Labour MP for Edinburgh South West, Dr Scott Arthur, has a golden opportunity to introduce a crucial new law to tackle the climate and ecological emergency – the Climate and Nature Bill – following his success in the Private Members’ Bill ballot at Westminster.
Local residentNaomi Schoglerwelcomed Dr Scott Arthur MP’s success in the 2024 Private Members’ Bill ballot:“We’re delighted that Dr Scott Arthur, our local Labour MP – someone who’s spent their life working on climate and nature solutions – can now make his Climate and Nature Bill a reality.
“Given that Dr Arthur has spent his working life focussing on the use of nature-based solutions to mitigate climate-induced flooding—now that he’s won the ‘MP’s lottery’—we’re absolutely delighted that Scott will become the hero we need. The person who will ensure that the UK Government has a serious, science-led plan—to get to the root causes of the climate-nature crisis—via the CAN Bill.
“Scott’s leadership of the CAN Bill campaign fills me, and many, many other local voters, with hope. At last, we will have a law that means we end fossil fuel production and all the damage that comes with it. That we end the pollution of our waterways, rivers and seas. That we restore our damaged countryside and protect our wildlife. That we bring about a truly just transition to a fairer, greener, future.
“It’s not often that a backbench MP like Scott gets to change the law of the country. Now, Dr Scott Arthur can do just that: he can change history. Thank goodness Scott topped the Private Members’ Bill ballot.”
Thursday’s ballot, which 458 MPs entered, saw 20 MPs’ names drawn, enabling them to introduce their own bills in the House of Commons.
Private members’ bills are public bills brought forward by MPs who are not Government Ministers. A ballot takes place at the start of every parliamentary session to determine who will be able to do so.
20 MPs’ names were chosen at random from the ballot, with Edinburgh South West’s Labour MP—Dr Scott Arthur—drawn in the sixth position.
This means the bill Dr Arthur introduces has one of the strongest chances of making progress in Parliament. Thirteen Fridays in each parliamentary session allocated to debating these bills, and Scott Arthur’s bill—as his name was drawn in the top seven of the ballot—is guaranteed a full day’s debate.
The Climate and Nature Bill, if passed, would require the Government to deliver a joined-up strategy to tackle the intertwined climate and ecological emergency.
This means integrating existing, siloed climate and biodiversity plans—and aligning the Government’s targets with the UK’s international commitments to (1) limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, and (2) halt and reverse nature loss by 2030. Neither of these essential targets are currently locked in UK law.
Keir Starmer is the first British Prime Minister to visit Ireland in 5 years
Prime Minister to continue the charge to boost the UK’s economic growth, his key mission for government, by resetting our relationship with another key international partner
Visit marks a new era of co-operation and friendship between Britain and Ireland
Prime Minister Keir Starmer will travel to Dublin today to meet the Taoiseach, Simon Harris, in his first official visit to Ireland.
Continuing his ‘drive to reset the UK’s relationships with its key international partners and deliver for hard-working British people’, he will welcome a new era in the British-Irish relationship and highlight the opportunity it presents to drive forward economic growth.
Ireland is one of the UK’s top trading partners and the trading relationship is worth 100 billion euros a year – supporting thousands of jobs for British and Irish people.
Boosting growth is the Prime Minister’s key mission of government, and the visit is another example of his personal commitment to drive up the UK’s standing in the world in order to attract investment to the UK and create more jobs for British people.
The Prime Minister and the Taoiseach will also meet Irish business leaders from companies including Accenture, Keelings and Primark today, to encourage enhanced bilateral trade and investment in pursuit of growth.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “The UK and Ireland share the strongest of ties – through our close geography, shared culture and the friendships of our people.
“Our relationship has never reached its full potential, but I want to change that. We have a clear opportunity to go further and faster to make sure our partnership is fully delivering on behalf of the British and Irish people – driving growth and prosperity in both our countries.
