 The final item of business is a member's business debate on motion 9.747, in the name of Alec Rowley, on supporting the work of the co-field regeneration trust. This debate will be concluded without any questions being put, and I would ask those members who would wish to speak in the debate to please press the request to speak buttons, and I call on Alec Rowley to open the debate up to seven minutes, please, Mr Rowley. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I want to begin by thanking all members who have signed my motion for the debate today, and to all members participating in the debate here this evening. Established in 1999, the co-field regeneration trust was set up to support former industrial areas through community wealth building with a focus on economic development and regeneration of former co-field areas. Anyone here who represents a former co-field area will know the wealth of activity that has been supported by the trust over the years. Indeed, the work has been recognised in this Parliament over many years, with a member's debate on the role of the co-field regeneration trust in Scotland, held in the chamber in 2007, led by then-MSP Cathy Jameson. In 2011, the late Helen Eadie MSP secured the debate in this chamber, celebrating the co-field regeneration trust and the work that it does in the former mining communities. Once more, in 2015, Christine Graham MSP led a member's debate on the continued success of the co-field regeneration trust. I am pleased to say that this Parliament over many years has given recognition to the work of the co-field trust. Indeed, over the period of this Parliament since its inception in 1999, there have been 112 motions lodged by members acknowledging and celebrating the work of the co-field regeneration trust in Scotland. As such, it is fair to say that, throughout its existence, the work of the co-field regeneration trust in Scotland has been recognised, respected and valued by all the political parties that operate within the Scottish Parliament. It is important to acknowledge at the outset of the debate that we are living with very difficult financial pressures on public finances. That often means that local community services struggle to meet local demand and local need. In acknowledging the difficult financial climate, I want to emphasise the point that it is now more crucial than ever to prioritise funding where it will have the greatest impact, and that is why I am calling tonight on the Government to look again at the £100,000 cut that has been made to the co-field regeneration trust budget. For the fact remains that the former co-field communities still have some of the highest levels of poverty and inequality in Scotland. My experience representing such communities over many years is that, for a small amount of resource and finance, the payback can be significant. You only need to scroll through the 112 motions that have been laid in this Parliament about the co-field regeneration trust to see the kind of impact a relatively small amount of money can have and has had. There are a host of regeneration projects that have made a big impact on local communities and indeed on local people. In Fife, the Crosshall Business Centre is now a place to locate and develop enterprise, as well as a venue for community-based learning and work. It has also supported hundreds of people over the years into further and higher education, as well as into employment. The zone in Darmellutyn, East Ayrshire, is another great example of regeneration, as it has tweaked Health, the Living Centre and the Glymboyg Development Trust, all doing amazing work, all with the support of the co-field regeneration trust. The trust has also had massive success in supporting local communities to build capacity and sport in the arts and building projects to help to tackle isolation, in turn supporting communities to support themselves. A proud record indeed for again relatively small amounts of funding. I am looking to the future. The co-field regeneration trust here in Scotland is asking the Scottish Government to provide a capital and bout endowment of £20 million over a negotiated period of years to enable the CRT to build industrial starter units for SMEs, which would create a substantial, sustainable, long-term revenue stream to allow the CRT to be self-funding so that it can support former co-fail communities into the future. The CRT has already successfully rolled out this model in England, building industrial units that allow them to generate jobs and economic development and growth in deprived former co-fail communities, delivering real generation. The rental income then allows the CRT to fund its charitable activity through a secure and sustainable income stream. I take the view that the best route out of poverty is through education, skills and employment. For many who have experienced generational poverty in some of our most deprived areas, they require more focused interventions with a great deal of support and encouragement. It is this kind of approach that I have witnessed over many years coming from the co-fail regeneration trust, building that capacity at the community level. I am asking the Scottish Government to restay its commitment to this work by examining the following requests, to reverse the £100,000 cut to the funding, to change the Scottish Government procurement rules to allow the CRT to reinstate its grant programme, which is vital to many small local organisations and charities in co-fail communities, as has been demonstrated over so many years, and to examine the case for a capital endowment fund that would enable CRT to work with local communities to drive the skills and jobs agenda at a local level. In conclusion, while it is true that we are going through difficult times financially, this is all the more reason to support this tried and tested organisation, an organisation that has the ability to provide direct support at the local level