Chamber and committees

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it currently provides to improve road safety. (S6O-00951)

You touched on the fact that we need to look at the state that some of these vacant buildings are in. What are the barriers to their being brought back into use? Are they part of an investment portfolio that is not high on people’s horizons, or are there taxation problems such as VAT being payable on renovations but not on new builds? What should we be looking at in order to encourage property owners to bring buildings back into use?

Good morning, Professor Sparks. I want to ask you about empty properties. In your opening remarks, you said that there are too many shops in the wrong locations. Given the whole range of empty properties that we have in our towns and cities, from small independent units to large department stores, how can we tackle the blight of vacant and derelict buildings in our towns and villages?

Okay. Thank you.

You mentioned start-ups. Last week, we heard evidence about start-up street in Renfrewshire. How much demand for commercial units is there among new, emerging and specialist retailers?

On the point about getting property owners engaged, I am conscious that, if a home is left empty for more than 12 months, the council can charge double the rate of council tax. Would it force property owners to engage with empty properties if something similar was brought in for non-domestic rates?

The retail sector has sustained and is facing damage from Brexit, the pandemic, the cost of living crisis and, now, the war in Ukraine. Given the impact on business costs and produce availability, how optimistic is the minister that the retail strategy is comprehensive enough to provide confidence to the retail sector?

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of schools are being reported as in good or satisfactory condition. (S6O-00880)

Unfortunately, as the Presiding Officer said, Clare Adamson is unable to speak to her motion on the Scottish Fair Trade Forum pledge. As I have supported the Balerno fair trade group in my constituency for many years, I hope that I can do justice to the motion.

The Scottish Fair Trade Forum pledge is a way for MSPs to show their support for all actions that improve the livelihoods of farmers and workers from developing countries who produce many of the products that we consume every day. The pledge involves supporting a fair economy and committing to tackle the climate emergency.

The Scottish Fair Trade Forum was established in 2007 by a group of Scotland-based fair trade campaigners to promote the cause of fair trade in Scotland and support our becoming a fair trade nation.

The forum has similar aims to those of the Fairtrade Foundation, which was established back in 1992 by Christian Aid, New Consumer, Oxfam, Traidcraft, the World Development Movement and the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development. That same year, Co-operative Group supermarkets became the first supermarket chain to sell a Fairtrade product, Cafédirect coffee.

The first Fairtrade fortnight in the United Kingdom, which was directed by Barnaby Miln, was launched on 12 February 1997 at the Augustine United church on Edinburgh’s George IV Bridge. During Fairtrade fortnight, Miln encouraged supporters to ask for fairly traded products, and he provided them with a list of 85 supermarkets in Scotland’s cities and larger towns.

In 2013, Scotland became, after Wales, the second nation in the world to achieve fair trade nation status and support sales of products that offer a better deal to workers in developing countries.

The result of all that effort is that, today, there are more than 6,000 Fairtrade products on sale, from coffee and tea to flowers, clothes, wine, beauty products and even gold. What they all have in common is that they carry the Fairtrade mark, which certifies that products or ingredients have been produced in safer working conditions in which workers’ rights are respected and with fairer pay levels.

Why is promoting fair trade important? In developing countries, independent small farmers who work their own land and market their produce through a local co-operative are paid a price that covers the cost of sustainable production. They are also paid a premium, which producers can invest in development. By being able to exceed their production costs, they can improve their lives by having access to better education and healthcare and more nutritious food.

We also have Fairtrade producers. I will give an example. Most Fairtrade tea is grown on estates, and the primary concerns for the workers who are employed on tea plantations are fair wages and decent working conditions. If the producers agree to pay decent wages, guarantee workers the right to join trade unions, provide good housing, where relevant, maintain health and safety as well as environmental standards, and ensure that no child labour or forced labour can occur, they are awarded contracts that allow for long-term planning and sustainable production practices and under which they can receive partial advance payments when requested. As a result, fair trade benefits workers and communities by spreading profits more equitably and stimulating the local economy. Profits are often reinvested in community projects such as health clinics or childcare and education projects.

Almost 1,900 certified Fairtrade producer organisations across 71 countries received a Fairtrade premium of £169 million in 2020. On average, each producer received £90,000 as an additional premium to support their local community.

There are a large number of local fair trade community groups across Scotland. Balerno, in my constituency of Edinburgh Pentlands, gained Fairtrade status in 2013, thanks to the volunteers who promoted the benefits of fair trade to the local community. Every year, Balerno fair trade group organises among schools the fair trade art competition, and hosts the annual coffee and craft fair. During the year, it encourages local businesses, from family-run Carlyle’s Bar and Kitchen and the local Scotmid to the community café at the Mill, to stock fair trade products.

That effort to keep fair trade in the public eye resulted in Balerno fair trade group being awarded Fairtrade community of the month by the Fairtrade Foundation in June last year.

Our schools also promote fair trade, especially during Fairtrade fortnight, and I know that Clare Adamson would have thanked schools in her area, such as Newmains, St Aidan’s, Morningside primary and St Bernadette’s, for their efforts in raising awareness of fair trade produce.

I should also take this opportunity to mention the schools in my constituency, starting with Stenhouse primary, which was awarded fair trade status in 2010, as was Dean Park primary in 2013, and the continued support of and participation by pupils and staff at Balerno high in local fair trade events.

Many of the schools in my constituency and in Clare Adamson’s will promote fair trade by selling fair trade products in their tuck shops, or using fair trade products in their staffroom. Their pupils will learn about how global trade works and why fair trade is important, and produce awareness-raising posters for their school and their local communities.

We can all help the fair trade movement not only by supporting local organisations during Fairtrade fortnight, but by stimulating demand by asking for fair trade products in shops, cafés and restaurants. We can also spread the fair trade message among our families, friends and colleagues, and, as a result, assist, in a small way, in supporting communities in developing countries.

Edinburgh is a fair trade city, and Scotland has been recognised as one of the first fair trade nations. That highlights the fact that we, the people of Scotland, share a vision of being a good global citizen and are committed to playing our part in addressing poverty.

Thanks to the Scottish Government’s learning estate investment programme, the City of Edinburgh Council is building what it hopes will be the first Passivhaus school, to replace the current Currie high school, which is in my constituency.

Does the cabinet secretary agree that investment in our school estate is vital in supporting our young people’s learning journey?