“The Taoiseach and I are in lockstep about our future, and we look forward to deepening our collaboration further.”
The Taoiseach was the first international leader hosted by the Prime Minister in the UK following the July election – demonstrating the Prime Minister’s personal commitment to a strong UK-Ireland relationship.
Today’s visit comes after the Prime Minister’s visit to Berlin and Paris last week to continue the UK’s reset with its key European partners.
The leaders will attend the Republic of Ireland vs England Nations’ League football match on Saturday evening.
Hilary O’Meara, Country Managing Director of Accenture in Ireland said: “Accenture is delighted to be invited, alongside other business leaders in Ireland, to join UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Taoiseach, Simon Harris to discuss mutual business opportunity across our two countries.
“It is encouraging to see the Prime Minister travel to Ireland so early in his premiership to join us for what promises to a great sporting occasion.”
‘We’re not a nice-to-have sector. We’re an essential sector‘
It all feels a bit grim (writes SCVO Chief Exec ANNA FOWLIE).
A few weeks ago, the Chancellor revealed a “black hole” in public finances across the UK and announced the end to the universal winter fuel allowance. This week the Cabinet Secretary for Finance announced significant cuts to programmes this year to enable the Scottish Government to fund public sector pay deals.
On Wednesday, John Swinney took to the lectern in the Scottish Parliament to present his first Programme for Government, having watched them being delivered from different seats across the Scottish Parliament in the previous 24 years.
I’m sure that was a novel experience for him, but I’m left with a sense of déjà vu.
There is no doubt that parts of our public sector need reform. It’s been more than 13 years since the Christie Commission said that reform must empower individuals, integrate service provision, prioritise expenditure on prevention and increase shared services. But have we seen significant shifts, or have the deckchairs just been rearranged and repainted while pointing towards little ‘pilots’ as evidence of progress?
The voluntary sector is often closest to the most vulnerable people in our society and best placed to support them, including helping them to navigate the baffling complexity of some public services.
Hundreds of organisations are rooted in communities, supporting families to help address the First Minister’s top priority of tackling child poverty. Indeed, the sector will be key to achieving all four of the First Minister’s priorities.
However, with resources increasingly being pulled into the public sector, much of the voluntary sector is resigned to getting scraps from the table.
With years of static funding, an inability to keep pace with public sector pay and constant inability to plan because of a lack of Fair Funding, it does feel like we’ve reached a crisis point.
There is no doubt Government sometimes needs to make difficult choices, but they’re avoiding the hard ones. If we are to turn the rhetoric on addressing poverty and public service reform into reality, we can’t expect current systems and structures to deliver the radical change we need, and we can’t imagine that the public sector can do it all alone.
Public sector staff deserve to be paid fairly, but the voluntary sector deserves to be treated fairly. We deserve more than warm words.
We need to channel the limited resources we have to the experts. People are the experts in their own lives – and most know what they need.
Those at the front-line know how best to support them, but we need to challenge the practice that the public sector is prioritised without truly thinking about how ‘public services’ are best delivered, and by whom.
We’re not a nice-to-have sector. We’re an essential sector.
Independent Advisers will be able to launch investigations into alleged breaches of the Ministerial Code under new powers being given to them by the First Minister.
Currently, investigations can only begin following a referral from the First Minister. Now, the Scottish Ministerial Code will be strengthened to enable independent advisers to investigate potential breaches whenever they feel it is warranted.
In a further reform, where a breach is established, advisers will be able to provide advice to the First Minister on appropriate sanctions.
The independent advisers will also be given a role in scrutinizing Ministers’ declarations of interests so they can offer advice on avoiding actual or perceived conflicts of interest.
First Minister John Swinney said: “The people of Scotland rightly expect Ministers, including myself, to be held to the highest standards.
“The 2023 Ministerial Code already set an extremely high bar in terms of standards in public life and these updates to the Scottish Ministerial Code, which are, collectively, the most significant since independent advisers were introduced in 2008, will further increase transparency and scrutiny.