to empower our local communities. We celebrate their work and let us ensure that they have the funds to continue. I want to thank Alex Rowley for bringing us members' debate to the chamber. I and so many of my colleagues here represent constituencies and regions where coal mining was the main employer and economic driver of communities for generations, something that I am very proud of. By the end of the 19th century, Lanarkshire's 200 mines were producing around half of Scotland's coal and farming villages and hamlets, such as Coltbridge, where I represent, and Motherope, where my colleague Clare Ardison represents, had transformed into the large industrial towns that we recognise today with their own communities and identities. As we all know, however, the 20th century was not kind to the mining industry. The second half of the 20th century saw nearly 1,000 mines being closed, transforming many of those former industrial juggernauts into communities that suffered from a lack of employment opportunities, health inequalities and poor educational attainment. Those economic conditions devastated communities and it was in this environment that the Coalfields Regeneration Trust was established in 1999. Set-up's a charity, its mission was to create opportunities and support those who had felt the full effect of mining closures across the UK. The need for a trust such as the CRT is clear when you consider the statistics. In Scotland alone, 43 per cent of the working age population of the Scottish Coalfields is claiming some form of benefits against a Scottish average of 23 per cent. 40 per cent of people in the Scottish Coalfields have no qualifications against 27 per cent for Scotland as a whole, and the mortality rate in Scottish Coalfields is 25 per cent higher than the Scottish average. In the near 25 years since their establishment, CRT has been invaluable in improving health skills and employment for the near 6 million people who currently live in the Coalfields areas across the UK. My coverage and pricing constituency has many ex-mining villages, including Cerdown and Moodyseburn, where, of course, the community is still impacted by the tragic events of September 1959 when 47 men lost their lives in the Auckland Geek mining disaster. An event that I attend every year and have the pleasure of speaking at and this year received the honour of being presented with a miner's lamp from the memorial committee. I put in record Richard Leonard's consistent and constant support for this event also. I know that both Auckland Lock and Moodyseburn in the area near to Auckland Geek have been supported by the CRT, and I want to say that I am very grateful for that to those in the chamber. For the remainder of this speech, I will concentrate on the village of Glen Boyg, another industrial powerhouse in the 19th and 20th centuries, which has also harshly felt the effects of the industry constricting over the past several decades. I have regular discussions with Trees Aitken, who is the operations manager of the wonderful Glen Boyg development trust, as Alex Rowley mentioned, which provides the local residents of Glen Boyg and surrounding villages and communities with a wide range of high-quality health improvement and community-based services and activities seven days a week. To demonstrate the work of Trees Aitken and the development trust further, Trees Aitken has recently been made a fellow at Cambridge University following our work with the Faculty of Social Innovation to promote the work ethic of Glen Boyg development trust and share its practices and successes to help UK and international communities recover and flourish. I am very proud of Trees Aitken and all the team at Glen Boyg. When Trees Aitken asked about Trees Aitken, I was keen to stress how helpful and vital the coalfield regeneration trust has been in ensuring the great work of the Glen Boyg development trust can continue in the community. Just some of the things that Glen Boyg have received funding for via the regeneration trust include community gardening and environmental projects, a parent and toddler group, other people's art groups, men's groups, stress relief initiatives and food growing projects. This is also in addition to funding that trust has provided to Glen Boyg United Football Club, Glen Boyg parent council and support for the village park play area. Indeed, although now a successful operation in its own right, I think that it is fair to say that the success of the Glen Boyg development trust would not have been realised without the input of the coalfield regeneration trust in those early years that we have really seen it through. Those projects and initiatives are the beating heart of our post-industrial communities and, in truth, I was disappointed to hear that the Scottish Government had reduced the grant to the coalfield regeneration trust by £100,000. What might seem like a meager decrease in funding in comparison to other budgetary commitments will have huge consequences for places like Glen Boyg, which require funding from the CRT to enrich in my constituency in the surrounding area. In restrictions concerning Scottish Government procurement rules, as Alex Rowley mentioned, as well means that the CRT is also limited in running its grants programme to support smaller grass-roots charities in those former coalfield communities. Those limitations have resulted in 13 per cent of charities reporting their organisation as at risk of closure from the ending of the CRT grants programme. Those communities have been let down by successive UK Governments in the past, and I urge the Scottish Government to revisit those funding cuts and procurement rules as we cannot let those communities down again. I do understand if I had the statement today that the budgeting constraints imposed on us by that ruthless Tory Westminster Government, but I do not feel that those already marginalised and penalised communities are the ones that should suffer again and more. As Theresa Akin told me powerfully just yesterday when I spoke to her— Mr MacGregor, you will need to bring your marks of closure well over your time. Okay, thank you. She just told me just yesterday, I will finish on her words. If funding is taken from those communities, then many of the social impacts that have been somewhat mitigated will return poverty, isolation and antisocial behaviour to name but a few. Of course, that will lead to greater burden on public services in the long run. I will close here, Presiding Officer. Thank you, Ms MacGregor. I would remind members that it is back bench speeches of up to four minutes. I call Alexander Stewart to be followed by Martin Whitfield. