It is a privilege to open the debate to mark child safety week, the flagship annual campaign that is led by the Child Accident Prevention Trust. This year, child safety week runs from 3 to 9 June, and the theme for 2024 is “Safety. Sorted!”

I thank all the safety campaigners who work to ensure that accident prevention is pushed up our political agenda to where it should be. As we heard in the previous debate, preventative spend is always the smart spend. I make special mention of the cross-party group on accident prevention and safety awareness and the dedication of all its members, including those from charities, those who volunteer and those who work in our emergency services. I also thank my MSP colleagues for signing the motion, as well as those who will speak in the debate tonight.

The 2024 theme of “Safety. Sorted!” encourages families to feel confident that, with a small change, they can prevent a serious accident and be clear on what they need to do to help keep children safe. That reflects the message from safety campaigners that accidents, otherwise known as unintentional injury, are not inevitable, and that small changes can dramatically reduce unintentional injury.

Since we last held a debate on child safety week, the biggest legislative change has, arguably, been the domestic implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Embedding those core children’s rights in Scots law marks a significant milestone for the Parliament. We know that children from more deprived areas are disproportionately impacted by accidents and unintentional injury: child safety is a poverty and social justice-related issue.

That basic social inequity underlies the need for rights-based legislation to be at the heart of Scottish policy. I am keen to remind members that article 24 of the UNCRC states as one of its aims:

“To ensure that all segments of society, in particular parents and children, are informed, have access to education and are supported in the use of basic knowledge”

in a number of areas, including

“the prevention of accidents”.

Since our previous child safety week debate, there have been new developments that have implications for child safety. I did not envisage that vaping would be an extant child safety concern. Vaping companies are transparently targeting younger people with flashy marketing, colours and flavours, and the Child Accident Prevention Trust has previously warned that hospitals are seeing a growing number of children accidentally swallowing liquid nicotine from e-cigarette refills.

To anyone who questions the need for regulation, I contend that vapes are being used to save the tobacco industry from a societal shift in consumer attitudes to smoking. The smoking cessation argument falters when one considers that a huge proportion of new vape users have never smoked. We cannot allow the next generation to bear the brunt of the health, social, environmental and economic costs. I am heartened that the Scottish Government is consulting on a ban on single-use vapes, and I reiterate the calls for a tougher regulatory framework to assist organisations such as Trading Standards Scotland in dealing with the problem of underage sales.

I turn to some of the common dangers for children, which are highlighted in child safety week. We all—parents, especially—know that bumps, scrapes and bruises are a part of growing up; that is how children interact with their world. However, we learn the consequences of our actions. We become more alert to the dangers, we grow and we become—it is hoped—more cautious and more risk averse. Thousands of injuries each year are avoidable. They are a huge economic cost to our health service, with potentially life-changing impacts on children and their families.

Child safety week is, first and foremost, about raising awareness. Parents and carers can look through the resources that have been produced this week by organisations such as CAPT and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents Scotland, which have a host of free information and advice. There are tips on dangers in the home, from scalds and burns, falls, poisoning and choking hazards to road safety, safety for children around animals and drowning prevention.

There are simple proactive measures that can be taken to ensure that parents and their children avoid injury. We have heard recurring themes in the chamber, but I reiterate that button batteries are a notorious danger—they are hazardous for toddlers, and they are easily swallowed. We know all too well that that can lead to tragedy, as they contain chemicals that burn through tissue very quickly. The Scottish Government has been working with our cross-party group to ensure that information is available for parents on the dangers of button batteries. That information is now included in the baby box, which is an important step.

There is a pervasive problem with safety regulations in online marketplaces. We have an ever-increasing number of gadgets in our homes, but substandard and fake goods are readily available online, and that extends to children’s products. People are, understandably, looking to make savings amid financial pressures, but I urge them to stick to trusted traders and transparent safety standards.

There is a consumer assumption that a product that is designed for children will have gone through safety testing. Research from CAPT, however, shows that

“more than half of parents ... mistakenly believe that sellers ... online”

adhere to standards such as the CE mark, and that almost three quarters of parents

“wrongly believe that any product aimed at children under 5 has to be fully tested and certified ... before it can be sold online”.

As members will know, the issue of road safety is dear to my heart. In my Motherwell and Wishaw constituency, parents and carers have expressed serious concerns about proposals to increase the minimum distance between school and home for which school transport is provided. On Friday, I walked with several parents and pupils from Cathedral primary to their homes in North Lodge, and I saw the impact that that would have on primary pupils. We have to consider that when we are making changes to policy. We had to walk alongside very fast roads, with people speeding, and when we crossed at a pelican crossing, we had to traverse around a car that had stopped in the middle of the crossing. That is not a safe route for young people and children to be following.

As you know, Presiding Officer, I could go on ad infinitum about safety issues in all the various areas. I am sure that some of my colleagues will pick up on areas that I have not been able to touch on, such as water safety. I thank everyone in advance for their contributions.