Jackie Dunbar
Scottish National Party · Scotland
“I do not believe for one second that Reform UK cares about people like me; it cares about division and power, and crypto donations from dodgy billionaires. Reform UK does not represent me—it disgusts me. I am under no illusion that folk are frustrated at so much of what is happening, and not happening, in the world today.”
“Some folk who have never struggled before are now struggling, and some folk who have struggled their whole lives now doubt that things will ever get better for them. They are seeing the consequences of austerity, of a lack of investment in jobs and of a lack of spending in their local communities.”
“Anyway, I appreciate that the low-emission zones policy might inconvenience Baron Offord of Garvel, depending on which of his five cars he is driving at the time, but it will add years to the life expectancies of thousands of Scots.”
“At this point, I will take an intervention from any Reform MSP who wants to tell us whether they think that their party is too racist or not racist enough. George Adam: Oh—nothing! Jackie Dunbar: Perhaps I will use some different quotes: “I told you time and time again, I’m protecting the country”. “Enough is enough. I have had enough”.”
“The same folk who were leading the fight against “benefit scroungers” a decade ago when they were in the Conservative Party are now in Reform UK saying that we should “look after our own”. Maybe I am just not seeing what Reform MSPs are believing.”
“I wonder whether the MSPs who have been joining “street patrols” or the ones calling people “strangers” might see some similarities, too. I am not expecting them to stand up and hold their hands up, but those who are capable of quiet reflection may wish to try it.”
The complete record
Every one of 437 lines we hold for Jackie Dunbar, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 8 of 9.
“I will get them all in, but their questions will need to be brief, as will the responses.”
“[Interruption.] I hear some chuntering from members on the benches to my left, but the End Child Poverty coalition estimates that the two-child cap alone pulled 30,000 children into poverty in the UK between Labour being elected in June last year and 5 April this year, while Department for Work and Pensions figures show that proposed welfare cuts for disabled people will drive 50,000 more children into poverty. We have committed around £1.4 billion to mitigate the impact of 15 years of UK Government policies such as the bedroom tax and the benefit cap. Because the UK Government has failed to act, we have also committed to developing the systems that are needed to effectively scrap the impact of the two-child cap by April 2026. The Deputy Presiding Officer: Three additional members wish to ask questions.”
“I understand that the EIS noted in February that the number of violent incidents in schools has increased steadily since the onset of UK Government-imposed austerity. That is a further example of the harm that UK Government policies cause in Scotland. Will the cabinet secretary outline what steps the Scottish Government is taking to tackle the sustained impact of austerity on our young people? Jenny Gilruth: Ms Dunbar raises some important points. We know that UK Government welfare cuts have caused wide-ranging damage to the lives and outcomes of children and young people across the UK, including in Scotland.”
“To ask the Scottish Government when it last engaged with the United Kingdom Government on the subject of food security. (S6O-04611)”
“In relation to tuition fees, students in England pay £28,605, while Scotland-domiciled students have continued to have free university tuition. I think that those are some of the answers that Jackie Dunbar was looking for.”
“I am pleased that the SNP Government is continuing to focus on supporting folk with everyday costs, through the cost of living package, during what continues to be a cost of living crisis for so many people. Has the Government carried out any assessment of how much the average household benefits from policies such as council tax and water bills that are lower than those in England and Wales and other supports such as free tuition fees, childcare and bus travel, to name just a few? The First Minister: I will address some of the specific points that Jackie Dunbar raises with me. Average council tax charges for band E properties are £600 lower in Scotland compared with England and £400 lower than in Wales. Our provisions on early learning and childcare essentially represent a benefit of about £6,000 per child per year.”
“To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of any implications for its work to grow Scotland’s economy of the EY ITEM club spring forecast, which downgraded expectations for United Kingdom output over the next two years. (S6F- 04049)”
“We cannot sit back and watch another economic crisis unfold in Scotland because of Westminster inaction. Can the Deputy First Minister speak further about what steps the Scottish Government is taking to help to preserve the skills of Grangemouth’s workforce as we continue our just transition? Kate Forbes: We have worked with Forth Valley College to assess the training needs of those who have lost their jobs and to deliver tailored reskilling to support their future employment. We value those highly skilled workers and the contribution that they can bring to realising the potential of project willow and the wider opportunities across the cluster. The skills intervention is being delivered in consultation with Skills Development Scotland, Unite the union and the UK Government to ensure that we support the retention of those skills.”
