Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at 6:45 pm on 20 January 2026.
Jackie Dunbar
Scottish National Party
6:45,
20 January 2026
I welcome the Minister’s amendments, which take us as far as we can go on fair work with our devolved powers. I understand the points that Stephen Kerr is making, but his Amendment would narrow the functions of the SFC and unhelpfully limit the purpose of post-school training in education. Ensuring that it meets the needs of our economy is hugely important, but education cannot become that transactional. There is a strong need to support the wider societal benefits of post-16 training, education and skills development. I therefore cannot support Stephen Kerr’s amendment 58.
I press amendment 51.
Amendment 51 agreed to.
Amendments 52 to 55 moved—[Ben Macpherson]—and agreed to.
Amendment 56 moved—[Jackie Dunbar]—and agreed to.
Amendment 57 moved—[Ben Macpherson]—and agreed to.
Section 12—Consideration of skills needs and socio-economic issues
Amendment 58 moved—[Stephen Kerr].
As a bill passes through Parliament, MPs and peers may suggest amendments - or changes - which they believe will improve the quality of the legislation.
Many hundreds of amendments are proposed by members to major bills as they pass through committee stage, report stage and third reading in both Houses of Parliament.
In the end only a handful of amendments will be incorporated into any bill.
The Speaker - or the chairman in the case of standing committees - has the power to select which amendments should be debated.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
