Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Official Report 1076KB pdf

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Coalfields Regeneration Trust

The final item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S6M-09747, in the name of Alex Rowley, on supporting the work of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.

Motion debated,

That the Parliament notes the publication of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Coalfield Communities’ report, Next Steps in Levelling Up the Former Coalfields; welcomes the recommendations of the report to support the continued development of former coalfield communities; believes that the work of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust is instrumental in the progress seen in Scotland’s former coalfield communities; supports what it sees as the success of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust’s work in developing community capacity, mentoring, coaching and supporting grassroots organisations to tackle issues in their communities through the Coalfields Investment Programme, and introducing young people from former mining areas to what it understands are the life-changing benefits of sport, through Game On, which is the Trust’s Sport for Change programme, among other initiatives; notes the reported concerns that the Scottish Government plans to make what has been described as a significant cut of £100,000 from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust’s funding of £750,000; further notes the Coalfields Regeneration Trust’s characterisation of this planned cut as “a devastating blow to communities” such as Kincardine and former coalfields communities across Mid Scotland and Fife; understands that the Coalfields Regeneration Trust’s funding has been frozen at £750,000 since 2011, and considers that had this amount kept pace with inflation, it would currently be worth £1,034,658; further understands that a proposed cut of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust’s funding in 2011 was reversed due to the damaging impact this would have had on Scotland’s former coalfield communities; notes the calls for the Scottish Government to reconsider any cut to the Coalfields Regeneration Trust’s funding on the same basis, and to support the future success of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust by offering a secure multi-year funding stream such as that provided by the Welsh Government to the Coalfields Regeneration Trust in Wales.

18:00  

I thank all members who signed my motion to bring the debate to the chamber, and all those members who are participating in the debate tonight.

Established in 1999, the Coalfields Regeneration Trust was set up to support former industrial areas through community wealth building, with a focus on the economic development and regeneration of former coalfield areas. Any member in the chamber who represents a former coalfield area will know about the wealth of activity that the trust has supported over the years.

I am pleased to say that, over many years, the Parliament has recognised the work of the trust. In 2007, a members’ business debate on the role of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust in Scotland was led by the then MSP Cathy Jamieson. In 2011, the late Helen Eadie MSP brought to the chamber a debate celebrating the trust and the work that it does in former mining communities, and in 2015, Christine Grahame MSP led a members’ business debate on the continuing success of the trust.

Since the Parliament’s inception in 1999, there have been 112 motions lodged by members to acknowledge and celebrate the work of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust in Scotland. As such, it is fair to say that, throughout the trust’s existence, its work in Scotland has been recognised, respected and valued by all the political parties that operate in the Scottish Parliament.

It is important to acknowledge at the outset that we are living with very difficult financial pressures on public finances, and that often means that local community services struggle to meet local demand and local need.

In acknowledging the difficult financial climate, I emphasise that it is now more crucial than ever that funding is prioritised where it will have the greatest impact. That is why I am calling tonight on the Government to look again at the £100,000 cut that has been made to the Coalfields Regeneration Trust budget. The fact remains that the former coalfield communities still have some of the highest levels of poverty and inequality in Scotland and, in my experience of representing such communities over many years, the payback for a small amount of resource and finance can be significant. We need only scroll through the 112 motions that have been lodged in the Parliament about the Coalfields Regeneration Trust to see the type of impact that a relatively small amount of money can have, and has had.

There are a host of regeneration projects that have made a big impact on local communities and local people. In Fife, the Crosshill business centre is now a place to locate and develop enterprise, as well as a venue for community-based learning and work. It has, over the years, supported hundreds of people into further and higher education and into employment.

The Zone in Dalmellington in East Ayrshire is another great example of regeneration, along with Twechar Healthy Living & Enterprise Centre and Glenboig Development Trust. They are all doing amazing work, and all with the support of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust.

The trust has also had massive success in supporting local communities to build capacity in sport and the arts, and in building projects to help to tackle isolation, in turn supporting communities to support themselves. That is a proud record indeed for what are, again, relatively small amounts of funding.

Looking to the future, the Coalfields Regeneration Trust in Scotland is asking the Scottish Government to provide a capital endowment of £20 million, over a negotiated period of years, to enable the CRT to build industrial starter units for small and medium-sized enterprises. That would create a sustainable, long-term revenue stream to allow the CRT to be self-funding so that it can support former coalfield communities into the future.

