Chamber and committees

A total of 24 climate action hubs were set up across Scotland, following a 2024 programme for government commitment. The hubs are there to empower people to act in their neighbourhoods and have supported a range of projects, including those linked to local energy generation, flood mitigation and food growing. A total of £5.5 million was allocated in 2024-25 for the allocation of hubs. The cabinet secretary said:

“Communities are uniquely placed to play a key role in sharing and driving forward Scotland’s transition to low carbon and climate resilient living.”

East Lothian Climate Hub received more than £126,000 from the fund. I am meeting representatives of the hub tomorrow. What role will climate action hubs play in the climate plan? What message can I relay to East Lothian Climate Hub when I meet it tomorrow?

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app would not connect. I would have voted no.

I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in this important debate, and I welcome the committee’s report. I am a previous member of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee and a current member of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee.

This debate is about confronting a stark reality. For many women in Scotland, leaving an abusive relationship is not just a matter of courage but a matter of survival and, too often, a matter of money. Financial insecurity is one of the most significant barriers that prevent survivors from escaping abuse. It is a cruel paradox that the very act of seeking safety can plunge women and their children into homelessness, poverty and long-term debt.

Let us be clear that coerced debt is a form of domestic abuse. It is deliberate and it is calculated to control. We have all seen that from constituents. Abusers build debt in victims’ names, restrict access to money and weaponise economic dependence. That traps women in dangerous situations and leaves them financially devastated when they escape. In my East Lothian constituency and in communities across Scotland, we see the consequences of that every day. Women who are supported by services in my constituency report being pursued for council tax and rent arrears that were accrued during abusive relationships—debts that they did not consent to and often did not even know existed. Those debts are not just numbers—they are barriers to housing, employment and recovery.

Homelessness is a common consequence. Often, when women flee, they do so with nothing. They leave behind homes, belongings and financial stability. They enter temporary accommodation, uprooted from communities, schools and support networks. When they try to move on, they face systemic obstacles such as rent arrears, council tax debt and up-front costs that make securing a new tenancy nearly impossible. Additional support for citizens advice bureaux, as mentioned by the minister, is welcome. One survivor told Aberlour that

“debt feels like a shadow you can’t escape”.

That is not just unjust; it is unacceptable.

The Scottish Government has taken some necessary steps. The Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 made coercive control a crime. The equally safe strategy addresses financial abuse, recognising that systems can worsen economic inequality and hinder women’s ability to leave. When I was a minister, I participated in the equally safe ministerial group meetings and saw how seriously the Minister for Equalities took her responsibilities in that regard.

The new £1 million fund to leave, which I helped to develop in my time as Minister for Housing, provides vital support for women and children who flee abuse. Scottish Women’s Aid chief executive officer, Dr Marsha Scott, said:

“Scottish Women’s Aid warmly welcomes announcement of a roll-out of the original Fund to Leave pilots to the rest of Scotland.

Every day we and our local Women’s Aid services see women and children struggling to get free of an abuser. The Fund to Leave offers a critical helping hand when women and children need it most. ‘Leaving’ is difficult and dangerous, and the Fund to Leave is such an important step to making leaving and staying free from an abuser a reality across Scotland.”

However, we must go further. We need systemic reform of public debt recovery. Debt collection practices must be trauma informed and compassionate, and survivors should not be aggressively pursued for debts that are accrued through abuse. We must embed equally safe principles across all public bodies, not just domestic abuse services. Legal aid must be accessible, which is an on-going issue that we all need to take forward.

Social security systems must be flexible. The UK Government must end policies that deepen poverty, such as the five-week wait for universal credit and the two-child limit, which disproportionately harm women and children who are fleeing abuse.

The debate is about not just policy but dignity. Let us commit to building a Scotland in which no woman is forced to choose between safety and homelessness, children are not punished for the debts of abusers and financial independence is not a privilege but a right.

I thank Craig Hoy for securing this afternoon’s debate. As some members may know, I started my career with the TSB in Haddington. After a few years, I moved to the Bank of Scotland at the bottom of Morningside Road. I spent 22 years in the banking sector, working first as a financial adviser and then working in business and corporate banking. When I was in the Morningside branch, about 45 to 50 people worked in the branch, from the cash desk to business banking and customer inquiries. I remember the Thursday afternoon rush of people coming in with pay cheques and withdrawing cash. The rush around the Edinburgh trades holiday was also very busy—but that is enough reminiscing about the 1980s from me. Times have changed, with technology having changed dramatically and footfall in branches having dropped. The Morningside branch now has around six to eight members of staff compared with the 50 that I mentioned.

What can we do to tackle bank closures? Of course, we can all campaign to save bank branches—we have heard about that from many members in the debate—and sometimes the last one in town. As has been mentioned, all the towns in East Lothian have seen branch closures by all the banks. In October last year, my team and I contacted Link about bank closures in Dunbar, North Berwick and Tranent. Link is the co-ordination body that conducts assessments when there is a change in the level of cash access in a community, and it recommends new services when required. It has assessed the bank closures in East Lothian towns and villages. New rules on that were brought in around October last year.

Having submitted applications for North Berwick, Dunbar and Haddington, I was extremely pleased that new banking hubs were recommended for North Berwick and Dunbar. We continue to push for a hub in Tranent through Cash Access UK, which was asked to take forward the proposals. Public meetings were held in North Berwick, which Mr Hoy and I both attended, and members of the public were able to ask questions. I am delighted to say that the banking hubs are now open in North Berwick and Dunbar. The North Berwick one is in the old Bank of Scotland building.

