Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 10 February 2026 [Draft]
10 Feb 2026 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Community Wealth Building (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3
Amendment 3 simply seeks to set a target of doubling the size of the worker co-operative and employee ownership sector in Scotland by 2030, and then to revise that number in subsequent ministerial community wealth building statements to this Parliament. Worker co-operatives and employee-owned businesses are widely recognised as democratic forms of local ownership. They are at the heart of any community wealth building strategy. This rather modest target is in line with existing stated Scottish Government policy from the 2021 programme for government, with a target of 500 employee-owned businesses registered in Scotland by 2030.
I move amendment 3.
In the same item of business
14:23
The Presiding Officer (Alison Johnstone)
NPA
The next item of business is stage 3 proceedings on the Community Wealth Building (Scotland) Bill. In dealing with the amendments, members should have the bi...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
Group 1 is on measures that may be taken. Amendment 1, in the name of Richard Leonard, is grouped with amendments 2, 13, 14, 5, 6, 17 and 18.
Richard Leonard (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
I will speak to amendment 1 and the other amendments in my name in this group.The purpose of amendments 1 and 5 is to challenge the outsourcing of public ser...
Paul Sweeney (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
I will speak to amendments 13 and 17, which are in my name. They would both insert “co-operative financial institutions” into the measures that are associate...
Lorna Slater (Lothian) (Green)
Green
My amendments 14 and 18 would replace the word “investment” with the words “funding and finance”. The line that is affected, which reads“promoting access to ...
Stephen Kerr (Central Scotland) (Con)
Con
I think that Lorna Slater is speaking to an amendment that is not in this group. I just wanted to make that clear.
Lorna Slater
Green
My apologies—I was speaking to amendment 16, and the member is right: I was looking at the wrong grouping. I thank Mr Kerr.
The Minister for Public Finance (Ivan McKee)
SNP
The Government is not in a position to support Richard Leonard’s amendments 1 and 5, which seek to introduce additional measures into both the community weal...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
I call Richard Leonard to wind up and indicate whether he wishes to press or withdraw amendment 1.
Richard Leonard
Lab
I must say that it is interesting that the minister recognises examples of in-sourcing, some of which have been conducted by his own Government, but then goe...
Ivan McKee
SNP
More accurately, I said that the member had not accurately defined in-sourcing in his amendments.
Richard Leonard
Lab
On the one hand, we are told that this is a general permissive piece of legislation and that we cannot have too much prescription in it. However, now, I am b...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
The question is, that amendment 1 be agreed to. Are we agreed?Members: No.
The Presiding Officer
NPA
There will be a division. As this is the first division of the stage, I will suspend the meeting for around five minutes to allow members to access the digit...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
We come to the vote on amendment 1, in the name of Richard Leonard. Members should cast their votes now.
ForChoudhury, Foysol (Lothian) (Ind)Clark, Katy (West Scotland) (Lab)Duncan-Glancy, Pam (Glasgow) (Lab)Grant, Rhoda (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)Griffin, Mar...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
The result of the division is: For 13, Against 82, Abstentions 0.Amendment 1 disagreed to.Amendment 2 moved—Richard Leonard.
The Presiding Officer
NPA
The question is, that amendment 2 be agreed to. Are we agreed?Members: No.
The Presiding Officer
NPA
There will be a division.
ForChoudhury, Foysol (Lothian) (Ind)Clark, Katy (West Scotland) (Lab)Duncan-Glancy, Pam (Glasgow) (Lab)Grant, Rhoda (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)Greene, Jami...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
The result of the division is: For 14, Against 83, Abstentions 0.Amendment 2 disagreed to.Amendment 13 moved—Paul Sweeney—and agreed to.Amendment 14 moved—Lo...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
The question is, that amendment 14 be agreed to. Are we agreed?Members: No.
The Presiding Officer
NPA
There will be a division.
ForChapman, Maggie (North East Scotland) (Green)Greer, Ross (West Scotland) (Green)Harvie, Patrick (Glasgow) (Green)Ruskell, Mark (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Gr...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
The result of the division is: For 6, Against 91, Abstentions 0.Amendment 14 disagreed to.
The Presiding Officer
NPA
Group 2 is on targets, indicators and reporting. Amendment 3, in the name of Richard Leonard, is grouped with amendments 4, 19, 7, 20, 28, 29, 10, 30 to 32 a...
Richard Leonard
Lab
Amendment 3 simply seeks to set a target of doubling the size of the worker co-operative and employee ownership sector in Scotland by 2030, and then to revis...
Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
I have four amendments in this group, all of which basically deal with the same point.At stage 2, I lodged an amendment requiring community wealth building p...
Daniel Johnson (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab)
Lab
In many ways, I pick up where Murdo Fraser left off. One of the committee’s key concerns or observations during stages 1 and 2 was that, without any system o...