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I am pleased to be able to speak in this debate and I thank my fellow Midscotland and Fife MSP Alex Rowley for bringing this to the chamber this evening. Today's debate provides a welcome opportunity to acknowledge the important work done by the Coalfield Regeneration Trust across the United Kingdom. It is also an opportunity to acknowledge the distinct characters that form coalfield communities, several of which are located within Central and Southern Fife and across Clackmannanshire in my own region. Today's motion speaks about the all-party parliamentary group on coalfield communities and the report of levelling up of former coalfields. The report speaks about the loss of coal mining jobs still casting a long shadow in those communities. It highlights that the total population of 5.7 million across the United Kingdom communities are too big to be ignored. The report also highlights the problems of social isolation, loneliness in those communities, which often affect a large population of older people. However, there are still issues with younger people who are finding it very difficult with the opportunities to work and training within those areas. Therefore, it is clear that those communities have particular needs and they require particular types of support. The funding mission of the Coalfield Regeneration Trust is therefore to provide those communities with the support that it needs. Those include initiatives such as Coalfield Work project, which I acknowledge and commend the work that they do. The project provides important support to people who have become separated from their labour market. It provides work and mentoring. The project also helps a number of candidates to cure permanent full-time work. That has happened within Fife Council and within Stirling University. The success of Coalfield works means that it brings the real opportunities that those communities need from across Scotland. That is to be very much welcomed. As I say, those young people have an opportunity to move forward. The project supports the trust funding. It includes a gross west fife, which supports low-income families across west fife by providing them with home-grown produce. Funding from the Coalfield Regeneration Trust will also go to invest in the future for those families and continue to see that grow. Alex Rowley and others already have mentioned tonight in the cut of £100,000 from the budget for the Coalfield Regeneration, and that is a 13 per cent cut. It was right that, previously, when cuts were talked about, those cuts were reversed back in 2011. Over a decade later, the trust is doing so much more important work, and it cannot lose that funding because that will have a massive impact, as you have already heard from other speakers this evening. The Scottish Government has said that it would like to see the trust move to a more current funding model and explore new ways of funding the grant programme. That is important, but we need to make sure that the money goes where it should be. That is what the Coalfield Regeneration Trust wants to see. I hope that the minister will reflect and provide assurances to the trust in his summing up later on this evening. Scotland's former Coalfield communities have a distinct character, but they also have distinctive needs. The work of those initiatives across the United Kingdom and levelling up funds have a real role to play in addressing the needs that local government has to play also within those communities. However, the organisations such as the Coalfield Regeneration Trust are here and at the heart of supporting those communities. I thank them for the important work that they do, and they continue to carry out in the region that I represent and across Scotland as a whole. I hope that we will be able to continue to support them and communities for many, many years to come because that is what is required. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Thank you, Mr Stewart. I now call Martin Whitfield to be followed by Richard Leonard. Mr Whitfield. I am very grateful, Deputy Presiding Officer, and it is a pleasure to contribute to this debate. I thank Dr Ali for, again, securing the opportunity tonight to talk about the Coalfield Regeneration Trust. Indeed, it is a pleasure to follow Alexander Stewart, who rightly encompassed this when he talked about our Coalfield communities being too big to be ignored. They are not just too big, they sit at the heart of a network, a jigsaw that exists across the whole of Scotland, indeed across the whole of the United Kingdom. The importance of our Coalfields community, even those who are now removed from ancestors, parents, grandparents, who worked in the mines, but have moved into communities to see the importance of the empathy that Coalfields communities have for each other. I think that empathy is very much personified in the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, which I have had the pleasure to work with in the past when we were securing funds in press and pans in East Lothian. They came out as press and pans is a Coalfields community, and initially at the first meeting someone said, but there are no pits in this town anymore, to which the Coalfields