“These changes, and others which will be confirmed when the new Code is published, will ensure we keep the public trust and continue to deliver for the people of Scotland.”
The Home Secretary convenes ministers and law enforcement partners to destroy the gangs that undermine border security and risk lives on small boats
The Home Secretary will convene a landmark operational summit of cabinet ministers and law enforcement partners today (Friday 6 September), as she sets out the moral imperative to destroy the criminal smuggling gangs making millions out of small boat crossings.
Her comments come after the horrific tragedy in the Channel this week that saw the deaths of at least 12 people, with others reported to be still in a critical condition.
The Home Secretary will be joined at the NCA headquarters in London by ministers including the Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Attorney General Lord Hermer, as well as representatives from the National Crime Agency (NCA), Border Force and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
The UK Intelligence Community (UKIC) is deploying formidable covert capability to support the NCA to penetrate and dismantle the gangs at every level of operation – from facilitators to financiers.
UKIC will also attend this landmark meeting, which will set out the progress being made on intensifying the enforcement activity aimed at disrupting, intercepting and destroying the criminal network moving people, boats and engines into Europe and across the continent to the French coastline.
Ministers and law enforcement partners will examine the findings from the analysis commissioned by the Home Secretary on the operational capabilities of the criminal smuggling gangs. Discussion will also be focused on collaboration with European enforcement agencies, including Europol, and plans will be put forward to rapidly enhance this through the government’s new Border Security Command in the coming months.
NCA Director General Graeme Biggar will highlight how close co-operation with the Bulgarian authorities and an established NCA presence in that critical transit country has led to more than 40 small boats and engines being intercepted in recent weeks. This material, now removed from the smuggling supply chain, could have enabled up to 2,400 people to attempt the deadly crossing.
He will also set details of around 70 further live investigations, including:
working with the Libyan police to target gangs trafficking migrants through Libya, with raids on warehouses where migrants are housed, often in appalling conditions, before making their onward journey to Europe
collaboration with French authorities to investigate the death of a woman killed in an overloaded boat on 28 July
This meeting led by the Home Secretary comes as she spoke to her French counterpart, Gérald Darmanin, this week to discuss increased co-operation to dismantle the gangs.
Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said: “Exploiting vulnerable people is at the heart of the business model of these despicable criminal smuggling gangs. Women and children were packed into an unsafe boat which literally collapsed in the water this week.
“At least 12 people were killed as part of this evil trade. We will not rest until these networks have been dismantled and brought to justice.
“The last two months has seen encouraging progress, with significant seizures of boats and equipment in Europe. But there is work to do, and the Border Security Command will bring all the relevant bodies together to investigate, arrest and prosecute these networks, as well as deepen our ties with key international partners.
“At the same time, we are swiftly removing those with no right to be in the UK, which will ensure we have a fair, firm and functioning asylum system where the rules are respected and enforced.”
NCA Director General Graeme Biggar said: “People smuggling puts lives in mortal danger.
“As well as arresting suspects and seeing our investigations lead to convictions and sentences, we’re operating around the world to disrupt the perpetrators. This includes helping seize more than 410 small boats and engines since last spring, preventing thousands of crossings.
“Tackling the callous criminals behind organised immigration crime is one of the NCA’s highest priorities. We continue to expand our activity to deliver ever greater impact against the threat.”
In recent weeks, the Prime Minister has led a ‘reset’ in the relationship with Europe, with work to increase security co-operation and tackle illegal migration at the heart. This has already led to a 50 per cent uplift in the number of NCA officers stationed in Europol, working on organised immigration crime.
Last week, the Home Secretary announced an additional 100 specialist investigators to disrupt people smuggling globally. In addition to the Europol presence, the NCA has enhanced its international liaison officer network, responsible for cracking down on criminal networks in specific areas.
