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Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 4 April 2025
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Displaying 2616 contributions

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Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Review of the EU-UK Trade and Co-operation Agreement

Meeting date: 9 May 2024

Mark Ruskell

Thanks—that is good. Gareth?

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Review of the EU-UK Trade and Co-operation Agreement

Meeting date: 9 May 2024

Mark Ruskell

I have been reflecting on the challenges that your members have in relation to the loss of free movement of labour across the EU and the UK, and it would be good to get into a bit more detail about what would work for businesses. I am looking at the UK Government’s application page for the skilled worker visa, on which there are obviously a number of restrictions: your job has to be “eligible” for the visa in the first place; you must

“work for a UK employer that’s been approved by the Home Office;”

and the minimum salary has to be £38,700 per year, or higher, there is a higher going rate for the work that you will be doing.

Do those rules work for your businesses? If they do not, how would you want those rules to be modified in order for labour to meet the needs of businesses in the UK? Catherine, do you want to start?

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Review of the EU-UK Trade and Co-operation Agreement

Meeting date: 9 May 2024

Mark Ruskell

Please do.

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Review of the EU-UK Trade and Co-operation Agreement

Meeting date: 9 May 2024

Mark Ruskell

None of that is driving productivity in UK business, is it?

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Review of the EU-UK Trade and Co-operation Agreement

Meeting date: 9 May 2024

Mark Ruskell

It is not driving economic growth. It is just bureaucracy, is it not?

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Review of the EU-UK Trade and Co-operation Agreement

Meeting date: 9 May 2024

Mark Ruskell

Yes—it is a waste of time. Kate, do you want to come in?

Meeting of the Parliament

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 8 May 2024

Mark Ruskell

I declare an interest as a beekeeper, and I should also mention that I am the new species champion for the moss carder bee, which is one of Scotland’s rarest bee species.

Too often, conservation funding is very time limited. What long-term support is available for conservation programmes to secure the future of rare pollinator species such as the moss carder bee?

Meeting of the Parliament

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 8 May 2024

Mark Ruskell

Under the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill, will large FLS land holdings be required to produce publicly accessible land management plans for consultation, thereby bringing much-needed scrutiny by communities and other stakeholders?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Meeting date: 7 May 2024

Mark Ruskell

Yes, thank you, convener. I certainly take on board a lot of the stakeholders’ comments about the need for clarity in the bill, but I am a little bit concerned about creating a definition of a circular economy at this point that is effectively fixed and immovable and cannot change over time. The sector is developing rapidly and there is a rapidly developing understanding of the circular economy, so I would appreciate some thoughts on that from the members who lodged the amendments when they are winding up.

Also, I think that it would be setting a precedent to have a purpose clause in the circular economy bill. I would be interested to know whether there are other areas of legislation where a purpose clause has been beneficial in focusing legislation on a particular area. I am not aware of that, but I will note with interest the minister’s comments and Sarah Boyack’s closing comments.

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Meeting date: 7 May 2024

Mark Ruskell

If the minister feels that it is not appropriate to put such a provision in the bill, is there another way for the Scottish Government to work with industry to ensure that the aspiration to deal with critical minerals in a sustainable way can be reflected elsewhere in policy—in the energy strategy, for instance?