As previously agreed, we will take our remaining business in private.

I am pleased to speak in the debate, and I thank Pam Duncan-Glancy for bringing this important issue to the chamber.

The international day of persons with disabilities reminds us of our collective responsibility to uphold the rights, dignity and wellbeing of disabled people across all areas of life and all aspects of society. It is important that Parliament acknowledges this day, and I congratulate Pam Duncan-Glancy and the societies, groups and organisations that all play a part.

I welcome the UN’s chosen theme for this year, which is fostering disability-inclusive societies for advancing social progress. That theme reflects a simple truth, which is that the whole of society benefits when we support disabled people to thrive by removing barriers and widening access for them.

When I engage with organisations in my region, including employment services and third sector groups, it is clear just how much those organisations, and individuals with disabilities in the area, contribute to the communities that they work in every day and ensure that those communities thrive.

Pam Duncan-Glancy’s motion rightly speaks about some of the challenges that disabled people continue to face. Those challenges include barriers to accessing education, securing stable employment and accessing public services, which remains difficult for disabled people.

Of all those challenges, employment remains one of the most significant. From 2013 to 2019, we saw positive change on that issue, and the proportion of disabled people in employment increased from 43 to 54 per cent. Despite some progress, however, we know that the disability employment gap remains stubbornly high. Recent figures have shown that the disability employment rate is 53.1 per cent, which is nearly 30 percentage points lower than the rate for those who are non-disabled. We also know that employment rates for disabled people fell during the pandemic, and that, overall, the proportion of disabled people in employment has not increased since 2019.

While we recognise the progress, there is a lot of work to do. We have to ensure that much more work is done. For example, we need to ensure that workplaces are genuinely inclusive, that disabled people have access to the correct support and that employers are able to make any necessary adjustments to enable them to work.

The previous United Kingdom Government doubled spending on the access to work programme between 2016 and 2024, and that provision helped to deliver employment support for more than 67,000 individuals in 2023-24. As we go forward, it is important that there is a continued commitment to supporting disabled people to seek work where possible, so that further progress can be achieved.

Inclusion should be not just an aspiration but an essential part of a fairer Scotland, which we all want to see. It is therefore important that we ask the Scottish Government to continue to engage constructively with Parliament’s forthcoming disability summit. I look forward to seeing what can be achieved from that.

The United Kingdom Government also has a key role to play in the process, as most aspects of equalities and employment law are still reserved matters. We must ensure that UK-wide disability rights legislation remains robust and effective and that Governments work together to make employment practices more inclusive. Disabled people deserve a system that works for them across all parts of the United Kingdom and at all levels of government.

In conclusion, I hope that members on all sides of the chamber can work together to make that vision a reality, because disabled people want nothing more than for the Parliament to work with them to achieve the goals that they rightfully deserve to reach.

Stephen, in your opening remarks, you talked about funding gaps and a demand-led budget and service. Around £320 million more is likely to be spent on ADP than the Scottish Government receives in PIP block grant adjustment. You have touched on that this morning. We have also touched on the likelihood of the forecast gap of £770 million being closer to £400 million by 2029-30. It would be good to get a flavour of Audit Scotland’s conclusions on how the Scottish Government is managing the funding gap. You have given us a flavour of when you look at the figures and how you manage that, but it is a considerable sum of money and it is probably going to continue to grow.

Good morning, Edel. The independent review reported clients’ positive views on consultations. Would greater use of consultations improve decision making? Are poor experiences of PIP assessments preventing the use of what could be a useful part of the decision-making process?

The idea about the process being personalised comes out quite strongly in the review, which found that people wanted more personalised and accessible communication from Social Security Scotland. They saw that as an advantage. How important is that for people and how can it be achieved? That is a goal, but it is also something that Social Security Scotland is attempting to do.

It is important to note that the Scottish Government’s choices, criteria and policy decisions are encouraging more people to come forward. There is no doubt about that, which must have a knock-on effect on how much this will cost. If people feel that dignity, respect and fairness are there, more will take up the opportunity to apply, as the system might not be seen as being as draconian or strict as it used to be. They might not have chosen to come forward in the past due to stigma and difficulties. The Government must take that into account and come to a conclusion about how this should be progressed and managed.

Forth Valley royal hospital maternity service in Larbert is the latest maternity service to receive a damning report from an unannounced inspection. The report highlighted that mothers were being put at serious risk and that some had to wait up to 62 hours to be induced. What is the Scottish Government doing to ensure that lessons are learned from the report and that safeguards are put in place to protect mothers and their unborn babies as a matter of urgency?

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its just transition plan for the Mossmorran petrochemical site. (S6O-05209)

Four hundred employees and contractors face redundancy at Mossmorran, but the transition plan that the Scottish Government promised in early 2025 has still not materialised. Instead of there being a blame game between both Governments, when will the Scottish Government take responsibility for protecting the sector and end its presumption against oil and gas in order to prevent job losses in the oil and gas sector supply chain?

Today’s UK budget appears to be another missed opportunity to tackle the biggest challenges standing in the way of the economic growth that Scotland should be capable of.

A strong workforce is vital for effective economic growth. However, as our motion highlights, there is currently an alarming decrease in economic activity across Scotland. Unemployment has increased over the past year, and a fifth of working-age Scots are economically inactive. Those are far from just statistics; that inactivity means missed opportunities, stalled ambition and lost growth.

To be clear, that is a problem created by both of Scotland’s Governments. The UK Labour Government’s jobs tax is already costing jobs and livelihoods. One in five businesses are claiming that they have already cut jobs due to the national insurance hike. A third of businesses are saying that they plan to cut jobs in the coming months. At the same time, Labour’s Employment Rights Bill will only make it more difficult to provide employment. Instead of strengthening our labour market, the bill risks making hiring more complicated and more expensive. It is little wonder that the Federation of Small Businesses, the Law Society of Scotland and the Confederation of British Industry have raised concerns about the proposals. There is little use in increasing job security if the reforms risk decreasing the number of jobs that are being created and becoming available. Any chancellor who is serious about creating growth should urgently reconsider those anti-business reforms.

Meanwhile, here in Scotland, the SNP’s high-tax agenda has meant that the Scottish tax base has not had the growth that it should have had. Despite having significant powers in relation to employability, the SNP has chosen to prioritise welfare reforms.

As our motion highlights, the welfare budget is rapidly spiralling out of control. The total budget is set to reach more than £9 billion by 2030, which is over £2 billion more than the block grant allocation for social security. The UK Government has already tried, and failed, to control welfare spending earlier this year. As it stands, the Scottish Government has no plan for how to address those spiralling costs—and does not seem to be interested in creating one.

Our motion rightly speaks about the risks in some taxes that threaten opportunities, and the importance of dealing with those risks. We should be backing working households and working people. At the same time, we need to address the spiralling welfare costs that are consuming ever-higher amounts of both the Scottish Government and UK Government’s budgets. We need to deliver reforms that mean that, where possible, people get into well-paying jobs, while ensuring that we target support for people who need it the most. That also means creating more jobs and making sure that there are no anti-growth taxes such as those brought in by the Labour Government.

If the political will existed to do that, members on the Conservative benches would stand ready to work with either Government to ensure that we improve and that those reforms take place. For now, the onus rests on both of Scotland’s Governments to do what is needed to place Scotland firmly on the path to sustainable growth. Doing anything else would be an abdication of responsibility.