A new post is open in Austria and officers are being permanently deployed to Romania. Headcount is also increasing in South East Asia, in key countries where gangs are advertising Channel crossings. These are just the first steps of an intensification of the UK’s international law enforcement and bilateral partnership arrangements and serves as a platform for Border Security Command operations.
The tragedy off the French coast on Tuesday 3 September highlights the increasingly extreme measures the gangs are willing to contemplate, as more people are crammed into less seaworthy vessels. It has been reported that most of those who died were women and children.
Intelligence reveals smugglers have also increased the price they charge for migrants to cross the Channel, including charging for children to get into boats, as the business model comes under pressure from UK and partner law enforcement.
Eradicating child poverty, building prosperity, improving public services and protecting the planet will be the top priorities of the Scottish Government, First Minister John Swinney has pledged.
Outlining his first Programme for Government (PfG) as First Minister, Mr Swinney set out how the Scottish Government will deliver commitments that are ‘affordable, impactful and deliverable’.
The First Minister highlighted that child poverty is his ‘first and foremost’ priority and that he will reform support for whole family services to make them ‘easy to access, well-connected and responsive to families’ needs.’
Key announcements include:
the expansion of Fairer Future Partnerships ensuring services work to help families by maximising their incomes – supporting parents back into work and improving their wellbeing
ensuring the NHS has the resources it needs, today and in the years to come, freeing up 210,000 outpatient appointments and delivering around 20,000 extra orthopaedic, ophthalmology and general surgery procedures annually in Scotland’s new National Treatment Centres
making Scotland more attractive for investment and promoting home-grown entrepreneurs and innovators
delivering faster planning decisions for renewable energy schemes, protecting the planet by speeding up the transition to net zero
The First Minister said: “This Programme for Government will ensure that the people of Scotland have every opportunity to live well, thrive, and see promise in their future.
“This year’s commitments are affordable, impactful and deliverable. Together, they reflect my optimism that out of every challenge, we gain an invaluable opportunity to adjust our course, to interrogate our priorities and to renew our partnerships.
“I have been clear about the financial limitations surrounding this Programme for Government due to UK Government spending decisions. In the face of these significant challenges, it is critical that we direct available funding towards our four priorities – eradicating child poverty, building prosperity, improving our public services and protecting the planet.”
In his statement, the First Minister added: “No child should have their opportunities, their development, their health and wellbeing, and their future curtailed by the material wealth of their family. Not ever, and certainly not, in a modern, prosperous society like Scotland.
“This is not only the moral compass of my Government, it is the greatest investment in our country’s future that we can possibly make.”
Reacting to the Programme for Government, Poverty Alliance chief executive Peter Kelly said: “It’s good that the First Minister talked about his strong commitment to ending the injustice of child poverty in our wealthy nation.
“But before today’s Programme for Government more than 100 of our members came together calling for action like boosting the Scottish Child Payment to £40 a week, affordable housing, and the delivery of stronger social security through a Minimum Income Guarantee. Many of these calls were not progressed within today’s Programme for Government.
“The First Minister was right to highlight the importance of welfare advice services that help people get the support they’re entitled to through social security. While a continued commitment to invest in the third sector is positive, the Scottish Government need to be clear as to how they will deliver long-standing promises for fair funding for the community and voluntary organisations that deliver that advice.
“He talked about affordable childcare and extra support to help people into work – but these commitments need to be matched with adequate investment. The Poverty and Inequality Commission have been clear that existing interventions are not at the scale necessary to deliver the change needed to meet our child poverty targets.
“He talked about closing the attainment gap in schools. But the latest figures show that children from poorer backgrounds are still being held back by poorer educational outcomes, so we need to hear what the Scottish Government is going to do differently.
“We welcome the fact that a Community Wealth Building Bill will be introduced into Parliament. But we need to make sure that it puts the voices of people in poverty at its heart, and starts to build new local economies that place wellbeing at their heart, and start to lessen Scotland’s unjust inequalities of wealth and power.