Regeneration Trust representatives rightly said, it's not actually about the mines, it's about the communities, it's about the people, it's about that that's been left that Fulton and Gregor so accurately described, the challenge that the closure of those pits brought to our towns and our villages, and through working with the Coalfields Regeneration Trust a significant number of community groups came forward with brilliant ideas how to improve life in and around press and pans and indeed across East Lothian and our other mining communities that are there. Rona Mackay. The member for taking intervention. Twecker on my constituency benefits greatly from the CRT trust and has done over the years. Does the member agree with me that particularly for young people in communities this is incredibly important? Martin Whitfield. Absolutely, I can't agree more than that, because the Coalfields Regeneration Trust don't send you an application form, they come out and talk to you, they come out and explain, they come out and find out what the challenges are that our young people, that are older people, that our community groups face and they say well what would help and it might be something as simple as it was in the case that I was involved in in getting play equipment for a play park. It might just be a bench so that people can sit down and chat together. It might be specialised equipment for disabled children. It might be an accessible toilet for a working men's club that previously didn't have one but found itself excluding members. It might be as in the case of Harlaw Day Centre in press and pans and the penny pit recovering after Covid coming back with those unexpected costs that allowed them to reopen and go back to being part of the beating heart of a community and it is a great tribute to the CRT that they are able to talk to the communities in their way. I thank the member for taking an intervention. Just to supplement what Mr Whitfield is saying, I've had the pleasure of meeting the CRT as well and he's slow. The key thing for me is how they drive community spirit and community regeneration and there's a few community councils, for example, to make Mary Elvison that they've worked with, but it's working with local charities, the community led generation as I said, Sustrans, ELC, East Lothian Council itself, Recharge and East Lothian Food Bank are to mention just a few so it's really just to supplement and compliment the CRT on the role in East Lothian. I'm very grateful for that intervention. It's right because the CRT approach our communities the same way as the cold field communities used to help and assist each other. Sometimes it might have been a slap around the head if you're doing the wrong thing but more often than not it was a bowl of sugar or tea if you didn't have it. Time is short and I do want to return to the three asks that have already been raised but to concentrate specifically on task 2 about an amendment to the procurement rules in order to allow the CRT to deliver grants programme to support grassroots communities because the grants that they provide are hundreds of pounds. They're not thousands, tens of thousands, although they have in the past done this. They are small grants that people who otherwise wouldn't be able to get access to them would not get. They would not go out and ask. They wouldn't know who to ask but the CRT helped with that and let me finish with just a stakeholder's view that I think actually encompasses all that sits in the asks tonight and all that sits within this debate. The CRT helps us to filter out the loudest people so that everyone gets heard. I think that that's a massive tribute to a charity that serves a community that deserves to be heard, that deserves to be listened to and deserve to be supported. I'm grateful if you have time to reside in office. Thank you, Mr Whitfield. Can I say to our very welcome guests in the gallery that actually under the parliamentary rules were not allowed members of the public in the gallery to participate in the proceedings, albeit I appreciate how strongly you feel about the issues being discussed. So thank you very much for your co-operation. I call Richard Leonard to be followed by Stephen Kerr. Can I thank Alec Rowley for initiating this vital debate and can I extend my welcome to members of the trust who are joining us tonight in the public gallery? Because coalfield communities are still reeling from the consequences of what happened 40 years ago when the miners waged a year-long struggle in a fight not just for jobs, not just for pits but for communities and an entire way of life. Now next year we will mark the 40th anniversary of that bitter dispute but we will mark it not just by wistfully looking backwards, not just by looking back in anger but by drawing on that fighting spirit, those values of community, those principles of solidarity and applying them to the challenges that we are facing today. So what a blow it would be if, as we approach the 40th anniversary of that heroic and historic struggle, if we sit back and we allow the Scottish Government to withdraw its support from those very same communities who were hammered 40 years ago, communities that are still living with the consequences because these are the facts. 43% of the population of the Scottish Coalfields are claiming some form of benefit compared to a Scottish average of 23%. 