“However, we have to make sure that we take people with us and we will consult and listen carefully to stakeholders while raising those issues with the UK Government, as I committed to doing in my earlier answer. Tall Ships Races Aberdeen 2025 8.”
“Acting in line with the polluter pays principle is a key part of enabling a just transition for communities across Scotland through effective waste management and reduction. Will the Deputy First Minister say any more about the Scottish Government’s work to achieve that in partnership with Zero Waste Scotland? The Deputy Presiding Officer: Be as brief as possible, Deputy First Minister. Kate Forbes: The polluter pays principle is all about ensuring that producers take greater responsibility for the waste that they create. The introduction of EPR for packaging is intended to shift costs from local authorities to producers, which will generate an estimated £160 million every year.”
“How has the Scottish National Party Government already supported ELC provision, particularly through its early adopter communities approach? Natalie Don-Innes: We have invested in our early adopter communities and increased their number to six in the most recent year. I recently had a meeting with officials on the progress and learning that we are gaining from our early adopter communities. I know that the families who are being supported in those communities are finding the support that they are receiving extremely beneficial in relation to their life choices and the situations that they are in. Further analysis of the benefits of the early adopter communities approach will come through in the coming months, and I am very positive about what I will be able to share with the chamber in relation to those outcomes.”
“Thirdly, the organisation is asking for at least two members of staff or volunteers in each project or school to be trained and supported over the long term to build their knowledge and confidence in the field of intergenerational practice. I will finish by urging everyone to do something, too. Go and have a conversation with someone different, from a different generation. Learn or teach something, such as a new phrase, or, for those in Aberdeen, teach the younger generation the Doric. You will be glad that you did. The Deputy Presiding Officer: We move to the open debate. 17:18”
“The second is funding for intergenerational projects. If anyone is thinking of funding intergenerational projects, I promise them that it will be money well spent. I know at first hand, as a member of the ABZ propeller fund— which is funded by Aberdeen airport and gives out money to charities and groups in north-east Scotland—the fantastic difference that that can make. In my area, the fund has allocated money to the Bridge of Don men’s shed for a polytunnel that it uses with Forehill primary school, with the not- so-young teaching the young how to grow things. That is just one fantastic example of intergenerational work.”
“I expect to see more of that in the future—and I say “expect”, because of the work that Generations Working Together has done in, for example, developing lesson plans and resources for primary schools to prepare children for intergenerational learning. I am sure that it will give members a copy of that material to anyone who wants it—I got one from the organisation earlier. It has also worked with Education Scotland and produced two new practice guidance handbooks on intergenerational work. I will remind members what Generations Working Together is now asking for so that it can build on what it has already done. It is urging everyone to recognise the importance of three things. The first is intergenerational training to enable staff and volunteers to start from a place of good practice.”
“As the MSP for Aberdeen Donside, I think that the best bit is where it talks about Aberdeen, particularly the intergenerational choir that is run by ACE Voices in Aberdeen. That project has been credited with reconnecting communities, providing learning and leadership opportunities, helping to reduce isolation and loneliness and reducing ageism. It is a fantastic initiative, and it is just one of numerous such initiatives across Scotland. For example, there is the intergenerational shared site that consists of a nursery inside a care home in Methilhaven in Fife, and there is the junior Up Helly Aa in Shetland. There are older adults mentoring young folk in the Citadel Youth Centre in Leith, and there is the great work of the F’aside women and girls group in East Lothian.”
“Nowadays, people can find friends on the other side of the planet who share the same interests, or they can find folk with common interests and then form a new kind of community with them. However, with those much wider nets, more folk—and especially older folk— can slip through, and we are seeing increased isolation as a result. I want to use today’s debate to talk about why there is still a case for intergenerational learning and for different generations to learn from one another. It not only teaches new information and skills, but provides opportunities to challenge stereotypes and misconceptions, with ageism against both young and old being a particular problem. On the theme of intergenerational learning, Generations Working Together has provided us with a wonderful briefing.”
