Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Official Report 919KB pdf

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Portfolio Question Time

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Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth

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National Planning Framework 3

1. To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its proposals for the third national planning framework. (S4O-01556)

The national planning framework 3 main issues report will be published for consultation in March 2013. Following consultation, the proposed national planning framework 3 will be published in late 2013.

The minister will be aware of the recent task force set up by South Lanarkshire Council to address the specific issues in East Kilbride and the town’s economic future. How will the proposals for the candidate national developments align with Scottish planning policy so that the challenges presented by significant economic situations can be met?

The review of Scottish planning policy and the national planning framework will run concurrently, which is helpful. Both focus on sustainable economic growth and, by working in tandem, there will be mutual benefits.

We outlined how candidate projects would be assessed in the statement that I gave to Parliament earlier this year. I assure Linda Fabiani that all candidate projects will be assessed and that that will be transparent, with publication of how projects were considered as part of the process that I outlined.

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Areva (Turbine Manufacturing Site)

2. To ask the Scottish Government when it expects Scottish Enterprise to decide on the location of the Areva turbine site. (S4O-01557)

The memorandum of understanding between Scottish Enterprise and Areva sets out both parties’ intentions to work together to find the most appropriate location for Areva’s United Kingdom manufacturing site and to support Scotland in becoming an offshore wind manufacturing hub. The final decision on location—and therefore the timing of the decision—is for the company to make.

The award of the Areva site would be good for the Fife energy park in Methil and the local economy. It would bring in much-needed investment and would ensure that Fife is at the forefront of the renewables sector in Scotland. Will the minister confirm whether or not Fife energy park is being actively considered as a location for the Areva site? Will he confirm whether there are concerns about capacity at the site?

I am aware of the good work that is done in Fife by a number of companies and of the support for that work locally, which we value.

It is for the company to decide where to locate. Areva made a commitment in Paris on 19 November to locate its UK turbine manufacturing site in Scotland. We believe that that will pave the way to create a great deal of jobs—up to 750—for manufacturing and the supporting supply chain. It is absolutely correct that Claire Baker lobbies for the area that she represents. I am sure that it will feature in the decision making of the company, but it is for the company to decide which particular location to opt for.

I am delighted that Areva has shown that commitment to Scotland, especially since I visited its Bremerhaven operation in June.

I do not wish to ask the minister to lobby for the area that he represents but, in light of the planning application that has been announced today to make the Ardersier yard fit for purpose for renewable energy manufacturing, does he support any developments at that yard?

As the local MSP, I very much welcome the progress that has been made in bringing Ardersier back into use. Many of us remember the heyday of its oil fabrication success. Thanks to the Scottish Government’s renewables policy, which I am pleased to say all parties in the chamber supported when we debated the issue in September, we now see massive opportunities all around our coasts, including at Nigg; potentially at Ardersier; at Wick; at Montrose; at Leith; at Methil; at Dundee; at Kishorn; at Orkney; at Lybster and at Scrabster. I could go on but the great news is that opportunities are being created all over Scotland because of our unwavering support for the potential that renewable energy off our coasts has for Scotland and her communities.

Given that, according to Experian, North Ayrshire is predicted to have the lowest level of economic growth of any of the UK’s 378 local authorities over the next five years, it would be great if we could get some renewables industries into Hunterston, which has a deep harbour and a highly skilled workforce nearby.

That resembled more of a statement than a question. Notwithstanding that, I am happy to say that we are well aware of Hunterston’s aspirations; indeed, I understand that planning permission has already been granted to Mitsubishi for a testing facility. That development is very important and I very much hope that we can work together with Mr Gibson, who is always a strong advocate for North Ayrshire’s interests, to ensure that the area is by no means left out. However, the success that Hunterston has already had and its ability to attract a company of Mitsubishi’s international status are a huge testimony to our Scottish Enterprise colleagues’ massive efforts in successfully gaining the interest and commitment of companies throughout the world to locate in Scotland. It has been a truly momentous achievement thus far and we must now translate that commitment into a great number of jobs and businesses throughout the whole country.

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Falkirk Council (Meetings)

3. To ask the Scottish Government when it last met Falkirk Council and what matters were discussed. (S4O-01558)

The Scottish Government meets regularly with Scotland’s councils to discuss a wide range of issues. I last met Falkirk Council on 9 August.