40% of people in the Scottish Coalfields have no qualifications compared to 27% for Scotland as a whole and the mortality rate in the Scottish Coalfields is 25% higher than the Scottish average. Does the Government think that this is because the people who live in these villages and in these towns are feckless, that they are unintelligent, that they are beyond education or that even they have a disregard for life itself? Why are you turning your backs on them? Just yesterday I visited Gawbridge Community Care in Midlothian. It is supported by the Coalfields Regeneration Trust. It was started with a grant from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust. Runs from a former police station, it's a CAB outreach centre, a food bank, a base for upwards mobility, supporting over 20 remarkable students who just need a helping hand. It is the home for elderly walking groups. It brings the generations together, puts on employability, training courses, backs business development and provides lifeline support from the Covid Economic Recovery Fund. I spent some time with two of its outstanding workers, Lynn Roy and Vary Barrett. Vary Barrett told me this. She says, we support people from the nursery to 90, but she also had a clear message for this Parliament. She said, no one understands mining villages, mining communities like the Coalfields Regeneration Trust. Next year, as well as marking the 40th anniversary of the miners' strike, we will mark the 25th anniversary of the death of the miners' leader, Mick Magahy. He prophetically warned of the decimation of the Scottish Coalfield if the Thatcher Government had its way, because he understood better than anyone what it would do to mining communities, and he was right. His memorable appeal was, if we stop running, they'll stop chasing us, stand firm and fight. That is what we are doing tonight, fighting for these communities, because I tell the Minister that you cannot be allied to a just transition and support unjust austerity. You cannot be an ally of the miners and support a policy which condemns their sons and daughters, their grandchildren to a lifetime of poverty. You cannot be an ally to these communities and support these cuts, so the Government needs to decide which side it is on. I hope that it will be on the side of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, on the side of the miners, of their families, of their trade union and on the side of these villages and communities, because they deserve nothing less. I now call Stephen Kerr to be followed by Colin Smith. It's a pleasure to follow Richard Leonard and to think that it really is 40 years coming up since the titanic struggle that he referenced in his, as usual, impassioned and energetic remarks. It will be 40 years since Richard Leonard and I, at Stirling University, first crossed swords on issues relating to the Government of our country at that time. He has lost none of his passion, none of his conviction. I admire that. I admire politicians who have principle and who have convictions and who have passion. However, he is right in what he says, when he highlights the fact that the work of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust—and, by the way, thanks to Alex Rowley for bringing this motion to the chamber tonight—is right when he describes what is happening in those communities. The most important word that this debate will feature is the word community. However, when he talks about issues relating to welfare benefit claimants, when he talks about under qualification, under employment, when he talks about mortality, those are issues that really should concern us. So, when the Scottish Government, the SNP, proposes cutting the grant for the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, an organisation that I admire close up and at a distance, both as a member of Parliament for Stirling and now as a central Scotland MSP, I think that this is a huge mistake because of the nature of the engagement that the Coalfields Regeneration Trust has with the communities that they exist to serve and support. If we are in the business of transformation policies, then it is at the local level that those policies make a real difference. We can talk to the cows come home about strategies, but the truth is that it is the work that is done in those communities that makes the real difference. I offer a suggestion to the Government to restore the £100,000 that they are taking from this grant. They often tell us in this chamber that if we come with ideas about spending more money then we should come up with a place from which that money can be taken. I can give the advice to the Minister why not, in the spirit of today's budget, does the Scottish Government not cut itself by reducing the number of ministers in this Government from a record high by one? That would free up more than £100,000, which could then be directed towards the excellent work that the Coalfields Regeneration Trust does in Scotland. With the little bit of time that I have left, I will add those comments. Community, as I said earlier, is the most powerful word that we will hear in this debate. Community is something that Scotland, especially our working class communities, is renowned for and should be renowned for now. We need to support community. That is exactly what the Coalfields Regeneration Trust does. There is a group—I will, yes. I am glad that the member is supporting the Coalfields Regeneration Trust. I think that the people in the gallery will be grateful for that as well. Does he not have any sense of hypocrisy that he is almost through his speech and has not talked about the UK Government's role in the decimation of mining communities like mine over the years? Is he not even going to mention it, or is it just an irrelevant stone? Of course it is not an irrelevant, but we are talking about the work of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust. We can have a historic discussion if you like. We can talk about that outside the chamber. I am more than happy to talk about the issues that prevailed 40 years ago, but we are not in an episode of Doctor Who. We cannot be transported back 40 years and revisit those issues and make any tangible difference to what has happened. However, what we can do is highlight the fact that the Government that the member supports has just cut £100,000 from a vitally important source of funding for the work of the trust, and that should be reversed. I can see that I am probably out of time, so I am just going to very quickly