Meeting of the Parliament 12 June 2025
I do not have the time, Ms Grahame—apologies.
However, the Scottish Government has not even managed to train enough workers to meet the current demand. Instead, it presides over the decimation of college budgets, is damned by independent report after brutal public assessment for its lack of leadership, and a skills system that is directionless, fractured and misfiring. That is at the core of the issue. None of those assessments is addressed. Watered down and rudderless legislation is limping by in this Parliament—that will the case in respect of the Education (Scotland) Bill in the coming weeks. The SNP Government is running down the clock with weak leadership and no ideas. That is not my assessment—it is the assessment of SNP members and even MSPs.
As set out by Liz Smith, the SNP might also ask itself why, given that net migration to the UK is at record levels, people are choosing not to come to Scotland. From 2020 to 2023, Scotland received only 5.7 per cent of net international migration to the UK. That is well below our population share, and it is a trend in the wrong direction over time: five years ago, we exceeded our population share of net migration in the UK, and it is now going in the wrong direction.
The SNP Government might want to ask itself about its failure to grow the economy, with Scots paying higher taxes but, as set out by the Scottish Fiscal Commission, losing more than £1 billion as a result of the Government’s incompetence. Could it be as a result of the Government’s failure to provide enough homes, with record homelessness and thousands of children in temporary accommodation? Could it be down to the failure to invest in Scotland’s infrastructure? There is no infrastructure plan; nothing is set out for years at a time, or projects are delayed time and again, and there are no plans to invest for the future. It makes it difficult for people to live in rural areas.
The SNP has an awful lot of tools at its disposal that could make Scotland a much more attractive place in which to be, live, work or study. However, the Government chooses not to use them. It limps along, trailing other parts of the UK and looking for the next grievance. The public know that we need to get a grip of our immigration system. The UK Government is getting on with the job, and the SNP Government should do the same.
I move amendment S6M-17906.2, to leave out from first “notes” to end and insert:
“supports the move towards a more sustainable immigration system for the whole of the UK; regrets that the care sector has become overly dependent on low wages and exploitative working practices for migrants; believes that Scotland’s stagnant economy cannot be fixed through migration alone; calls on the Scottish Government to grow the workforce through using its devolved powers to build more housing, strengthen public transport, increase pay for social care work and incentivise skills development, and welcomes the UK Government’s deal with the EU, which includes increased trade, negotiation to rejoin Erasmus+ and co-operation on a youth experience scheme.”
Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.