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Chamber and committees

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 5 July 2025
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Displaying 184 contributions

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Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Question Time

Meeting date: 19 June 2025

Alexander Burnett

It feels as though some members are seeking to turn the Parliament’s management board into a university debating society—unfortunately, that is par for the course in the Scottish Parliament. Does the member agree that the Scottish Parliament, as an institution, must always take the necessary steps to abide by the law?

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 11 June 2025

Alexander Burnett

Since 2014, the Scottish Government’s budget has increased by 45 per cent in real terms. In stark contrast, local government funding has decreased by about 1 per cent over the same period.

Aberdeenshire has one of the largest school pupil populations outside of the central belt and many pupils travel long distances each day to reach their catchment school—yet the council receives the fourth-lowest level of funding per head, which leaves nothing for bus budgets. That affects rural pupils as well as bus contracts for disabled passengers. Can the cabinet secretary explain how future education budgets will consider rurality when setting funding allocations?

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 11 June 2025

Alexander Burnett

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has assessed the impact of its budget settlement for Aberdeenshire Council in 2025-26 on the local authority’s ability to deliver local services. (S6O-04778)

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 4 June 2025

Alexander Burnett

To ask the Scottish Government when the children’s minister last met with Aberdeenshire Council to discuss nursery closures. (S6O-04756)

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 4 June 2025

Alexander Burnett

I am glad that the minister is aware of the proposal to mothball four nurseries in Aberdeenshire. A full council meeting is taking place next Monday to make a final decision, but, despite numerous questions, we still appear to be going round in circles, with ministers saying that consultation is required under the guidance and council officers saying that it is not. I asked the minister to write to the council—which was done on 30 May—but it is disappointing that the contents of that letter were not shared with my office. Can the minister simply confirm that her letter to the council confirmed what she and the First Minister have said in the chamber, which is that a consultation should have taken place?

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 22 May 2025

Alexander Burnett

Most people would assume that a reporter would consider all the available information. However, for the public inquiry into the proposed Hill of Fare wind farm, the cumulative impact assessment will consider only other projects that were consented or the subject of a full planning application at 10 August 2023. That is more than two years before the reporter will hold her inquiry. It will fail to take into account applications that are known about but are in the earlier stages of planning and consultation, as well as any other energy infrastructure projects.

We know that the planning system is outdated, but given that, this week, the minister welcomed the fact that councils are developing renewable energy mapping tools, is it not right that all available information be considered?

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 22 May 2025

Alexander Burnett

To ask the Scottish Government to what extent current projects will be included when making a cumulative impact assessment for a section 36 application under the Electricity Act 1989. (S6O-04698)

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Radio Teleswitch Service Switch-off

Meeting date: 20 May 2025

Alexander Burnett

I thank Beatrice Wishart for bringing the motion for debate. As we have heard, the closure of the radio teleswitch service on 30 June is fast approaching. I have heard from many constituents who have experienced issues and delays with having meters exchanged. I should declare an interest, as that includes me. It was reported that, at the end of April, 432,000 meters still needed to be replaced in the UK, more than a quarter of which—nearly 135,000—are located in Scotland.

It has been estimated that the rate of replacement is about 6,000 a month. I therefore echo the concern that other members have raised that meters are not being replaced at a rate that will meet the deadline. In fact, at the current rate, it will take six years for the work to be completed.

Many people have had to wait months for an appointment, and for many rural households that are total heating, total control customers, the changeover to a smart meter has been a lot more complex and time consuming than expected, which has added to the delays. I know of constituents whose smart meter installations have failed more than three times due to the wiring of their homes. The length of the process is very worrying, given the number of homes that are still to be connected. I have worked with an elderly vulnerable constituent who lives by herself to chase up her installation but, months in, she still does not have an appointment.

Given that I have also heard from constituents who have experienced poor communication about the RTS switch-off, there is an additional concern that some households might not even be aware that the switch-off is taking place. In fact, a poll by Age Scotland shows that nearly half the people who need their meter to be switched over are still not aware of that. It is simply not good enough. It is of great concern that people who still need to have smart meters installed face the possibility of losing hot water and heating or having their bills skyrocket to unaffordable heights.

