Chamber and committees

I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the debate on behalf of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee.

According to the UK Government, the overarching policy objective of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill is to safeguard the public purse against fraud and error. The bill seeks to help the UK Government to address losses due to fraud and error occurring outside the tax and benefit systems. It will also introduce new powers to help the Department for Work and Pensions to address fraud and error in the social security system and to recover overpayment debt.

The LCM sets out the aspects of the bill that apply to the devolved benefits that are delivered under agency agreement with the DWP. The Scottish Government has established agency agreements to enable the DWP to continue to administer benefits on the Scottish Government’s behalf until Social Security Scotland’s equivalent benefits have been created and until those in receipt of benefits administered by the DWP have been transferred to Social Security Scotland.

The Scottish Government expects to complete the transfer of benefits by the end of this year, except for two benefits—the severe disablement allowance and the industrial injuries disablement benefits. The committee welcomed confirmation from the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice that the transfer of cases for devolved benefits would be completed prior to the provisions of the UK bill coming into force.

The Scottish Government is asking Parliament to consent only to the relevant provisions that are included in the LCM. Clauses 88 to 95 and schedule 5 relate to overpayment, debt recovery and enforcement. The Scottish Government is not seeking legislative consent for those provisions.

The bill contains provisions in relation to the eligibility verification measure. If consent was granted, those provisions would allow the DWP to request large data sets from organisations such as banks in order to identify those in receipt of benefits who do not meet the relevant eligibility criteria. The cabinet secretary confirmed that there is no intention from either the Scottish ministers or the UK Government to add devolved benefits to the scope of those powers.

The bill also contains provisions in relation to overpayment recovery. If consent was granted, those provisions would provide the DWP with new options for enforcing recovery of overpayments when other routes of recovery have failed. That would include recovering direct from an individual bank account. Individuals could also be disqualified from driving for a period of up to two years if they have an outstanding overpayment and all other recovery attempts have failed.

The cabinet secretary told the committee that the UK Government had confirmed its intention to amend the bill to exempt Scottish devolved benefits from the scope of the new overpayment recovery powers. It would be helpful to know when those amendments might be expected. It would also be helpful if the cabinet secretary was able to confirm whether the Scottish Government intends to lodge a supplementary LCM and, if so, the provisions that that would relate to.

Following the evidence that was received, the Social Justice and Social Security Committee was content to recommend to the Parliament that consent be given for the relevant provisions that are covered by LCM-S6-55.

Although the Scottish Government is ultimately not responsible for governance at the University of Dundee, the Scottish Government should still encourage all employers and institutions to follow the fair work principles of good engagement with employees and trade unions to bring everyone to the table. Will the cabinet secretary provide an update on the latest Scottish Government engagement with employees of Dundee university and trade unions to ensure that their voices inform the Scottish Government’s work going forward?

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its work to tackle and prevent youth violence, including any outcomes from the summit held on 12 June. (S6O-04818)

I thank the cabinet secretary for that information. She will appreciate my constituency interest in the summit, given recent events that have affected East Kilbride. Much progress has been made in tackling crime in Scotland under this Government, but the behaviour of a small minority of young people seems to be changing for the worse, with constituents telling me about signs of worrying behaviour being overlooked.

Will the cabinet secretary set out how the Scottish Government is working with partners to ensure that the education system, police, social work, youth workers and other relevant stakeholders can link up to get in early and prevent any signs of violent or antisocial behaviour from escalating? Could she also say what action is being taken to make young people safer, as well as the support that is available to parents and carers who are extremely worried?

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recently published report from the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration, which provides pay recommendations for doctors and dentists for the financial year 2025-26. (S6O-04789)

Scotland needs a migration system that works for us, not one that is imposed by a Westminster Government that, frankly, does not care about Scotland’s needs. Given our ageing population, migration is crucial to strengthen our public services and economy.

In recent years, many people have come to the UK as refugees and asylum seekers. Whether they are fleeing oppressive regimes, interpreters who supported UK armed forces in Afghanistan or Ukrainians escaping brutal Russian attacks, it is right that the UK offers refuge to vulnerable people. However, the UK Government’s use of hotels for refugees and asylum seekers is not appropriate.

Sadly, as a result of failed Westminster policies, many grass-roots organisations across the country have taken on responsibility for supporting refugees and asylum seekers. In East Kilbride, the East Kilbride Integration Network welcomes, supports and connects new migrants. It uses education, sports and campaigning to improve quality of life, wellbeing and integration into the local community. Its work in supporting asylum seekers in East Kilbride has been really important. I am looking forward to attending its footie and food community celebration this Saturday at K-Park, which will be just one of the many events that it has put on to boost integration and help people settle in.

It is a failure of the UK system that asylum seekers cannot work, despite many of them wanting to contribute to this country. That brings me to a key area of the immigration system, which involves ensuring that businesses and our public services can recruit the workers that they need.

Since Brexit, our social care providers in particular have been struggling with recruitment. I have visited care homes in East Kilbride and heard about the challenges that they face, including a lack of available labour in Scotland, the fact that EU nationals have left or are not interested in moving to the UK, and Westminster’s barriers to recruitment of people from the rest of the world. Some care homes sponsor applicants, which is quite an expensive task, to ensure that they can hire new staff to give residents the care that they sorely need. The UK Labour Government recently published its immigration white paper. I hope that it will improve the immigration system to support the social care sector.

Scotland’s universities are world renowned and attract some of the brightest students from around the globe. However, as a result of the previous Tory Government’s damaging immigration rhetoric, many international graduates left after completing their courses here. That is a huge loss to Scotland of some of the brightest minds. Those people have been educated here, have formed relationships here and have the ability to contribute to the social and economic life of Scotland, but they have been forced to leave by a hostile Westminster Government.

I support the Scottish Government’s call for a Scottish graduate visa programme, and I hope that the UK Labour Government will reflect on the failures of the previous UK Government. The Labour Government must support the Scottish Government’s proposals to keep talented graduates in Scotland. Indeed, the Smith commission, which was supported by all the main political parties, recommended exploring such a scheme. A decade on, it is time to put that into action.

Without bold action, there will be difficult challenges ahead. It is time for Westminster to deliver a tailored immigration system for Scotland or to devolve the powers so that the SNP Government can do that. Otherwise, as with many other areas, Westminster will continue to fail Scotland with a broken one-size-fits-all model, and more and more people will recognise the need for Scotland to have the full powers of independence.

I am proud that Scotland is the only part of the UK where general practitioners and dentists have seen real-terms growth in their wages in recent years. I hope that that will drive recruitment in the sectors as we continue to improve access to healthcare across Scotland. However, the UK Labour Government’s reckless increase to employer national insurance is hitting GP and dental practices hard. What discussions has the Scottish Government had with the UK Government regarding such damaging Westminster policies? Will he outline how the Scottish Government will work with stakeholders to retain and recruit health professionals in Scotland?

The SNP’s long-standing and principled position is that taxpayers’ money should support the diversification of the industry away from core defence activities and should not fund arms. I therefore welcome the expansion of the welding training scheme at North East Scotland College and the efforts to close critical skills gaps. Will the cabinet secretary say more about the Scottish Government’s efforts to engage with industries and work on skills reform across the country?

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

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