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Will the member take an intervention?

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in the debate on this important subject, and I welcome the establishment of the independent review.

I agree with what others have said about the chair and the other members of the review, and I particularly welcome the inclusion of David Mackie, whom I have had the privilege of dealing with on a number of occasions. I pay tribute to the work that he has done on the prevention of crime since retiring as a sheriff.

I hope that the establishment of the review will mean that the people who undertake the work will have access to all the data that is available across the Government and more widely, and that they will be able to commission the procurement of any data that they require. That is an important part of making sure that the review is a success, and I know that prominent academics such as Professor Lesley McAra would emphasise that point.

Of course, the review is happening because the current situation that we find ourselves in collectively is extremely challenging, with the number of people in our prisons exceeding 8,300 last year, and there is a need for action.

As part of that, the Government’s commitment to provide significant further investment in community justice in the budget, which I hope that Parliament will pass on Tuesday, is important. I hope that that will be part of a continuing increase in that budget, because the evidence that we heard at the Criminal Justice Committee in favour of increased investment in the criminal community justice part of the portfolio suggests that it can only help us in the collective challenge of reducing reoffending and reducing instances of crime.

The third sector is also referenced in the Government’s motion. I cannot, on the basis of my constituency experience, emphasise enough how important its role is in the collective challenge. The support that Fresh Start, Circle Scotland, Turning Point and other groups based in my constituency provide to those who are leaving prison and the families of those who are either in prison or leaving prison is important in making sure that we tackle the challenge of reoffending, break the cycle and have throughcare in place. I know that the review will look at that issue.

One question that I wanted to pose—I am sure that it will be under consideration by the Government and the review—concerns housing. Over the years, I have had a great amount of casework involving single men who have left prison coming to my constituency surgeries or writing to me about the challenges that they are experiencing—I note that Edinburgh’s housing crisis is the most acute in Scotland. How do we improve the housing offering for individuals in that situation and make sure that that is part of their support?

The other challenge, which is part of the immediate issue but is also about how we build a better situation in the future, is why so many people end up in prison and engaging in crime. In line with the Christie principles, which we collectively committed to 10 years ago, we need to ask how we mitigate the social and economic circumstances that have been referred to that contribute to a situation in which individuals engage in crime.

We still have an issue in Scotland with a culture of violence. As I have raised in Parliament in recent times, I am particularly concerned about our young people in that regard. Greater opportunities for sport, third sector engagement and youth work will make a difference in reducing the prison population in the future.

We could say a lot more on the topic, and I hope that, in future debates, we will have more time to talk about challenging and serious issues of the rule of law in our society, as well as prevention and rehabilitation.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My device would not connect. I would have voted yes.

One of the organisations that the minister has engaged with in recent years is the north Edinburgh response and recovery—or R2—group, in my constituency, which is a remarkable coalition that was originally established to respond to the pandemic, but has since been engaged in sharing knowledge and in generating lasting and positive change. I highlighted that group to the minister and, through that engagement, secured two paid staff members to help the organisation with community wealth building in north Edinburgh.

Will the minister say what reflections he and his officials have on the almost organic community wealth building that is happening in north Edinburgh, and will he explain how local representatives can engage constructively with the Government to achieve practical change and investment in their communities?

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the economy secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding establishing a stand-alone postgraduate business school to help create more companies, attract talent and boost innovation. (S6O-04288)

I agree with everything that the minister said. In recent engagements with entrepreneurs, we have discussed how innovative Scotland is and how good existing business schools in universities such as the University of Edinburgh are. Could we build on that and benefit from an additional internationally prestigious, postgraduate-only establishment, similar to INSEAD in France or the London Business School, to help further develop Scotland’s remarkable economic potential in the 21st century? Would the Scottish Government be open to further engagement on that proposal?