The minister will be aware that Falkirk’s tax increment financing bid has the potential to attract to my constituency nearly £600 million-worth of investment for more than 8,000 local jobs over the next 25 years. Now that the business case has been submitted, when do the Scottish Government and the Scottish Futures Trust expect to make a final decision and announcement on whether this exciting TIF project can go ahead?

Members will be well aware of TIF’s potential benefits. In November 2011, the Scottish Government invited Falkirk Council to develop a TIF business case for its £52 million project, focusing on direct investment to key strategic road improvements, the Grangemouth flood defences and site-enabling works. The council is working with the Scottish Futures Trust to finalise the business case and, when that work is completed, we will look forward to receiving it formally and will consider it in due course.

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Renewables (Community Benefits)

4. To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in helping communities to benefit from the use of renewables. (S4O-01559)

Through initiatives such as our flagship community and renewable energy scheme—the CARES loan scheme—and the public register of community benefits, we are both supporting community ownership of renewable energy and helping to ensure that communities benefit from commercial projects.

Indeed, we are making good progress towards each of those aims. For example, we are around a third of the way towards our target for 500MW of community and locally owned renewables across Scotland by 2020, and our support for community renewables was recognised recently by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development as a pioneering policy intervention and a global example of good practice in taking a bottom-up approach to renewable energy.

Last year, the First Minister asked Highlands and Islands Enterprise to develop a pilot project for community involvement and equity in renewables projects. What progress has been made with that pilot and, in particular, the involvement of Glenelg and Arnisdale Development Trust in the marine current turbines project in the Kyle Rhea narrows, which was to be used to test that pilot?

I thank Dave Thompson for giving me notice of that question.

The First Minister met members of the Glenelg and Arnisdale Development Trust last November. Since then, there have been a number of meetings between officials of HIE, Community Energy Scotland, the Scottish Government and the trust.

The trust has accepted our offer to provide funding for an independent assessment of the investment opportunity that is open to it, including an investigation into financial models that might be adopted. Work on that assessment is well advanced: the report is due for completion early in the new year.

Once the report is available, a further meeting with the trust will take place to explore how Scottish Government funding for community renewables could support the project through CARES—the loans scheme—or the renewable energy investment fund. We will continue to offer support to the trust as it seeks to take the project forward. We will also continue to keep Dave Thompson, as the local member who is campaigning on the issue, closely informed.

The minister will be aware that community developments in the Western Isles are being delayed because of slippage on the interconnector to the islands. He will also be aware that those delays add to costs. What is the Scottish Government doing to speed up the delivery of an interconnector?

Rhoda Grant is right to raise that matter. It is of huge concern to us. That is why in June this year I wrote to Ed Davey suggesting that, because of its importance, we set up an intergovernmental body to consider the matter. I was pleased that he agreed to that, and I believe that the first meeting of the intergovernmental group has just taken place or is just about to take place.

It is essential that we address transmission charges to the islands. The problem has existed for some time but was exacerbated when the estimated cost of the connection went up from, I think—I will need to check the figures—just below £500 million to more than £700 million. That has had a massive knock-on effect so that, if the recommendations of the Office of the Gas and Electricity Markets were accepted, the charges would be £10 per megawatt hour on the mainland and £150 or thereabout on the islands. I will check those figures, but they indicate the scale of the problem.

It is essential that we tackle that problem together with United Kingdom Government. We are working extremely positively with it towards finding a solution. A solution is necessary if we are to realise the potential in our islands for renewable energy. Indeed, Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles are the places in the UK with the best potential for renewable energy, both onshore and marine.

We are determined to solve the problem and to work with people such as Rhoda Grant, who rightly campaigns on the issues.

I welcome the minister’s comments. Will he comment on the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee report on the achievability of the Scottish Government’s renewable energy targets? I refer specifically to the conclusion:

“the generation of community owned energy brings benefits beyond financial ones. The income can increase the sustainability of fragile communities, lead to greater social cohesion and provide work for local people in areas such as energy efficiency”.

Yes, I welcome the committee’s report and hope that we have the opportunity to debate it in due course.

