Chamber and committees

I thank the minister for that clarification.

If the law on moveable transactions—the assignation of debt and security over corporeal and incorporeal moveable property—is not reformed, individuals and businesses will continue to operate at a disadvantage in Scotland. As a result, businesses and individuals in Scotland would continue to be restricted in their ability to raise finance through the use of their moveable assets and debts.

The Federation of Small Businesses has indicated that, each year, 3,500 small businesses in Scotland fold because their invoices remain unpaid. The reform of the law of assignation of debt in Scotland—in the form of the bill—will permit a business, by means of an assignation, to more easily transfer to a bank or other financial institution its unpaid customer invoices, and thus obtain immediate finance.

If no action is taken, the assignation of debt in Scotland will continue to be governed by legislation that dates from 1862, which makes the process cumbersome and expensive and, in turn, makes it impossible to assign future debt. If the bill is not passed, it would remain the case that, if a business wished to assign its unpaid invoices to a financial institution in order to raise finance, a written intimation—notification—of the assignation would have to be provided to every invoiced customer. That is cumbersome, expensive and often impractical, since there may be numerous debtors. In addition, it cannot be done in respect of future claims, such as invoices that will be due from existing customers in the future, where the debtor cannot yet be identified.

The effect is that some Scottish businesses elect to enter into contracts that are governed by English law to avoid the need for intimation, which means that invoice financers can charge more for their services in Scotland than they might in England.

As has been demonstrated, the bill is essential for business in Scotland to ensure that we are key international players and to attract business and investment, and I look forward to it moving forward.

I will, but I am no expert, so I do not know whether I will be able to answer it.

During last week’s debate on the bill, the Parliament agreed overwhelmingly that the Tories’ bonfire of European Union law threatens vital protections, creates enormous uncertainty and undermines devolution, and should therefore be scrapped. Will the cabinet secretary assure members that he will highlight the Scottish Parliament’s rejection of the so-called Brexit freedoms bill when he deals with his UK Government counterparts?

To ask the Scottish Government what response the constitution secretary has had from the United Kingdom Government to his recent letter calling for the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill to be withdrawn or significantly amended. (S6O-01649)

I am pleased to be able to bring to the chamber this members’ debate, which celebrates the hard work and commitment of the young folk across Scotland during #iwill week. I thank colleagues from all sides of the chamber who have supported my motion, thereby allowing us this evening to highlight the volunteers and young people across Scotland who are making a positive change in their communities.

The #iwill week was established in 2013 and brought together 50 young people who wanted to make a difference in their community with 50 organisations that could help them to achieve their goals. The #iwill week now reaches more than 700 young #iwill ambassadors and more than 1,000 organisations, and this year it took place from 21 to 25 November.

It has the aim of shedding light on the challenges that are faced by young activists and change makers, as well as helping to encourage meaningful conversations among all those who work in the youth work sector on how they can continue to support youth social action into 2023. From primary schools to a clinical commissioning group in Barrow-in-Furness, and from FTSE companies to Government departments, the #iwill movement has gone from strength to strength.

However, challenges lie ahead, including poverty, the climate emergency, worsening mental health and wellbeing, social and economic inequalities and racial injustice. Challenges that existed before the Covid-19 crisis have been exacerbated by the global pandemic, and the future has never felt more uncertain. This is why #iwill week is so vital: it provides a platform through which young people can truly influence change.

Social action is about people coming together to improve their lives and solve the problems that are important in their communities. It can include volunteering, donating money, taking community action or undertaking simple neighbourly acts. Through the commitment and skill of citizens, social action can empower communities and help people in need. Taking part in social action is associated with higher levels of wellbeing and can improve folks’ confidence and skills. It is often reported to be the catalyst for people becoming involved in local democracy and national politics, which are areas where we need more diversity.

Our ambition as a country is to be a democratic and welcoming nation. To do that, we need to empower our communities to take more ownership of the decisions that are made and we need to empower folk to have influence over their lives and outcomes. Social action is important at a young age. Young folk should grow up influencing decisions and their communities in ways that will shape their futures and spaces to make a positive difference.

The #iwill week is one way of celebrating the young folk across the country who are involved in social action and are striving to make their communities better for all young people, as well as seeking to see and make changes to policies that might impact on young folk at local and national levels.

Research suggests that high-quality activities meet six principles. They will be youth-led, they will be challenging, they will have a social impact, they will allow for progression to other opportunities, they will be embedded in a young person’s life and they will enable reflection on the value of the activity. The higher the quality of the social action, the more likely it is to benefit both the young folk involved and the communities or causes that they are trying to help.

I give a quick shout-out and my personal thanks to Cian Gullen for the help that she has provided for me with this topic. Cian recently marked her sixth year as an #iwill ambassador. In those years, she has worked with YouthLink as co-chair of the #iwill advisory group and has been involved in a lot of the planning of #iwill events in Scotland, as well as helping to ensure that the movement remains youth led. She has worked with other #iwill ambassadors and other young people to help to progress the #YouthVIP recommendations to make volunteering more accessible to young people across Scotland. She is a true advocate for social change and I know that others take inspiration from her work.