The CRT has already successfully rolled out that model in England by building industrial units. That allows it to generate jobs and economic growth in deprived former coalfield communities, delivering real regeneration. The rental income allows the CRT to fund its charitable activity through a secure and sustainable income stream.

I take the view that the best route out of poverty is through education, skills and employment. Many who have experienced generational poverty in some of our most deprived areas require more focused interventions, with a great deal of support and encouragement. Over many years, I have witnessed that type of approach from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, which builds that capacity at the community level.

I am asking the Scottish Government to restate its commitment to that work by examining the following requests: to reverse the £100,000 cut to the trust’s funding; to change the Scottish Government procurement rules to allow the CRT to reinstate its grant programme, which is vital to many small local organisations and charities in coalfield communities, as has been demonstrated over so many years; and to examine the case for a capital endowment fund that would enable the CRT to work with local communities to drive the skills and jobs agenda at a local level.

Although it is true that we are going through difficult times financially, that is all the more reason to support a tried-and-tested organisation that has the ability to provide direct support at a local level to empower our local communities. We celebrate the trust’s work, so let us ensure that it has the funds to continue.

18:07  

I thank Alex Rowley for bringing the debate to the chamber. I, and so many of my colleagues in the chamber, represent constituencies and regions where, for generations, coal mining was the main employer and economic driver of communities, and I am very proud of that.

By the end of the 19th century, Lanarkshire’s 200 mines were producing around half of Scotland’s coal. Farming villages and hamlets such as Coatbridge, which I represent, and Motherwell, which my colleague Clare Adamson represents, had been transformed into the large industrial towns that we recognise today, with their own communities and identities. As we all know, however, the 20th century was not kind to the mining industry. The second half of the 20th century saw nearly 1,000 mines being closed, which transformed many of those former industrial juggernauts into communities that suffered from a lack of employment opportunities, and from health inequalities and poor educational attainment.

Those economic conditions devastated communities, and it was in that environment that the Coalfields Regeneration Trust was established in 1999. It was set up as a charity, and its mission was to create opportunities and support those who had felt the full effect of mining closures across the United Kingdom.

The need for a trust such as the CRT is clear when we consider the statistics. In Scotland alone, 43 per cent of the working-age population of the Scottish coalfields are claiming some form of benefits, against a Scottish average of 23 per cent. A total of 40 per cent of people in the Scottish coalfields have no qualifications, as against 27 per cent in Scotland as a whole, and the mortality rate in the Scottish coalfields is 25 per cent higher than the Scottish average.

In the near 25 years since the CRT’s establishment, it has been invaluable in improving the health, skills and employment for the almost 6 million people who currently live in those coalfield areas across the UK.

My Coatbridge and Chryston constituency has many ex-mining villages, including Cardowan and Moodiesburn, where the community is still impacted by the tragic events of September 1959, when 47 men lost their lives in the Auchengeich mining disaster. I attend, and have the pleasure of speaking at, the memorial event every year. This year, I received the honour of being presented with a miner’s lamp from the memorial committee. I put on record my thanks to Richard Leonard for his consistent and constant support for that event. Both Auchinloch and Moodiesburn, which are near to Auchengeich, have been supported by the CRT. I am very grateful for that support, and for the support of members in the chamber.

For the remainder of my speech, however, I will concentrate the village of Glenboig: another industrial powerhouse in the 19th and 20th centuries that felt the harsh effects of the industry’s constriction over the past several decades.

I have regular discussions with Teresa Aitken, who is the operations manager of the wonderful Glenboig Development Trust, which Alex Rowley mentioned. Glenboig Development Trust provides the local residents of Glenboig and surrounding villages and communities with a wide range of high-quality health improvement and community-based services and activities seven days a week.

To demonstrate the work of Teresa and the Glenboig Development Trust, I note that she has recently been made a fellow at the University of Cambridge, following her work with the faculty of social innovation there to promote the work ethic of the trust and share its

“practices and successes to help UK and international communities recover and flourish”.

That is high praise indeed, and I am very proud of Teresa and all the team at Glenboig.

When I spoke to Teresa, she was keen to stress how helpful and vital the Coalfields Regeneration Trust has been in ensuring that the great work of the Glenboig Development Trust can continue in the community. I will list just some of the things for which Glenboig has received funding via the trust. They include community gardening and environmental projects, a parent-and-toddler group, older people’s art groups, men’s groups, stress-relief initiatives and food-growing projects. In addition, the trust has provided funding to Glenboig United Football Club and Glenboig primary school parent council, and support for the village park play area.

