Chamber and committees

I cannot believe that I am saying this, but I can hardly hear you, so could you move your microphone up a tiny bit, please?

Yes.

Yes.

I realise that I have gone over time slightly, convener, so I pass back to you. I may come back in later.

Thank you very much. I, for one, am looking forward to the Promise bill coming forward.

The Scottish Government recently published an impact report on pupil equity funding. What is the Government’s assessment of how that is helping to close the attainment gap?

Thank you.

I congratulate my friend and colleague Karen Adam on securing today’s members’ business debate on Thomas Blake Glover.

There is a very long list of folk from Aberdeen—whether they were born there, grew up there or lived there later in life—who have helped to shape the world as we know it today. We have a history of innovation, world-leading engineering and global influence, but we are absolutely dreadful at telling folk about it. We seem to not want to talk up our history or the folk who made it happen. Thomas Blake Glover is probably the best example of that in Aberdeen. He is at least somewhat known and spoken about, although a great part of that is due to the work of the Mitsubishi Corporation and its kind donations that saw his parents’ home in Bridge of Don, in my Aberdeen Donside constituency, turned into a museum.

We have a man who helped to shape Japan’s history by playing a role in its civil war, helping to rebuild its navy, introducing rail travel there—maybe, one day, we might even reintroduce rail services to his native Broch, as Karen Adam said—and playing an important role in the foundations of the two internationally recognised brands of Mitsubishi and Kirin.

Thomas Blake Glover is a man whom we should be talking about. The extraordinary life that he lived lends itself to storytelling, but far too many folk have not heard of him. I hope that today's debate will help more people to hear and learn about Thomas Blake Glover. If we can have success with him, we can maybe move on to some of our city’s five Nobel prize winners, or the great minds that came through King’s and Marischal colleges during the Scottish enlightenment.

However, let us start with Thomas Blake Glover. Karen Adam has already spoken about much of his life. It certainly was not boring or uncontroversial. He was an immigrant—well, an emigrant to us—he was an arms dealer; he was a criminal, due to the arms dealing, although he seems to have been forgiven as he sold only to the winning side and he commissioned warships for Japan in shipyards in Aberdeen; he ran a coal mine; he was a pioneer of public transport; he created jobs; and he owned a brewery. There is something there for everyone to have an opinion on.

It is certainly not a life that deserves to be forgotten, and it is disappointing that Glover house, his parents’ former home that I mentioned, is now sitting empty. It was bought by Mitsubishi in 1996, restored to what it would have looked like in the 1850s, and was given to the Grampian Japan Trust to run as a museum. In 2006, it moved to being run by Aberdeen City Council, before eventually closing in 2012 due to low visitor numbers and rising costs. I remember being given a tour and hosting Japanese dignitaries there back in the day, when I had the privilege of being depute provost of Aberdeen.

Money has been spent maintaining and repairing the house since, but 13 years later, the council is still looking for a suitable purpose for the building, and its condition is slowly getting worse. It needs to be lived in to survive, as is the case for all buildings—they decay much more quickly when unused.

Whatever form it takes, whether it is a museum or something else, we must ensure that Glover has a lasting and fitting legacy in Aberdeen. As our city looks beyond oil and gas, he is probably an example for someone who could help to build new industries. Some of that might involve tourism—in which case, we must get better at telling and marketing his story—or it might be done through entrepreneurship, and it is his spirit that we will need to tap into. I have spoken about the past; now, the question is, what will the future be?

I thank Karen Adam again for giving me a chance to talk about Thomas Blake Glover today.

A new report from Robert Gordon University has warned that 800 energy jobs a month could be lost unless urgent action is taken. That will be of significant concern to many of my constituents who are employed in the sector. Despite those dire warnings, the Labour United Kingdom Government seems determined to press ahead with its misguided energy policies. It is refusing to back vital initiatives such as the Acorn project and is sitting silent as workers lose their jobs.

Does the First Minister share my concern that Scotland’s energy sector appears to be an afterthought for the UK Government? In the face of Westminster inaction, what steps is the Scottish National Party Government taking to deliver a just transition for my constituents in Aberdeen Donside?

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any engagement it has had with the United Kingdom Government regarding the impact of the increase to employer national insurance contributions on the third sector in Scotland. (S6O-04762)

A local charity has told me that Labour’s short-sighted hike to employer national insurance contributions will cost that charity a staggering £450,000. That funding could support vital local services. Does the cabinet secretary share my concern about the impact of Labour’s tax hike on the voluntary sector in Scotland? Does she agree that the UK Government should reverse it as a matter of priority?