Chamber and committees

Simone Weil, the late French politician and Holocaust survivor, said that Europe is an ideal for which one must be prepared to fight. We have just marked Holocaust memorial day, and it would be remiss of us not to consider exactly how the European project came about. Out of the ashes of war, when so many lives were torn apart, nations across the continent yearned to build a better future—one that preserved the right of national sovereignty but saw beyond rigid borders and isolationism, with each allied nation working together on common policy areas such as food production, justice, security, environmental protections and the promotion of human rights.

The European Union, as it is today, is the home of 27 member states and around 450 million people. It is a co-operation of nations that is three times the size of the Russian Federation, and is a highly influential and formidable player on the global stage, of which, sadly, we are no longer part.

We are no longer part of the single market, which provides frictionless trade with our nearest international neighbours. We are no longer enjoying freedom of movement, enriching our citizens with broader horizons and the ability to live, work and even fall in love in new surroundings.

Shockingly, we are no longer a part of the Erasmus+ programme, which gave students across our continent the invaluable opportunity to live and learn in a different nation, experience different cultures and learn different languages. Instead, it has been replaced by the vastly inferior UK Turing scheme, which, unlike Erasmus+, does not even cover tuition costs.

Will the minister outline how the reopening of the independent living fund will align with Social Security Scotland’s work to support the wellbeing of disabled people?

The new rent adjudication rules, which empower private tenants to challenge unreasonable rent hikes, are welcome. However, for the proposed transition to work as intended, tenants need to be fully informed of those rights. Will the First Minister expand on how the Scottish Government intends to ensure that renters and private landlords throughout Scotland understand the system that will be in place from April?

Any kind of cut would have an impact that none of us would want. However, the 1.2 per cent fall in the block grant, in real terms, has an impact. Capital spending is due to contract by about 10 per cent. I encourage members to engage with their Westminster counterparts to increase the budget allocations for Scotland.

I have mentioned the University of Strathclyde’s partnerships. The university’s expertise spans a vast array of fields, from 5G and communications to health tech, quantum and energy. Those are the areas that will define our future, and Strathclyde is at the forefront, leading the charge. Its network of industry-facing centres, including the Power Networks Demonstration Centre and the Advanced Nuclear Research Centre, are committed to addressing some of the most pressing challenges of our time.

The Glasgow city innovation district was founded by the University of Strathclyde in 2019. The district has an impact value, created by the university, of around £920 million. It is a vivid illustration of how innovation can drive economic growth and create opportunities. I would always encourage the Government to invest in such institutions because of the added value that they bring. Facilities such as the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland and the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre are more than just research centres; they are the groundwork for a manufacturing renaissance in Scotland, blending traditional expertise with cutting-edge technology. Strathclyde is at the forefront of sustainability and net zero research—a legacy that harks back to Professor James Blyth’s pioneering work in 1887. That commitment to sustainable innovation is integral to our shared vision of a green and prosperous Scotland.

At this point, I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests, as I would like to highlight the profound impact of the Scottish schools education research centre—SSERC—of which I am proudly a board member. The centre is dedicated to enriching the professional learning of science, technology, engineering and mathematics educators and practitioners across Scotland. We have heard from colleagues that we continue to have a shortage of teachers in that area. We have heard, too, about underrepresented groups in the field, so the work of SSERC is worth highlighting. It not only educates but inspires, and it ignites a passion for STEM fields among Scotland’s young learners, starting as early as age three.

According to a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, children as young as seven begin to limit their future career aspirations, which are influenced largely by their immediate environment and societal norms. That is why it is incredibly important that STEM careers are put in front of children at a very early age. Through partnerships with organisations such as Ocean Winds, the SSERC has funded programmes that bring practical, hands-on STEM learning into school, while upskilling educators and engaging students in real-world challenges.

I commend the Scottish Government’s commitment to STEM subjects and the STEM education and training strategy. I would be grateful if, in summing up, the minister would outline the Government’s future plans for STEM subjects and how it intends to expand STEM training and skills into the world of research and work.

Support for technology and innovation is about not just celebrating the triumphs of our past but investing in our future. I will finish, as I started, with a final quote from Burns, who wrote about education being valuable not just for education’s sake. He wrote:

“What’s a’ jargon o’ your Schools,
Your Latin names for horns an’ stools;
If honest Nature made you fools,
What sairs your Grammers?
Ye’d better taen up spades and shools,
Or knappin-hammers.”

Presiding Officer,

“Dare to be honest and fear no labour”,

wrote Robert Burns. On this, the national day, when we celebrate the works of the bard, it is an apt quote, as we use this debate to look to our future. Securing a place as a serious player on the global economic stage requires us to take seriously technology and innovation. That is—and should be—considered one of the most important investments in our nation. It is not just a worthwhile project for us all to benefit from here and now but a legacy for the next generation of Scots to build on. I encourage the Scottish Government to build on that future.

I come to this debate with optimism, as we recognise the fundamental role of technology, science and innovation in shaping our modern world, particularly as I intend to use the debate to discuss some of the work that is taking place in my constituency, Glasgow Kelvin. As we navigate the complexities of the 21st century, it is institutions such as the University of Strathclyde that are not only carrying the torch of Scottish ingenuity but illuminating the path towards a brighter and more prosperous future for all of Scotland. Celebrating its diamond jubilee this year, Strathclyde has the unique distinction of having twice been named the UK university of the year. That is no small feat and speaks volumes about the institution’s commitment to excellence and its role as a driving force behind the Glasgow city innovation district and the advanced manufacturing district.