I end by strongly encouraging all members to promote the remarkable work of #iwill and the #iwill ambassadors in helping to make change not only for young people but for the wider communities that we represent. It is important that we recognise the incredible work of young people across our communities and regions and right across Scotland.

Without being clichéd, I can say that children and young people are our future. We must enable them to lead the way, listen to their views and support them to bring about meaningful social change. I ask the minister for a commitment that the Government will build on its record in that regard and will continue to support the advance of youth democracy and social change.

As a member of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee, I am happy to speak in this debate on the varied outcomes of COP27. COP27 will go down in history as the UN climate change conference where the loss and damage fund was agreed. After decades of pushing, that is a momentous victory for the climate-vulnerable developing countries.

The shift in the conversation and in the position of developed countries since COP26 is remarkable. COP27 has finally seen an acknowledgement by developed countries that the people who are least responsible for global warming are the ones who are suffering its worst consequences. Crucially, it also recognised that rich developed nations have a moral obligation to support those who are experiencing the impacts of the climate crisis in the here and now.

There remains a lot of detail to be worked out over the next year, ahead of COP28, but from the inclusion of loss and damage on the agenda to the agreement to establish a fund, COP27 has delivered a real breakthrough for vulnerable and developing countries. Having worked with others over the past 12 months to build the momentum, Scotland should be proud of playing its part in the lead up to that decision. It is crucial that parties continue to build on the positive momentum that was created in Sharm as challenging discussions ensue on how the new loss and damage fund will work and who will contribute to it financially.

In being the first developed country ever to make a financial contribution, Scotland has been able to play a small part in the loss and damage journey. Last year, Scotland was the first developed nation to pledge finance to address loss and damage, with a commitment at COP26 of £2 million from the climate justice fund. Other countries such as Wallonia and Denmark have now followed suit and we should encourage all economically developed nations to do similarly.

An additional £5 million of funding was announced by the First Minister at the COP27 climate summit, taking the total funding that Scotland has announced to £7 million. Although that is a small sum in terms of the overall scale of the loss and damage that developing countries face, it sends out an important international message. It shows just how important the action of smaller Governments can be in making a huge difference internationally and encouraging others to do so. In virtually everything that we do on loss and damage, Scotland is trying to ensure that we listen to international perspectives, especially those of the global south.

Although the action of Scotland and our European neighbours is vitally important and, indeed, has been recognised as such by the likes of the United Nations, COP27 was a hectic and sometimes chaotic event. It advanced some matters, but on others it failed to drive ambitions towards the climate action that is required to keep alive the possibility of restricting climate change within the envelope of the Paris agreement to 1.5°C. Loss and damage progressed, but, especially in week 2, there was a risk of going backwards in COP27 relative to COP26 in Glasgow.

The final cover declaration managed to avoid the worst, but it also avoided the best. Notably disappointing was the fact that the recognition of loss and damage has not been matched by greater action to prevent a worsening of the climate crisis. Keeping 1.5 alive and delivering the fastest possible transition away from fossil fuels are key to preventing greater loss and damage in the future. It is crucial that countries recommit themselves to doing everything they can to keep 1.5 alive and to building a coalition ahead of COP28 that protects and drives progress against any further pushback.

While discussing COP27, it would be remiss of me not to mention the other COP: COP15, on biodiversity, which will begin in Montreal tomorrow. Climate change and nature loss are twin crises and must be tackled together. The Scottish Government recognises that and, through the Edinburgh declaration, has shown international leadership to highlight the crucial role that sub-nation and local government can play in protecting nature. Scotland has suffered from high historical levels of nature loss, and we face huge challenges today. Nearly 50 per cent of species have decreased in abundance since 1994, and one in nine species are at risk of national extinction.

It is expected that COP15 will result in a new global framework to tackle biodiversity loss, with a draft target to protect 30 per cent of land and sea for nature by the end of the decade. It is known as the 30 by 30 target, and the Scottish Government has already committed to implementing it in Scotland. Research that was conducted by Survation found that two thirds of Scots support the target.

A report that was published this week by the coalition group Scottish Environment LINK underlined how important 30 by 30 can be. The report said that protected areas

“are the frontline of defence for nature against growing pressures from human activity and climate change and are vital for supporting our species and habitats.”

We have a climate emergency. Scotland is doing what it can to tackle that emergency, but we need greater effort from the international community, and I ask the Government to continue to press for such action.

It is interesting that football has not been mentioned at any point in the debate, because it has a direct impact on how much domestic violence there is, especially during the world cup, which is on at the moment. What can the Government do to help football teams and clubs to support domestic violence education and prevention going forward?

In speaking about joined-up working with partners, you spoke about your work with local authorities. Will you go into more detail about the joined-up work that you have done with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and other public authorities?

Good morning, and thank you for coming along. The strategic plan says that Scottish Water is going to

“promote blue-green approaches and drive innovative solutions to reduce flooding.”

With that in mind, can I ask what progress has been made in adoption of blue-green infrastructure to manage surface water, and whether you have any examples of projects? Douglas Millican, I will direct that question to you, as you are looking at me.

Thank you.