under active consideration, and I am absolutely confident that we will reach a mutually agreeable solution. The introduction in 2006 of three universal NHS funded eye examination sets Scotland apart from the rest of the UK. This Government is committed to maintaining this policy for the first time. Everyone in Scotland, regardless of their personal situation, had access to an eye examination free of charge. A regular eye examination in Scotland provides a full health check of a patient's eyes, as well as a normal sight test. As others have said, that helps to detect early signs of sight-threatening conditions, as well as other serious health conditions. Unlike the rest of the UK, patients in Scotland can also be seen by an optometrist for free as often as it is considered clinically necessary in between the regular eye examinations, and that supports the on-going care of patients, allowing referrals to the hospital eye service to be refined and for patients to be monitored. It also allows emergency eye problems to be seen in the community and treated or appropriately referred, as Colin Smyth outlined. Optometrists in Scotland are the first port of call for any eye problem, with the majority of GPs and other healthcare professionals signposting patients to their local optometrists. That has helped to reduce the burden on GPs and hospital services. Pre-Covid Scotland had nearly 50 per cent fewer new hospital eye service outpatient appointments than in England. That service is enhanced by the increasing number of optometrists who have undergone further training to become independent prescribers, and, thus, are able to issue NHS prescriptions for eye problems. Over 350 community optometrists are now fully trained independent prescribers, a quarter of the workforce in Scotland, and more than one third of all IP optometrists in the UK. I believe that we should continue to grow that number. Despite those successes, it is important that we do more to promote eye health and having a regular eye examination. The Scottish Government will continue to work with others to do that through a number of different ways. Firstly, we launched recently EyesScot, Eyes.Scot Scotland's new national website for information about eye health and eye care services. Eyes.Scot is the first website of its kind in the UK and supports public and professionals by providing easy access to information about how best to look after our eyes and vision. Secondly, we will ensure that national initiatives such as the right care, right place winter campaign continue to promote the importance of having a regular eye examination and contacting an optometrist as the first port of call for eye problems. Thirdly, we will work with the national Scottish eye care for everyone, the C group, to run targeted awareness raising campaigns among specific patient groups where take-up of eye examinations is lower, including those living in more disadvantaged communities. The Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring that Scotland's eye care services remains world-class. That is why we have set out ambitious but achievable plans in our NHS recovery plan and programme for government to manage more patients in the community and closer to their homes. I want to take the opportunity to briefly set out some of those in more detail. Firstly, from April 23, we will begin to roll out a national low vision service for visually impaired people, provided in the community by accredited community optometrists and dispensing opticians. That will standardise low vision services across Scotland, improving access and reducing waiting times, particularly in areas where the service is currently provided in hospitals. The physical and mental wellbeing of visually impaired people will be improved, helping to maintain their independence, reducing isolation and the need for other support services. Secondly, this year, we will pilot a new community glaucoma service when fully rolled out. Approximately 20,000 lower-risk glaucoma patients will be discharged from hospital and managed in the community by accredited IP community optometrists. Thirdly, from next summer, we will support IP optometrists to manage more anterior or front eye conditions in the community. That will help to reduce the burden on GPs and in hospitals. As well as those new services, the Scottish Government will continue to provide significant investment in new digital technologies such as teleophthalmology equipment and a once for Scotland electronic patient record to support two-way communication between community optometrists and hospital ophthalmologists. The EPR in particular is an absolute game changer that will ensure regional and national working across Scotland, ensuring that a patient's optical record is shared across the primary and secondary care interface. That will prevent duplication of effort to provide robust outcome data, ensure that ophthalmologists can provide meaningful feedback to optometrists and support more patients being managed in the community. On the eye pavilion, as was raised by Miles Briggs, construction is due to be complete in 2026. I want to finish by putting on record this Government's sincere thanks to our eye care professionals and third sector organisations. Your outstanding dedication, commitment and professionalism has ensured that patients have continued to be safely managed and supported right through the pandemic and will ensure that we continue to be able to deliver for the people in Scotland.


