Scottish Affairs Committee in 2024-25 and Industrial Transition

The Committee launched its inquiry because it wanted to examine Scotland’s past industrial transitions to understand the consequences of poorly managed change and to consider what lessons could be learned for future transitions. The evidence we received about the UK’s management of past industrial transitions was stark. The loss of industry not only caused higher unemployment rates at the time, but had a profound and long-lasting effect across many generations.

The Coalfields Regeneration Trust, a community wealth-building charity, which I proudly worked for before I became a Member of Parliament, described some of these issues in its “State of the Coalfields” report. There are fewer job opportunities in former coalfield communities than in other parts of the country. Fewer jobs are available closer to home, which means many people have no choice but to travel and work elsewhere. We also know about the steady flow of young and working-age people leaving these areas to look for education or job opportunities elsewhere. There are poorer health outcomes and higher rates of benefit claims.

Although unemployment rates on paper look similar to the national average, the headline figure masks a more challenging reality. Employment rates are consistently lower in former coalfield areas. Those communities also have higher levels of economic inactivity, meaning more people are out of the labour market all together. For example, in south Ayrshire, where part of my constituency lies, the employment rate is almost 10% below the Scottish average. The economic inactivity rate is more than 30%, meaning that almost a third of working-age people are currently not in the labour market.

Our report makes clear that all those issues have had a devastating impact on communities. As part of the inquiry, the Committee travelled to Ochiltree, in my constituency, where we heard directly from residents about the consequences of poor managed transition. They described how towns such as New Cumnock, Dalmellington and Bellsbank live with high levels of deprivation, lower employment, reduced incomes and a shorter life expectancy than the national average.

Depopulation is also a major concern. In places such as Muirkirk, the population has been falling by as much as 10% each decade. That decline brings further challenges. Public transport has been reduced, which makes it harder for people to travel to work or education. There has also been a slow loss of infrastructure, which means many communities that were held together with clubs, gyms, swimming pools and shared spaces have lost that sense of belonging.

Our engagement in Ochiltree also highlighted the perils of losing key industrial skills that are now in demand. Participants told us how skilled, stable industry jobs that once anchored those communities have been replaced by low-paid work, often on poorer terms and conditions. They spoke about the painful irony that the many skills lost during deindustrialisation are now urgently needed once again. That can be seen in defence shipbuilding, where skills shortages have become acute. Many employers need to recruit overseas to fill shortages because there are simply not enough qualified applicants in the UK. Our report found that shortages exist, despite industry leaders being very clear about the importance of maintaining a strong domestic skills base. When Sir Simon Lister of BAE Systems gave evidence as part of our inquiry, he described how Scotland’s long heritage of shipbuilding has created

“an innate understanding of what it takes to build a ship.”

He stressed the importance of keeping those skills clustered, retaining local experience, and ensuring those communities remain in places where specialist industry knowledge is passed on, rather than lost.

Our report concludes that the evidence of deindustrialisation over the past four decades demonstrates how profound and long lasting the consequences can be when industrial change is not managed. The impact of deindustrialisation did not end when the last pit or factory closed; its effects are still being felt by people in their working lives, their health and the opportunities available to them and their children. In our work this year, the Committee has identified two transitions that will shape Scotland’s economic future. First is a shift away from oil and gas towards clean energy, which we examined through our inquiry on GB Energy and net zero transition. The second is the future of Scotland’s defence skills and jobs, and how Scotland can benefit from the UK’s commitment to increase defence spending.

As Scotland undergoes a major industrial transition, the need to avoid repeating past mistakes could not be more urgent. Our report emphasises the importance of future transitions being grounded in practical, deliverable commitments to support workers, retain skills and ensure that no community is asked to shoulder the burden of industrial change. The Committee will continue to monitor both transitions closely. Our aim is to ensure that the Government manage the changes in a way that genuinely learns from the past, protects Scotland’s skills base and delivers lasting benefits for the communities that we represent.