Seòmar agus comataidhean

Welcome back. Our next agenda item is consideration of SSI 2021/380, the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 (Commencement No 1 and Transitory Provision) Regulations 2021.

Since no members have indicated that they wish to comment, are we agreed that the committee does not wish to make any recommendations in relation to the instrument?

Members indicated agreement.

It seems to be a rather strange conversation in the political context.

That is not a good reason to change anything in Scots law.

I do not think that we have any other questions. We have given the regulations a fair airing. I appreciate the candour and willingness to answer our questions that the minister and her colleagues have shown.

At this point, and unless anyone objects, we will move to our next item, which is consideration of motion S6M-02353. I ask Meghan Gallacher to move the motion.

Thank you. Do members have any comments to make on the motion?

The minister might address that in the remarks that I will ask her to make shortly.

I have a question for Leon Thompson. People have a perception that hospitality largely involves casual work that students do. That is a popular idea about employment in the sector that you represent, but that works against the sector. What has the hospitality sector done to try to change such perceptions and to pitch itself particularly to younger people who perhaps do not see it as a route to a skilled career?

Based on our earlier conversation, those things come together. I think that the idea of offering people the career prospects that come from an apprenticeship would be a powerful incentive to get people to look at hospitality as a career and would attract them into the industry. Those things are closely linked.

We would be interested in knowing what specific policy changes members of UK Hospitality would like in Scotland, to feel that they were getting value for money from the apprenticeship levy. I set this before you as an enticing question: would they like more transparency in how their specific contributions are returned to them as an investment in their apprentices?

That is a basic point. They would like to see what they get for the money that they pay in. Is it correct to say that they cannot currently discern exactly where that money goes?

Some of the evidence that we have received, including written evidence from the next panel that we are about to meet, talks about the importance of graduate apprenticeships in different sectors. It is clear that university could play a very important part in that regard.

Is there a demand for graduate apprentices in your sector, Leon?