What's going on everyone? Sam here with Layton Sports Cards. We are doing a 2022 Leaf Autograph Football Jersey Edition 10 box case break number two random teams. Here's a look again at your random results. As always you can find these on the website under the results tab as well as the link in chat. Let's get going. Snoop, I don't know if you heard me. Just what's your first name last initial? We're just going to make a note on our sales sheet to change your address as well. I already sent the email but just in case it doesn't get done before. Just let me know when you get the chance. Give me one second here guys. This is not an easy one to do. Actually that's pretty easy. Robert R. Robert R is the one who needs the address. Thanks Snoop. So empty case on that one. I heard it hit 10 boxes in this or Bobby. I think it's Robert I'm assuming right? Just double check address change? Yes address change yes.  All right guys good luck everybody. Let's see what we got in here. Gotcha Robert. Good to go or Bobby whatever you want to be called. All right Jersey number one here we go. Usually per case there's one like you pull the Herbert on whenever I did this last Tuesday or Wednesday that was pretty solid yeah. Oh wow that'll work. That's going to be Joe Montana. Nice one there. I swear you better get all the way out. Joe Montana. Nice one there. Congrats man. That is awesome. Let me do really quick. I just want to make sure this is a Niners Jersey. That looks like a Niners Jersey right versus a cheat. Yeah you would think the cheese would have yellow in it. Yeah let me see if I can do JSA. What is this JSA? Look up I guess. Verify authenticity serial number. One sec guys I just want to double check this WIC six one nine six eight seven. Just a sign Jersey. I'm pretty sure this is a Niners Jersey. Pretty sure this is oh oh that's right. Chiefs would be 19. We're 19 on the Chiefs. Duh. Duh. Yeah I knew that. Good call on that one Rich. That'll go to the Niners obviously.  Nice one there Niners. Congrats Niners. Who has the Niners? It's a solid solid one. San Fran. Nathan A. Congrats Nathan.   That's bad. I literally have a autograph Joe Montana card on the Chiefs where he's wearing number 19. That's a good call though Rich. You know I remember watching. Oh here comes Forest with a nonsense. Nonsense Forest is what we call them. We're watching Joe Montana. Stop Joshua. Oh boy I don't like sand dot dot dot. I don't like that one. That doesn't sound good. I'm member. Pepperage Farm remembers. You've got nice. Go to the Steelers. Pat Fryermuth. That's pretty cool. That's the black with the gold numbers. Pretty solidly big sig on that one too. Inscribe 88. Beckett authenticated as well. Pat Fryermuth. There you go. Nice Jersey there. There you go. On to the next one. Oh nice. Going to the Viking. Got a Dalvin Cook. That's a giant sig on that one too. That's kind of cool is I don't think you wear number 33 anymore. I think you switched to four right? Yeah. Nice one there. Congrats on that one. Vikings. Vikings is Michael R. What was the Jersey that we pulled last? I already forgot. Oh yeah Pat Fryermuth. So Steelers is Spencer B. So there you go. Spencer and Michael. Congrats on those. I was going to say six likes that Fryermuth for sure. All right. Next Jersey. Feels so good on this one. Yeah right. You just move around a little bit honestly. Spencer if you're watching this and interested in selling your Fryermuth Jersey, we have a buyer in Twitch chat. We've got, I'm assuming this is a Steeler. Mel Blunt. That's pretty cool. That's a gorgeous signature. Nice one there. I'm going to double check that one. Mel Blunt. I mean the numbers make, the coloring make sense but we'll just double check that really quick. We should get a Steeler. Steelers. Yep. That would be awesome dude. Mel Blunt on the Steelers. There you go. Well we just got like a table that you know we can stand up for then if we need to sit down we can stand like a high school. Yeah or like you'd make like one of the standing desks so you can like make sit or stand. That'd be cool. Is that how we already have? Well you can like, like I think they're out in the breaking, they're out in the sorting and shipping. Yeah. But it'd be nice so you can like either stand up at it and go around or you can play down. I think like you would just have to maybe adjust too much. Yeah true. But if everything's on the table. Ooh. Going to the Titans. We got War and Moon. That's cool. Nice one there. Congrats Titans on an Oilers Jersey. That's pretty sweet. War and Moon and oops almost dropped it. War and Moon again. War and Moon on that gorgeous powder blue. Um Oilers Jersey. All right we're halfway through guys. Yeah that's true. It would get to be a little bit of a pain in the neck how much we'd have to adjust it. Next one we've got Deshaun Watson. Going to the Browns. Nice. Deshaun Watson. Deshaun Watson. Going to the Browns. Jeff G. Congrats on your Deshaun Watson Jersey. Going to move past that one. Not a bad Jersey, Jeff. Just you know in light of recent events we're just not going to comment on that very much. Why is that in there? I don't know why that's in there. That's a very bizarre choice of Jersey. Oh this is going to the Lions. We got Jameson Williams on a Bama Jersey. Nice one there. Jameson Williams. There's the tag right there. He is a Lion as well. Jay Williams as you can see. Nice one there. Congrats Lions. Nice little hit for you. Browns to the next one here. Ooh going to the Seahawks. Steve Largent inscribed Hall of Fame 95. That's cool. Dude that's awesome. He's got Seattle Neng S. Dude that's awesome. That's on like the throwback Seahawks Jersey too. That is gorgeous man. Congrats on that. Steve Largent. All right two to go. Oh that's nasty for the Chargers. There's Ladanian Tomlinson. That's a nice one. That is sweet man. Ladanian Tomlinson. The offensive version of LT.  Man it's been a great case of jerseys. Really good case of jerseys. It's been solid. Minus one little asterisk. Oh boy. All right we're on to the last one here for everybody gets to punch happy and chat about one of the recent Jersey pulls. We've got I think that's Leroy. Yeah Leroy Butler going to the Packers. Hall of Fame 22. Most recently inducted. Nice one there. See he signed it on part of the six and the six right there. Yeah he was a Hall of Fame member this year. Leroy Butler. Very nice. Going to Green Bay. That will do it for the break. Thanks again guys for joining up. Oh next up is that's the last break of the night so next up is nothing.