Kate Forbes
Scottish National Party · Scotland
“We are committed to securing a just transition for Grangemouth. We have provided more than £12 million in funding to support the creation of up to 279 jobs. We are also committed to supporting workers who have been made redundant as a result of commercial decisions at Grangemouth.”
“The unions, especially Unite the Union, have been constructive throughout and have put the needs of their members before anything else. What role has our Government played to create a future for the workers who have been abandoned and discarded by the United Kingdom Labour Government?”
“It has worked with us to establish the Grangemouth jobs prioritisation scheme, which ensures that redundant workers are prioritised for new opportunities arising at Grangemouth as a result of the Grangemouth just transition fund.”
“Kate Forbes: I agree that attracting a varied and diverse range of investors who are able to meet the needs of companies across all projects and stages is vital. We have seen huge growth in start- ups, and now the focus needs to turn to scale-ups.”
“High streets are going to be hammered again by inaction on business rates that, in many cases, are doubling or trebling. Has the Government done any analysis of the impact of those increases on business closures and vacancy rates, and what they will do to the streets? Should the Government not look again at pausing the process?”
“Oliver Mundell: I associate myself with comments from colleagues across the chamber about the Deputy First Minister. I am concerned that the Scottish National Party- led Dumfries and Galloway Council is undoing all that hard work by continuing with its obsession with wasting £70 million of taxpayers’ money on the deeply unpopular Whitesan…”
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“How can the draft Scottish budget support the leveraging of more such investments? Kate Forbes: Our budget is aligned to that programme. For example, the tripling of the funding that we have made available for the offshore wind supply chain makes it clear that we want to attract private investment in the supply chain, which will be of benefit to so many of Scotland’s communities. That is a big focus. We are making clear, through our budget and other means, that Scotland is open for business, that we believe in the importance of attracting private investment and that we want to ensure that the opportunities are realised for all of Scotland. Economy (Plans for Growth) 6.”
“As part of a programme to attract capital investment at scale, we are focusing on three priority areas: net zero; housing; and public economic infrastructure. Working with public and private partners, we are developing a national project pipeline of investment opportunities and ensuring that policy and funding programmes maximise the opportunities to crowd in private sector investment. Bob Doris: I am pleased to hear the Deputy First Minister talk about private investment. Leveraging private sector investment will be vital to growing Scotland’s green economy and building on the success of recent significant projects, such as the major development in Coalburn, which will boost economic growth and prevent around 1.6 million tonnes of CO2 emissions over 35 years.”
“I am keen for the Parliament to have the opportunity to scrutinise action and debate those issues, so will the Deputy First Minister agree to a statement and/or a debate on progress in achieving those recommendations? Kate Forbes: Parliamentary scrutiny is critical in this area, because, over and above the financial support that we can provide, a cultural shift is needed. It is key that there is funding not only from the public sector but from the private sector. A lot of activity is going on in the area, and it would be brilliant if we could raise the profile of what some of the banks are doing, alongside what we are doing, and elevate the issues that Ana Stewart’s report highlights.”
“We are allocating record levels of funding to support women’s enterprise, with £2.6 million allocated in the current financial year and £4 million allocated for next year, which I am very excited about. We are taking forward all the recommendations in Ana Stewart’s “Pathways” report and are working to address the causes of female underparticipation in entrepreneurship in Scotland. I am leading the Government’s work in that area to support more women to start, grow and scale up their businesses. Maurice Golden: I commend Ana Stewart and Mark Logan for their work on the “Pathways” report and Kate Forbes for commissioning it. The recommendations cover infrastructure, entrepreneurial access, investment and education.”
“Based on the figures, it is my impression that there are far more BSL users than people who currently use the service. I want the new service to go beyond the current provision and embed the advances in technology that are being used by BSL users in their daily lives. We need to test the market to identify the best services that are available for BSL users to utilise. I made the point about the service being free, and that will continue to be the case. Women in Entrepreneurship 4.”
“However, in my opinion, the Government’s answer is not entirely complete. The letter that was issued to the supplier said very clearly that the Government’s intention, which was signed off by ministers, was to terminate the Contact Scotland BSL service. Why did ministers think that it was a good idea to terminate the service completely in the first place? Why did they go through all that stramash, which caused such unnecessary stress to the deaf community? Kate Forbes: I know that Stephen Kerr has an interest in the issue, but there are legal restrictions to extending the contract again, because it has already been extended. My focus is on engaging with BSL users to ensure that the service that we provide gives them what they need.”
