Chamber and committees

The Criminal Justice Committee recently heard from Food Standards Scotland about the close work that it undertakes with agencies such as the Crown Office and Police Scotland. Indeed, I was on a webinar at lunchtime with people from Food Standards Scotland, who were particularly complimentary about the agency’s relationship with the Crown Office. Will the cabinet secretary further outline how those relationships work, their importance in protecting public health and businesses from contaminated and counterfeit products and how the activities that we are discussing can be disrupted?

I, too, commend the Economy and Fair Work Committee for its just transition inquiry, which focuses on Grangemouth, the north-east and Moray. I put on record my support for a just transition. We are at a point of urgency in climate change.

I will focus my remarks on the north-east, but I very much acknowledge the evolving and distressing situation at Grangemouth. As we know, the north-east is home to Scotland’s oil and gas production, which generates significant economic activity and energy supply. The sector hosts around 65,000 jobs in the north-east and Moray. In 2019, it had a gross value added of around £16 billion, or 9 per cent of Scottish GDP.

Oil and gas will continue to be a significant part of our energy mix. Like other members, I welcome the opportunity to probe a little bit more deeply around what exactly a just transition is, the challenges in delivery and the importance of having stakeholders round the table so that we can measure and evaluate progress, inform policy and reach net zero.

The committee’s starting point was to assess the understanding of what is meant by “just transition”. Common themes emerged in evidence, such as maximising economic benefit for people and businesses, creating green jobs and moving workers from oil and gas to renewables. That very much reflects an energy focus.

However, Professor Paul de Leeuw highlighted the importance of clarifying

“what the destination is and how we can help people on their journeys as they go through them.”

He said that

“people have different starting points, and they need clarity.”

He noted that good work has already been undertaken on the just transition planning framework, which includes some “nice bullet points”. However, he felt that they were

“lovely statements, but it is not really clear what they mean for a person in the street”.—[Official Report, Economy and Fair Work Committee, 15 November 2023; c 42.]

Referring to their “Measuring Just Transition” report, Dr Daria Shapovalova and Professor Tavis Potts from the just transition lab at the University of Aberdeen described a just transition as

“a fair distribution of burdens and benefits as society and the economy shifts to a sustainable low-carbon economy. It calls for action on providing decent green jobs, building community wealth and embedding participation.”

In evidence to the committee, they pointed out that there have been

“two decades of definitions of just transition”

but that what was needed now was

“clarity in the planning process, in directions to local authorities, in investment and in the building of civil society and democratic processes”—[Official Report, Economy and Fair Work Committee, 29 November 2023; c 28.]

and an urgent speeding up of those processes.

It was evident from those and other views that were shared in evidence that, although the north-east is rightly positioning itself as a centre for energy transition, to date, the debate on just transition has derived from an industry context. Nowhere is that more evident than in my constituency, where a valued green space in a deprived area of Aberdeen has found itself inserted into Aberdeen City Council’s local development plan as an area that will support the energy transition. Locally, there is a strong feeling of dispossession, and that the development is being imposed on an already deprived community that feels left behind. However, an energy transition zone will be a crucial economic opportunity for diversification from fossil fuels. It has the potential to bring significant value for the workforce in Aberdeen and the north-east. That scenario is reflected in the committee’s report, which finds that evidence suggests that there is a feeling among some people of a disconnect between corporate interests and community wellbeing.

I turn briefly to jobs and skills, which is perhaps the most straightforward set of indicators for a just transition but, as others have said, it is utterly crucial to it. Key to securing a skilled workforce will be the acquisition of skills, and reskilling into low-carbon jobs. Historically, oil and gas jobs have been characterised by high levels of education and skills, and a transition to low-carbon jobs will require similarly high levels of education and skills. Evidence to the committee highlighted challenges right across the industry. The urgent need for skills mapping was highlighted by SSE, which spoke of the need for

“green energy training academies ... to make it easier for people to transition from high-carbon to low-carbon industries.”—[Official Report, Economy and Fair Work Committee, 15 November 2023; c 10.]

There is a welcome body of work on mapping skills shortages in STEM and engineering-related occupations. The committee report highlights SSE’s concerns about the urgent need for skills mapping. I note the OEUK’s report, “Energy Industry Skills Landscape Study”, which was published this week. It acknowledges the creation of the Scottish Government’s plans for post-school education and skills reform, but highlights that it is a critical moment for the industry, Governments and stakeholders to work together to secure our skilled workforce of tomorrow. That point was articulated well by Professor de Leeuw, who spoke of the criticality of timing, and of getting people ready for the wind sector where and when they are needed. As other members have highlighted, that is crucial to the delivery of our green industrial strategy, just transition plan and other strategies. I share the committee’s concerns about the suspension of the flexible workforce fund, and I hope that there is scope for that to be reconsidered. Again, I thank the Economy and Fair Work Committee, and I look forward to its next transition inquiry.