“We’re very disappointed that there will be no Human Rights Bill for Scotland. Poverty is a breach of people’s human rights, and we need to make sure they have the power to hold public bodies to account when their rights aren’t respected. The delay to this Bill will make it more difficult for the Scottish Government to deliver on their core mission of eradicating child poverty.
“We are a country that believes in justice and compassion. People in Scotland want our political leaders to unlock our country’s vast wealth, build better budgets that give people the means to build a better future, and to create a true wellbeing economy that supports fair work, and a just transition to the net zero future that we urgently need.”
Morgan Vine, Head of Policy and Influencing at Independent Agesaid: “In the context of tightening budgets it is vital we look for innovative ways to help the growing number of older people in poverty in Scotland.
“Now, more than ever, we need a comprehensive and coherent strategy to tackle the terrifying rate of poverty in later life. Without it, it is likely the 150,000 older people across the nation who are in financial hardship will continue to struggle to afford even a very basic quality of life.
“Poverty at any age is extremely damaging to both mental and physical wellbeing. Through our work across Scotland, we have spoken to older people affected who shared with us what the cost of living has been like. We heard from those using foodbanks, and others waiting until the cold became ‘unbearable’ before using the heating at night.
“This cannot continue. If the Scottish Government wants to make Scotland the best place in the world to grow old, it is essential they introduce a long-term strategy to address pensioner poverty. Older people on low income are facing a bleak winter, they urgently need to see action on the Scottish Government’s commitment to tackle poverty.”
Joanne Smith, NSPCC Scotland policy and public affairs officer, said: “It’s heartening to see the First Minister’s explicit focus on the early years in his Programme for Government.
“In a challenging context, we need strategic leadership and coordination to ensure that money is spent where the evidence tells us it will make the biggest difference to babies, children, families and communities.
“Eradicating child poverty and Keeping the Promise can only be delivered by making the very best support available to families in the earliest years, to prevent unnecessary suffering to children and enable them to thrive.
“Delivering the Government’s ambitious vision for children requires cultural, structural and legislative change. A critical first step must be urgent reform of the Children’s Hearing System to protect the distinct needs and rights of babies who come into the care system.
“Getting it right for our most vulnerable citizens must become Scotland’s number one investment priority.”
“We welcome the continued commitment to provide an additional £100m in funding for Culture and will work with the Scottish Government on the effective allocation of that funding, to the benefit of culture and creativity in Scotland.
“We also welcome today’s confirmation of £6.6m, originally committed to Creative Scotland by the Scottish Government at the start of this financial year, reinstating budget removed in the previous year.
“We continue to see unprecedented levels of demand for the Open Fund for Individuals and will process the high volume of applications we have received. With the budget now confirmed, we will work to re-open this fund.
“We are sure today’s confirmation of the release of this funding will be welcomed by the creative community of Scotland.”
Tomorrow’s Programme for Government from the Scottish Government must include urgent action to deliver multi-year funding and progress Fair Funding to support voluntary organisations, their staff and their volunteers, and the people and communities our sector works with, says SCVO.
SCVO and colleagues across the voluntary sector welcomed the Scottish Government’s commitment to deliver Fairer Funding for the sector by 2026, including exploring options to implement multi-year funding deals.
Despite this renewed focus, 18 months on from the policy prospectus, there has been little progress.
In the Programme for Government (PfG) action is urgently needed to deliver multi-year funding and progress Fair Funding to support of voluntary organisations, their staff and their volunteers, and the people and communities our sector works with.
Background
For over a decade, the Scottish Government has recognised the need for multi-year funding, committing to longer-term funding for the voluntary sector across multiple government strategies, including within several Scottish Budgets and Programmes for Government, and the Economic Strategy.
