Chamber and committees

The ministerial changes that I am making today arise from the resignation on Friday of Jamie Hepburn as Minister for Parliamentary Business. Jamie Hepburn did not behave as he believed he should have done in the Parliament last Wednesday, so he tendered his resignation to me. A few moments ago, he offered an apology to the Parliament, which, along with his decision to resign, demonstrates the strength of character that he brings to his parliamentary service. I thank him for his service as a member of the Government in a number of different portfolios, and especially for the way in which he has worked with other parties in taking forward the parliamentary business programme in a collaborative and consultative way throughout his time as Minister for Parliamentary Business.

I am pleased that Graeme Dey, who is widely respected across the Parliament, will now take up the role of Minister for Parliamentary Business. His formidable experience in working with others to create common ground will be invaluable to us all as we complete the business of this parliamentary session. I have also asked him to continue his excellent work as Minister for Veterans.

I am pleased to welcome Ben Macpherson to the role of Minister for Higher and Further Education, subject to the Parliament’s approval this afternoon, to build on Graeme Dey’s work. Ben Macpherson was a valued minister between 2018 and 2023, when he served under my predecessors in a variety of positions, including as Minister for Europe, Migration and International Development, Minister for Public Finance and Migration, and Minister for Social Security and Local Government. To each role, he brought a constructive approach, building coalitions to deliver the Government’s ambitious and shared agenda.

As a back bencher, Ben Macpherson has brought a collaborative approach to the Parliament. Most recently, he served as a member of the Criminal Justice Committee—indeed, he took my place on that committee—and as convener of the SPCB Supported Bodies Landscape Review Committee, which included leading the committee debate on the review last week.

The role of Minister for Higher and Further Education is crucial in ensuring that our education institutions can play a full part in delivering an agenda of dynamic economic growth that will benefit all the people of Scotland, and in ensuring that individuals in Scotland—especially our young people—have access to higher and further education opportunities that will meet their needs and provide the foundations for their later life. I know that Ben Macpherson will give energetic commitment to advancing that important work and to taking forward the Government’s skills agenda, through which we must ensure that we have all the skills and talent in our economy to support the developments that the Government wishes to see in place.

With pleasure, I move,

That the Parliament agrees that Ben Macpherson be appointed as a junior Scottish Minister.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I would just like to check: I voted yes, but my app does not seem to be recording that.

It is okay now—sorry.

It is with enormous sadness but also with the warmest of heartfelt thanks that I rise to move the motion in my name to honour a true giant of my party, of this Parliament and of Scottish public life, Sir George Reid. I express my condolences and those of the people of Scotland to his wife Dee, to his daughter Morag, to his son-in-law Pete and to his grandchildren, and I welcome members of the family who join us in the gallery today.

Born in Tullibody, in the shadow of his beloved Ochil hills, George was a proud son of the wee county, a passionate advocate for the people and the communities of Clackmannanshire, and destined to make a huge impact on the lives of others far beyond Clackmannanshire’s borders.

George was a distinguished journalist, academic, parliamentarian, humanitarian and public servant. As the last surviving member of the trailblazing group of Scottish National Party MPs elected in 1974, George was so proud to have served his home county both at Westminster and here in the Scottish Parliament, an institution that he dedicated so much of his life to establishing.

Although this Parliament reconvened in 1999, it truly came of age under George Reid’s tenure as Presiding Officer. That stewardship reminded us that this Parliament and this country are at their best when we look outwards, not inwards. His finest speech in this Parliament was in the debate on the Iraq war in 2003, when he cautioned:

“The war has already claimed its first victim, which is the truth.”—[Official Report, 13 March 2003; c 16446.]

Railing against that sentiment was not just something that George thought or said, or would have had others do; it was a value that he put into practice throughout his life.

His humanitarian and international outlook was at the heart of his life and work. He played a central role in the media coverage of the Ethiopian famine and worked tirelessly to provide assistance through the Red Cross and Red Crescent around the world. He used his remarkable knowledge, his experience and his intellect as a professorial fellow at the University of Stirling, teaching on international conflict and co-operation for the learning of others. That was typical of George.

Although an inspiring and captivating speaker, he was never content just to speak. He was always determined to act, to make a real difference and to use his huge intellect, his drive and his compassion for others to make the world a better place.

It was that determination that he brought to bear so effectively here in this Parliament. Those of us who served during his time as Presiding Officer will remember the extraordinary leadership that he provided, putting aside party and working truly in the national interest, ending the early struggles and controversies and truly cementing our Parliament’s place as the centre of the political life of the nation. When the history of this Parliament is written, the role played by George Reid will be at its heart because he was a true statesman, a man whose life’s work was devoted to, and has benefited, the whole nation of Scotland.

His unique and exemplary commitment to public service was recognised in his appointment by Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth as Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and to the Order of the Thistle, one of the ancient symbols of our nationhood.