However, although Glenboig Development Trust is now a successful operation in its own right, it is fair to say that that success would not have been realised without the input of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust in those early years, which really saw it through.

Those projects and initiatives are the beating heart of our post-industrial communities, and in truth, I was disappointed to hear that the Scottish Government had reduced the grant to the Coalfields Regeneration Trust by £100,000. What might seem like a meagre decrease in funding in comparison with other budgetary commitments will have huge consequences for places such as Glenboig, which require funding from the CRT to enrich my constituency and the surrounding area.

Restrictions concerning Scottish Government procurement rules—as Alex Rowley mentioned—mean that the CRT is limited in running its grants programme to support smaller grass-roots charities in former coalfield communities. Those limitations have resulted in 13 per cent of charities reporting that their organisations are at risk of closure from the ending of the CRT grants programme.

Those communities have been let down by successive United Kingdom Governments in the past, and I urge the Scottish Government to revisit those funding cuts and procurement rules, as we cannot let these communities down again. I understand—as we heard in the budget statement today—the budgeting constraints that are imposed on us by the ruthless Tory Westminster Government, but I do not feel that these already marginalised and penalised communities should suffer again, and suffer more.

As Teresa Aitken told me powerfully when I spoke to her just yesterday—

Mr MacGregor, you will need to bring your remarks to a close. You are well over your time.

Okay—thank you, Presiding Officer.

I finish with Teresa’s words. She told me just yesterday that if the funding is taken from those communities, many of the social impacts that have been somewhat mitigated—poverty, isolation and antisocial behaviour, to name but a few—will return. That will lead to a greater burden on public services in the long run.

I will close there, Presiding Officer.

Thank you, Mr MacGregor. I remind members that back-bench speeches should be up to four minutes.

18:13  

I am pleased to be able to speak in the debate, and I thank my fellow Mid Scotland and Fife MSP, Alex Rowley, for bringing it to the chamber.

The debate provides a welcome opportunity for us to acknowledge the important work that is done by the Coalfields Regeneration Trust across the United Kingdom. It is also an opportunity to acknowledge the distinct character of former coalfield communities, several of which are located in central and southern Fife, and across Clackmannanshire, in my region.

The motion mentions the all-party parliamentary group on coalfield communities and its report on “Next Steps in Levelling Up the Former Coalfields”. As the report states,

“the loss of coalmining jobs still casts a long shadow”

in those communities. It highlights that, with a total

“population of 5.7 million”

across the United Kingdom, those communities

“are too big to be ignored.”

The report also highlights the problems of social isolation and loneliness in those communities, which often have a large population of older people. However, there are still issues for young people, as opportunities for work and training are difficult to find in those areas. It is clear, therefore, that these communities have particular needs and require particular types of support.

The founding mission of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust is to provide those communities with the support that they need. That includes initiatives such as the coalfield worx project, and I acknowledge and commend the work that it does. That project provides important support to people who have become separated from the labour market, and it provides work and mentoring. It has already helped a number of candidates to secure permanent full-time work at Fife Council and the University of Stirling. The success of coalfield worx means that it brings the real opportunities that those communities across Scotland need, and that is much to be welcomed. As I said, it gives young people an opportunity to move forward.

Other projects that are supported by the trust’s funding include Grow West Fife, which supports low-income families across West Fife by providing them with home-grown produce. Funding from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust will help to invest in that project’s future and enable it to continue to grow.

Alex Rowley and other members have mentioned the cut of £100,000 from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust’s budget, which amounts to a 13 per cent cut. It was right that previous cuts that were talked about back in 2011 were reversed. More than a decade later, the trust is doing so much important work. It cannot lose that funding, because—as we have heard from other members—that will have a massive impact. The Scottish Government has said that it would like to see the trust move towards a new funding model and explore new ways of funding the grant programme. It is important that, if that happens, we ensure that the money goes where it should, and that is what the Coalfields Regeneration Trust wants to see. I hope that the Minister for Local Government Empowerment and Planning will reflect on that and provide assurances to the trust in summing up the debate.

Scotland’s former coalfield communities have a distinctive character, but they also have distinctive needs. The work of initiatives across the United Kingdom, such as the levelling up fund, have a real role to play in addressing those needs, and local government also has a role to play in those communities.

However, organisations such as the Coalfields Regeneration Trust are at the heart of supporting those communities. I thank the trust for the important work that it does, which it continues to carry out in the region that I represent and across Scotland. I hope that it will be able to continue to support communities for many years to come, because that is what is required.

