Seòmar agus comataidhean

As other members have done, I will speak in favour of the Judicial Factors (Scotland) Bill, which is an important bill that will put in place an updated and comprehensive regime that will bring much-needed and overdue clarity, accessibility and efficiency to a vital but outmoded area of law.

I refer colleagues to my entry in the register of members’ interests. I am still on the roll of Scottish solicitors.

As others have said, including the convener, who, in an excellent speech, set out the evidence that was taken at stage 1 and the diligent work that the committee has done, the bill is about service. If it proceeds through the various stages and is passed, it will be more effective than what is in place at the moment in how it deals with people who are affected in the scenarios in which the law applies and, in particular, more sensitive to the needs of the loved ones of missing persons.

The bill is also about facilitating more effective utilisation and application of the law. As someone who has, in the past, advised on complex areas of law, I know that the more usable the law is for solicitors, the better the service will be, especially on sensitive matters. The bill is important in that it will help those who provide professional advice and those who receive their advice.

The fact that the bill is a consolidating bill is to be welcomed. Obviously, it is a specific example of consolidation, which is necessary because of the historical nature of the current legislation, which covers quite a long period, to say the least—it is clear from what the convener said that we are talking about centuries. The law needs to be tidied up.

The Parliament will probably want to think a bit more about the consolidation of legislation in the period ahead. The bill was developed by the Scottish Law Commission, which does extremely good work. The commission’s thoughtfulness, expertise and diligence—the way in which it works through every eventuality, using all its experience and insight—mean that the proposals that it brings to the Parliament and to the people of Scotland are, in the vast majority of cases, ones that we want to pick up, legislate well on and get on to the statute book.

For all the reasons that have been outlined, and to help members of my former profession in their work in future, I will be happy to support the bill at stage 1.

Will the member take an intervention?

I commend Sharon Dowey for bringing this important debate to the chamber. Similarly, I commend Bob Doris, who brought a related debate—on tackling the misuse of off-road vehicles—just last week. Those issues affect constituencies across Scotland, particularly in urban areas, and should not be underestimated.

The importance of retail to the economy has already been well stated by Sharon Dowey. The issues of retail crime and antisocial behaviour that she highlighted are of concern in my constituency. I have met a number of leading supermarkets, which have briefed me on the problems that they have faced and the issues that their staff have been confronting for some time, as well as the fact that those issues have been on the rise.

The same issues affect small businesses. Not too far from the Parliament, I visited businesses in my constituency that have dealt with a number of issues across the summer, in order to help them to secure a more regular police presence to address the matter.

We in the Parliament celebrated small businesses just a few days ago, when Audrey Nicoll brought a debate on the 50th anniversary of the Federation of Small Businesses to the chamber. If our big supermarkets and other big retailers are struggling with the issue, I ask members to imagine what it is like for one or two people to deal with.

We have to prioritise the issue—and the misuse of off-road vehicles—which is of growing concern. Although perpetrated by a very small group of people, the economic and social impacts are significant, and it is becoming a growing trend. In addition to today’s debate, I encourage the Government to have a debate in Government time as a follow-up on those matters. Although, in many ways, this is an operational issue for Police Scotland—and there is a question of resource and the allocation of resource—does it need to be prioritised more in dense urban areas such as the constituency that I represent and the region that Sharon Dowey represents, to try to get on top of the issue and to suppress it as a trend?

Our approach should also involve other smart justice interventions such as youth work to help the minority of young people who engage in such behaviour. They are sometimes utilised by organised crime organisations, because their age makes a difference as to how they are treated in the criminal justice system.

According to figures from the Scottish Grocers Federation, 49 per cent of shop theft is committed by repeat offenders who have drug or alcohol addictions. That shows that the issue overlaps with our approach to supporting people out of such addictions. For example, I increasingly believe that we need to introduce a safe consumption room, or perhaps more than one, in Edinburgh. We need to work across Government on this difficult issue and adopt a multifaceted approach to achieving solutions. Another example would be the idea of removing offenders’ use of bus passes where required, which we debated some time ago. We must seriously consider whether passes should be removed from offenders for a period if they continue to engage in criminal and antisocial behaviour.

Retail crime and antisocial behaviour are growing concerns. If we do not get on top of them, they will not only continue to cause real problems for shop workers and our communities but undermine the concept of the rule of law. That would be a real problem for all of us.