Chic Brodie is right to point out the enormous benefits to communities. The target of 500MW, which we are one third of the way to achieving, could be worth £2,400 million to communities in Scotland over the lifetime of the project. Since 2007, more than 800 grants for community renewables schemes have been awarded—some £16 million—and now we have CARES.

We are absolutely determined that communities throughout Scotland should receive every practical and affordable assistance that we can provide in order to realise their aspirations to have community renewable energy schemes. The benefits therefrom are of a huge variety and people are increasingly becoming aware of them, which is a good thing. I welcome the cross-party support that exists for community renewables and undertake to work with all parties to advance such schemes across Scotland.

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Co-operative Businesses

5. To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to develop co-operative businesses. (S4O-01560)

The Scottish Government supports the on-going work of Co-operative Development Scotland, which is a subsidiary of Scottish Enterprise, in its promotion of co-operative business models and in its hands-on work with new and existing co-operative enterprises. In addition, businesses operating co-operative models in Scotland can receive general advice and support from business gateway, Scottish Enterprise, and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

The cabinet secretary will be aware that this is international year of co-operatives and that Scotland currently has more than 500 co-op businesses, which employ more than 28,000 people and have a combined turnover of more than £4 billion. Does he have any plans to extend the good work that the Scottish Government is already doing to promote co-operative businesses within our local communities and to encourage even greater participation in the successful co-operative model?

In the previous parliamentary session, I answered a question from Bill Butler, who asked me what the Government would do to celebrate international year of co-operatives. I have to say that, when Mr Butler asked me that question in 2010, it was news to me that international year of co-operatives would take place in 2012. I am glad to say that, after Mr Butler’s prompting, we have taken forward a series of events to mark international year of co-operatives and to celebrate the achievements that have been made. Possibly more important, we have also committed ourselves to supporting and developing the enhancement of the co-operative model within Scotland.

Over the past number of months, I have taken part in a number of discussions with and visits to co-operative enterprises to ensure that the type of measures that I set out in my original answer are fully available and at the disposal of co-operatives in Scotland. We are keen to ensure that Co-operative Development Scotland continues its work through the Scottish Enterprise network.

At this time in the economic cycle, when new business models need to be developed and taken forward, the co-operative model possesses some substantial strengths for development within the Scottish economy, and I can assure Mr Coffey and colleagues that the Government will provide support to assist in the development of such enterprises.

I declare an interest as a council member of the Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society and declare an interest in farmers markets.

Is the United Kingdom legislation required to support and develop the co-operative movement in Scotland—in particular, to support the capability and development of SAOS—now in place? If it is not, when does the cabinet secretary expect the legislative process to be completed?

Mr Scott will need to forgive me for not being able to give him a definitive answer at this stage, but I will ensure that the issue is explored speedily and that a response is given to him in writing.

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Capital Investment

6. To ask the Scottish Government what response it has received from the United Kingdom Government to its recent call for an immediate targeted boost to capital investment. (S4O-01561)

I am working on the basis that the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s autumn statement was the response.

Taking into account the unprecedented UK Government cuts to the Scottish capital budget that we have already suffered, can the cabinet secretary indicate how long the Scottish Government has been calling for the release of capital to invest in public sector projects? Can he indicate at this stage how many jobs he thinks may be supported, further to today’s announcement?

I congratulate Annabelle Ewing on conspiring to get the swiftest ever Scottish Government response to an autumn budget statement, given that the chancellor completed delivering his statement to the House of Commons only about an hour ago.

There are a number of elements in the autumn budget statement, particularly in relation to capital investment, that the Scottish Government welcomes. As Parliament will know, ministers have for a sustained amount of time put pressure on the United Kingdom Government to change its approach on capital spending because we considered that the reduction of 33 per cent in capital budgets was far too severe.

As the growth figures that the Office for Budget Responsibility published today demonstrate, the UK Government’s approach has harmed the development of growth in the economy. We welcome the announcements that have been made today on capital investment, and we note that the UK Government has learned a lesson from the Scottish Government on transferring resource into capital to support long-term investment in the economy. We welcome that into the bargain.

I welcome the cabinet secretary’s welcome for the UK Government’s autumn statement. A Scottish Government press release mentions 40 or so projects that it describes as “shovel-ready”. As things stand, how many of those projects have not completed the planning and procurement process?