“It has led to there being an online Doric dictionary, which is for the better; it has supported people to share their lives with the world in a way that they never could before; and it has put some of our culture in front of larger audiences in a way that we could never possibly have imagined. However, in amongst the world’s- worth of videos, blogs and web pages that we have at our fingertips, we have moved to a situation in which the majority of the content that people see online has been created in the past 24 hours, and that does not bode well for the stories that have been passed down the generations. We have also seen a shift in how folk engage with one another. Our communities used to be mostly based on where we lived; we knew our neighbours and their neighbours, and their neighbours’ neighbours.”
“Their stories and legacies were passed down and kept alive by word of mouth. That is what makes our uncle or great-uncle—or even our great-great- uncle, depending on how old we are—a person rather than an inscription on the local war memorial for someone whom we have never met. It is how so many of our folk songs, recipes and traditional skills, and the stories that are unique to our families and communities, have made their way down to us today. I mentioned social media, and I come back to that. Social media—indeed, the internet in general—has changed how we share information, for better and for worse.”
“To be honest, I do not have any particular personal experience that has led me to this issue, just a general belief that it is important for different generations to engage with and learn from one another. As for stories, however, there have been so many. Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, before Facebook and Twitter—and, indeed, before Bebo and MySpace; who remembers them?— most communication was spoken rather than written. Some of it was practical, such as skills and language—that is how Doric has made its way down the generations—while another part of it was myths and legends, as well as some good old- fashioned gossip. That is how so much of our history is passed down to us. Those of us from more humble beginnings know that history books were not written about farmhands and factory workers.”
“Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer—my apologies for confusing you by sitting in a different seat tonight. I thank all my colleagues across the chamber who signed my motion on global intergenerational week 2025, and I thank in advance those members who will take part in the debate. I also welcome Alison and Kshitija from the Generations Working Together team, who are in the public gallery. The theme of this year’s global intergenerational week is intergenerational learning. This is not the first debate that I have led on intergenerational working, which has led to someone asking me what personal experience I have had that makes me care so much about the subject—what is my story?”
“It is a very important scheme, and the funding has enabled us to support the largest number of households in one year since the scheme began. Each eligible household is offered a bespoke package of measures that takes account of the needs of their property and their household.”
“The warmer homes Scotland programme can help to fund not only small changes but transformative whole-house retrofits if that is what is required to combat fuel poverty. Can the minister say more about how, since it was relaunched in 2023, warmer homes Scotland has gathered pace in its work to ensure that all homes in Scotland have access to green, affordable heating? Will he provide an update on funding in the 2025-26 budget to support warmer homes Scotland or similar schemes? Alasdair Allan: Warmer homes Scotland will be 10 years old soon, and it continues to grow in scale, with an expectation that we will support—I noticed recently—our 50,000th customer sometime very soon. To meet the strong demand for the scheme, we allocated an extra £20 million to it in 2024-25, bringing funding to a record £85 million.”
“For example, one of the three aims of the bill is to place a duty on education authorities and managers of grant-aided schools to secure the provision of at least one course of residential outdoor education for each pupil. That seems simple enough, but what happens if a child moves local authority before the authority that they are leaving has fulfilled that obligation, but after the local authority that they are moving to has already fulfilled it for the children that it is responsible for? Which local authority would be held account in providing that child with residential outdoor education?”
“I totally agree with the sentiment of what is trying to be achieved and with the idea behind the bill. On first glance, the aim seems to be quite an easy thing to achieve, and it is safe to say that, during the evidence sessions, no one disagreed with the idea. However, the committee has outlined concerns in relation to a number of things in the bill, including the financial aspects and the impact on teachers’ pay and conditions. When we started to dig down into what the proposal would actually mean, questions arose in relation to how it would be delivered, and I think that those questions need to be answered before we move forward.”
“This is a difficult day for us all. I offer my condolences to Keith Brown, Christina’s sons and their families and friends. The bright shining light that was Christina McKelvie touched us all, and it will never dim, as she will be forever in our hearts. So, to business. First, I pay tribute to Liz Smith for taking forward her member’s bill and engaging with all committee members in a constructive manner. Many thanks go to all the people and organisations who provided evidence, either in person or by responding to the calls for views. I also thank the clerks and my colleagues for all their hard work. As has previously been stated, the bill aims to provide every child in Scotland with the chance to have residential outdoor education, no matter where they live or who they are.”
