Social and Economic Conditions in Scotland's Former Coalfields

That the Parliament notes with concern the social and economic conditions in Scotland’s former mining communities, which it understands are being exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis; understands that a study carried out by the Social Value Lab consultancy firm and commissioned by the Coalfields Regeneration Trust found that 31% of former coalfield communities are now in the most deprived 20% of Scottish communities, and that in these communities there were only 287 jobs per 1,000 people, compared with 467 per 1,000 in Scotland as a whole, and that there is an increasing dependence on income-related benefits with higher rates of 16- to 19-year-olds not in education, employment or training; further understands that the report on Scottish coalfields in 2020 showed “significant and concentrated deprivation”, and believes that action must be taken to address the economic and social problems in these areas.