Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 16 June 2021
16 Jun 2021 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Brexit (Skills Impact)
I will not take any lectures from Conservative members given that their amendment to the motion is a rant against Scottish independence and our industries are speaking about the impact of Brexit. This Scottish National Party Government has delivered record numbers of apprenticeships, but in the past year to 18 months we have, of course, experienced a pandemic in which it has been difficult to deliver many of the apprenticeships. I think that everyone in Scotland apart from the member understands that.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
The next item of business is a debate on motion S6M-00382, in the name of Richard Lochhead, on mitigating, tackling and responding to the skills impact of Br...
The Minister for Just Transition, Employment and Fair Work (Richard Lochhead)
SNP
Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I welcome you to your new role in Parliament. I hope that all my years of being very nice to you have put me in good ste...
Daniel Johnson (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab)
Lab
Does this situation also present an opportunity for us to reflect on why industries were so reliant on migrant labour in the first place? Does the minister c...
Richard Lochhead
SNP
Many industries in Scotland rely on overseas workers and have done so for many decades. However, Daniel Johnson’s points are valid in some cases, and I will ...
Stephen Kerr (Central Scotland) (Con)
Con
The minister’s speech thus far has been more about Brexit grievance than about the real crisis in Scotland, which is to do with skills availability and level...
Richard Lochhead
SNP
I will not take any lectures from Conservative members given that their amendment to the motion is a rant against Scottish independence and our industries ar...
Willie Rennie (North East Fife) (LD)
LD
Will the member take an intervention?
The Deputy Presiding Officer
LD
You will get your time back.
Richard Lochhead
SNP
Okay.
Willie Rennie
LD
The national transition training fund has been underutilised by a significant degree. Why has that happened? The fund is an important factor in trying to get...
Richard Lochhead
SNP
Willie Rennie, as the Labour amendment does, raises an important point that I am just about to address. Modern apprenticeships are seen as one of the key dri...
Brian Whittle (South Scotland) (Con)
Con
I realise that the member has taken many interventions and I am grateful to him for taking this one. In relation to skills of the future and the green econom...
Richard Lochhead
SNP
There are of course opportunities for home-grown talent, but we have to look at the demographic projections for Scotland, which show that our working populat...
Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Con)
Con
Listening to the minister, it would be all too easy to forget that we are assembled here in the world’s most powerful devolved Parliament—a Parliament with t...
Daniel Johnson
Lab
Do we not need a bit of humility from not just the SNP Government but the Conservative Government, given that, ultimately, Brexit is costing jobs and having ...
Oliver Mundell
Con
I simply do not agree with Mr Johnson. I think that Brexit presents real opportunities for people right across the UK and, in years to come, I believe that w...
Richard Lochhead
SNP
Will the member give way?
Oliver Mundell
Con
Certainly.
Richard Lochhead
SNP
I thank Oliver Mundell for giving way, especially as I could not give way to him, as I had taken so many interventions. A few years ago, if I remember corre...
Oliver Mundell
Con
I think that Mr Lochhead is incorrect in that recollection. Although it is true that our immigration system needs to work better, many sectors of the Scottis...
Paul Sweeney (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
The member makes an interesting point about the flexibility of the workforce, but another fundamental component is the need to ensure that there is sufficien...
Oliver Mundell
Con
The member makes an important point. Those things are all parts of the package, but skilled job opportunities already exist in our economy. We have to find a...
Richard Lochhead
SNP
Does the member recognise that our college sector has exceeded its targets for college places?
Oliver Mundell
Con
Thousands of short-term, part-time places have been cut. That is not the feedback that I get from my constituents. The minister says that members should go a...
The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy (Kate Forbes)
SNP
I agree with the member that Governments should be focused on those things. Why, then, did the UK Government proceed with Brexit at the very height of lockdown?
Oliver Mundell
Con
The huge difference between Brexit and Scottish independence is that we had already set an exit date for leaving the EU before the pandemic started. Througho...
Paul Sweeney (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests: I am a member of the GMB and Unite trade unions. The long and tortuous progress of Brexit...
Richard Lochhead
SNP
I welcome Paul Sweeney to his role and to Parliament. Irrespective of whether the Conservatives have ever voted for immigration powers in this Parliament, t...
Paul Sweeney
Lab
That is certainly an exciting and interesting point. I hope to reach the detail of our proposal in my speech. I will save it until later; I will get to it in...
Pam Gosal (West Scotland) (Con)
Con
Does Paul Sweeney agree that tackling the attainment gap is crucial to upgrading skills in Scotland? You talked about upskilling, and the SNP has failed to t...