Chamber and committees

Thank you, cabinet secretary.

You referred to the national strategy for economic transformation, which you launched when you were the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy some two years ago. We were told to expect a refresh of the strategy, which was to be produced before the summer. Are you able to give us an indication of timescales for the refresh? Do you believe that the strategy needs to be refreshed? In what areas do you think that changes need to be made?

Murdo Fraser was going to ask a question about the new deal for business, but I first want to ask about the refresh. Notwithstanding your comments about purdah—I recognise the limitations there—there was intended to be a progress report, which would give metrics on performance. One of the roles of the committee is to scrutinise, and it has been difficult to scrutinise the strategy, because there is a lack of data and information coming out. It is difficult for us to see what is working, what is successful, where progress is being made, and where future policy should be focused. Is it anticipated that that will be part of the refresh?

Do those young people need additional support? That is a group who were, for those two years, not able even to access what we did offer. Has that been provided to them? Do you think that that situation is recognised?

Are the majority of people who need that support accessing that support?

The Government target is to halve the gap. In terms of Government policy or drivers or levers, do you think that enough is happening? Is what the Government is doing to try to reduce the gap clear?

I will bring in Colin Smyth to be followed by Colin Beattie.

The Government is committed to a national transitions to adulthood strategy by 2026. Are you involved in discussions around that? How important do you see that being? Tracey, is your organisation involved?

I will come to Anne-Marie Sturrock next. I will ask you a similar question. What are the remaining key challenges to closing the employment gap? What barriers will make that difficult for us to do?

Tracey, you mentioned a personal experience. According to figures that we saw last week, people with autism have a lower employment rate than any other group with a health condition among 16 to 64-year-olds, and autistic graduates are twice as likely to be unemployed after 15 months as non-disabled graduates, with only 36 per cent finding full-time work in that period. I do not know whether you want to say a wee bit more about that. We are talking about transitions, but it is not always about school leavers. Sometimes we are talking about people who are very qualified and who are graduates but who find difficulty, because of their condition, in finding employment. Is there any support for young people who are that age?

What about employers—where do they fit into this when we are talking about graduates? Does more need to be done? We have had some discussion on the committee and in this inquiry around how people apply for jobs and the recruitment process—do there need to be changes there? What about the role of employers?