“Can the minister assure residents living in buildings for which no known developer is responsible for the upkeep that the Scottish Government’s cladding remediation programme will not leave them behind and that a single building assessment will take place? Paul McLennan: I am happy to give that assurance. Where no developer has taken responsibility for a relevant building that is affected by cladding, the owners of the property will be able to apply for a Government-funded assessment through our single open call system, regardless of whether the building is privately owned, mixed tenure or social housing. The second stage of that scheme, which is to be launched by the end of June, will allow owners to apply for Government support for necessary works, based on the findings of that assessment.”
“The success of Scotland’s offshore wind industry is, rightly, a priority of the Scottish Government, as it delivers on our climate obligations and unlocks new jobs and significant economic opportunities. Following this week’s global offshore wind investment forum, will the First Minister provide an update on the steps that the Scottish National Party Government is taking to attract investment and support in Scotland’s offshore wind industry?”
“To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to build on the reported successes of the Aberdeen city region deal, which is due to conclude its 10- year plan next year. (S6O-04460)”
“To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting Aberdeen City Council to manage the impact of the UK Government’s increase to employer national insurance contributions. (S6O- 04387)”
“Finally, there is migration. We have a track record of assembling the best workforce in the world, but employers across my constituency have told me that they are struggling with the visa rules that are in place now.”
“It established itself as Europe’s oil and gas capital through tremendous engineering feats that saw us extracting oil 100 miles off our coast from miles beneath the surface. Aberdeen has helped to shape the modern world, and it will do so again in the move to net zero. We are the future net zero capital of the world, so the next chapter in Aberdeen’s story will see us harness the energy of mother nature. To make that happen, though, a number of things have to occur. One is investment—in green skills, in the supply chain, in a just transition and in the Acorn project, which should be given the green light. We need certainty. New technologies need price guarantees, and the whole industry has been calling for tax certainty. No other industry sees its taxes vary to the extent that the energy industry has seen over the past few years.”
“We have had a little bit of an advantage, because not that many places have oil, and many of the other places that do have it have harsh climates or political regimes that are based on different values to our own. Although it may feel like we have more wind than most and although our coastline offers huge opportunities, we have to recognise that everywhere has sun, wind and water. Looking ahead, we are now truly competing against the world. If we are going to seize the opportunity to become a net zero capital, we need to act now. We have a huge head start, though, given the amazing workforce that we have. Some of their skills might not match perfectly with what is needed, but Aberdeen has a long history of being able to improvise and adapt. Our city has been weathered by the North Sea and carved out of granite.”
“It is also a timeline that I do not think delivers for thousands of my constituents who rely on the energy sector for their livelihoods. I will not miss any opportunity to shoehorn in a call for more funding and support for a just transition and to keep making the case for those workers’ futures. To my mind, the future of many of those workers is Scotland’s renewable future. We have the energy; we just need the power. Actually, we do not just have the energy, because we have the people as well, and we need to keep them. Since the 1970s, we have assembled one of the best workforces in the world, by training folk locally and encouraging people to move here from far and wide.”
“I seem to be speaking a lot about energy recently, and that is not just in the scheduled debates. Energy bills are a pressing concern for folk right across Scotland. Thousands upon thousands of folk are struggling to pay them, and many who would have been comfortable just a few years ago are now feeling the pinch. As if folk were not scunnered enough, they have just heard the news that their bills are due to go up again. In my Donside constituency, every day this winter, I have heard folks’ experiences of fuel poverty. Even in the energy capital of Europe, folk cannot afford their energy bills. That needs to change, and it needs to change soon. People are not willing to wait two decades for their energy bills to go down. I believe that that is the timeline for a new nuclear power station to be planned and constructed in the UK.”
“We must be steadfast in our support for Ukraine at this uncertain time, and I echo the need for international solidarity to defeat Russian aggression. Can the First Minister provide an update regarding the financial support that the Scottish Government has made available to support the humanitarian response to the conflict in Ukraine? The First Minister: The Scottish Government has provided in excess of £5 million in relation to humanitarian assistance in Ukraine, which has provided essential supplies in relation to health, water, sanitation and shelter. Additional support has been provided for Ukrainian citizens who have been coming to Scotland and making this country their home.”
