Chamber and committees

Stuart, how can we ensure that opportunities from the transition are accessible for local businesses?

Good morning. I will continue the conversation that Michelle Thomson started. The Grangemouth future industry board says that its just transition plan

“will outline a shared view of what the industrial cluster would look like by 2045 ... this transition can maximise socioeconomic benefit for the surrounding area.”

Given the 2045 target, what would you like to see happening in the short, medium and long terms to ensure that SMEs are at the heart of the just transition?

Liz, what is your view on that?

You mentioned that, over the past eight years, the Scottish Government has doubled the number of disabled people that it employs. However, when Enable Scotland gave evidence to the committee two weeks ago, it said:

“At times, we find it most challenging to work with the public sector.”—[Official Report, Economy and Fair Work Committee, 25 January 2023; c 28.]

What is your perception? We have the public sector, the private sector and the third sector. Do we have any data that highlights the proportion of disabled people who are employed in each sector?

I have a couple of quick questions, because much of what I was going to ask about has been covered.

There are 125,000 people of working age who are disabled and have qualifications at degree level, but disabled people who have a degree are less likely to be employed than non-disabled people. Cerebral Palsy Scotland has suggested that there is a need for an online hub, so that people can find out information and support on employing a disabled person. Is that something that already exists, or is it something that the Government would consider?

If we are to improve the situation for disabled people, we need to understand what has worked and build on that. Labour market data states that, under the Equality Act 2010, employment levels for the disabled have increased from 40 per cent nine years ago to 50 per cent now—a substantial 25 per cent increase—and that the disability employment rate gap has dropped from 38.7 per cent to 31.2 per cent, which is a 19 per cent closure of the gap. What has worked that we can look at as a good example? Ashley, you touched on the partnership working in Dundee. What parts of the fairer Scotland action plan that are delivering for disabled people can we build on?

Emma, is there anything that you would like to add?

There are vacancies across public, private and third sectors. You talked earlier about how you are getting 1,000 people a year into employment. Is it equal across the board, or are there certain sectors in which it is easier to get placements for disabled people?

I want to ask about support for business start-ups, and particularly the new network of Techscaler hubs that has been set up via CodeBase. I realise that the announcement was made only in July, with the launch being in November, but what will be the measure of success for those hubs? How will we know whether that venture has been successful?

The seven Techscalers are mostly in cities, although there is none in Perth or our new city of Dunfermline. If they prove to be the success that we hope for, will they be rolled out in other areas, including rural Scotland?