Chamber and committees

We have covered some of them. I want to hear from the other three witnesses on the specific question about the culture, what you notice is different and my supposition that it is sharper. Paul, do you want to come in?

Could we hear from Claire Mack first? Then my supplementary will be for everybody.

The convener makes a fair point in observing that three of you on the panel are actively engaging with the Scottish Government through your various roles. Where that is the case for the three of you, to what extent do you think that the Government gets business? By that, I mean the operating environment, the risks that you have to deal with, the necessity for cash flow and focusing on margins and so on. Some brief words on that would be useful.

I thank the witnesses for joining us. I want to tease out a slightly different reflection from you as a panel. You are our third panel, and all three have been very different. I am quite struck by your established public affairs work, ScotlandIS, which I have known about for years and years, from the old days.

Some of you have conceded that you joined the new deal for business slightly later. On the culture around which you can influence and shape Government policy through your dealings with civil servants, I am trying to establish the extent to which that feels like it is largely the same old, same old, under a new name. Who is brave enough to offer any reflections on whether that is the case? Karen Meechan is smiling, so you have to start.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app failed to connect; I would have voted yes.

I, too, very much welcome this £25 million. It is quite clear that the announcement laid down the gauntlet to the UK Government to do something and to come to the table after a period of some seven months, when it could have used National Wealth Fund moneys in the first place. I am also pleased to note that it is what I would consider the proper use of ScotWind funds, to build a future.

In terms of how quickly we can get projects on the table that can provide a return, investment at pace will be vital. I am pleased that this money will be available immediately in the new financial year, and I hope that that can start the process of enabling—

I do not have concerns about how the money will be distributed; I agree with Stephen Kerr that the devil will be in the detail, and I think that that detail needs to be worked out at pace. However, I have no concerns that that will not be the case, because the Scottish Government has clearly stated that the money will be available in the new financial year. Therefore, in some respects, it is a more critical enabler than the £200 million, in relation to which—if people have read the National Wealth Fund criteria, as I have—there is clearly a great deal of work to do.

During topical question time, I made a comment about the need for policy certainty. That is the elephant in the room. We need policy certainty around the likes of the Acorn project for carbon capture, utilisation and storage. It is critical if we are to enable green hydrogen, which might be a project that we can move forward with at pace. We also need the UK Government to come to the table if sustainable aviation fuel is to be a possibility in the future.

To summarise, I very much welcome the additional funding, and I thank the Scottish Government for taking such action.

I, too, welcome the additional moneys, although I note that the UK Government application process will be time consuming, with money being made available as debt or equity on the probability of a sufficient return on investment to the UK Government. For businesses to make applications at pace, there must be, as the minister stated, considerably more policy certainty. I know that she has been pursuing the matter, but has she had any advice on it thus far from the UK Government? Will there be a shift in its current attitude to carbon capture and storage and the Acorn project, which is a critical enabler of green hydrogen, or the possibility of Grangemouth and the associated work becoming a test site for sustainable aviation fuel? I repeat that policy certainty will be needed as much as finance to encourage confidence in business investment.

The member is making a splendid speech. I remember my time in Westminster, when Meg Hillier, who was at that point the chair of the Public Accounts Committee, noted that the issue of debt in that type of contract was primarily to remove it from the balance sheet of UK plc, because neither Government wanted the people to know just how broke the UK was. Does the member agree?

Falkirk Council is due to decide on the removal of transport provision for pupils who attend GME in neighbouring local authorities and is engaging on the implications with Bòrd na Gàidhlig. As ever, costs are a consideration. Although the Scottish Government provides £13,000 directly to cover costs, the actual cost to the authority in 2024-25 was £83,000. Given the Scottish Government’s commitment to enhancing opportunities for GME, what specific measures can the cabinet secretary outline to combat the significant shortfall in transport funding, which threatens opportunities for learners?