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As the local constituency MSP, I passionately believe in the significant potential for the development of Granton waterfront to help tackle Edinburgh’s housing challenges, to transform the northern part of our capital city for the common good and to deliver economic growth, new opportunities and multiple positive benefits for existing communities in the area and for our country more broadly. That is why I have worked constructively to highlight all of that to ministers.

I am therefore delighted and grateful that the finance secretary has committed to working with the City of Edinburgh Council to deliver 800 more affordable homes. Can she say more about the Scottish Government’s commitment to the development of Granton waterfront as a strategic site and the positive impact that that will deliver for the people of northern Edinburgh and Scotland as a whole?

Does Douglas Ross agree that, because of the change in employment legislation, the hospitality industry will need—rightly—to pay higher wages, which, although it is for a good reason, will put additional pressure on the margins around which the businesses have to navigate?

I pay tribute to Craig Hoy, and to the cross-party group on beer and pubs and the stakeholders who have supported it in its work.

I do not know that I could choose just one pub in Edinburgh Northern and Leith, but I can give members plenty of recommendations. There is a plethora of wonderful pubs and bars in my constituency, which I will say more about shortly.

With regard to the Goblin Ha’, I have very fond memories of doing a charity walk 20 years ago from Edinburgh to London, and spending some time in Gifford on day 2, so I wish those who are involved with saving the Goblin all the best—from memory, it is a great place.

Like every other member in the chamber, I recognise the importance of pubs, bars and breweries for our communities, not just by their being there but through what they do locally. I will say more in a minute about the breweries’ engagement in that regard.

The points that have been raised about employment are important. The figure of 65,000 jobs across the country was quoted. Every one of those jobs is not just about the economic activity for that individual or the GVA that is produced, or the vibrancy that the business brings to the community. For many of the people in the beer and pub industry, it is a career, and an important area of expertise. In my view, it should be valued more highly in the UK in the way that it is on the continent, for example, where working in hospitality, as a bartender or in a restaurant, has more prestige. Those jobs can be very skilled and knowledgeable, and we should value those skills and that knowledge.

Equally, for a lot of people, the work can be transient, and that is an important aspect of our economy and our workforce. I think back in my own career to the time that I spent working behind a bar, and how many skills from that time I bring to this job. My interpersonal skills were developed in that trade, and I learned about teamwork, productivity and practical working systems. All those things can be learned while working in the hospitality industry, and we should not underestimate the effect that that has on individuals.

The motion rightly states that

“pubs and breweries provide”

a range of benefits,

“including preventing social exclusion, boosting tourism, supporting local festivals, music, arts and sport, and acting as a catalyst for local events and charity fundraising”.

In Edinburgh Northern and Leith, which I have the privilege of representing, that is absolutely the case. It applies not only to specific pubs and bars but to the five bigger breweries—there are some micro breweries, too—run by Pilot Beer, Cold Town Beer, Campervan Brewery, Newbarns Brewery and Moonwake Beer Co. All those breweries undertake excellent collaborations with local festivals, and some of them have created festivals, too. They also engage with charities, either by supporting or collaborating with them or through some of their sales going to charity. On Friday, I was at Campervan’s taproom at an event that it was holding to raise money for the local Citadel Youth Centre, which I mentioned in Parliament last week.

That is evidence of the real collaboration that these organisations create and engage in. The importance of that engagement should not be underestimated in respect of the Scottish hospitality sector’s impact in urban and rural Scotland, and what it brings for both locals and visitors.

Smaller breweries, pubs and bars are important in helping local small to medium-sized enterprises to grow. When people talk about and perceive the alcohol industry in Scotland, in its widest sense, they often think about the big companies but, actually, so many of the businesses working in the sector are small. That is why we need to be very careful when we think about regulation and policy.

I commend the work of the CPG and look forward to hearing the minister’s response.

I, too, begin by paying tribute to Christine Grahame for bringing this important issue to the chamber, and I send my congratulations to Tweeddale Youth Action. I am grateful that the motion talks about the range of services that youth work provides—the diverse initiatives, the employment opportunities and the training that is available—and the fact that the organisations that provide all of that are often led by volunteers, although they also have dedicated staff and trustees who play such an important role. I am also grateful that the motion recognises the contribution that youth work makes across Scotland in improving outcomes for young people, and that is what I want to speak to.

First, we have the organisations that are involved all across the country, such as the scouts, the girl guides, the Boys Brigade and the YMCA. Those are all having an impact in my constituency at a local level through the different groups across Edinburgh Northern and Leith. However, as the motion emphasises, and as others have highlighted, there are also a number of specific organisations that are based in or operate in our constituencies—or, often, both—and I want to raise awareness about and commend some of the groups in my constituency.