Yes. Like Mr Hoy, I have visited the hubs and that issue has been raised. It is good that the hub in Dunbar is now moving to a permanent home, which I think means that there will be more bank representation in it. The permanent home will be open in the next few weeks and is in a renovated building that has not been used for a number of years.

Banking hubs help our business communities, and lots of businesses at the North Berwick meeting welcomed the hub there. Hubs support people who suffer from digital exclusion, and they provide key support for our communities. Let us all campaign against bank closures when we can, but let us also campaign for banking hubs and the support that they bring to our communities. One obvious solution is to bring banking regulation to Scotland under independence, so that we can make decisions that affect our own communities.

The report that was published following the HIS inspection in June states that staff were

“working hard to provide compassionate and responsive care in very challenging circumstances.”

It made 26 requirements for improvement and escalated serious concerns to NHS Lothian and the Scottish Government. One of the main issues that were mentioned in the report was

“delays in escalation of care”,

which

“resulted in significant adverse outcomes for women.”

What can the cabinet secretary say to reassure pregnant women in my area of East Lothian and in NHS Lothian about that particular area, and what actions are being taken now—and have been taken since the inspection—in relation to that?

The SFC has estimated that the Scottish National Party Government’s income tax policy choices since devolution will raise up to an additional £1.7 billion in 2025-26 compared with what would have been the case if we had matched the UK Government’s tax policy. Can the cabinet secretary provide assurances that the Scottish Government will continue to deliver a progressive approach to taxation, enabling Scotland to spend more on the things that matter most, such as protecting and improving our national health service and lifting children out of poverty?

Although the Opposition looks to discredit the dedication of Scotland’s students through persistent negativity about Scotland’s schools, this year’s SQA results showed record levels of achievement. Can the cabinet secretary speak further on the overall performance of Scotland’s schools, notably in relation to the narrowing of the poverty-related attainment gap? [Interruption.]

I have only four minutes, Mr Hoy.

Those sectors include renewables, digital, health and social care, construction and engineering. Apprenticeships in Scotland are not just about filling vacancies; they are about building a fair, productive and inclusive economy. Our colleges have been at the forefront of that, supporting young people, career changers and those who are furthest from the labour market to access opportunities that change lives.

I have seen at first hand how colleges support my constituency by working with local employers. My local college, Edinburgh College, has stated that the south-east of Scotland region

“is the fastest growing in Scotland”

and that

“84% of Scotland’s population growth in the next ten years will be in Edinburgh and Southeast Scotland”,

with East Lothian’s population forecast to grow by a third.

Edinburgh College has also stated that it supports the reforms that are proposed in the Tertiary Education and Training (Funding and Governance) (Scotland) Bill. It said:

“It is imperative that apprenticeship provision is expanded if we are to take advantage of the substantial economic opportunities that come from our region’s demographic growth.”

Last year, the college carried out its own skills survey research with regional employers. It stated that

“88% of employers say that some”

of their

“vacancies are hard to fill due to difficulties finding applicants with the required skills, knowledge and/or experience”.

It is important that we look at the reforms that the Government is proposing in that regard.

A strong college sector is a key driver to economic success in East Lothian and across Scotland in order to take those opportunities forward. We can contrast that with the Conservatives’ record: scrapping free tuition, cutting investment in lifelong learning and tying the hands of devolved Governments through austerity budgets. It is not a credible lecture on opportunity—it is an exercise in economic hypocrisy.

Let us be clear that Scotland’s skills system is being held back not by a lack of ambition or ability, but by a lack of powers. We do not control migration to fill skills gaps, we cannot borrow to invest strategically in college estates, and we do not get a fair return from the energy resources off our shores. That is why independence matters. It is not a distraction from economic priorities; it is the essential step to deliver them. With full powers, Scotland could invest directly in the skills that underpin a fair work nation, where every worker earns a decent wage, has security and shares in the prosperity that they help to create.

The SNP will always back investment in skills, apprenticeships and fair work, but the real choice that is before us is simple: do we want to manage decline under Westminster austerity or to build opportunity with the powers of independence? I know which side I am on.

No one in the chamber doubts that Scotland’s economic success depends on people, on skills and on the talent and ambition of our workforce. To build a fair and resilient economy, we need more than slogans about growth; we need investment in people, in fair work and in the systems that help people to thrive. That is what the Scottish Government has been doing, despite a decade of Westminster austerity that has cut Scotland’s capital and resource budgets in real terms year after year.

Let us look at some of the fundamentals. Ninety-three per cent of school leavers have a positive destination, and the Scottish Government has provided apprenticeships and training to a record 39,000 individuals. No one, including Tory MSPs, can explain away the impact of Brexit and no one, including Labour MSPs, can argue that the UK Government’s migration system is contributing to filling key skills gaps and labour market shortages. Both parties lie down to the Farage narrative.

The Conservative motion talks about restoring college funding and expanding apprenticeships. Those are worthy aims, but it is worth reminding members that the Conservatives’ economic decisions stripped more than £1.6 billion from Scotland’s spending power since 2021-22.

Even in those circumstances, however, Scotland’s approach to skills is working. The national strategy for economic transformation, the fair work action plan and the skills delivery landscape review are aligning education, business and Government to deliver the workforce that Scotland needs. The minister talked about the energy skills partnership and the work that it is doing, which is relevant to my constituency of East Lothian. The Scottish Government has protected more than 25,000 apprenticeship places, prioritising sectors that are driving future growth, such as renewables—