Chamber and committees

No. I am sorry, cabinet secretary, but you did not give me that opportunity.

I begin my closing remarks on behalf of the Scottish Conservatives with consensus. Supporting Scotland with the cost of living and in reducing child poverty is a key objective for all political parties. Many of us are agreed on that shared ambition today. However, how we achieve such objectives, and our policies, will differ.

Unfortunately, the SNP has an unhealthy habit of blaming everyone but itself when debating social issues. The Scottish Conservatives understand that a thriving economy is key to lifting people out of poverty, to supporting people with life challenges and to giving our young people the best possible start in life.

It is also important to recognise the powers that the Government has at its fingertips in one of the most devolved parliaments in the world. Devolution in Scotland works best when the UK and Scottish Governments work together. We saw that during the height of the pandemic, when rolling out the Covid-19 vaccine. In my view, that is the best way to support people in Scotland.

For the past 15 years, the SNP has presided over devolved powers. When it first entered office, it promised to eradicate child poverty, but, in fact, the percentage of children in poverty has remained stable since the SNP came to power in 2007. In addition, an Audit Scotland report has said that the effects of the SNP Government’s child poverty delivery plan cannot yet be assessed, despite the SNP’s having launched in 2018 its four-year plan to reduce child poverty. Data is vital when addressing child poverty in Scotland, and I am beyond frustrated at the lack of data held by the Government.

Members may be aware that I have been raising this issue for quite some time. Since my return to Parliament in January, I have found it challenging to balance life here and at home. Talented MSPs have stood down because of the way in which parliamentary business is structured. I know that that is an issue for the Government and the bureau, but we do not want to deter people, especially women, from choosing to enter public life. Therefore, in line with the request made by Martin Whitfield, I ask the corporate body to consider forming a group of MSPs, their staff and SPS staff to look at how we can make this Parliament more family friendly.

To ask the Scottish Government whether it produces guidance for local government on how allegations of sexual misconduct against councillors should be handled. (S6O-02053)

Last week, a Scottish National Party councillor who claims to have been sexually assaulted by a former North Lanarkshire Council leader demanded reform of how the SNP handles sex complaints. It is the third claim of sexually inappropriate behaviour that has been made against that individual. Instead of supporting victims, however, North Lanarkshire SNP closed ranks. One councillor even claimed that Mr Linden had done nothing wrong and that “the only thing” that he was “guilty of” was “being ... young”.

Does the minister agree that victims should be protected by political parties, and does he think that councils should have in place additional measures for councillors should political parties fail to support them?

I thank the First Minister for providing advance sight of her statement. I begin by associating the Scottish Conservatives with that statement.

We are joined in the gallery by the courageous campaigners on historical forced adoption. Today’s events would not have been possible without them and their determination to seek a sincere national apology for the fact that 60,000 women were forced to give up their babies for adoption simply because they were young or unmarried. A national apology cannot right the wrongs of the past, but for those suffering lifelong trauma, it will be the start of a healing process. My only regret is that, sadly, many campaigners have died before this apology was made.

We need to make sure that this part of history will never repeat itself and that we protect the rights of women and children in Scotland. Will the commissioned study be trauma informed, and will the support that is offered be meaningful and needs based?

Emma Harper spoke a lot about positive destinations. Does she agree that they should be measured over a longer time than 12 months, particularly for rural jobs and jobs that affect climate change and our environment?

If the member will let me make some progress, I will come back to him.

When we consider the expansion of vocational and technical qualifications, we must understand the environment that our young people currently experience. Almost 1,000 schools have not been inspected; there are 140,000 fewer college places; students are worth almost £2,500 less if they go to college instead of university; there is a widening attainment gap between the poorest and richest pupils; and there are 1,699 fewer teachers. Those are the reasons why young people fall through the cracks.

I do not disagree with that at all. There are different career paths and we can all understand that young people face challenges as they grow up. As we have heard from Sue Webber and Pam Gosal, it is still challenging for young people to get into apprenticeships now, and many young people can access an apprenticeship only by reaching out to friends and family. We must look at the overall picture. I talked about my experience as being just one of the many experiences of young people in the education system.

This Government must do more to provide young people with the tools to succeed. The cabinet secretary began her contribution by congratulating young people on their successes, which we all applaud, but she did not say that those achievements were made despite the problems within an education system that this Government has presided over for 15 years.

My colleague Stephen Kerr pointed out the many challenges that Parliament faces in ensuring that our young people flourish. He is right. We need talent, and that must be addressed by attracting people into our education sector to inspire the next generation.

Michael Marra spoke about the broadening of subject choice for young people, saying that the stakes have never been higher for many of the young people who are trying to enter college or university.

As a Scottish Conservative, I believe in aspiration, but aspirations can be met only when Governments provide people with the tools to succeed in life. My own education journey hit speed bump after speed bump and, at some points, I thought about giving up completely. When I was at school, there was no proper support network or careers advice, which resulted in many young people in my home town falling through the cracks in the education system, and I could have been one of them.

For a high school pupil in the mid-2000s, not getting a place at university was a sign of failure. There was never a mention of, or focus on, vocational and technical qualifications—if someone said that they wanted to go to college, it was because they were not intelligent enough to go to university.

The truth is that I had no idea what I wanted to do when I was in sixth year. That, combined with the stigma around non-academic subjects, meant that I lost interest in schooling during my senior years. That resulted in my not obtaining the grades that I should have and becoming one of the few Scots to have repeated their final year at high school. I ended up going to university because that was the done thing, not because it was right for me. Things did turn out okay, but some of the friends that I went to school with dropped out of university. There was no support and no clear pathway for them.

I am therefore pleased to close this debate on behalf of the Scottish Conservatives not only because I almost fell through the cracks, but because this Government must do more to support our young people. We must keep telling our young people that there is no wrong path and that success should not be measured by the number of degrees someone obtains.

Professor Louise Hayward’s interim report has been referred to several times today, and I welcome the outward thinking about engaging young people in choosing their own future.