A number of them will definitely not have completed the procurement process: how on earth could we lead the market up the garden path to deliver projects for which we do not have the money?

The purpose of a shovel-ready project list is to have projects that are ready to be delivered on the ground but to which we cannot commit until we have the money to do so. If that is the level of sophisticated questioning to which I am to be subjected by the Conservative Party, heaven help the Conservative Party today.

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Financial Assistance (Compliance with Conditions of Grant)

7. To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that companies setting up or expanding activities in Scotland comply with the conditions attached to any financial assistance it has granted. (S4O-01562)

All available schemes of financial assistance have clear monitoring and audit processes set out in the terms of the award of assistance, and projects are monitored to ensure compliance with national rules and agreed terms and conditions.

When Amazon came to Fife last year, it received more than £8 million in support from the Scottish Government. At that time, Amazon promised to create 750 permanent jobs but, to date, only half of them have been delivered, with many other workers on short-term or casual contracts. What is the Scottish Government doing to ensure that companies such as Amazon not only pay their taxes but, more importantly, keep their promises?

As Mr Fraser will know, the Scottish Government does not have responsibility for the collection of the taxes for which Amazon is liable, other than in relation to the payment of non-domestic rates for the property that it occupies in Dunfermline. The tax collection issues are very much the property of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, which I remind Mr Fraser is a reserved organisation.

On the Scottish Government’s responsibilities in relation to the payment of grant awards, I can tell Mr Fraser that the payments are made in instalments—typically over several years—as job and capital expenditure targets are met. Scottish Enterprise is responsible for monitoring all the grant payments, and it requires companies to submit formal applications for payment of the instalments, which usually include a formal certification of the claim by an independent accountant.

When the grant has been paid, Scottish Enterprise monitors the project for a fixed period that is set out in the grant agreement and requires the company to submit formal monitoring reports to ensure that all the conditions have been met. In all circumstances, the payments are monitored regularly. On occasions when, for example, companies have grant paid to them and then decide to scale down their operation, we reclaim grant from them by virtue of the monitoring processes that we undertake.

I assure Mr Fraser and the Parliament that the administration of grant payments through the regional selective assistance system is taken very seriously. We will continue to monitor the issues in relation to Amazon and all other recipients of regional selective assistance.

Given what we now know about Amazon’s affairs, does the cabinet secretary regret not imposing stricter conditions, such as insisting on transparency in the company’s tax affairs, on trade union recognition, on decent minimum standards of employment and on the living wage being paid as a minimum to all employees?

I am actually sympathetic to Mr Macintosh’s view that employers have to act in a responsible fashion by remunerating their staff properly and committing to long-term investment and long-term continuity for staff.

I have no real strategic disagreement with Mr Macintosh on the question, but without the benefit of legal advice—and, of course, I can never disclose its presence—I doubt that I would have legal authority to apply all the factors that Mr Macintosh has asked me to apply to Amazon. I am not trying to be difficult about it; I am just acknowledging that there are certain limitations on the powers of the Parliament. I would rather be able to give Mr Macintosh a much more encouraging answer about the long-term commitments that we can require of companies, but I have to operate within a legal framework that is set out for me under the Scotland Act 1998.

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Manufacturing (Employment and Output)

8. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to boost manufacturing employment and output. (S4O-01563)

Working together with industry, the Scottish Government provides integrated support for the manufacturing sector in Scotland via Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Skills Development Scotland, Scottish Development International, the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council, local development organisations, and relevant trade bodies.

Specific support includes the work of the Scottish manufacturing advisory service, which has now assisted more than 3,000 individual companies, by completing nearly 2,000 manufacturing reviews that have contributed around £92 million extra value added to assisted companies.

The cabinet secretary will be aware that, in the decade to 2007, Scotland lost a third of its manufacturing sector in Ayrshire and half of its manufacturing employment, and saw a corresponding decline in output. That was before the recession hit. Manufacturing remains a key component of the Scottish economy, so how are our universities and colleges addressing key skills shortages in our manufacturing sector to ensure that it flourishes during the decades to come?

I believe that we are making good progress in the area. I acknowledge the significance of Mr Gibson’s point because our universities and colleges are integral to addressing those key skills shortages. For example, the Government has worked with the GlaxoSmithKline plant in Irvine, which is adjacent to Mr Gibson’s constituency, along with the University of Strathclyde, Scottish Enterprise and North Ayrshire Council, to create focused support to assist in the recruitment of skilled personnel for that manufacturing facility.