18:17  

It is a pleasure to contribute to the debate, and I thank Alex Rowley for securing the opportunity for us to talk about the Coalfields Regeneration Trust.

It is a pleasure to follow Alexander Stewart, who rightly encompassed the issue when he talked about our coalfield comfmunities being

“too big to be ignored.”

Not only are they big, but they sit at the heart of a network—a jigsaw—that exists across the whole of Scotland, and the United Kingdom. That is important. Even those who may now be far removed from ancestors, parents and grandparents who worked in the mines, or who have moved into the coalfields communities, see the empathy that people in such communities have for each other.

That empathy is personified in the Coalfields Regeneration Trust. I have had the pleasure to work with the trust when we were securing funds in Prestonpans and East Lothian. The trust came out to visit Prestonpans, which is a coalfield community. At the first meeting, someone said, “But there are no pits in this town any more”, to which the trust’s representatives rightly replied, “It’s not actually about the mines. It’s about the communities and the people. It’s about what’s been left”—or, as Fulton MacGregor so accurately described, it is about the challenges that the closure of pits has brought to our towns and villages.

Through working with the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, a significant number of community groups came forward with brilliant ideas for how to improve life in and around Prestonpans and in other mining communities across East Lothian.

Twechar, in my constituency, has benefited greatly from the CRT over the years. Does the member agree that for young people in particular its work in such communities is incredibly important?

Absolutely—I cannot agree more.

The Coalfields Regeneration Trust does not send out an application form. It comes out to talk and explain things to communities—it finds out what challenges our young people and older people, and our community groups, face, and it asks, “What would help?” It might be something as simple as getting play equipment for a play park—as in the case in which I was involved. It might just involve getting a bench so that people can sit down and chat together. It might involve providing specialised equipment for disabled children or an accessible toilet for a working men’s club that previously did not have one but found itself excluding members as a result. It might—as it was with the Harlawhill Day Care Centre and Pennypit Community Development Trust in Prestonpans—be about helping with recovery after Covid, and assistance with unexpected costs to allow organisations to reopen and go back to being part of the beating heart of the community.

It is a great tribute to the CRT that it is able to talk to the communities in that way.

Will the member give way?

I am happy to do so.

I call Paul McLennan—[Interruption.]

We need his microphone on. Thank you.

To supplement what Mr Whitfield is saying, I, too, have had the pleasure of meeting the CRT in East Lothian, and the key point for me is how it drives community spirit and regeneration.

The trust has worked with a few community councils, such as Tranent and Elphinstone community council and Macmerry community council. It also works with organisations and local charities on community-led regeneration, including Sustrans Scotland, Recharge, East Lothian Foodbank and East Lothian Council. I compliment the CRT on the role that it plays in East Lothian.

I am grateful for that intervention. Paul McLennan is right—the CRT approaches our communities in the same way as the coalfields communities used to help and assist each other. Sometimes there might have been a slap round the head if someone was doing the wrong thing, but more often than not, it was a bowl of sugar or tea if someone did not have it.

Time is short, so I return to the three asks, which have already been raised. I will concentrate specifically on ask 2, which concerns an amendment to the procurement rules in order to allow the CRT to deliver a grants programme to support grass-roots communities. The CRT provides grants that are worth hundreds of pounds, not thousands or tens of thousands of pounds—although it has provided grants at that level in the past. It mainly delivers small grants that people would otherwise not be able to access, because they would not go out and ask, or they would not know whom to ask. The CRT helps with that.

I finish with a stakeholder’s view which, I think, encompasses all that sits within the asks and within this debate. They say:

“CRT helps us to filter out the loudest people so that everyone gets heard.”

That is a massive tribute to a charity that serves communities that deserve to be heard, listened to, and supported. [Applause.]

Members of the public in the gallery, although you are our very welcome guests, under the parliamentary rules, members of the public are not allowed to participate in the proceedings, albeit that I appreciate how strongly you feel about the issues that are being discussed. I thank you very much for your co-operation.

18:23  

I thank Alex Rowley for initiating this vital debate, and I extend my welcome to members of the trust, who are joining us tonight in the public gallery.

Coalfield communities are still reeling from the consequences of what happened 40 years ago, when the miners waged a year-long struggle in a fight not just for jobs, not just for pits, but for communities and an entire way of life. Next year, we will mark the 40th anniversary of that bitter dispute, but we will mark it not just by wistfully looking backwards, not just by looking back in anger, but by drawing on that fighting spirit, those values of community and those principles of solidarity and applying them to the challenges that we are facing today.

