Young People in Scotland: Employment Opportunities

Debate between Lord Sarwar and Baroness MacLeod of Camusdarach

Monday 14th September 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sarwar (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord for that question. He can pay me all the compliments he likes—I will happily take them. Of course, on principle we should work together whenever it is in the national interest, and there will be different responsibilities of the Government here at Westminster and the Government in Scotland. For example, we have responsibility for the Employment Rights Act and the campaign to make work pay, along with increasing the national minimum wage for young people. We have the jobs guarantee scheme, and we have committed an additional £2.5 billion over the next three years to the youth guarantee scheme, as well as reforming the growth and skills levy. Of course, responsibility for how that levy is spent in Scotland is for the Scottish Government. Therefore, I accept the principle of the argument the noble Lord is making, and we stand ready to work with the Government in Scotland to deliver for Scotland’s amazing young people.

[Baroness MacLeod of Camusdarach (Lab)]

My Lords, the unemployment figures for young people in Scotland make pretty grim reading—the NEET figures are going up. In the West Highlands and Islands of Scotland, there are great employment opportunities, whether it is renewable energy, fishing, tourism or dry dock facilities. However, there is very little infrastructure, there are very few houses, and there seems to be an ignorance of the problems facing the area. Can my noble friend mobilise his department and other Whitehall departments and work, as the noble Lord, Lord Bruce, has said, with the Scottish Government to make sure that those sins of omission are corrected?

[Lord Sarwar (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for that question and agree with her wholeheartedly. I repeat what I said to the noble Lord: we stand ready to work with the Scottish Government on these issues. I will give the example of an area that is of course of real importance to my noble friend: the Western Isles. There we have a particular challenge, with a ferry service that is not competent, meaning that there is loss of trade almost every week. Services are being taken away—for example, around our skills system—and resources are being taken away from the university based there and in the highlands. In addition, too many young people are being forced to leave the Western Isles because they cannot get adequate housing to bring up their young families. This shows that we need a joined-up approach, and the Government stand ready to do that. However, I again urge the Scottish Government to take much more action on all these issues, rather than undertaking stunts in other parts of the country such as the one they engaged in today.