18:06 Gregor Poynton (Labour)

Take, for example, the significant opportunities in Scotland’s renewable sector. With the right industrial strategy, we can fully harness the nation’s potential in onshore and offshore wind, hydrogen production, sustainable aviation fuel and battery technology, creating well-paid, secure, future-facing employment across Livingston constituency and elsewhere that benefits workers, families and communities alike. Contrast this approach by DBT and the wider Labour Government, rooted in a long-term strategy and tangible investment, with the record of the SNP Scottish Government over the past 18 years. It is frankly staggering that Scotland— a country with truly extraordinary economic potential, not least in the area of renewable energy—still lacks a dedicated industrial strategy. Not only that: under successive First Ministers, businesses of all sizes were shunned, and their growing concerns about Scottish Government economic policy were ignored.

While this Government are providing businesses with the certainty that they need to plan for the future, the SNP has been content to manage decline without a plan to stimulate growth or attract investment. It failed on delivering green jobs, despite grand promises on renewable energy that never materialised, and failed to support manufacturing, leaving companies without backing. Contrast that with the UK Labour Government’s crucial action to protect jobs and investment at Grangemouth, a site of huge economic importance to Scotland. The Prime Minister’s announcement of £200 million from the national wealth fund represents a clear and unequivocal commitment to ensuring that Grangemouth remains a hub of economic and industrial activity. This investment will not only safeguard existing jobs but unlock new opportunities in green energy and advanced manufacturing.

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18:25 Chris Law (SNP)

Obviously, increasing investment in Scotland’s economy is crucial to delivering the SNP Government’s priorities, which are improving public services, supporting a thriving economy, tackling the climate emergency and eradicating child poverty. I want to put this on the record again, just to be very clear in this House about the facts: Scotland’s economy makes it one of the best-performing parts of the UK. Its GDP has outgrown the rest of the UK by 50% since 2007, and productivity is at an average rate of 1.1%. It is vital that the spending of the Department for Business and Trade complements the Scottish Government’s efforts to increase investment and ensure economic prosperity.

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18:48 Justin Madders (Labour)

As a first step, we will ensure shorter duration and foundation apprenticeships in targeted sectors. That will help more people to learn high-quality skills at work, fuelling innovation in businesses across the country and providing high-quality entry pathways for young people. We will, through legislation, reduce the minimum duration of apprenticeships to eight months, so that shorter apprenticeships are possible from August 2025. Trailblazer apprenticeships in green energy, healthcare and film and TV production will be among the first to take advantage of that new offer. Also, in response to calls from employers, assessment plans will be less burdensome, focusing on the must-haves for occupational competency, rather than testing every knowledge, skill or behaviour.

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