What a blow it would be if, as we approached the 40th anniversary of that heroic and historic struggle, we sat back and we allowed the Scottish Government to withdraw its support from those very same communities who were hammered 40 years ago. Those communities are still living with the consequences. These are the facts: 43 per cent of the population of the Scottish coalfields are claiming some form of benefit, compared with a Scottish average of 23 per cent; 40 per cent of people in the Scottish coalfields have no qualifications, compared with 27 per cent for Scotland as a whole; and the mortality rate in the Scottish coalfields communities is 25 per cent higher than the Scottish average.

Does the Government think that that is because the people who live in those villages and in those towns are feckless, that they are unintelligent and that they are beyond education, or even that they have a disregard for life itself? Why is it turning its back on them?

Just yesterday, I visited Gorebridge Community Cares in Midlothian. It is supported by the Coalfields Regeneration Trust. It was started with a grant from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, and it is run from a former police station. It is a citizens advice bureau outreach centre, a food bank and a base for Upward Mobility, which supports more than 20 remarkable students who just need a helping hand. It is a home for elderly walking groups. It brings the generations together, puts on employability and training courses, backs business development, and provides lifeline support from the Covid economic recovery fund. I spent some time with two of its outstanding workers: Lynne Roy and Mhairi Barrett. Mhairi Barrett told me:

“We support people from the nursery to ninety”.

She also had a clear message for the Parliament. She said:

“No-one understands mining villages, mining communities like the Coalfields Regeneration Trust”.

Next year, as well as marking the 40th anniversary of the miners strike, we will mark the 25th anniversary of the death of the miners’ leader Mick McGahey. He prophetically warned of the decimation of the Scottish coalfield if the Thatcher Government had its way, because he understood better than anyone what it would do to mining communities. He was right. His memorable appeal was:

“If we stop running, they’ll stop chasing us. Stand firm and fight!”

That is what we are doing tonight: fighting for those communities.

I say to the minister that you cannot be allied to a just transition and support unjust austerity. You cannot be an ally of the miners and support a policy that condemns their sons, daughters and grandchildren to a lifetime of poverty. You cannot be an ally to these communities and support these cuts.

The Government needs to decide which side it is on. I hope that it will be on the side of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, the miners, their families, their trade union, and these villages and communities, because they deserve nothing less.

18:27  

It is a pleasure to follow Richard Leonard.

It is coming up to 40 years since the titanic struggle that Richard Leonard referenced in his remarks, which were, as usual, impassioned and energetic. It will be 40 years since he and I first crossed swords at the University of Stirling on issues relating to the Government of our country at that time. He has lost none of his passion or conviction, and I admire that. I admire politicians who have principles, convictions and passion.

Richard Leonard was right in what he said. He highlighted the work of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust—by the way, I thank Alex Rowley for bringing the motion to the chamber. Richard Leonard was right when he described what is happening in those communities. The most important word that this debate will feature is “community”.

Richard Leonard talks about issues relating to welfare benefit claimants, underqualification, underemployment and mortality. Those are issues that really should concern us.

The Scottish National Party Government proposes cutting the grant for the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, which is an organisation that I—as the MP for Stirling and now as a Central Scotland MSP—have admired close up and at a distance. That is a huge mistake given the nature of the engagement that the Coalfields Regeneration Trust has with the communities that it exists to serve and support. If we are in the business of transformation policies, it will be at the local level that those policies make a real difference. We can talk about strategies until the cows come home, but the truth is that it is the work that is done in those communities that makes the real difference. Therefore, I offer a suggestion to the Government: it should restore the £100,000 that it is taking from that grant.

The Government often tells us that, if we come to the Parliament with ideas about spending more money, we should come up with a place from which that money can be taken. I offer this advice: in the spirit of today’s budget, why does the Scottish Government not cut itself, by reducing the number of its ministers—which is at a record high—by one? That would free up more than £100,000, which could then be directed towards the excellent work of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust in Scotland.

In the little time that I have left, I will add the following comments. As I said, “community” is the most powerful word that we will hear in the debate. Scotland was—and should still be—renowned for community, especially our working-class communities. We need to support community. That is exactly what the Coalfields Regeneration Trust does.

I am glad that Stephen Kerr supports the Coalfields Regeneration Trust. The people in the gallery will be grateful for that. However, does he not have any sense of hypocrisy? He has almost got through his speech but has not talked about the UK Government’s role over the years in the decimation of mining communities such as mine? Is he not even going to mention that, or is it just an irrelevance to him?