mention, with your permission, as an example of community, earlier this year that people of redding commemorated the 100th anniversary of the redding pit disaster. An inrush of water trapped 66 miners underground at a mineshaft, and there were 40 fatalities, 40 families who were impacted by one of the worst mining disasters in Scotland's history. There are a group of very good people who have kept it, as we have referenced in relation to another pit disaster, and there are good people who have kept the commemoration going. Hundreds of people attend these commemorations every year, and family members of some of the victims have flown in from all over the world to be in attendance to register their solidarity with the local community. It is in the wellspring of that history that community lives on in these former mining and ex-cold field communities. I salute the work of the trust and hope that the Government will have a moment of conscience on this day of budget. I consider seriously my suggestion that one of them gives up their post so that that money can be used for a better local engagement funding project. Thank you to Alex Rowley for his hugely important and timely motion. As we head towards the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Coalfield Regeneration Trust, it is an opportunity not only to reflect on the work of the trust but to recognise that that work has never been more important. I am proud to represent South Scotland communities steeped in Scotland's mining history, where coal seems to run the length of the region from Midlothian in the east once home to 26 Calderys. Today, of course, the National Mining Museum, neighbouring East Lothian home to the earliest coal mines in Scotland between Trinent and Preston Pan, where the local labour club ensured that children were still fed a hot meal after school every day during that miners' strike. South Lanarkshire, where some of the most valuable coal seems paved the way to making it the seat of the iron smelting industry. In the west coast, Ayrshire, where at one time 14,000 coal miners mined 4 million tonnes of coal a year and where a certain care hardly founded the Ayrshire miners union, led into the national union of Scottish mine workers. Even in Dumfrieshire, where I live, an area many may not associate with coal mines, deep mining was integral to the economy as far south as Cannon Bay and Rowanburn and more recently, an upper nestail from the Faldhead Mine in Kirkconill, the largest local pit until it closed in 1968 to the open cast that continued until just a few years ago. Many of my relatives worked in those upper nestail pits until the demise of the industry in the 1980s, forcing them to move in some cases to the northeast to find work in the oil industry. We often hear ministers in this chamber rightly say that if there is one lesson that we must take from the demise of the pits and the devastation that is inflicted on our communities, it is the need to learn the lessons of the past and make sure that we have a just transition for our oil and gas sector. They rightly point out that never again can we have a Government inflict such economic vandalism on communities and then walk away, meaning that many of those coal fuel communities have still not recovered. Ministers cannot make those statements on the one hand and then on the other hand cut the funding of the organisation solely dedicated to supporting those very communities. The cut to the coal fuel regeneration trust is not just £100,000, it has also been a freezing funding since 2011. That is an additional real-terms cut of over a quarter of £1 million. As we have heard, the trust will not be able to run its grants programme to support smaller grassroots charities and those communities as a result of the Government's procurement rules. When I wrote to the minister in the summer about those cuts, he dismissed them and he claimed that there are plenty of other sources of funding. However, as the trust survey of the organisations affected showed, that is not their experience and the Government's approach fails to recognise the need for additional support for those communities over and above those other sources of funding. The trust grants programme, even the smallest sums of money, makes a big difference to those communities. There is not time to list the successes, but take one programme in my community, the community action plan in Kirkconnell, in Kello-Home and upper Nistale, where a small investment by the trust supported the plan's development and early delivery of some of the projects. However, the trust also brought its expertise to the table. The understanding of the needs of coal fuel communities helped to ensure that the plan's priorities were the communities' priorities and their support also levered in other sources of funding. In conclusion, at appeal to the minister, others have done this evening, including members of his own group. Rethink those cuts, which are an attack on our coal fuel communities, rethink your procurement rules to allow the trust to continue that important grant programme to support those grass-roots community organisations and then work with the trust to invest in and create that new model to provide a sustainable income stream that is needed to invest in our coal fuel communities. That would end the need for grants in the long term, but it is about investing in the trust in the short term. If the Government is genuinely committed to a just transition, its actions—not-worn words—need to recognise that that has not happened in our coal fuel communities and now, minister, it is not the time to walk away from those communities, it is time to support them. I also thank my colleague Alex Rowley for bringing this really important issue to the attention of the Parliament at this time. I start by saying how proud I am to say that I grew up, live and now represent a coal fuel community. I want to thank the visitors in the gallery who, like