I welcome the statement and the time that the cabinet secretary is taking to effectively implement the reform and to do so in a collegiate way, and to future proof the system. In that regard, can she say a bit more how the curriculum improvement cycle will interact with the work on qualifications reform?

The huge population growth in Edinburgh is having an effect on both rent and house purchase prices. Given that population growth, is the Scottish Government taking specific actions to address the issue in Edinburgh? Can priority be given to Edinburgh in relation to the £600 million of funding that is provided for affordable housing in the programme for government?

I cannot speak on individual applications, because I am not close enough to the detail, but I envisage that an important balance of consideration is being undertaken with regard to the Berwick Bank proposal. I strongly support what that could unlock for the Vestas proposals in the port of Leith.

Whether it is in relation to the port of Leith or more widely—although I can speak for my constituency in particular—the skills that will be required to meet the demands of those new opportunities really matter. That is why I welcome the post-school education and skills reform bill, having considered such matters on the Education, Children and Young People Committee with others who are in the chamber today.

We really need to press ahead to make sure that our young people benefit from such huge opportunities. The work of those brilliant companies and the proposals that are being taken forward in our country can be realised through the hard work and talent of our people.

While Mr Lumsden is engaged in this period of reflection, does he want to touch on the fact that the UK Government subsidy change, from renewables obligation certificates—ROCs—to contracts for difference, happened at a key time for onshore wind, and that the UK Government could have helped the onshore wind industry to be even further ahead than it is now?

I associate myself with the remarks on today’s significant news that were made by the First Minister, party leaders and members who represent the Grangemouth refinery area. My thoughts are also with all the workers and people who are involved in the refinery’s operation and in the wider economy throughout the Forth estuary area, part of which I represent. The closure of the refinery is a significant development in Scotland’s overall history of capacity for energy and electricity production, which has been really positive, including in recent years.

At this point, it is important to recognise Scotland’s remarkable journey in growing the green economy, particularly in the production of renewable electricity. For example, in 2010, the operational capacity for renewable electricity generation was 4.4GW and, in March this year, it was 15.4GW. Just through the projects that are in the pipeline, we envisage that more than three times that capacity could be realised.

As Kevin Stewart did, people often talk about the impact on energy demand, but if we think about the capacity that I mentioned and the huge progress that has been made, there is no doubt that Scotland’s green economy development has been a huge success.

In the context of the times that we have been in—austerity from 2010, which was a UK Government choice; Brexit, a development that has negatively impacted the UK economy; an unpredictable pandemic that affected us all in negative ways; the cost of living crisis and global issues such as the war in Ukraine—through all of that, Scotland’s renewable energy has increased and its green economy has strengthened.

For me, that is most clearly demonstrated in the recent story of the port of Leith. In about 2010, just before the financial crisis, the proposals were to drain the port of Leith and turn it into a residential development for people who work in the financial sector. After the banking crisis, those plans changed dramatically.

Now the plan for the port of Leith, backed by inward investment and patient capital, is to create one of the biggest renewable energy hubs in Europe, with £50 million of investment—something that I strongly support. As things stand, that plan is in a good position. There is an exciting proposal for Vestas, the huge Danish wind turbine manufacturer, to build in the port of Leith what might be Europe’s biggest offshore wind power production plant. I am working to support that and I am grateful that the Government is engaged in that proposal.

As others have said, the Berwick Bank development is connected to that work. I have previously raised in Parliament the issue of consenting times, so I welcome the planning hub proposals in the programme for government. That is an important step forward.

Colleagues should also remember that the concerns that RSPB Scotland raised about Berwick Bank relate to the biodiversity challenge that we face. If we are going to have passion for increasing our renewable energy production and protecting biodiversity, sometimes those matters have to be mutually considered.

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024 and cladding remediation programme, including the Scottish safer buildings accord and single building assessment pilot programme. (S6O-03701)

I welcome the progress that has been made through passing the 2024 act and undertaking what the minister has set out, and I appreciate the complex work that Scottish Government officials are doing on the issue. However, many of my constituents remain frustrated at the lack of progress and clear information coming both from the Government and from developers on their particular buildings.

Can the minister provide further insight into when my constituents will start to receive more regular, clear proactive information on when remediation work may start in their buildings and, when it has started, on progress thereafter?