At a more general level in Scotland, the number of students who are studying engineering and technology in higher education institutions has risen by 18 per cent since 2007-08, which is a welcome indication of the strengthening of the skill base that will support Scotland’s manufacturing sector.

Before we move on to question 9, let me say that I need questions and answers to be succinct if we are to make progress through the list of questions.

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Public Health Levy

9. To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported 1.3 per cent fall in sales in October 2012, whether it will reconsider the so-called public health levy. (S4O-01564)

I say briefly, in response to your positive requirement, Presiding Officer, that the Government does not intend to reconsider the public health supplement.

Members have become used to hearing the Government making all sorts of claims about how it would spend more money if it had the power to do so. We also hear that it would cut every tax. Will the Government please explain how it will match today’s performance of the United Kingdom Government in reducing the burden on the growing sectors of our retail economy?

The Scottish Government is a responsible Government that balances its budget every year and does not make the unaffordable spending commitments that we hear all the time from the Conservatives over there. I say that before I have even got on to the Labour side of the chamber, into the bargain. I will take no lessons from Mr Johnstone about the importance of effective fiscal management.

On Mr Johnstone’s point about business taxation, both before and after the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s autumn statement, the Scottish Government offers the most comprehensive system of business rates relief of any part of the United Kingdom for the bit of business taxation that we control. That was true before the autumn statement and it remains the case.

Question 10, in the name of Bob Doris, has not been lodged, and the member has provided an explanation.

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“Spends & Trends UKCS 2012-2016”

11. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Enterprise report, “Spends & Trends UKCS 2012-2016”. (S4O-01566)

Scottish Enterprise’s report “Spends & Trends UKCS 2012-2016” is a further and welcome confirmation of the vast potential of Scotland’s oil and gas sector, for now and the future. With more than half the value of the North Sea’s oil and gas reserves yet to be extracted—up to 24 billion recoverable barrels with a potential wholesale value of £1.5 trillion—Scotland’s oil and gas sector will remain an enormous economic resource for decades to come.

The report highlights an expected capital investment of £44 billion and identifies 86 new United Kingdom continental-shelf fields where work is under way or could begin before 2016. Given the level of capital investment by companies that operate in the North Sea, does the cabinet secretary agree that the sector will remain an enormous economic resource for Scotland for decades to come?

I agree with that point and I recognise the significant and intense level of economic activity that is going on in the oil and gas sector around north-east Scotland. The levels of investment and commitment are substantial, and the Government is working collaboratively with the sector. Mr Ewing was in Aberdeen this week for a series of further discussions with oil and gas companies. We look forward to continuing that work to ensure that the industry feels well supported by the Scottish Government in realising its economic potential.

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Energy Academy

12. To ask the Scottish Government when the energy academy will begin its work. (S4O-01567)

Work has already begun on the Scottish energy skills academy initiative. My officials are consulting industry, skills providers and relevant public bodies to discuss the proposal and its alignment with national frameworks.

That is good news, and the initiative is welcome, but the number of institutions that will be involved in delivering the academy is still unclear. Which institutions will be involved in the academy’s work? Does the minister agree that, as the energy capital of Scotland and Europe, Aberdeen—which he visited recently—should be the academy’s centre and should provide the base for its leadership?

The Scottish energy skills academy will be developed as a Scotland-wide academy. I am pleased to say that we are making great progress. Just this week, I had useful meetings with senior representatives from the University of Aberdeen, the Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen College and Banff and Buchan College, all of which already do excellent work. We want such work to be enhanced and increased.

It is correct that we will see much of the energy academy’s oil and gas focus being centred in Aberdeen when that initiative is announced. However, it is important that we get the initiative right, rather than rush to launch it. That is important because we need to align the activities and efforts of academe with those of industry and the Government. That is what we want and what I believe the oil and gas industry wants, and that is what we intend to deliver in due course.

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City of Edinburgh Council (Budgetary Impact of Public-private Partnerships/Private Finance Initiative)

13. To ask the Scottish Government when it last met the City of Edinburgh Council to discuss the impact of PPP/PFI on its budget. (S4O-01568)

The impact of PPP/PFI on the City of Edinburgh Council’s budget is a matter for that local authority.