George’s political life was anchored in his drive to secure for Scotland her place as an outward-looking, equal and independent member of the family of nations. As a teenager, I heard his arguments for that cause. His advocacy—and that of his peers Winnie Ewing, Gordon Wilson and Margaret Ewing—for Scotland and for independence shaped the political convictions that I have held for my entire adult life. Throughout my parliamentary service, George Reid was a source of wise counsel and steadfast support. Leadership can be a lonely place, but I was always strengthened in exercising leadership by the encouragement and the deepest of loyalty of George Reid.

So it was when I visited George for the last time in July. Knowing that his life would soon come to an end, I listened to a wise man at peace with himself and as assured as any of us can ever be that he had led a fulfilled life of joy, of service and of love.

I feel immensely privileged that my life was enhanced by knowing George Reid and benefiting from his counsel. I would like to end this tribute by reflecting on a section of George’s 1995 Donaldson lecture, an exposition of values and political thought that stands as a defining contribution to the development of my party and of modern Scottish politics. In that lecture, George said:

“Our future cannot be a continuation of our past. Too often, we Scots are concerned about the day before yesterday.”

Instead, he implores us

“to say, with a sense of purpose, ‘Today is tomorrow.’”

With those words, George encourages us to use today to secure the future, to think optimistically of what might be possible and to pursue a common determination to shape and improve Scotland’s future. I commit today to doing that and, in so doing, I hope that that can be the on-going tribute of us all to the life and legacy of Sir George Reid.

I move,

That the Parliament expresses its profound sadness at the death of George Reid; extends its deepest sympathy and sincere condolences to his family and friends; appreciates the many years of public service that he gave as an MP, MSP, Presiding Officer, and Lord Lieutenant; recognises the substantial contribution that he made to the establishment of the Scottish Parliament and the securing of its place in the life of the nation, and acknowledges his humanitarian work over many decades and the high regard in which he was held by colleagues across the world.

[Applause.]

It is not good enough to come here and talk about the soaring benefits bill and then not say whose benefits are going to be taken away.

Members: The fraudsters.

I am sorry to break some sombre news to Mr Sarwar, but, when the Labour Party was the leading party in the Scottish Executive, it sent contracts for ferries to Poland and to other European countries. Mr Sarwar will have to check up on his history—

The Government is taking steps, through our budget provisions, to allocate more than £3 billion to policies that tackle poverty and the cost of living. Those measures include the Scottish child payment, free prescriptions, supported bus travel for 2.3 million people and support for early learning and childcare of more than £6,000 per eligible individual.

The Government is taking steps, using our own resources, to support families facing difficulties, and we will constantly look to establish how best that can be undertaken, but we have to do that against the backdrop of decisions taken by the United Kingdom Government that create ever more challenges for families and for the Scottish Government in addressing those circumstances for families in our country.

I welcome the Scottish Retail Consortium’s contribution to the debate and we will further consider its proposals. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government met with the Scottish Retail Consortium this week and we will give every consideration to its ideas.

The Government has taken a number of steps to support town centres. As I indicated in my earlier answer to Mr Fraser, we maintain the lowest property tax rate in the UK for more than 95 per cent of non-domestic properties. The Government has a long track record of ensuring that businesses in our town centres are supported by a competitive business tax regime and we will look to reflect that in the policy and budget proposals that the Government brings forward.

I welcome the investment that the UK Government has made in Kirkcaldy town centre. I welcome any such contribution, but we must see the whole picture. Kirkcaldy town centre’s difficulties will have been exacerbated by the increase in employer national insurance contributions, which has made it more expensive to employ people in our economy. I am all for giving a warm welcome to the benevolence of the UK Government, but I will also point out its shortcomings, and there are plenty of those.

Scotland leads the United Kingdom in supporting private tenants, and that work is backed by some of the strongest homelessness legislation in the country.

In addition, we have recently announced an ambitious plan, backed by the provision of £4.9 billion, to accelerate action on tackling the housing emergency. The Housing (Scotland) Bill, which is now at stage 3, will further strengthen support by introducing new prevention duties, enhanced protections for domestic abuse victims and new tenants’ rights, including the introduction of rent controls. This year, we are also providing more than £99 million to local authorities for discretionary housing payments to mitigate Westminster’s cruel bedroom tax.

However, there are limits on how much the Scottish Government can do. One of the most significant levers of support is local housing allowance, and this Government has repeatedly called on the UK Government to commit to uprating housing support for tenants. I hope that that will be delivered in the upcoming budget on 26 November.

I appreciate the significance of Maggie Chapman’s points. I want to make sure that families can rely on good-quality accommodation, which is why the Government is investing so significantly in housing. We are making progress on acquisitions and voids work, through which we are bringing more and more properties back into use. That is a consequence of the increased Government investment. Significant protections are already in place in existing legislation and, as Maggie Chapman indicated, consideration will be given to the Housing (Scotland) Bill as it goes through its final stages in the relatively near future. The Government will look at all policy proposals, but I encourage Maggie Chapman to consider the significant steps that have already been taken to provide greater protection for renters in Scotland and that provide substantial protection for individuals and tenants in Scotland.