Although technological upgrades are necessary and the switch-over will, ultimately, make bills more accurate, we must not let rural communities be left at a disadvantage. Whether we are talking about improvements to broadband or the energy systems in our homes, our rural communities are always the last to benefit from upgrades. I would be interested to hear what conversations the SNP Government has had with the UK Labour Government on the matter, with a view to ensuring that all properties will be upgraded by the deadline and that rural homes will not be left behind.

18:41  

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Construction Skills for the Future

Meeting date: 13 May 2025

Alexander Burnett

Despite the context of today’s previous debate on the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, I thank Gordon MacDonald for bringing this important debate to the chamber. I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests in relation to construction, as I am a non-executive director and shareholder of a house-building company. It is with that knowledge of the sector that I highlight the serious decline in certain skills and point out the bleak reality that is facing the sector and the Scottish Government’s chances of meeting its housing targets.

In the past month, I have attended the retirement of two hard-working individuals who had been with our family firm for more than half a century between them. Andy Paterson retired as a bricklayer after 35 years, and Bruce Innes has retired after more than 20 years as a joiner. I wish them both the very best in their retirement and thank them for their service.

Now, as more professionals retire and fewer young people enter the industry, we are faced with a doom loop in which there are not enough trained workers in the pipeline to make up the shortfall and to mentor their successors. Bricklayers are the most difficult to employ, as the skill set is simply not out there in the way that it used to be. I believe that, with regard to workers, the bricklaying sector is down nearly 30 per cent from where it needs to be. It is, sadly, not as much of a chosen trade for apprenticeships, and the Chartered Institute of Building highlights that urgent action is needed to address the worsening skills gap.

Worryingly, I was told last week that nobody has signed up for the bricklaying course in Aberdeen. In the past, that course had more than 40 students, but the numbers are—shockingly—now at zero. Joinery, too, is not receiving the same number of applicants as in previous years, and the impact of that can be felt in construction companies.

In our company, for example, we used to have more than 10 apprentices in joinery and bricklaying, and now we have only half that number. A further problem is that companies that would normally carry out training cannot do so because they are short of mentors in their own businesses to support apprentices. Unfortunately, the comments from Gordon MacDonald that SMEs need to take on more apprentices only serve to demonstrate how little the Government understands of how the sector actually works.

Aside from sub-contractors, we employ nine bricklayers and 11 joiners, and so, without an adequate number of mentors, there is limited capacity for us to be able to take on more apprentices. However, as we hear from those on all sides of the chamber, we need to support traditional skills and encourage more young people to pursue a career in the construction industry.

Bricklaying can be a rewarding career, with bricklayers earning more than £40,000 a year, and I am glad to see from the motion that 74 per cent of young people

“hold a positive view of construction careers”.

However, unless those skills are passed on, there will be no such pay packets and no houses built. Inspiring more people into the sector not only supports both the local and national economy—it will also see more homes being built, at a time when there is a national housing emergency in Scotland and 13 local authorities have declared their own housing emergencies.

We currently have the highest recorded numbers of children living in temporary accommodation, and it has been made clear today that encouraging more people into the construction industry will play a key part in tackling that crisis.

I would like to hear from the minister today if he actually knows how many workers we have in the construction industry for each of those skills, and, more importantly, if he knows what numbers of people with those skills are going to be needed in order to meet the annual housing targets. If the Scottish National Party Government does not get a better understanding of the employment problems facing the sector, the housing crisis is going to get a whole lot worse.

19:24  

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

General Question Time

Meeting date: 8 May 2025

Alexander Burnett

As the minister knows, it was announced just before Easter that four nurseries in Aberdeenshire would be mothballed. When the issue was raised in the chamber, the First Minister and the minister stated that there was a requirement for local consultation. No consultation has taken place with any of the communities affected, and parents are experiencing poor communication with council officers. We have also received the impact assessment of the decision for one of the nursery closures, which was approved on 30 April, more than a month after the closures were announced on 28 March.

Will the minister outline what action the Scottish Government will take to ensure that the national mothballing guidance is followed? What can parents do when councils do not follow their own processes?