The university’s partnerships with global technological leaders such as Rolls-Royce, Boeing and AstraZeneca are testament to its calibre and its pivotal role in the global innovation landscape.

In November last year, the city of Glasgow, too, declared a housing emergency. I understand from my colleagues at Glasgow City Council that our city has about 1,500 fewer homes than it needs in order to meet demand. I know that the housing minister meets council representatives regularly, but what work is going on to address Glasgow’s specific needs, including the challenges that have been set by the Home Office’s fast-tracking of asylum claims?

Will the member take an intervention?

Electric vehicles go a long way in improving inner-city air quality and public health, as well as contributing to meeting the net zero target. Naturally, therefore, the decision not to award Strathclyde Partnership for Transport ScotZEB 2 funding for a new fleet of electric buses has been met with disappointment. What support can the Government offer organisations such as SPT to help them to meet their electric vehicle ambitions?

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to support the roll-out of electric buses across the Glasgow city region. (S6O-02951)

I am fortunate to represent Glasgow Kelvin, which is one of our most diverse constituencies. People from all corners of the globe pay Scotland the ultimate compliment of choosing to call our country their home. Although we set out our vision of an internationally responsible, welcoming and compassionate country, we do so under the blatant, hostile narrative set by the UK Government, which seeks to constantly undermine that vision.

Those who come here do so at the mercy of an unimaginable, cruel Tory UK Government that is determined to vilify foreigners and to use them as a scapegoat for its own woeful mismanagement. It is a Government that, in the past year, has traded one Home Secretary who dreamed of deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda for the current one, who reportedly thinks that the policy is complete bat stuff—but is pursuing it anyway. Who knew that Rwanda would be the hill on which the current Prime Minister would choose to stake his reputation? That is the flagship Tory policy that will do nothing to address the plight of the desperate who are being put in great danger at the hands of organised criminals in the English Channel.

Members are aware that, last year, the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee published its report on the lived experience of asylum seekers in Scotland. That report made several recommendations, which I am encouraged to see the Scottish Government is taking seriously—notably, the commitment to provide concessionary bus travel, which I welcome.

My colleague Mr Cameron mentioned having budgets that fund asylum seekers. I do not know anyone who thinks that £9.58 a week, which is what asylum seekers receive if they are housed in accommodation, can provide any way of getting by. With no recourse to public funds, asylum seekers are expected to meet all the weekly costs that life brings with less than a tenner. That is simply not enough.

Asylum seekers are, of course, forbidden by UK law from taking up employment to support themselves and their families while their applications are being processed. That process can last for many months or even years—and that is after the Home Office has conducted what it calls a “substantive review”.

A ban on asylum seekers taking up employment is not the norm. The USA, Canada, Germany, Australia and many other nations allow those who are applying for asylum the chance to get a job and earn a living. People should be able to earn a living and integrate into their new communities. The new Scots refugee integration strategy recognises the strengths and skills of asylum seekers as well as committing to the provision of better access to essential services for them.

I turn to the Illegal Migration Act 2023, which, in my view, is one of the most callous pieces of legislation that has been introduced by a UK Government in living memory. In a country that has no legal system of applying for asylum, beyond a select few nation-specific schemes, the Illegal Migration Act 2023 means that someone who is seeking asylum faces being detained indefinitely, left in a permanent state of uncertainty, and under constant threat of deportation. For those who are victims of human trafficking, the new act simply wipes away the protections that are given in the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015.

Andy Sirel of JustRight Scotland told the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee:

“This is a situation in which victim-centred support in a devolved area, which has been provided for the past eight years and is working fairly well, will be extinguished with the stroke of a pen in Westminster”.—[Official Report, Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, 25 April 2023; c 27.]

Those who will be most affected include women who are victims of sex trafficking and young men who are coerced into engaging in organised crime.

Bronagh Andrew of TARA—the Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance—has stated that the Illegal Migration Act 2023 will disapply the powers of the Scottish Government to create a national referral mechanism. It will limit its ability to link women with Police Scotland to have access to justice.

In its 2017 report, “Hidden Lives—New Beginnings: Destitution, asylum and insecure immigration status in Scotland”, the Equalities and Human Rights Committee, which was convened at the time by minister Christina McKelvie, looked in detail at the many challenges faced by those who go through the asylum system in Scotland. It included access to healthcare and the links between destitution, exploitation and psychological trauma, as well as the protection and care of the children of asylum seekers. I would be grateful if the minister could update members on the work that the Scottish Government has done to address the recommendations in that report.

This year marks 14 years since the Tories came to power. However, the chipping away at asylum seekers’ rights did not start with them. The so-called “hostile environment” was started by Labour—the phrase was coined by the then Labour immigration minister, Liam Byrne, in 2007.

This may well be the year in which we see the Tories put out of government. So far, Labour is not offering anything different, but I was pleased to hear today that it would scrap the Rwanda scheme. My challenge to Labour is as follows. A Labour Government should devolve immigration to Scotland so that we can build a better and fairer system that meets our needs. It should work with the SNP to establish a fairer system for applying for asylum in the UK, with safeguards and legal routes. It should commit to supporting asylum seekers’ right to work while they are here, and it should scrap the awful Illegal Migration Act 2023.

I believe that an independent Scotland would offer the opportunity to ensure that asylum and migration policy would be made according to Scotland’s needs and that the proposals that are set out in the Scottish Government’s “Building a New Scotland” series would allow us to be good global citizens and to create a sensible, open, fair and welcoming migration system.