Chamber and committees

I, too, thank Richard Leonard for securing the debate, not least because it is always good fun to hear him speak and wind the clock back several decades. That aside, this is an important topic to debate—because it is a debate and we are not all going to agree. It is also an opportunity to hear from the minister, as we have yet to discover what she intends to do about the sleeper service.

We need to know that, because it is an important and iconic service. Six mornings a week, a little piece of Scotland rolls into London, full of people who are ready to start their day. The background to the debate was the announcement last year by the Scottish Government that the sleeper contract with Serco would be terminated halfway through this June. That was after the company wanted to discuss finances in the wake of the pandemic, so it seemed a very sudden decision.

When ScotRail became NatRail on April fools’ day last year, with the obligatory plaque unveiling by the First Minister, it followed years of negative publicity for Abellio. However, that is not the background here. Since Serco started running the sleeper service, it has invested in new fleet—there have been 75 new carriages in less than four years. Revenue was falling when the contract was awarded but, since then, Serco has grown revenue by 48 per cent, with 2022, incredibly, being its best-ever year. This coming year looks set to be even better.

Customers must like what Serco does—it has scored its highest-ever customer satisfaction scores, with full trains. Employee satisfaction is also up, despite what the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers might say. Against that background, it seems strange for even Richard Leonard to be arguing for change, although for him, as he confirmed, it is ideological.

Serco is clearly doing something right. I have not yet travelled on the sleeper, but I hope to do so soon on a trip to London, because on a one-way trip, it offers great value for money when compared with other options.

There are a range of ways to travel on the sleeper: passengers can just take a seat, or there is a choice of cabin options, too. There is lots of Scottish produce on board—even the mattresses are from Aberdeen.

The minister has to make up her mind, and she has three options: the sleeper service could rejoin ScotRail; she could bring in an operator of last resort; or she could offer a direct contract award, which might be the best option in terms of value for money. I have spoken to Serco and I hope that the minister will do so, too. It is keen to discuss a direct contract award, which would mean ministers having complete control of the contract. That must surely appeal to the Government. Last month, Jenny Gilruth said that she was assessing that option. Has she now done so?

A cloud of uncertainty hangs over the sleeper service, which is unfair to staff. I have outlined some of the options for the minister. She needs to say what she intends to do and why, and she should set out the business case for that decision. How would taking the service off Serco help passengers and the taxpayer? With the current contract ending in June, we are running out of track.

The Government never said why taking ownership of ScotRail would be better and it never had a plan for making it so. I hope that the minister does not repeat that mistake with the iconic Caledonian sleeper.

Can the member tell me—I have not yet heard this from anyone—what Serco has done wrong with the Caledonian sleeper service? One member said that it has been running a very good service.

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress in closing the attainment gap. (S6O-01762)

In fact, there has been no progress in the past five years.

In the aftermath of the Scottish budget, the general secretary of School Leaders Scotland, Jim Thewliss, said that education cuts will see class sizes increased and subjects removed. How will cutting subjects and increasing class sizes help to eliminate—or “substantially eliminate”; that is the Government’s phrase—the attainment gap by 2026?

I apologise for not being in the chamber. I like to speak in the chamber, but I have a constituency event that I need to get to. That is my excuse. I am certainly not putting my slippers on, which Stephanie Callaghan talked about members doing. I congratulate Stephanie on securing the debate.

The idea of offering rental clothes to MSPs has certainly paid off. It certainly seems to have cured Kenny Gibson’s fashion woes. My message to him is that he should continue to rent.

I, too, have visited ACS’s plant in my region, and it was an eye-opener for me. We have a rental sector, which should be expanded. Some of the figures that ACS gave me were startling. The fashion industry produces 10 per cent of global carbon emissions, and that could rise to 26 per cent by 2050. In addition, globally, 20 per cent of waste water comes from the fashion industry, and 50 billion plastic bottles’-worth of microfibres are released annually by the industry. As we have heard, 98 per cent of brands do not pay their workers a liveable wage.

Other MSPs have rightly said that we live in an age of fast, throwaway fashion. I should say that, in the spirit of the debate, I am wearing a jacket that I bought second hand in the 1980s—it probably shows, actually. My tie was also bought at the same time. They were made to last, and they have lasted. I can still wear them, and I think that they look okay. I think that I can see Maurice Golden chortling, as well he might.

That is what we should be doing. We should not be chucking away clothes that are perfectly usable, which happens too often. Thankfully, younger people are latching on to the message that we should not have such a throwaway society. Fiona Hyslop mentioned that there are apps out there that enable people to buy and sell clothes that have been worn before. We really need to change the market. ACS has come up with some solutions, such as implementing regulations on the use of synthetic materials, establishing minimum standards for sustainable production, implementing product labelling requirements and providing incentives for sustainable fashion.

One of my personal bugbears is to do not with clothes but with footwear. A number of shoes and trainers are built in such a way that they are very hard to repair. I like to get stuff repaired rather than throw it away. The way in which shoes and trainers are now manufactured means that it is extremely difficult to do that. We need to take a look at that. The issue is not just about clothes; it is also about footwear.

Thank you.

I will come on to remuneration. Figures have been published; you can tell me whether they are right or wrong.

You are paid £2,000 a day—is that correct?

You will be pleased to hear that I am going to come back to remuneration. At the start, you described broadly what an entrepreneur is: it is somebody who has an idea, starts up a business and makes a success of it. What businesses have you started?

That is useful to know.

You mentioned the Scottish technology ecosystem review, which you wrote. I read that, when you were invited to do that by Kate Forbes, you were sitting in a lay-by on the A9. How were you offered your current role? Where were you? I hope that you were not sitting in a lay-by. How was it offered? Was there an interview process?

I do not know whether any of the other witnesses want to say anything. They should not feel that they have to. I see that Jon O’Sullivan wants to comment.