Chamber and committees

In this atmosphere of collaboration, I, too, wish to recognise the point that Daniel Johnson and the minister made about involving industry. I see great examples of that, one of which involves Renewable Parts in Lochgilphead and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks working with Oban high school.

The latest statistics on positive destination are demonstrative that the Scottish National Party Government’s investment is reaching where it matters most. What work is under way to ensure that access to work, training or further study is not limited by a young person’s background, given the unique challenges facing rural and island communities, such as those in my constituency of Argyll and Bute?

I am about to.

That is how we improve things—not by the constant negativity that we hear from those on the benches to my left.

George Orwell wrote “1984” in Barnhill on the Isle of Jura in Argyll and Bute. I cannot help but think of his warning that language can be used to distort reality. My constituent reminded me why I came to this Parliament—

—not to tell people that Scotland cannot succeed, but to build a Scotland that does.

I will finish my story first, if the member does not mind.

That support has meant that those people have remained in Argyll and Bute, working in good jobs, contributing to the community and reducing population decline.

No, I do not. I believe that Scotland is a country that will be welcomed into the European Union. We have the most amazing resources, whether that is people, our landscape, the universities, the businesses or the energy. Moreover, from a strategic point of view, Scotland is incredibly important to Europe.

My constituent and I spoke about the benefits of living in Argyll and Bute and how Scotland will be the best independent country in the world. That is not the empty rhetoric that we have heard from Reform this afternoon; that is hope, dreams and someone who cares about Scotland. Like others, I had not intended to speak in the debate, because I do not do the dog-whistle politics that some people like in this chamber. However, having had that conversation on Monday, I was compelled to do so.

I politely suggest to Reform UK that its motion is an insult to hard-working Scots, whether they work in our schools, our hospitals or our small businesses. The utter negativity of the motion shows a complete lack of awareness of the amazing stuff that is happening across Scotland. I will touch on a couple of examples.

The Reform motion mixes up net zero policies, as my colleague Jackie Dunbar has talked about. It says that net zero

“harms individual opportunities and economic growth”.

If any of the Reform members had taken part in my colleague Maggie Chapman’s debate on university education, they would have heard me talk about the Scottish Association for Marine Science, which is in Oban, in my constituency. Scientists there are doing lots of things: examining the life cycle and behaviours of sea lice in order to tackle one of the main issues in fin-fish aquaculture; using underwater robotic vehicles to identify entanglement risks to aquatic mammals; restoring many of the bottlenecks in the emerging seaweed farming industry; providing crucial marine mammal data for marine renewables; and using net zero as a way to employ people and improve our businesses. That strengthens our communities, expands the economy and helps businesses to cope with climate change. Having a world-class marine science research centre such as SAMS has allowed Highlands and Islands Enterprise to develop its European marine science park, bringing specialist companies in high-growth sectors to the area and improving repopulation in my constituency.

Angela Ross talked a lot about education. I must say that I agree with her about one thing—although she is, in my opinion, contradicting one of her fellow party members—which is that art is not an optional extra. Art is one of the most important subjects, and we can all engage with it for many reasons, such as our mental wellbeing and the betterment of our country. I am interested to know whether Mr Kerr thinks that it is a pointless subject.

Yesterday, I met pupils at Sunnyside primary school in Glasgow, and we talked about climate change, the Celtic and Amazonian rainforests and the fact that Scotland is the proud host of a rainforest. In my constituency, Dunoon grammar school won the world’s best school prize for community collaboration. That is the kind of schooling and education—and those are the kind of pupils—that we should be presenting.

Duncan Massey talked about grid infrastructure. In Kintyre and Mid Argyll, in my constituency, £400 million has been invested in infrastructure upgrade in order to increase grid capacity; we also have investment in distribution enhancements for network resilience projects, because climate change means that we need to improve resilience. Therefore, that investment is happening in Scotland.

I would like to reflect on Willie Rennie’s comments. Bute welcomed families from Syria, who are now an integral part of the island. In Lochgilphead, Ukrainian families have settled and helped to revitalise the town’s main street with two new businesses. As the Proclaimers sing,

“They’re all Scotland’s story and they’re all the same.”

I would like to strongly associate myself with Willie Rennie’s remarks, and to recognise the amazing Nigerian and Baltic staff working at Balnacarron care home in St Andrews.

I agree with Labour’s amendment. The importance of reducing inequalities is so important, and I whole-heartedly agree with the sentiments that Jenny Young expressed in her speech in the members’ business debate on Jo Cox last week. That is where we should come together in this Parliament to improve things for everyone.

Oh no—I have lost the final page of my notes. I have never done that before.

Mòran taing, Oifigear Riaghlaidh. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer.

I want to start with the words of one of my constituents:

“I am not a politician, nor do I ever wish to become one. I am a leatherworker, a father and a business owner. I want to spend my life building my business, raising my children and living quietly in Scotland. However, I also believe that when ordinary people see a problem in society, they should not be afraid to speak up and propose solutions.”