The Citadel Youth Centre, which is run by Willie and Ryan and the rest of the team, has been making a huge difference to the communities of Leith for many years by providing a range of services, collaborations and support. I note the difference that Bryan made at Pilmeny Youth Centre, and I also mention Robbie at Street Soccer Scotland and its collaborations with organisations such as Leith Athletic Football Club and Hibernian Community Foundation, which also make a big difference in themselves.

Venture Scotland, which is based in Edinburgh Northern and Leith but provides services to a range of young people across the east of Scotland, takes people to places in rural Scotland where they would otherwise not necessarily go—including the Borders—to see the beauty of those areas and experience things that they would not otherwise be able to engage in.

Many will be aware of the Spartans Community Foundation in north Edinburgh, which has an innovative and pioneering football club that uses more than just the power of football to make a huge difference in Edinburgh’s most deprived communities. For decades, Kenny and his team have been making a substantial impact.

The Granton Youth centre, Civil Service Strollers FC and a range of other organisations in north Edinburgh are engaged across the board in opportunities for young people.

Last but not least, I want to raise awareness of a small organisation in north Edinburgh. It was previously called FACENorth, and is now called Midnight and Beyond. The difference that it makes is symbolic of the intervention that youth work can provide: positive benefits for the youngsters who are involved, with a wider impact on society, community and the public purse.

People are well aware of the youth crime issues that we face in Edinburgh. They are serious and should be further up the agenda. I have already spoken about that in the chamber, and will say more in the period ahead. People are also aware of the issues that that has created in the east of Edinburgh, particularly around bonfire night—those have been well documented. A number of years ago, we in north Edinburgh faced very similar issues to those that have been happening in the east. However, Midnight and Beyond has been working for two years with the groups of young people who were previously involved in fireworks night issues in north Edinburgh—and, for two years, because of that engagement, investment and support, we have not seen the same issues in north Edinburgh that we see in east Edinburgh on bonfire night. That is because of the collaboration between youth work organisations—in particular, Midnight and Beyond, but others as well—and the council and Police Scotland.

I end on that point, because it gets to the heart of what we celebrate and emphasise today. With minimal investment in youth work services, we can make a transformative difference for the people who benefit from them, and we can reduce negative consequences in the community and the cost to the public purse by making that worthy investment.

I know that we will hear from the minister in a minute about how the Scottish Government has invested significantly in youth work. However, if there is more that we can do, particularly in areas where there is challenge, we should think about the difference that we can make.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I was not able to connect. I would have voted no.

Like many colleagues, I feel no enthusiasm for speaking in the debate. It is not a situation that any of us wanted to be in. There have been some powerful and meaningful contributions from across the chamber, many of which have touched on the long-term issues that have led to the situation across the UK, not just in Scotland.

Others have also talked about the facts, and the situations that are facing people who are in our prisons, both staff and those who are serving sentences. Overcrowding has consequences. It affects the safety of those who are working in our prisons and those who are serving a sentence. Any member who has had people come to see them from those two different perspectives—people who have relatives in prison, and people who work in, or are connected to people who work in, prison—will understand just how challenging, difficult and dangerous the situation is, so it is clear that action is needed.

The short-term situation that we face is that the increasingly complex nature of the prison population has created additional pressures. The commendable action that has been taken to tackle organised crime has meant that there are now more people in our prisons who are serving long sentences, and that has an effect on capacity. The fact that we have an older population—as other members have said—creates additional pressure, as does the challenge of the backlog in the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service as a result of the Covid pandemic. Those are the realities that we all face in representing the people of Scotland.

It is necessary, therefore, to address the overcrowding issue in the short term, and the bill seeks to do that in good faith. At a general level, we need to consider two main points. The first relates to victims. One of the worst things that can happen to anyone is to be a victim, or to have someone close to them be a victim, of organised crime. Anyone who has been a representative in Parliament and has served people who have been victims of crime, or who has been a victim of crime themselves, will know how devastating and negative the effects of that can be. It seems obvious to say that.

It is absolutely right, therefore, that we focus on victims not only throughout the bill process but thereafter. The Government has spoken about the victim notification scheme, but I think that it would be helpful for the rest of today’s debate, and in the stages ahead, if the cabinet secretary could say more on that and seek to reassure those victims further with regard to how there will be proactive awareness raising of the notification scheme.

As I hope I communicated earlier, representing people who have been the victims of crime is one of the hardest things that we do as parliamentarians. In all situations, as has been articulated, the end of a sentence is going to be really difficult for people who are, or are connected to, victims of crime. That is why I believe that any further reassurance that the Government can give will make an important difference to those who are watching this process and may be affected by it.

The other important area, on which other members have touched, is reducing reoffending. That is a complex area of public policy. There is a need for holistic, tailored support to be in place for those who are released from prison, and the relevant support services need to be in place. That has to be part of our long-term collective goal of reducing reoffending, which should result in fewer victims.