Of course it is not an irrelevance, but we are talking about the work of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust. We can have a historical discussion outside of the chamber—I am more than happy to talk about the issues that prevailed 40 years ago. However, we are not in an episode of “Doctor Who” and we cannot be transported back 40 years, revisit those issues and make any tangible difference to what happened. However, we can highlight the fact that the Government that the member supports has just cut £100,000 from a vitally important source of funding for the work of the trust, and that that cut should be reversed.

I am probably out of time so, with your permission, Deputy Presiding Officer, I will quickly mention one example of community. Earlier this year, the people of Redding commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Redding pit disaster. An inrush of water trapped 66 miners underground in a mineshaft, and there were 40 fatalities. Forty families were impacted by one of the worst mining disasters in Scotland’s history. A group of very good people have kept the commemoration going—as has been referenced in relation to another pit disaster. Every year, hundreds of people attend such commemorations, and family members of some of the victims have flown in, from all over the world, to be in attendance and register their solidarity with the local community. In the wellspring of that history, community lives on in those former mining and ex-coalfield communities.

I salute the work of the trust and I hope that, on this budget day, the Government will have a moment of conscience and consider seriously my suggestion that one of them gives up their post so that that money can be used for a better local engagement funding project.

18:33  

I thank Alex Rowley for his hugely important and timely motion. As we head towards the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, the time is opportune not only to reflect on the trust’s work but to recognise that that work has never been more important.

I am proud to represent the South Scotland communities that are steeped in Scotland’s mining history. Coal seams run literally the length of the region. Midlothian, in the east, was once home to 26 collieries, and today is home to the National Mining Museum. Neighbouring East Lothian was home to the earliest coal mines in Scotland, between Tranent and Prestonpans, and was where the local Labour club ensured that children were fed a hot meal every day after school during the miners strike. Some of the most valuable coal seams paved the way to make South Lanarkshire the seat of the iron-smelting industry. On the west coast, in Ayrshire, at one time, 14,000 coal miners mined 4 million tons of coal a year—and a certain Keir Hardie founded the Ayrshire Miners Union, which led to the National Union of Scottish Mineworkers.

Even in Dumfriesshire, where I live—an area that many might not associate with coal mines—deep mining was integral to the economy as far south as Canonbie and Rowanburn and, more recently, in upper Nithsdale, from the Fauldhead mine in Kirkconnel, which was the largest local pit until it closed in 1968, to the opencast that continued until just a few years ago. Many of my relatives worked in the upper Nithsdale pits until the industry’s demise in the 1980s forced them to move—some to the north-east—to find work in the oil industry.

We often hear ministers in the chamber say, rightly, that if there is one lesson that we must take from the demise of the pits and the devastation that it inflicted on our communities, it is to ensure that we have a just transition for our oil and gas sector. They rightly point out that never again can we have a Government inflict such economic vandalism on communities and then walk away, which means that many of the coalfield communities have still not recovered. However, ministers cannot make those statements on the one hand and, on the other hand, cut the funding of the organisation that is solely dedicated to supporting those very communities.

The cut to the Coalfields Regeneration Trust’s funding is not just of £100,000; its funding has been frozen since 2011. That is an additional real-terms cut of more than £250,000. As we have heard, because of the Government’s procurement rules, the trust will not be able to run its grants programme to support smaller, grass-roots charities in communities.

When I wrote to the minister in the summer about the cuts, he dismissed them and claimed that there are plenty of other funding sources. However, as the trust’s survey of the organisations that are affected showed, that is not their experience. The Government’s approach fails to recognise the need for support for those communities over and above the other sources of funding.

Under the trust’s grants programme, even the smallest sums of money make a big difference to communities. There is not time to list the successes, but an example of a programme in my community is the community action plan in Kirkconnel and Kelloholm in upper Nithsdale, where a small investment by the trust supported the plan’s development and the early delivery of some projects. The trust also brought its expertise to the table—its understanding of coalfield communities’ needs—which helped to ensure that the plan’s priorities were the communities’ priorities. The trust’s support also levered in other sources of funding.

I appeal to the minister—as others have done, including members of his group—to rethink the cuts, which are an attack on our coalfield communities; to rethink the procurement rules in order to allow the trust to continue the important grant programme, which supports grass-roots community organisations; and to work with the trust to invest in and create a new model to provide the sustainable income stream that is needed to invest in our coalfield communities. That would end the need for grants in the long term, but we also need to invest in the trust in the short term.