“The Scottish Government wrote to the supplier of Contact Scotland BSL on 4 December to notify it that its contract will come to an end on 31 March 2025, in accordance with the contract’s terms. In December, the First Minister reiterated our commitment to re-tendering for a free service and said that there should be no break in service for users of Contact Scotland BSL. Officials and I are engaging with the deaf and deafblind communities in Scotland to learn what they want from the service, so that it best meets their needs. Stephen Kerr: I am grateful to the Deputy First Minister for her answer and to the First Minister for doubling down on the answer that he gave me at First Minister’s question time last month. We all know that Contact Scotland BSL is a vital lifeline service for BSL users.”
“I am happy to hear from Annabelle Ewing about any specific businesses that are struggling to get support, and which we could help. The Deputy Presiding Officer: There is a lot of interest in this issue. I will try to get in as many supplementary questions as I can, but they will need to be brief.”
“However, has the Deputy First Minister reflected on what more could be done to help smaller businesses that are looking to scale up, and whether the Scottish Government’s current approach is the best fit in that regard? Kate Forbes: The member makes an important point, because small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of the Scottish economy and they are often anchors in their local economies. I know that that will be the case in Annabelle Ewing’s constituency. The enterprise agencies are not the only source of support for businesses. Businesses of all sizes and types can access support from a wide range of public sector organisations. One of those is Business Gateway, and more support is listed on the Find Business Support website.”
“In the past financial year, Scottish Enterprise secured or safeguarded more than 16,700 jobs. It helped businesses to unlock £1.9 billion of planned capital investment spend and £449 million of planned innovation spend. In the same period, Highlands and Islands Enterprise supported 1,248 jobs and helped businesses to unlock £412.8 million of capital investment, and South of Scotland Enterprise supported 1,706 jobs across its region. All of that happened while Scotland maintained its position as top-performing place in the United Kingdom outside London for foreign direct investment projects for the ninth year in a row. Annabelle Ewing: It is encouraging to note Scottish Enterprise’s recent successes in supporting indigenous business growth for larger companies and the continuing strong performance as regards foreign direct investment.”
“We describe the scope of the review, which was agreed in the context of our emerging from Covid, rising inflation and the Ukraine conflict, as “a course correction rather than another complete overhaul.” At that point, however, none of us fully appreciated the impact of those crises. The scale of the challenge is such that if we are to meet the expectations and ambitions of the people of Scotland, I believe—and I state it today—that a more substantial programme of reform is required. That includes more substantial reform of the national performance framework—reform that would support and enhance collaboration between all the various layers of Government to reach out to and to empower and engage communities, and to let us understand and address more effectively the complex problems that we face as a society.”
“I am encouraged by the range of feedback and views—I said that to the Finance and Public Administration Committee on 8 October—because I think that it “demonstrates the NPF’s value as a means for all of Scotland’s actors and agencies to debate and to challenge the collective progress that we are making as a nation.” I am pleased that the inquiry has concluded that “the NPF remains an important agreed vision of the type of Scotland that we aspire to be.” A lot of the recommendations, which are welcome, focus on action and improvement, and that is where we need to start. I will set the inquiry in some new context, before setting out the action that I propose we take in direct response to what I have heard. Work on the current review of the national outcomes began in 2022, with public engagement in 2023.”
“The comments that he has made, both just now and in his intervention on Kenny Gibson, have been fleshed out in some of the comments from members about how we ensure that the national performance framework actually leads to action. Edward Mountain made that point. Others have talked about the framing and branding, and there has been consistent commentary on the importance of measurement—a number of conveners have made that point. I hope that what I set out in the next six and a half minutes will directly address all that and create a bit of space for us all to figure out what to do next.”
“A number of points have already been made in the debate, so although this is my opening statement, I almost feel like it needs to be a summary of responses to the excellent points that have been identified by the conveners of all the committees that have a stake in the national performance framework and the national outcomes. John Mason: I note that the Deputy First Minister is going to respond in some detail to the points that have been made, but I would like a general view. What is her feeling on whether the national performance framework is high profile enough? We have spoken to civil servants and others, and they say that the framework underlies a lot of things, but a lot of the public have simply never heard of it. Kate Forbes: I thank John Mason for that.”
“Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I thank colleagues on all sides of the chamber, as well as the wide and diverse range of stakeholders who have engaged with the review of the national outcomes and the national performance framework. In particular, I thank all the committees that have considered evidence and have written to ministers with recommendations. Particular thanks go to the Finance and Public Administration Committee for its report, which was published on 15 November. I will ensure that the Government responds in full before the deadline of 15 January.”