Meeting of the Parliament 27 March 2025
I apologise for missing the very beginning of the debate.
Before I begin, I will take a moment to pay tribute to Christina McKelvie. She was a wonderful woman. She was kind-hearted, warm, brave and bold, and she had a fantastic sense of humour. Similar to many members who have spoken today, I found Christina to be extremely supportive. I remember how encouraging and helpful she was when I first entered the Parliament in 2021. I know that she will be terribly missed in this Parliament and across Scotland, and my deepest condolences go to Keith, Jack and Lewis and all her family and friends.
I thank the member in charge of the bill for her engagement so far. I also thank the lead committee and all the stakeholders who came forward during stage 1.
The Scottish Government believes that all children and young people should have the opportunity to engage in progressive and creative outdoor learning experiences. I have been consistent in stating that throughout my engagements on the bill.
The Government values the incredibly important work that outdoor education centres do—indeed, I saw at first hand the positive impacts of that when I visited the Outward Bound Trust’s Loch Eil site last year. That is why we provided £4 million in emergency funding to the sector during the pandemic.
The Government will be abstaining in the vote today. Let me be clear why. We are of course supportive of the underpinning aims of the bill, but our initial significant reservations, which we set out to the committee last year, remain unresolved, as yet. I have reiterated that to Liz Smith, and I have been clear that those concerns must be fully considered and addressed if the bill passes at stage 1 today—I refer specifically to the concerns on affordability, equity of provision and workforce implications.