Does the cabinet secretary have an idea of the total cost of the City of Edinburgh Council’s repayments for PPP/PFI schools in Edinburgh in the past financial year? What impact are such contracts having on the council’s ability to finance front-line council services?

I do not have a figure for the past financial year but, from 2013 onwards, the contracted unitary charge payments are estimated to be £1.047 billion. That relates to the PPP 1 project, which is due to end in 2033-34, and the PPP 2 project, which is due to end in 2038-39.

Such sums are clearly significant and must be considered in the prudential framework for finance in the City of Edinburgh Council. As Mr Keir knows, I have introduced for the first time a framework in which any revenue-financed commitments must be set. The Government is working within that framework.

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Paisley (Economic Development)

14. To ask the Scottish Government how much it plans to spend on economic development in Paisley. (S4O-01569)

The Scottish Government is committed to increasing sustainable economic growth across all parts of Scotland, including Paisley. We are maximising our capital spending to support infrastructure investment and jobs throughout Scotland. That is undertaken through the work of Scottish Enterprise, as part of the Government’s economic strategy.

Since 2011, through regional selective assistance, Scottish Enterprise has supported nine Renfrewshire companies with offers totalling £4.4 million, thereby creating and safeguarding 359 jobs.

It is clear that there is a link between economic development in an area and the funding that local councils receive. Renfrewshire Council is investing what it can in the local economy. That is, regrettably, not being matched by the Scottish Government.

Can we just have a question, Mr Bibby?

Renfrewshire Council is the only mainland council in Scotland to have been on the funding grant floor for the past three years. Will the cabinet secretary come to Paisley to meet me and the council leader, Mark Macmillan, to discuss Paisley’s social and economic needs, and a fair deal for Renfrewshire?

I have met Councillor Macmillan on two occasions already to discuss the financial situation in Renfrewshire Council. If Mr Bibby wants to have a meeting about that, I would be only too happy to extend to him the courtesy of having a meeting. I have explained to Councillor Macmillan that the funding settlement that applies to Renfrewshire is a product of the local government distribution formula that has been agreed by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, and that it is a matter for COSLA to determine whether it wishes to reconsider the distribution formula that it agreed with the Government at the time of the spending review. I do not sense much of an appetite in COSLA to do that, because for every person who would make the point that Mr Bibby has made to Parliament today, there would no doubt be a range of his colleagues who would come here to say that the resources cannot be taken from them. As I set out in the local government funding settlement statement last week, local government has been in a better financial position in the spending review settlement since 2007-08, compared with the overall budget of the Scottish Government.

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Rural Areas (Employment)

15. To ask the Scottish Government what support it is giving to the development of employment across all ages in rural areas. (S4O-01570)

The Scottish Government seeks to raise employment for people of all ages in all parts of Scotland. Support for new and existing businesses is a key element of that.

Last year, we supplemented that approach by creating a forum specifically to help rural areas to overcome some of their distinctive challenges around helping people into work. On 5 November this year, my colleagues Angela Constance and Richard Lochhead were pleased to take part in a rural and employment skills summit that was held in Oban. I am hopeful that the actions from that event will make a real and lasting difference to rural Scotland.

As the cabinet secretary knows, age is one of the nine protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010. Can he say what assessment the Scottish Government has made with regard to the development of support for rural employment specifically related to age? For instance, what resources have been committed to the development of apprenticeship schemes and transferable skills for training older people in their communities?

The Government is taking action to ensure that there is local access to skills development in all parts of the country. We make every effort to overcome the obstacles that rurality can create for people. That involves, for example, the approaches that are taken to distance learning, and the ways in which it can be used in rural locations. It also involves ensuring that there is a credible and accessible range of support mechanisms in all parts of the country. That is reflected in the availability of support through particular mechanisms in the enterprise agencies and through the work that is done in partnership with chambers of commerce.

The Government is also determined to ensure that we maximise access to online skills and resources. I appreciate that, in some parts of rural Scotland, broadband access can be an issue, but we try to maximise access to those resources in every part of the country.

I do not have time for another question. I apologise to Patricia Ferguson.