In April 2023, the Scottish Government’s policy prospectus, New leadership – A fresh start, renewed these ambitions, committing to delivering Fairer Funding for the sector by 2026, including exploring options to implement multi-year funding deals. This was followed in May 2023 by a commitment in the Medium-Term Financial Strategy to adopt multi-year spending plans.
Despite this renewed focus, 18 months on from the policy prospectus, there has been little progress. The most recent Scottish Budget made no further commitments, deferring action on any multi-year funding to the upcoming Medium-Term Financial Strategy, and making no reference to voluntary sector funding.
The problem
It is widely understood that our sector is facing unprecedented challenges. Years of underfunding and poor funding practices, and crises such as the pandemic, and the cost-of-living crisis have put the sector under increasing pressure, exacerbating financial and operational challenges.
The running costs and cost-of-living crises continue to put pressure on voluntary organisations – with demand for services increasing, costs rising, and financial uncertainty ongoing.
From August 2021 to April 2024, the proportion of voluntary sector organisations reporting financial challenges has increased from 47% to 77%.
Over a third (36%) of organisations have reported having made use of their financial reserves in the 3 months leading into April 2024, a 4% increase compared to the same period in 2023. Depleting reserves for recurring costs is not sustainable, with 60% of the organisations sharing that continuing to use reserves was unsustainable for their organisation.
As costs have risen for voluntary organisations over the past three years, so have demands on the services that they provide for the most vulnerable people in society. In August 2021, 56% of organisations reported an increased demand for core services and activities, rising to 63% by April 2023.
The most recent Third Sector Tracker results were published earlier this month and cover the three months to April 2024.
By April 2024, the Third Sector Tracker found:
62% of organisations believed that rising costs had affected the ability to deliver core services or activities since December 2023.
47% of organisations reported cost increases in their top three challenges.
33% of respondents had not been able to deliver all their planned services in the preceding 3 months.
Only one third (32%) of respondents have been able to meet all of the increased demand for their services in the preceding 3 months. For the organisations who had been unable to meet increased demand, the main difficulties included: staff capacity (54%); raising funds to meet the demand (50%); and volunteer capacity (41%.).
As local councils fund far more voluntary organisations than Scottish government, the fallout from the local government settlement will also have a significant impact on voluntary organisations, further exacerbating these pressures. Similarly, any reduction in local services will result in further increased demand for some voluntary organisations.
The Emergency Budget Response has also left organisations awaiting confirmation of Scottish Government funding vulnerable.
The solution
SCVO and colleagues across the sector welcomed the Scottish Government’s commitment to delivering Fairer Funding for the sector by 2026, including exploring options to implement multi-year funding deals. Without action in the Programme for Government (PfG), achieving this target becomes increasingly unlikely.
A longer-term funding model for the voluntary sector across all Scottish Government departments.
Define multi-year funding for voluntary organisations as a three-year minimum commitment.
Record progress by collecting and publishing what proportion of grants and contracts are delivered on a multi-year basis and accommodate other essential Fair Funding elements.
To be meaningful and support a sustainable sector, multi-year funding must also recognise and incorporate other essential Fair Funding elements including:
Flexible, unrestricted core funding
Inflation-based uplifts
Accommodate at least the Real Living Wage and uplifts on par with those offered to public sector staff.
Full costs recovery, which includes core operating costs.
Long term funding should also be provided to local authorities, to allow them to enter into multi-year agreements with voluntary organisations. Between one quarter and one third of voluntary organisations receive funding from local authorities.
Without these commitments, achieving “Fairer Funding” by 2026 becomes increasingly unlikely.
To make and monitor progress, it is also essential that the PfG takes action on transparent funding, including developing timelines, goals, and actions to both monitor progress, and ensure progress can be scrutinised by the voluntary sector and Parliament.