That has a statutory element, and we need to ensure that there are enough resources for social workers and other statutory services that will be needed to support those who are released. That is a general point that relates to the bill. Community Justice Scotland and Social Work Scotland are pivotal in that regard. I know that there is investment of £148 million for community justice in this year’s budget, which was an increase of £14 million. However, I point the Government to the evidence that the Criminal Justice Committee heard on 9 October about what difference additional investment could make, and I hope that that is included as part of the budget considerations.

Lastly, I say this, which other members have mentioned, too. The role of the third sector in supporting people when they are released from prison and in reducing reoffending should not be underestimated. Organisations such as Street Soccer Scotland, which is headquartered in my constituency, and the fresh start programme, which provides people with items to help them in settling into temporary accommodation, make a remarkable difference to the people involved and in reducing reoffending. I want to see much greater focus on how we support the third sector and on the additional resources that can be provided to it. The third sector is our fifth emergency service and it does tremendous work. With more resources, it can have a transformative effect.

I could say a lot more, as other members have, on the wider questions about our justice system and the comprehensive nature of the system, which involves all policy areas, including education, health and housing—the whole spectrum. I hope that the Parliament can debate those issues at another point, because the rule of law matters to us all.

I thank the cabinet secretary for her answers so far and for the collaborative approach that is being taken with the City of Edinburgh Council to address a worrying situation. The situation is partly a product of the housing emergency, which is most acute in the capital. Will the cabinet secretary set out what additional and specific support the Scottish Government is providing to the City of Edinburgh Council, and will she say what share of the £40 million housing acquisition fund is being allocated to Edinburgh?

I, too, pay tribute to my colleague Gordon MacDonald for bringing this important issue to the chamber. It is an important thematic area of housing policy, and for Edinburgh MSPs such as me and Gordon MacDonald, it is the most significant area in which we receive casework.

Importantly, I pay tribute, too, to the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership and everyone who is involved in it. As colleagues have set out, it is an initiative that has made a difference for the many hundreds of people who are now in those empty homes. They now have a warm and secure roof over their heads—something that is fundamental in enabling anyone to succeed in fulfilling their potential. We want all the citizens whom we represent to have that.

The work of the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership is on-going—the process still has some time to run. That is why it is important that, while we mark the partnership’s success today, we look forward to seeing what more the collaboration can achieve.

I also pay tribute to Shelter for its role in that regard. The organisation, which was founded by a Scottish person, Sheila McKechnie, has gone on to make a huge difference not only in Scotland, but across the United Kingdom. The organisation is a valued partner in our parliamentary work, and it assists many hundreds of people in Scotland with a variety of housing issues.

As the motion states, the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership has enabled many more properties, including here in the capital city, to be brought back into use. However, the fact that there are—or there were, when the motion was lodged—still 7,200 empty properties in the city of Edinburgh illustrates the work that still needs to be done.

I pay tribute to the Minister for Housing and to the Scottish Government for the attention that has been brought to Edinburgh’s housing emergency in the past year, and for their collaboration with the City of Edinburgh Council on converting void council houses into usable social housing again.

There has been much progress, as illustrated by recent figures released by the City of Edinburgh Council. The minister referred to those in his most recent statement to Parliament, and I am sure that he will touch on them again in summing up. It would be good to get an update on where that work is now, and to get a continued commitment from the Government to prioritise Edinburgh, where the housing crisis in urban Scotland is most acute, so that we can get many more of those council properties, and housing association and registered social landlord properties, back into use and have people occupy them.

I know from sitting face-to-face with constituents that there is nothing more frustrating for people who are in a homelessness situation than knowing that there are empty properties in the area but that they cannot move into them because they have not yet been brought back into use.

The issue applies not only to the public sector housing estate across the country, but to private housing. Good points have been made around VAT. There was an interesting debate not so long ago in which the Scottish Labour Party, and Mark Griffin in particular, committed to pushing UK colleagues to take action on VAT on repairs. We all need to see progress on that, for a variety of reasons.

The Scottish Government has used its taxation powers to try to incentivise bringing empty homes back into use. Perhaps more needs to be looked at in that regard, but the actions that have been taken are undoubtedly making a difference. It would be helpful for the minister to provide an update, if he is able to do so, on compulsory sale orders. I know that the responsibility for that sits primarily with the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands, but that power could make a difference, and I know that several members in the chamber would like to see compulsory sale orders introduced.

I thank Parliament for the time to discuss this important issue, and I pay tribute to my colleague and to everyone who is involved in the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership.

My understanding is that the consultation relates to compulsory purchase orders. I would appreciate it if the minister could write to me on compulsory sale orders.