Hansard

I confirm that Scottish Labour will support the Government throughout the passage of the Harbours (Scotland) Bill, and I am happy to work with the minister in any way that I can to progress the legislation.

There is nothing that we can or want to disagree with in respect of the legislation, and we welcome the Scottish Government’s moves in its attempt to prevent specified trust ports from being privatised.

By removing Scottish ministers’ powers to require trust ports to prepare privatisation proposals, the Scottish Government is putting the stakeholders of each harbour first, and there should be no issue with that provision among members in the chamber. The ONS’s policy aim of reclassifying trust ports as public bodies will force privatisation on trust ports where there is no desire for that.

The bill itself is a very short, yet important, piece of legislation that is split into two parts, and I hope that we can have consensus among members in the chamber throughout its passage. This Scottish Government bill should give assurances to harbours and their communities that reinvestment and engagement will be at the heart of their future.

The British Ports Authority, on behalf of the Scottish ports committee, stated that committee’s support for part 1 of the bill in its written submission to the Scottish Government consultation. It said:

“The Scottish Ports Committee fully supports repeal of section 10 of the Ports Act 1991. It very much welcomes the proposals in as much as they will remove uncertainty for those ports above the privatisation threshold. It also confirms support for the Trust Port model as a vital part of the ownership mix”

of ports

“in Scotland.”

As the committee’s report states, the Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee received evidence that the Scottish Government

“has not had a guarantee from the ONS that it will reverse its decision following the passage of the Bill”.

We take note of that and hope that, as the Government has responded, the discussions with the ONS will be completed in due course and the legislation will remove the ports from the new classification.

As a member of the ICI Committee, I am pleased with the stage 1 report, which is very concise. In evidence sessions, we heard from the Minister for Transport and Islands and from Government advisers, and I think that we can all agree that the evidence that was collected has been crucial in enabling us to understand what the bill seeks to address and how we can achieve our aims.

It is unfair that a port should be privatised because it is run in the interests of its stakeholders and not shareholders, has a well-established revenue stream and re-invests its surplus to the benefit of its business and its local community.

In the event that the bill does not prevent reclassification, we will work with the Scottish Government to prevent any damage to borrowing. With further devolution imminent and increased borrowing available, we must ensure that the classification does not hinder our ability to invest in Scottish public services and infrastructure. That is why we do not want to see borrowing by ports scored against the Scottish Government, despite the latter having no direct accountability for funding the former. The Government’s consultation showed that nine out of 10 respondents agreed that the Scottish Government should repeal section 10 of the Ports Act 1991.

On part 2 of the bill, there was unanimous support for the removal of the requirement for six copies of a draft harbour order to be submitted. We support that Scottish Government proposal, and we are delighted that 100 per cent of the respondents also do so.

The bill is preventative and reacts against the ONS proposals, and I repeat our support for the Scottish Government. Harbours have long been lifelines for the villages and towns that they helped to shape. The ONS classification could result in the privatisation of Aberdeen, Peterhead and Lerwick ports because of the thresholds that are set out.

Those trust ports, along with the rest of Scotland’s trust ports, have a long history that goes back decades and centuries. In advance of the debate, I read up on the history of Aberdeen harbour and was surprised to find that it is believed to be Britain’s oldest existing business, dating back to the time of King David I, who granted charges on vessels entering the harbour in the 1100s. The harbour helps to shape Aberdeen’s economy to this day, having survived attacks in recent history, during world war two, and as far back as the 12th century, with Viking attacks. There has been a fishing harbour in Peterhead for more than 400 years, surviving when times were bad and excelling in good times. That is the history that shapes ports and harbours and the towns that are located nearby.

Although I agree that privatisation of the trust ports would not damage their histories, we must work for the future of the harbours to ensure that stakeholders are protected and revenues reinvested.

I reaffirm that Scottish Labour will support the bill today and throughout each stage. I look forward to listening to contributions from across the chamber in what is a short but nevertheless important debate.