Testimonials
“Like all voluntary organisations, we have very short-term funding, so while our contracts are on paper secure, everyone knows their job is only as secure as the current piece of short-term funding” – Registered charity
“Everything we do is dependent on funding, and amounts are often not confirmed until very late in the financial year” – Registered charity
“Due to annual funding from Scottish Government, which doesn’t cover our core costs, recruitment is often on short-term contracts or is subject to ongoing funding, of which there is no guarantee” – Voluntary sector intermediary
Conclusion
Scotland’s voluntary sector is an employer, a partner, and a vital social and economic actor central to delivering on the Scottish Government’s three missions of equality, opportunity, and community.
The Programme for Government is an opportunity for the First Minister and the cabinet team to recognise and support the many contributions of voluntary organisations, their staff and their volunteers across Scotland by making progress towards the Fair Funding our sector desperately needs.
To achieve this the Scottish Government must commit to progressing multi-year funding, develop timelines and goals, and make plans to monitor progress. To support a sustainable sector, multi-year funding must also recognise and incorporate essential Fair Funding elements.
Additional information
SCVO’s full proposals for the 2024/2025 Programme for Government cover two areas and can be found here:
Children’s charity Aberlour helping mothers through recovery
A second residential rehabilitation service to support women and their children through recovery from addiction / substance use has been opened in Falkirk.
The Scottish Government has invested £5.5 million to support the development of this Aberlour Childcare Trust facility, as well as a house in Dundee which opened in January 2023.
The houses offer 24/7 support and keep families together by letting children of women with problematic substance use stay with their mothers during their recovery.
Wellbeing Minister Maree Todd said: “This house will allow women to access residential rehabilitation services and keep their family together.
“We know there is a strong link between women having children removed from their care and risk of drug-related death. Treatment is more effective when families are kept together and it also reduces the harmful impact on children.
“Widening access to residential rehabilitation is a key part of our National Mission on Drugs. We have made £100 million available for residential rehabilitation from 2021 to 2026 to ensure 1,000 people receive public funding for their placement each year by then. That includes £38 million as part of our commitment to increase the number of beds to 650.”
Aberlour Chief Executive SallyAnn Kelly OBE said: “We are delighted to open our new Mother and Child Recovery House in Falkirk. It follows the opening of our first house in January 2023 in Dundee, which has transformed the lives of mothers and their children.
“Both houses offer a unique service enabling women with problem drug and alcohol issues to keep their young children with them as they recover.
“They provide specialist support that helps women develop skills and encourages them to build new futures for themselves and their children. We understand the need to work alongside women to address their fears.
“We are grateful to the Scottish Government for funding this much-needed new service.”
We want to create wealth everywhere, but first we must fix the foundations of our country.
In the first few weeks of this Government, an audit found a £22 billion black hole in the public finances. It means we’ve had to take tough decisions, like means-testing the Winter Fuel Payment. Our Budget in October will be difficult.
But we have already taken action to improve the lives of working people in every corner of the country, from unlocking planning decisions to help build 1.5 million new homes to setting up Great British Energy, to create good jobs and provide clean energy to cut people’s bills in the long term.
Here are some of the things we are doing to fix the foundations of this country.
Setting up a new National Wealth Fund
Growth is the number one priority of this government. That’s why we set up the National Wealth Fund.
It is a publicly owned investment fund that will help attract investment into our country, stabilise our economy and create wealth for future generations.
It will help unlock private investment into the UK by directly investing in new and growing industries, and help create thousands of jobs in clean energy industries.
Accelerating housing planning
We’re overhauling our housing system to meet the needs of working people and put communities first.
Our plan will include introducing mandatory planning targets to aim to deliver on our ambition to build 1.5 million new homes over the next five years.
The new targets will boost housebuilding in areas most in need, to help more people buy their own homes, and help drive growth – making everyone in the country better off.
Putting passengers first We’ll put our rail system back on track with new laws to deliver for passengers.
They will improve the railways by reforming rail franchising, establishing Great British Railways and bringing train operators into public ownership.