me, believe in those communities not only because of our history of mining and powering the country but because our history bill are resilient people, bold communities with warmth, talent and tenacity. They deserve the wealth generated from the labour of our parents, our grandparents and the wider communities. It is almost 40 years since the rapid closure of the mining industries began, and former coal fuel communities in my own south of Scotland region are still feeling the consequences. We have heard about the inequality in work opportunities and the need to claim benefits. We have heard about the inequalities in educational opportunities and the mortality rates. I am going to read that again. The mortality rate in the Scottish coalfields is 25 per cent higher than the Scottish average. Make no mistake, that is by economic design. We in this place, us here, we have to take responsibility to change the direction of that, and that is what this debate is this evening. The coalfields regeneration trust does such important work in my own region, and we have heard from other members across. I live in Carrick Cymruc in Doon Valley, and they are a central part of our community and function as a model of how to effectively build progress in conjunction with communities rather than imposing things on those communities. We have heard that this Parliament recognises that. In Alec Rowley's speech this evening, we talked about the benefits and recognised 112 motions in this Parliament recognising the benefits. When mining went, or rather when mining was taken away, so cruelly many of our Ayrshire mining communities were simply left to struggle. As anyone in Ayrshire knows, mining was a core part of our very identity, and it remains so until this day. That is not simply forgotten by an economic change. Without mining, many of those towns and villages would simply never have come to be, and that leaves a lasting cultural memory for many people that still live there. It was the centre of their work or the work of their parents, and, as such, they see themselves first and foremost as mining communities. Let us be clear that those communities did not create—rather, those communities fell victim to the kinds of social and economic problems that we all know in our similar areas across the coalfields—unemployment, lack of investment by Government, and an accepted decline of services. Those are scars that take a long time to heal, and the effects that they have on the day-to-day lives of local people, families over generations, is still very clear to see. Organisations such as the Coalfield Regeneration Trust stepped into that gap, that void. As there was rapid and unthinking day industrialisation, they have pioneered projects right across—we have heard from them—Yip, World, The Zone, Auckland Lake Community Development Initiative, Epic Pipe Band, Netherford Initiative for Community Empowerment. Those are the kinds of projects that we need in our communities. Without their help, we simply would be in a worse state. If you live there, you know that no one needs to say it. No one needs to say it. We see it every day. The Coalfield Regeneration Trust is essential to our communities. I want to just go over again the points that have been made. We need the Government to support a capital endowment for community regeneration trust. We need the Scottish Government to change its procurement rules, and we need to restore the funding for the Coalfield Regeneration Trust. We know that we need to do those things. In the words of Mick McGaghey, let's stand firm and fight. I now call on Jovitz Patrick to respond to the debate around sub-minutes. I congratulate Alex Rowley on securing this important day and thank members for their contributions from across the chamber. I want to start by reaffirming our commitment to supporting our Coalfield communities, which is demonstrated by our long-standing support for the Coalfield Regeneration Trust. Through the range of investments that we deliver to support Coalfield and all disadvantaged communities across Scotland, I want to highlight Martin Watfield's quote of the debate, when he reminded us that the Coalfield Regeneration Trust is not about the minds, it's about the people, it's about the communities. I think that that's a really important thing for us to remember. The Scottish Government has provided over 28 million pounds to the trust since it was established in 1999. That reflects the valuable role that it has played in supporting our Coalfield communities, building capacity of Coalfield communities and delivering essential support through the range of trust activities. It probably is worth taking a moment to touch on the points raised by Fulton MacGregor, Mr Smith, and a few others around what happened 40 years ago. There is a relevance as we are coming up to that anniversary in that, while this Parliament has taken action, the UK Government has still not apologised for what happened back then and there is still a requirement for a full UK-wide public inquiry into what happened back then. That said, in the last number of years since 1999 there have been many challenges faced in our Coalfield communities and in other disadvantaged communities where market failure and rurality has had an enduring impact on social, physical and economic outcomes. A long-term support for the trust is mirrored in our approach to regeneration, recognising that change takes place over time. We have a strong policy framework in place to realise our long, medium and short-term ambitions to improve the lives of people across Scotland, and we are seeing the impact and successes of our approach through targeting our investment to those communities that need support the most. However, I must be clear that the financial climate that we operate in is the most challenging that it has ever been. As a result, we must look at every penny and ensure that it has been spent on those things that have the greatest impact. We