Coincidentally, on Monday, I was in the offices of Arup in Edinburgh. Colleagues will be aware of that firm’s significant impact on engineering across countries, including Scotland and the UK. There I was reminded of what Lorna Slater has talked about. I had the privilege of working for an engineering firm for some time in my 20s, and I know that people who work in engineering are solution-focused and creative and a really inspiring bunch to be around.

They are also an integral part of our economy now and certainly will be into the future. That is why it is commendable that Alex Rowley has brought the motion to Parliament so that we can discuss the importance of having a reliable pipeline of new engineers coming into the Scottish market and future proofing our systems. We must ensure that a growing number of people go into that area of our economy, which is necessary for our nation’s future as well as for our wellbeing, productivity and gross domestic product. We must also ensure that we create a system that meets our needs, with regards to not just the net zero transition that is in front of us and the huge opportunities that will emerge in the decade ahead and the one after that, but to how we build the future of the Scottish economy in the 21st century.

We are considering this issue in a time when the Scotland’s opportunities and potential are buoyant and wide, when it comes to net zero but also in other industries. However, we also face a global scenario of significant challenges because of what is likely to come from US economic policy and its effects on the stability of the global economy. Within the UK economic framework, we are still uncertain and very worried about what the effect of the national insurance increase will be.

We cannot take for granted the opportunities that are related to net zero and engineering in Scotland. We must be strategic and proactive in how we plan for what is ahead. I commend the Government for instigating the Withers review and taking the time to consider it. I look forward to the minister’s summing up today as well as to the statement next week to learn more about what the Government will do in this area.

Some of those decisions will be quite difficult, and change may be required. Collectively, we need to make sure that we consider what is in the best interests of young people and of the future needs of the economy. We also must be brave when it comes to the disruption that might be needed.

When I speak to people in the industry, whether they are involved in the mass growth at the port of Leith or in other sectors of engineering that operate in Edinburgh Northern and Leith and in Edinburgh as a whole, they are not shy about saying to me that they want industry to be more involved and that they want us to make change and progress. I am interested to hear what the minister will say on that today and in the coming weeks.

I will raise two points that we need to consider. One is about awareness. Organisations such as Edinburgh Science, which is based in my constituency, and local networks do a lot to raise awareness of the opportunities that exist for young people, but it seemed to me when I was on the Education, Children and Young People Committee that we lacked consistency across the country in how we let people know about opportunities. That feeds into our collective ambitions to address poverty and to ensure that we encourage our young people towards positive destinations. Unfortunately, we know what effect a small minority of people going in a bad direction can have on our community and on them.

The second point is about retention. We are losing a lot of skilled people who have been trained in Scotland, including in engineering, to other countries. We need to consider whether we need systemic change to encourage more people to stay here, and we need to think about the finance that we are spending on training other people’s workforces.

To ask the Scottish Government how it is engaging with local authorities to enable supply teachers to work in and across a number of different local authority areas. (S6O-04274)

I am grateful for that answer, and I appreciate that much of the matter is for local authorities.

Some of the casework that I have received from constituents who are supply teachers indicates that they are struggling to access opportunities in neighbouring local authorities. Schools also sometimes struggle to get supply teachers from other local authorities, including across the various Lothians local authorities. That has made it challenging for schools to get supply teachers, on occasion. Would there be any convening power or other engagement that the Scottish Government could have to improve systems and co-ordination in order to better marry supply with demand, in particular between neighbouring and nearby local authorities?

We know that youth work, in all its various forms, can be preventative investment that reduces spending in the long term. Examples include the work of the Citadel Youth Centre, the Spartans Community Foundation and others in my constituency.

I recognise all the good work that the Scottish Government is funding and appreciate the pressures on the public finances, but will the minister say more about how the Scottish Government is working across portfolios and with other organisations to consider additional support for youth work as part of the response to the recent youth violence summit, particularly in areas such as Edinburgh, where, unfortunately, youth violence that is perpetrated by a very small minority has become more prevalent recently?