Protecting taxpayer money
We’ll introduce legislation that makes sure nobody can play fast and loose with public finances.
A new Bill will strengthen the role of the Office of Budget Responsibility, meaning significant fiscal announcements must be properly scrutinised and that taxpayers’ money is respected.
Protecting workers’ rights
We’ll improve workers’ rights with new legislation – a significant step towards delivering this Government’s plan to make work pay.
We will ban exploitative zero-hours contracts, end fire and rehire, and introduce basic employment rights from day one.
And we’re changing the way the Minimum Wage is set so it keeps in line with the cost of living, in a move to put more money in working people’s pockets.
Launching GB Energy
Producing clean energy and creating good jobs will be our focus for the rest of the year. Great British Energy, a publicly owned, clean-energy company, will own, manage and operate clean power projects, such as wind farms, across the country.
Great British Energy will be headquartered in Scotland and paid for by a windfall tax on oil and gas giants. It will invest clean power projects across the United Kingdom, such as wind farms, which are the cheapest forms of electricity generation to build and operate.
This will help make our country energy independent, tackle climate change and save families money. And investing in clean domestic power will create jobs and build supply chains in every corner of the UK.
The cross-party committee of MSPs learned about the contribution life science research can make towards growing Scotland’s economy.
The visit forms part of its parliamentary inquiry into ‘Managing Scotland’s public finances’, which aims to influence the Scottish Government’s Budget before it is announced in autumn.
The MSPs are examining how the Scottish Government uses its capital expenditure to achieve innovation, productivity, and growth – and whether its priorities are the most effective choices.
Finance and Public Administration Committee Convener Kenneth Gibson said:“Our parliamentary inquiry is about examining the effectiveness of the Scottish Government’s overall approach towards managing Scotland’s public finances.
“With a really challenging fiscal and economic outlook, it’s vital that we look critically at boosting innovation, productivity and growth.
“Life sciences already contribute to the Scottish economy, but we want to learn more about its potential for growth and what that could mean in terms of high-value Scottish jobs, high return research and successful spin-out companies.”
“A key part of our inquiry is examining how the Scottish Government currently uses its capital expenditure to boost growth – but we want to ensure its priorities are the right ones ahead of the coming budget.
“Our visit to the University of Dundee’s school of life sciences, to meet leading figures in the field, will give us a good insight into what scope there is to expand research and boost innovation and growth.
“We’ll take the learning from our visit back to Holyrood to inform our inquiry and our recommendations to the Scottish Government ahead of the budget.”
Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of Dundee, Professor Iain Gillespie, said:“We are delighted to welcome the Finance and Public Administration Committee to Dundee and help boost innovation and growth.
“As the UK’s top university for both biological sciences research and for nurturing spinout success we are a key driver of the economy, learning and skills, as well as a vital part of the scientific ecosystem that is addressing the great health challenges of our time.
“Investment in research and innovation is an investment in the nation’s health and wealth, and we are happy to share our expertise in creating high value companies and anchoring jobs in Scotland.”
The committee’s Dundee visit will provide insight into:
funding of research & development at the University
commercialisation: turning research into innovation
creating, support and scaling of high growth spin-out companies
Background provided by the University of Dundee:
Dundee has been the UK’s top ranked university for Biological Sciences in the last two Research Excellence Framework (REF) exercises. It was also named the UK’s best university for supporting spin out companies by venture capitalist firm Octopus Ventures last year.
While at the University, members of the Finance and Public Administration Committee toured Dundee’s Drug Discovery Unit (DDU), which bridges the gap between academic scientific research and industrially experienced drug discovery.
DDU’s successes include the invention of cabamaquine, a new compound currently in human trials that has been shown to treat malaria with a single dose, while potentially protect people from contracting the disease and prevent its spread.
The University is one of the world leaders in targeted protein degradation, a field of research which has received billions of pounds of investment in recent years and is making the treatment of diseases previously thought to be undruggable a reality.