If the Government is genuinely committed to a just transition, its actions—not its warm words—need to recognise that that has not happened in our coalfield communities. Now is not the time to walk away from those communities; it is time to support them.

18:38  

I, too, thank my colleague Alex Rowley for bringing this important issue to the Parliament’s attention.

I am proud to say that I grew up in, live in and now represent a coalfield community. I thank the visitors in the public gallery, who, like me, believe in those communities, not only because of our history of mining and powering the country but because our history built resilient people and bold communities with warmth, talent and tenacity. They deserve the wealth that has been generated from the labour of our parents, our grandparents and the wider communities.

It is almost 40 years since the rapid closure of the mining industries began, and former coalfield communities in my South Scotland region are still feeling the consequences. We have heard about the inequality in work opportunities and about the need to claim benefits. We have heard about the inequalities in educational opportunities and about the mortality rate. I repeat that the mortality rate in the Scottish coalfields is 25 per cent higher than the Scottish average. Make no mistake: that is by economic design. We in this place—we here—have to take responsibility to change the direction of that, and that is what the debate is about.

The Coalfields Regeneration Trust does such important work in my region, and we have heard about other work from members across the chamber. I live in Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, and the trust is a central part of our community. It functions as a model of how to effectively build progress in conjunction with communities, rather than by imposing things on those communities. We have heard that the Parliament recognises that; Alex Rowley spoke about that. There have been 112 motions in the Parliament recognising those benefits.

When mining went—or, rather, when mining was so cruelly taken away—many Ayrshire mining communities were simply left to struggle. As anyone in Ayrshire knows, mining was a core part of our identity and remains so to this day. It has not been forgotten because of economic change. Without mining, many towns and villages would never have come to be, so there is a lasting cultural memory for many of those who still live there. The mine was the centre of their work or their parents’ work, so they see themselves first and foremost as part of mining communities.

Let us be clear that those communities did not create, but rather fell victim to, the social and economic problems that we all know affect other former coalfield areas. Unemployment, a lack of Government investment and the acceptance of a decline in services are scars that take a long time to heal, and their effect on the day-to-day lives of generations of local people and families is still clear to see.

Organisations such as the Coalfields Regeneration Trust stepped into the void. During rapid and unthinking deindustrialisation, those organisations have pioneered projects such as Yipworld, the Zone, Auchinleck Community Development Initiative, the EPIC East Ayrshire Pipe Band Academy and the Netherthird Initiative for Community Empowerment. We need such projects in our communities and, without their help, we would be in a worse state. People who live there know that—no one needs to say it because we see it every day. The Coalfields Regeneration Trust is essential to our communities.

I will repeat points that have been made. We need the Government to support a capital endowment for community regeneration, we need the Scottish Government to change its procurement rules and we must restore funding for the Coalfields Regeneration Trust. We know that we must do those things. In the words of Mick McGahey, let us stand firm and fight.

I call the minister, Joe Fitzpatrick, to respond to the debate.

18:42  

I congratulate Alex Rowley on securing this important debate and thank members from across the chamber for their contributions.

I begin by reaffirming our commitment to supporting our coalfield communities, as is demonstrated by our long-standing support for the Coalfields Regeneration Trust and by the range of investments that we deliver to support coalfields, and all disadvantaged communities, across Scotland.

I think Martin Whitfield give us the quote of the debate when he reminded us that the Coalfields Regeneration Trust is not about the mines but is about people and communities. It is really important that we remember that.

The Scottish Government has provided more than £28 million to the trust since it was established in 1999. That reflects the valuable role that the trust has played in supporting our coalfield communities, building their capacity and delivering essential support through a range of activities.

It is worth taking a moment to touch on the points that were raised by Fulton MacGregor, Colin Smyth and others about what happened 40 years ago. We are coming up to that anniversary and, although this Parliament has taken action, the UK Government has still not apologised for what happened back then and there is still a need for a full UK-wide public inquiry into what happened.

Since 1999, our coalfield communities and other disadvantaged communities have faced many challenges. Market failure and rurality have had lasting impacts on social, physical and economic outcomes. Our long-term support for the trust is mirrored in our approach to regeneration, which recognises that change takes place over time.

We have a strong policy framework in place to realise our long-term, medium-term and short-term ambitions to improve the lives of people across Scotland. We are making an impact and seeing successes through our approach of targeting our investment at the communities that most need support. However, I must be clear that the financial climate in which we are operating is the most challenging ever. As a result, we must watch every penny and ensure that it is being spent on the things that have the greatest impact.

