Hansard

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...