Chamber and committees

Ahead of the referendum, the yes campaign ran an advert that began:

“Hi, my name is Kirsty and I’m going to be born on 18 September 2014—the very same day as the referendum on independence for Scotland. The question is, what kind of country will I grow up in?”

Today is Kirsty’s 10th birthday, and we have a chance to look back on the country that she has grown up in. Is it a Scotland that is fairer and more prosperous? Is it a Scotland where she has been able to reach her full potential? Is it a Scotland of opportunity? Is it a Scotland where our wealth and natural resources are in our hands, harnessed to help everyone in Scotland prosper?

Let me tell you a little bit about how Kirsty is getting on. Before her first birthday, the UK elected a Tory Government that had a majority across the UK but just one single MP in Scotland. That meant that her early years were marked by austerity.

When Kirsty was one, the UK voted to leave the EU, despite a majority of voters in every Scottish local authority area voting to remain.

In the years that followed, Kirsty started school in one of the more than 1,000 schools that have been built or upgraded under the Scottish Government, and her little brother and sister were born. Kirsty was delighted when the baby boxes arrived. They meant that her siblings would get the best possible start in life—and, of course, she could help to colour them in.

Then the world changed with the pandemic. It took a wee while, but things slowly started to go back to normal, or the new normal. Kirsty went back to school, although she had to wear a mask and some of her friends had moved away due to Brexit. Her siblings started nursery, benefiting from the 1,140 hours of free childcare.

Kirsty’s world changed again when her dad got ill and lost his job. It is here that we have a tale of two Governments. Kirsty’s parents did not get universal credit for her younger sister because of the two-child cap. In the years that followed, the family’s gas and electricity bills started to go up, followed by the cost of food and then their mortgage payments. At eight years old, Kirsty did not understand what was happening, but she knew that the house was colder and darker, that she was not getting new clothes or toys any more and that her parents always looked worried.

However, there was still some help for Kirsty and her family from the Scottish Government. Her parents received the Scottish child payment for her and both her siblings. They received best start grants when her brother and sister started school, along with school clothing grants at the start of every school year. When times were tight, they got support with bills through the home heating support fund and the Scottish welfare fund.

When Kirsty’s dad got better and was able to go back to work, he was able to get a job that paid the real living wage. He now pays less income tax than he would elsewhere in the UK under Scotland’s more progressive taxation system.

Kirsty and her siblings get free bus travel. They get free entry to national museums and galleries. At school, they get two hours a week of physical education and free music lessons.

At just 10 years old, Kirsty is still a child, with her whole future ahead of her. As things stand, as she gets older, she will benefit from free period products. When she turns 16, she will get to shape this country—her country—at the ballot box. If she goes to university in Scotland, she will not have to pay a penny in tuition fees.

As Kirsty grows, she will decide what she does for work and whether to have a family. She will make her own decisions and write her own story. What will Scotland look like when we get to that point? Will we be an independent country with decisions about Scotland being made in Scotland? Will we be writing our own story and our own history?

I continue to campaign tirelessly for independence because I believe that it will give us a better Scotland for all who live here. In the decades since the referendum, the Scottish Parliament, often working across party lines, has put in place measure after measure to build a better future for the next generation, but it keeps getting undermined by Westminster austerity. I believe that we all want a fairer Scotland, a more prosperous Scotland and a modern, diverse and dynamic Scotland—a Scotland where Kirsty and all our bairns can reach their full potential. The question for folk up and down our country today is simply this: do they feel that that is more likely in a nation that decides for itself? I believe that it is.

Can the cabinet secretary provide details on how the Scottish Prison Service strategy for women in custody, supported by significant investment from the Scottish Government, has changed how we support the rehabilitation of women in prison?

I do not see anyone else indicating that they want to come in, convener, so I will hand back to you.

Thank you, convener, and good morning. The financial memorandum states that the bill will have “no significant cost implications”. Do you in general agree with that, or do you think that it will have?

Thomas, you caught my eye.

How can the Government respond to that impact? How can it have a positive effect on the situation?

I nominate Michael Matheson as the deputy convener.

As no one else has indicated that they wish to answer, I will go on to my next question.

Each CCP must include statements on how it accounts for climate justice and just transition principles. What is the bill’s potential impact on climate justice and just transition, and how might the Government respond to that?

Thomas, you were looking at me again.

So is it the golden thread that goes through everything? Is that what you are saying? I do not want to put words in your mouth.

Will the member take an intervention?

Will the member take an intervention on that point?