“However, I am pleased that, whatever barriers the UK Government puts in Scotland’s way, whatever shade of UK Government we have and for as long as we have a UK Government, the Scottish Government is continuing to bring in investment and is getting on with the job of making Scotland a fairer and more prosperous nation. 16:08”
“When it comes to foreign direct investment, Scotland outpaced both the UK and Europe in FDI growth last year. Aberdeen was the eighth-best city outside London for FDI, with Edinburgh and Glasgow also in the top 10. Since 2007, when the SNP came to power, gross domestic product per person in Scotland has grown by 10.5 per cent, compared with growth of just 6.5 per cent in the UK. I want that success to continue in spite of Labour’s shambolic approach to the economy. Labour is risking north- east jobs with an extended windfall tax, taxing work with a national insurance rise for employers and refusing to break down trade barriers by rejoining the single market.”
“With another £500 million to develop the offshore wind supply chain and a range of other investments, such as £100 million for digital infrastructure, £200 million to fund the Scottish National Investment Bank and £320 million for enterprise agencies, the Scottish Government is putting money where it is needed to support existing industries and nurture new ones. The UK Government would do well to step up to the plate and at least match the just transition fund. Beyond direct investment, our Scottish Government is doing a great job of marketing Scotland. I accept that that might not seem like a hard job at times, as we have an awful lot to offer, but that work is bringing in investment and creating jobs. When it comes to inward investment, Scotland is outperforming every part of the UK except London.”
“The oil crash aside, industry has supported jobs and has underpinned our local economy in Aberdeen. On a UK level, it has provided energy security, and North Sea revenues have propped up Governments of every shade. If the vast wealth from Scotland’s oil had been reinvested in Scotland, we would perhaps be having a different debate. However, we need to deal with what is in front of us. Whether the oil runs out or is phased out, we are moving into a new chapter in Aberdeen’s story. The just transition and the global move to net zero offer a golden opportunity for the north-east and Scotland as a whole, but we need the investment to make that work. The Scottish Government has already stepped up to the plate with a £500 million just transition fund.”
“The UK economy is not delivering for the average Scot. The costs of basics—food, energy and housing—have gone up much more quickly than inflation has risen, and wages are not keeping up. The problem has reached breaking point with the cost of living crisis, but it has been a long time in the making. A large part of that is down to how the UK has run our economy. It has overseen deindustrialisation. It has handed key industries to the private sector. It has isolated us with Brexit, which has closed off markets and locked out skilled workers. It has allowed a situation to arise in which we now talk in the chamber about in-work poverty. The UK economy does not work for our workers. The north-east is one of the few exceptions to that deindustrialisation, and that has served everyone well.”
“I would like to see affordable and well-used buses running through the streets of Aberdeen and connecting it to communities across the north-east. The north-east is the perfect region for that pilot to take place in. Our region offers a good mix of urban and rural communities, with a city at its heart. We have a city council that has supported bus services, from backing hydrogen and electric buses to funding night services. We have an opportunity to further bolster Aberdeen’s net zero credentials with the pilot. I will use the final words of my speech to urge ministers to pilot the £2 bus fares cap in the north-east and to urge members across the chamber to vote in favour of this budget, which delivers for Scotland. 17:04”
“With Aberdeen being the future net zero capital of the world—I will keep calling it that until I can shorten it to simply the “net zero capital of the world”—we need investment in clean and green energy, and we need to give people the confidence to invest in their futures, whether by taking up training or by putting down roots. The continued support of the Scottish Government for a just transition for the north-east alongside Grangemouth is very welcome. The move to being a net zero capital is not just about what happens 100 miles off Aberdeen’s coast; it is also about what runs through the city. One of the later additions to the budget is a £2 bus fare pilot in a regional transport area, which is a fantastic idea. Encouraging more folk to use public transport is part of the journey to net zero.”
“The £34 million uplift to the culture budget has already seen multiyear awards made to eight organisations in Aberdeen: Aberdeen Performing Arts, Applied Arts Scotland, Belmont Community Cinema, Citymoves Dance Agency, Grampian Hospitals Art Trust, Jazz Scotland, Peacock and the Worm, and the Word centre for creative writing at the University of Aberdeen. They will receive more than £5 million between them across the next three years. The budget allocates £25 million to increase the number of jobs that are available in the green energy supply chain.”
