Chamber and committees

On Tuesday, I convened a discussion involving representatives of a broad range of sectors in Scotland across social care, the national health service, food and drink, engineering and construction and education to discuss the United Kingdom Government’s white paper on immigration. It was absolutely chilling to hear the anxiety that was expressed by those in different sectors in Scotland about the issues arising from the fact that we have a shrinking working-age population, which we need migration to boost.

Scottish Care gave me a briefing paper and it cites a survey of its members indicating that 26 per cent, or 11,294, of the total social care workforce are international workers. How the United Kingdom Government believes that we will be able to operate social care services with the type of hostile approach that is contained in its white paper is beyond me.

There needs to be serious engagement about the implications of the white paper, because it will be devastating for countless sectors of the Scottish economy. The Scottish Government will not, in any way, shape or form, engage in the type of rhetoric that the Prime Minister engaged in a week past Monday. His rhetoric was absolutely appalling, and it represented the wrong policy position. We need migration in order to boost our working-age population. That will be the sustained position of the Scottish Government.

In order that members can hear properly what I say, I repeat that it is a fact that more than half of Scottish taxpayers continue to pay less income tax in 2025-26 than they would if they lived elsewhere in the United Kingdom.

According to the Scottish Fiscal Commission, the policy choices that we have made will raise up to an additional £1.7 billion in this financial year. That will help to pay for the best cost of living package of support in the United Kingdom, which includes free prescriptions, an expansive early learning and childcare offer, free eye care tests, free bus travel for 2.3 million people and, of course, free higher education.

If the Conservatives want to get rid of the overwhelming majority of what I have just set out, that is up to them, but I am not going to follow their advice.

There were unacceptable incidents at the weekend. I completely understand the desire of football fans to celebrate the achievements and the performance of their teams. However, incidents such as the one that took place at Tannadice, where a chair was thrown at an Aberdeen Football Club player—it seems that that emerged from the Aberdeen supporters’ stands—or the disorder that took place at Glasgow Cross, on the boundary of Mr Mason’s constituency, are totally unacceptable.

Celebrations are fine, but they should not inconvenience other people, and they should not harm other people in any way, shape or form. We will work closely with Police Scotland and the football authorities, and the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs will shortly hold a discussion with key partners to discuss those issues and ensure that we challenge everybody, including the clubs, to do everything possible to ensure that football is safe for supporters, and that we minimise disruption for local communities.

As Mr Kerr will know, the Scottish Funding Council operates at arm’s length from Government. That is what the law requires. The Government makes an allocation to the funding council, which has seen a 2 per cent uplift in the resource allocation for colleges in this year’s budget. It is then for the funding council to take such decisions independently of Government, which is what the law requires.

Here we are again, with a Conservative member coming to the chamber and pressing me about the public finances. Graham Simpson, Liam Kerr’s colleague, who is sitting two seats along from him, just asked me to cut taxes by £1 billion, and now Liam Kerr wants me to increase public expenditure. That demonstrates the incoherence of the Conservative Party—the incoherence between two members sitting just two seats along from each other on the Conservative benches. They are utterly and completely incoherent.

As I indicated in my earlier answers, my heartfelt sympathies go out to all those affected by the appalling knife crime incidents in Irvine and Portobello over the past weekend. Since 2023, we have invested more than £6 million in our violence prevention framework, which supports a range of targeted prevention and early intervention activity in schools and hospitals, and across communities, as well as work with partners to tackle violence and its harms.

Those are the actions that we are taking. As I indicated in my earlier answer to Mr Sarwar, the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit is internationally acknowledged to have deployed very significant and effective interventions aimed at reducing the level of knife crime in our society. I would not for a moment want members to consider that I do not accept, in any way, the seriousness and significance of these issues. One incident is one incident too many. We have tried and tested methods of addressing the issue of knife crime, and we must make sure that those methods remain effective in all that we do, to ensure that young people and communities are protected.

I agree with Collette Stevenson about the methods that are being used to address the issue. We need to make sure that they remain effective. We must be open to challenging the content of those programmes, to ensure that they are effective. As I have referred to, very clear words were issued by Assistant Chief Constable Tim Mairs on 20 May, when he said:

“The key message to children and young people is they shouldn’t be carrying knives—it is absolutely the wrong thing to do.”

He also said:

“the tragic consequences at the weekend demonstrate how horrific, in a second, the fact that you’re carrying a knife with you can be, and how it can end lives immediately. The clear message is do not carry weapons—do not carry knives.”

That is at the heart of the work of the violence prevention framework for Scotland, the cashback for communities programme and the other measures that emphasise that no one should carry a knife.

It is beyond question that austerity and Brexit have reduced the living standards of people in Scotland. That is an inescapable reality. Of course, all of that was presided over, ushered in, nurtured and coaxed into reality by the Conservative Government. Colossal damage has been done to individuals and their livelihoods.

The Scottish Government is taking forward a number of measures to tackle the cost of living challenges that people face in Scotland. Council tax is about 30 per cent lower on average than it is in England, and water bills are 20 per cent lower. We have free prescriptions in Scotland. Families who send their children to Scottish universities do not pay tuition fees, and we have just added to that the abolition of peak rail fares for good.

The Scottish Government is acting within our powers and responsibilities to tackle the very issues that Mr Coffey puts to me, but I am absolutely certain that Scotland’s position would be enhanced if we had the full powers of independence, which would enable us to deliver a better economic future, just as many of our neighbours are able to do.

First, I express my sympathy to the family of Kayden Moy. It is a tragedy that they are having to come to terms with, and one incident is one incident too many. The disorder and the violence at Irvine beach and in Portobello were totally unacceptable. As you have indicated, Presiding Officer, Police Scotland is pursuing the relevant incidents.

There are three approaches that the Government is taking in relation to knife crime. First, we have education programmes on the danger and the unacceptability of carrying a knife and taking part in violence. Secondly, there is effective punishment when offences are committed. Thirdly, there is sustained school and community engagement with young people to make sure that we create responsible citizens in Scotland. Most of Scotland’s young people are responsible citizens.

We have seen a sustained fall in the levels of knife crime in the past 15 years, but I repeat that one incident is one incident too many, and we will act to eradicate such incidents.

I must correct Mr Findlay on what he has said to the Parliament today. The sentencing guideline for young people, which has been developed by the Scottish Sentencing Council, makes it clear that all sentencing options, including imprisonment, remain open to the court. It is absolutely vital that that is understood by the public.

Our approach must be about education, early intervention and prevention. That is why we invest so much in measures such as the work of the Violence Reduction Unit and the mentors in violence prevention programme. We undertake that work, and, over a 15-year period, we have seen a sustained fall in knife crime in our society.

However, I come back to what I said in my first answer. One incident—one tragedy—is one too many, but it is vital that it is understood, particularly by those who might perpetrate such offences, that it remains a possibility that imprisonment can be imposed. Parliament should properly understand the requirements of the law.