Chamber and committees

I remind members that I am the chair of the cross-party group on independent convenience stores.

The committee report has a focus on town centres, as well over half the population of Scotland live in our towns. Town centres should be the beating heart of our communities the length and breadth of Scotland, but our high streets have been changing in recent decades. Many chain stores, from Burtons to Woolworths, have been closing, leaving large vacant buildings that are difficult to let and soon become a blight on our town centres.

That trend was accelerated by the pandemic, when more people began shopping online. In December 2019, just before the pandemic hit, the online share of retail sales was 19 per cent. It rapidly rose to 38 per cent in January 2021 when shops closed during lockdowns and people avoided unnecessary social interaction.

In order to turn that around and put our town centres back at the heart of our communities, we need to tackle the large number of empty commercial properties by bringing them back into use, although not necessarily as retail units. The footprint of our main shopping areas has shrunk; where possible, buildings on the periphery could be converted into much-needed homes. That could also be the case with the empty storeys above shop units, which would bring people back to live at the centre of towns.

We need to increase footfall. Committee witnesses provided examples in which large empty retail units had been converted into gyms, health centres, council offices and college space, all of which had helped to bring people back into the centre of towns and supported retailers and hospitality businesses.

If we want to see town centres thrive again, we need to encourage the growth of independent retailers, support the creation of incubator units for start-up businesses and encourage social enterprises. In order for that to happen, landlords have to realise that long leases of 10 or 20 years are no longer acceptable to everyone because, in the current economic climate, no one wants to take on that risk. In the Westside Plaza in the Wester Hailes area of my constituency, the landlord has let one empty unit to the community wellbeing space, home to the community wellbeing collective. The collective is a group of 30 people who live in and are connected to Wester Hailes and who aim to enhance health and wellbeing, develop local action and create community cohesion in order to tackle the effects of poverty, social isolation and poor mental health.

One way of assisting all new tenants, and landlords of empty commercial properties would be for the UK Government to amend the VAT legislation. Depending on the nature of building work, and the purpose and VAT status of the client, VAT can be charged at 20 per cent or 5 per cent or can even be zero rated. That confusion can create a disincentive for anyone to invest in old buildings that are lying empty or abandoned and could be brought back into use.

In recent years, prior to the pandemic, the proportion of independent retailers across cities and towns was increasing, while the proportion of chain stores was decreasing. Post-pandemic, that trend is continuing. However, independents now have to compete with online retailers, which, in many cases, have lower overheads. In order to protect our town centres, we have to encourage bricks-and-mortar retailers to trade online in order that they can add additional sales from outwith their area, which would enable them to support their businesses to remain on the high street. Currently, 35 per cent of Scottish businesses have an online presence, but only 20 per cent of businesses believe that they have the skills that they need to trade on the internet.

The Scottish Government’s digital boost development grant was significantly oversubscribed, which highlights the support that businesses need to develop their digital skills. The pilot digital productivity labs need to be rolled out across Scotland as soon as possible to provide tailored support programmes to the retail sector. Evidence from Business Gateway indicates that Scottish businesses are still reluctant, and are not necessarily picking up the opportunities, which means that their digital maturity is not yet as evolved or developed as we might want it to be. Other witnesses highlighted that, although Scotland has 8 per cent of the UK population, less than 2 per cent of e-commerce jobs are located north of the border. Small businesses need that support now.

There is no doubt that retailing has faced many challenges in recent years, from the financial crash of 2008, to Brexit, to the pandemic. Brexit has resulted in staff shortages and a lack of goods from the European Union—or goods obtained at a higher price—but it is not all bad news. The good news for our town centres is that this Christmas, shoppers returned to the high street, because there were no restrictions on opening hours, as there had been in previous years. Online sales fell by 30 per cent from their peak, to a 27 per cent market share, partially due to postal strikes making deliveries uncertain.

For the five weeks to 31 December 2022, total retail sales in Scotland increased by 11.3 per cent when compared with December 2021. Even adjusting for inflation, those figures, sitting at 3.9 per cent, remain a positive. We need to take this opportunity to support our town centres to, once again, be at the heart of our communities.

Would the land that you are talking about, which has been put aside, allow existing businesses to grow, or is it about encouraging innovation?

You touched earlier on the lack of financial support for SMEs to engage in the journey that we are on. What do you see as being the nature of that financial support?

Stuart, how can we ensure that opportunities from the transition are accessible for local businesses?

Good morning. I will continue the conversation that Michelle Thomson started. The Grangemouth future industry board says that its just transition plan

“will outline a shared view of what the industrial cluster would look like by 2045 ... this transition can maximise socioeconomic benefit for the surrounding area.”

Given the 2045 target, what would you like to see happening in the short, medium and long terms to ensure that SMEs are at the heart of the just transition?

Liz, what is your view on that?

It has been reported in the past week that, while most people are struggling to heat their homes, big energy companies are making record profits. Given that energy pricing is reserved, will the cabinet secretary urge the Chancellor of the Exchequer to tax share buy-backs, expand the windfall tax and scrap plans to raise the energy bill cap by a further £500 in April?

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to support that it can provide for households in Scotland, what recent discussions it has had with the United Kingdom Government regarding energy affordability. (S6O-01891)

You mentioned that, over the past eight years, the Scottish Government has doubled the number of disabled people that it employs. However, when Enable Scotland gave evidence to the committee two weeks ago, it said:

“At times, we find it most challenging to work with the public sector.”—[Official Report, Economy and Fair Work Committee, 25 January 2023; c 28.]

What is your perception? We have the public sector, the private sector and the third sector. Do we have any data that highlights the proportion of disabled people who are employed in each sector?

I have a couple of quick questions, because much of what I was going to ask about has been covered.

There are 125,000 people of working age who are disabled and have qualifications at degree level, but disabled people who have a degree are less likely to be employed than non-disabled people. Cerebral Palsy Scotland has suggested that there is a need for an online hub, so that people can find out information and support on employing a disabled person. Is that something that already exists, or is it something that the Government would consider?