have worked closely. I am grateful for the member to give way. On that point, I am not abandoning the other claims, but an alteration in the Scottish procurement rules would allow the CRT to continue to hand out grants, even small grants, which we have heard across the chamber tonight are so beneficial and fundamental to giving a dignity back to those communities. I will come to that very specific point. We have worked closely with the trust this year and we have been open about the financial position that has been faced working with the reduced budget to deliver our Empowering Communities programme, which supports CRT's grant. That programme also delivers essential support direct to community organisations for living front-line activities and services to tackle local challenges of poverty and disadvantage for our communities, most in the need across Scotland, including coalfield areas. We are not ignoring coalfield communities, as Mr Stewart implied, nor are we turning our backs, as Mr Leonard suggested in his contribution. In fact, our support goes wider than directly funding to CRT. I want to highlight two opportunities for further funding. Our strengthening communities programme and investing in communities funds are two funds that are able to be applied for across Scotland and are directly supporting coalfield communities. The investment in communities fund is delivering more than £1.7 million investment in coalfield communities in 2023-24, such as the project in Methlhill, providing accessible preschool childcare, afterschool clubs, youth clubs and volunteering opportunities for more than 70 young people to gain employability, skills and training. The strengthening in communities programme is currently providing a total of £600,000 supporting the development of community anchor organisations in coalfield communities. I am going to finish with a number of points, including his own, which I will try to pick up in coalfield communities. For example, the support is helping both well futures, who are in the process of asset transfer of the both well library, which will be an important space for the community. The minister is engaging in a little bit of what aboutary here, because the purpose of this debate is to consider the CRT and the work that it does. Everyone has agreed that what it does is highly impactful. 100,000 pounds is very small in the total scheme of the many multiple billions that the Scottish Government has at disposal. Will he—yes, I know that— Mr Kerr, please just ask your question. My question is, would the minister seriously consider my serious suggestion that the Government cut its cost by £100,000 and divet that money to the CRT? Thanks, Mr Kerr. Obviously, given the challenges of the budget that we have just passed today, all public services are having to look at how we hold our money together. However, the point that I was reflecting on and the reason that I was highlighting the investment communities fund and the strengthening communities programme is because of a point that Mr Smith raised. However, reflecting the contribution that the CRT makes, we have, in spite of the challenging fiscal position, provided a substantial grant of nearly £650,000 enabling the trust to continue the delivery of their employability programmes, skills and training programmes and capacity building programmes, which the Government does recognise. I was pleased to meet the trustees in September to listen to their concerns, which provided me with the opportunity to convey our on-going support and commitment to work with them. It also gave me the opportunity to stress the importance of ensuring that they are continued to support the delivery of a regeneration outcome. Mr Wittfield, Fulton MacGregor, Alex Rowley and a few others all made reference in their contributions to the coalfield investment programme, the small grants funds. I absolutely understand and appreciate the points that were made about access to small grant funding. Procurement rules and grant-making conditions exist to support proper use of public funds. However, I have asked my officials to explore with the CRT where possible and appropriate to then identify other ways in which the trust can support small community grant organisations. However, I must be clear that the overall grant allocation for 2023-2024 cannot be increased. In terms of future funding for CRT, you will be acutely aware of the on-going budget challenges over the medium terms. The FEM has been clear that every penny must be able to be demonstrated how it supports the three central missions of equality, opportunity and community, and our budget will deliver against those missions. The Deputy First Minister, I must be mindful of our time. In her statement to Parliament today, she set out the spending plans for 2024-25 and announced the draft budget, which will be scrutinised by members of this Parliament over the coming weeks. It reflects the very difficult choices that have to be made as a result of the autumn statement and the impact that UK Government decisions have on Scotland. I am mindful of our time. I want to go straight to the conclusion and the point being that, in conclusion, I want to reaffirm our commitment to supporting the work that delivers impact against our core missions and to continue to support the coal fuel regeneration trust as much as we can within our limited resources. The valuable contribution that it makes in helping our coal fuel communities to thrive to the best of our ability within the constraints of the financial position that we find ourselves in. I thank the coal fuel regeneration trust for coming along today and listening to the important debate. I hope that they will have felt the support for them across the chamber, and I will continue to do what I can to support them in being a sustainable organisation to support our coalfield communities across Scotland. Thank you Minister. That concludes the debate, and I close this meeting.