My constituent wanted to talk to me because he wants to find a way for Scotland to become a normal, independent country. Angela Ross’s analogy of a crossroads is fair, but our decision as to which track we will follow is a different one. From my perspective, it is independence that we should choose.

On Monday, I met my constituent and his wife. He spoke about the impact that Brexit had had on his business and how, because of that vote, his order book collapsed. He had to find new ways of marketing and promoting his business to ensure that he and his family survived. He spoke about the support that he had received from the SNP to expand his business. He spoke about the support that he had received from the Scottish Government to employ apprentices. That support has allowed him to expand his business to a third workshop.

I thank the minister for his statement and I agree that Scotland should most definitely be at the heart of Europe. Ending the free movement of labour has severely restricted the pool of workers in key sectors in Argyll and Bute. Tourism, hospitality and the care sector have all struggled with staff shortages and recruitment difficulties, and I have lost count of the number of organisations that have spoken to me directly about that.

Given that the UK Government has neglected to act to resolve the issue, does the minister agree that it should step aside and devolve the powers to the Scottish Parliament so that we can introduce a Scottish visa system that supports all those sectors and more?

I thank the minister for her statement, which had business, hope and ambition for all of Scotland—especially rural and island areas such as Argyll and Bute—at its heart.

I note the minister’s comments on the Faroe Islands. I am sure that she will agree that, given the challenging Scottish budget settlement and the economic circumstances, there is a clear case for Scotland to have additional fiscal flexibilities to better manage our budget. Does she agree that Scotland would be far better placed to manage the public finances if it had the full powers of independence?

I congratulate Maggie Chapman on securing this members’ business debate on such an important area of Scottish life: our universities and, more broadly, our higher education sector. Her final words were very powerful—I thank her for them—and I note that, in my constituency, there have been some issues around redundancies at the University of the Highlands and Islands.

I was interested in the way in which Maggie Chapman started her speech, because it was the way in which my thought process has gone, too. If I may, I will take us back to the roots of the word “university”. It comes from the medieval Latin word “universitas”—I never did Latin, so apologies for my pronunciation—meaning a number of persons associated into one body. Historically, the term referred not to a physical place of learning but to the people who made it, and that came through powerfully in Maggie Chapman’s speech.

The origins of “university” made me wonder whether we have forgotten why we have universities and what their value is to our wider communities. I have two vital higher education establishments in my constituency: the University of the Highlands and Islands and the Scottish Association for Marine Science. SAMS’s strategy for 2025 to 2030 sets out a plan for

“World-leading science for a healthy ocean and thriving people”

and, perhaps, blue-sea thinking. For the reader, the words that jump out from the strategy are “together”, “discovery”, “educate”, “innovate”, “action” and, importantly, “people”.

UHI is in 48 locations, seven of which are in my constituency, and it provides flexible learning opportunities. It is also embedded in our secondary schools. For example, Oban high school students developed their own fish farm sites for their end-of-year projects as part of the into aquaculture course that was designed by Scottish Sea Farms in conjunction with UHI Argyll.

I am pleased to see that there is collaboration between SAMS and UHI in a range of academic opportunities, from a BSc in marine science to PhDs in high-impact marine science fields. Those give opportunities to students who do not wish to move from the area to further their education, and they bring students from around the world to stem the brain drain and depopulation that Argyll and Bute faces.

Industries such as finfish aquaculture, seaweed farming, fishing and offshore renewables increasingly rely on research data to innovate and inform sustainable development and best practice in their respective sectors. Scotland’s future growth depends on activity in those areas, and the research and available data must keep pace with industrial and commercial development. As well as ensuring that development is as environmentally sensitive as possible, it allows policy makers to make informed decisions.

SAMS won the collaboration category at the UK Aquaculture Awards, having worked alongside the salmon farming industry and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. SAMS scientists are examining the life cycle and behaviours of sea lice to help to tackle one of the main issues in finfish aquaculture, using underwater robotic vehicles to identify entanglement risks to marine mammals. There is so much going on, with great examples of further education and research tailoring their offerings to what their community needs, both locally and globally.

I do not know whether anybody noticed the article in The Guardian today about the Biodiversity Heritage Library, an online archive of historical texts on species living and lost. The withdrawal of funding from that area of work will impact on our knowledge around biodiversity. As Maggie Chapman noted, this is not just a Scottish crisis; it is a worldwide one. We must ensure that we continue that education.

SAMS hosts a rare algae library—leabharlann feamainn. The 100-year-old Culture Collection of Algae and Protozoa supplies and supports science around the world.

Be it local or global, Scotland’s vital higher education sector must remain at the heart of world learning, and I support Maggie Chapman’s calls for connection and collaboration with everybody involved in our universities. We have far too much to lose if we do not do that.

16:25

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the timeline for the delivery of a medium-term solution to the A83 Rest and Be Thankful. (S7O-00094)