“Today’s budget will reinstate the winter heating payment for every pensioner, helping them through the long and cold Scottish winter. Today’s budget takes the first steps towards abolishing the two-child cap, which will see more than 15,000 bairns lifted out of poverty. That is change that people want to see. I invite Anas Sarwar to read my lips: the Scottish Government is mitigating Labour austerity. Will his party support that by backing this budget? Will at least his colleagues in the north-east support it? This is a budget that delivers for Aberdeen.”
“Even after we could see the policies changing lives, the SNP Government had to fight to keep them. I remember when Scottish Labour described it as a “something for nothing” culture. Perhaps if Labour had run with that as we went into the previous election, there would not have been such a sense of shock and utter betrayal about its first few months in charge of the UK Government. Instead, Sir Keir Starmer promised change and Anas Sarwar said to read his lips when he said there would be “no austerity under Labour”, but, after the election, Labour refused to end the two- child cap and, within weeks, it announced that it was scrapping universal winter fuel payments. My ambition for the Parliament is to do more than simply mitigate the worst policies of the UK Government, but that is what needs to be done today.”
“It is a budget that builds on much of what the SNP has already delivered in Scotland—what Anas Sarwar recently described as the “successes of devolution”. If anyone wants to be reminded of those SNP successes, they include extending free education from nursery to university, supported by the expansion of free school meals; maintaining free healthcare at the point of use, from the cradle to the grave, including free prescriptions; free bus travel for more than 2 million folk; and seven social security payments that have no equivalent elsewhere in the UK, including the Scottish child payment, which helps to give every child in Scotland the best start in life. It is worth remembering that those policies faced challenges to get over the line in the first place.”
“I am very pleased to support this budget. From speaking with my constituents, I think that it is a budget that they support, too, because it invests in the things that they care most about. It maintains the SNP’s most popular policies and demonstrates our clear ambition to move Scotland forward. We are putting some big numbers into the basics. For health, there is a record uplift of £2 billion. In housing, £768 million will result in more than 8,000 new affordable homes being built. In social security, an £800 million uplift will put more money directly into folk’s pockets. Headteachers will get £120 million to tackle the attainment gap. Across Scotland, councils will share an extra £1 billion.”
“I am sure that all members will welcome the news that HIS and the MWC will undertake a range of visits to all three adolescent in-patient units in Scotland. Will the minister advise whether they are to become regular occurrences? What role does she expect HIS and the MWC to play in holding service providers to account in the future? Maree Todd: I welcome the commitment from HIS and the MWC to visit all three adolescent in- patient units. As part of that, I have asked them to consider future arrangements for scrutiny and assurance, and I will consider very carefully their recommendations and advice. The MWC already undertakes regular visits, including unannounced visits, to mental health in-patient settings, and those will, of course, continue. Budget (Scotland) (No 4) Bill: Stage 3 15:16”
“Some of those folk were born and raised in Aberdeen and have spent their whole careers there. Some learned their skills there, travelled the world, gained experience and came back. Some moved to Aberdeen because of the industry and have put down roots there. Wherever they are from, they are some of the best in the world, and we are lucky to have them in Aberdeen. However, if we want to keep those workers there—if we want their help in delivering a just transition, guaranteeing our energy security and making our energy supply cleaner, greener and cheaper—we need to invest properly in the north-east and give them a reason to build their futures in Scotland, while they build Scotland’s future. If the UK Government will not go far enough and fast enough, let Scotland deliver it herself. We have the energy; we just need the power. 17:03”
“A month later, a chair was announced for Aberdeen-based GB Energy, and he was going to be based in Manchester. Those 1,000 jobs that we were promised are apparently still coming. We just need to wait for 20 years. It is no wonder that folk feel betrayed and alienated. Do not get me wrong. I welcome any investment in a just transition. I welcome any investment in clean and green energy. I welcome any new jobs coming to Aberdeen. I welcome and support those things, because they will benefit the folk who I represent. I will support the motion, but I really wish that I was welcoming more. North Sea oil has given Scotland, and the north- east in particular, a lot of advantages, the biggest of which is that the north-east now has a workforce that is world leading in many ways.”