Employment

That the Parliament believes that the Scottish Government must ensure that the benefits of economic growth improve the lives of working people and reduce inequalities; believes that the Scottish Government must be more ambitious to improve employment and economic performance; notes with concern that Scotland’s Economic Strategy provides no targets to measure success; notes that the employment rate in Scotland remains 0.9% below pre-recession levels; recognises that, since 2008, the proportion of people in Scotland in full time jobs has fallen, while the proportion of people working part time has increased, along with underemployment; notes that the proportion of those in in-work poverty is increasing; believes that the Work Programme should in future be devolved to give local authorities the ability to find local solutions to get people back to work; welcomes progress in promoting the living wage in the private sector, but believes that the full weight of the Scottish Government should be behind this effort, including through procurement, and believes that the foundation of Scotland’s economic strategy must be a successful education policy and that, therefore, tackling educational inequality must not only be a political priority but also a spending priority.