On that point, I am not abandoning the other claims, but an alteration in the Scottish procurement rules would allow the CRT to continue to hand out grants—even small grants—which, as we have heard from across the chamber, are so beneficial and fundamental to giving back dignity to communities.

I will come on to that specific point.

We have worked closely with the trust this year and have been open about the financial position that is faced. We are working with a reduced budget to deliver our empowering communities programme, which supports the CRT’s grant. That programme also delivers essential support directly to community organisations that deliver front-line activities and services to tackle local challenges of poverty and disadvantage in communities that are most in need across Scotland, including in coalfield areas.

We are not ignoring coalfield communities, as Mr Stewart implied, nor are we turning our backs on them, as Mr Leonard suggested. In fact, our support goes wider than directly funding the CRT. Further to Mr Smyth’s point, I want to highlight opportunities for more funding. Our strengthening communities programme and investing in communities fund are two funds that can be applied for across Scotland and which directly support coalfield communities. In 2023-24, the investing in communities fund is delivering more than £1.7 million in coalfield communities. That includes funding for a project in Methilhill that is providing accessible pre-school childcare, after-school clubs, youth clubs and volunteering opportunities for more than 70 young people to gain employability skills and training. The strengthening communities programme is currently providing a total of £600,000 to support the development of community anchor organisations in coalfield communities.

Will the minister give way on that point?

I want to finish this point. There are a number of points, including Stephen Kerr’s, that I will try to pick up.

The strengthening communities programme is helping Bothwell Futures, which is in the process of asset transfer of the Bothwell library, which will be an important space for the community.

The minister is engaging in a bit of whataboutery. The purpose of the debate is to consider the CRT and the work that it does, and everyone who has spoken has agreed that what it does is highly impactful. The sum of £100,000 is very small in the total scheme of the many billions of pounds that the Scottish Government has at its disposal. [Interruption.] Yes, I know that—

Mr Kerr, please just ask your question.

Yes. Will the minister consider my serious suggestion that the Government cuts its costs by £100,000 and directs that money to the CRT?

Obviously, given the challenges of the budget that we have just presented today, all public services are having to look at how we hold our money together. I was reflecting on a point that Mr Smyth raised—that is why I was highlighting the investing in communities fund and the strengthening communities programme.

Reflecting on the contribution that the CRT makes, and in spite of the challenging fiscal position, we have provided a substantial grant of nearly £650,000 to enable the trust to continue delivery of its employability, skills and training programmes, and its capacity building programmes, which the Government recognises.

I was pleased to meet the trustees in September to listen to their concerns. That provided me with the opportunity to convey to them our on-going support and our commitment to working with the trust. The meeting also gave me the opportunity to stress the importance of ensuring that the trust continues to support delivery of our regeneration outcomes.

Martin Whitfield, Fulton MacGregor, Alex Rowley and others referred to the coalfield investment programme small grants. I absolutely understand and appreciate the points that were made about access to small grant funding. Procurement rules and grant-making conditions exist to support proper use of public funds. However, I have asked my officials to explore the issue with the CRT in order to identify other ways in which the trust can support small community organisations, where that is possible and appropriate. However, I must be clear that the overall grant allocation for 2023-24 cannot be increased.

On future funding for the CRT, members will be acutely aware of the on-going budget challenges over the medium term. The First Minister has been clear that we must be able to demonstrate how every penny supports the three central missions of equality, opportunity and community, and our budget will deliver against those missions.

Members rose

I am mindful of the time, so I cannot take an intervention.

The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance, in her statement to Parliament today on the draft budget, set out the spending plans for 2024-25. The budget, which will be scrutinised by members of Parliament in the coming weeks, reflects the very difficult choices that have to be made as a result of the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s autumn statement and the impact that UK Government decisions have on Scotland.

Members rose.

I am mindful of time, so I will go straight to my conclusion.

I want to reaffirm our commitment to supporting work that delivers impact against our core missions, and to continuing to support the Coalfields Regeneration Trust as much as we can within our limited resources. To the best of our ability, within the constraints of the financial position in which we find ourselves, we want to support the valuable contribution that the trust makes in helping our coalfield communities to thrive.

I thank the people from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust for coming along today and listening to this important debate. I hope that they have felt the support for them from across the chamber. I will continue to do what I can to support the trust in being a sustainable organisation that supports our coalfield communities across Scotland.

Meeting closed at 18:51.