Recent research by the Trussell Trust found that 48 per cent of people who receive universal credit ran out of food in the past month across the UK. Does the cabinet secretary agree that, faced with an inadequate UK welfare system, which has been devastated by the Tories—and now by Labour—the Scottish Government’s £1 billion spend above UK Government funding on social security is an absolutely vital investment in our people and our society?

I, too, commend the Economy and Fair Work Committee for its just transition inquiry, which focuses on Grangemouth, the north-east and Moray. I put on record my support for a just transition. We are at a point of urgency in climate change.

I will focus my remarks on the north-east, but I very much acknowledge the evolving and distressing situation at Grangemouth. As we know, the north-east is home to Scotland’s oil and gas production, which generates significant economic activity and energy supply. The sector hosts around 65,000 jobs in the north-east and Moray. In 2019, it had a gross value added of around £16 billion, or 9 per cent of Scottish GDP.

Oil and gas will continue to be a significant part of our energy mix. Like other members, I welcome the opportunity to probe a little bit more deeply around what exactly a just transition is, the challenges in delivery and the importance of having stakeholders round the table so that we can measure and evaluate progress, inform policy and reach net zero.

The committee’s starting point was to assess the understanding of what is meant by “just transition”. Common themes emerged in evidence, such as maximising economic benefit for people and businesses, creating green jobs and moving workers from oil and gas to renewables. That very much reflects an energy focus.

However, Professor Paul de Leeuw highlighted the importance of clarifying

“what the destination is and how we can help people on their journeys as they go through them.”

He said that

“people have different starting points, and they need clarity.”

He noted that good work has already been undertaken on the just transition planning framework, which includes some “nice bullet points”. However, he felt that they were

“lovely statements, but it is not really clear what they mean for a person in the street”.—[Official Report, Economy and Fair Work Committee, 15 November 2023; c 42.]

Referring to their “Measuring Just Transition” report, Dr Daria Shapovalova and Professor Tavis Potts from the just transition lab at the University of Aberdeen described a just transition as

“a fair distribution of burdens and benefits as society and the economy shifts to a sustainable low-carbon economy. It calls for action on providing decent green jobs, building community wealth and embedding participation.”

In evidence to the committee, they pointed out that there have been

“two decades of definitions of just transition”

but that what was needed now was

“clarity in the planning process, in directions to local authorities, in investment and in the building of civil society and democratic processes”—[Official Report, Economy and Fair Work Committee, 29 November 2023; c 28.]

and an urgent speeding up of those processes.

It was evident from those and other views that were shared in evidence that, although the north-east is rightly positioning itself as a centre for energy transition, to date, the debate on just transition has derived from an industry context. Nowhere is that more evident than in my constituency, where a valued green space in a deprived area of Aberdeen has found itself inserted into Aberdeen City Council’s local development plan as an area that will support the energy transition. Locally, there is a strong feeling of dispossession, and that the development is being imposed on an already deprived community that feels left behind. However, an energy transition zone will be a crucial economic opportunity for diversification from fossil fuels. It has the potential to bring significant value for the workforce in Aberdeen and the north-east. That scenario is reflected in the committee’s report, which finds that evidence suggests that there is a feeling among some people of a disconnect between corporate interests and community wellbeing.

I turn briefly to jobs and skills, which is perhaps the most straightforward set of indicators for a just transition but, as others have said, it is utterly crucial to it. Key to securing a skilled workforce will be the acquisition of skills, and reskilling into low-carbon jobs. Historically, oil and gas jobs have been characterised by high levels of education and skills, and a transition to low-carbon jobs will require similarly high levels of education and skills. Evidence to the committee highlighted challenges right across the industry. The urgent need for skills mapping was highlighted by SSE, which spoke of the need for

“green energy training academies ... to make it easier for people to transition from high-carbon to low-carbon industries.”—[Official Report, Economy and Fair Work Committee, 15 November 2023; c 10.]

There is a welcome body of work on mapping skills shortages in STEM and engineering-related occupations. The committee report highlights SSE’s concerns about the urgent need for skills mapping. I note the OEUK’s report, “Energy Industry Skills Landscape Study”, which was published this week. It acknowledges the creation of the Scottish Government’s plans for post-school education and skills reform, but highlights that it is a critical moment for the industry, Governments and stakeholders to work together to secure our skilled workforce of tomorrow. That point was articulated well by Professor de Leeuw, who spoke of the criticality of timing, and of getting people ready for the wind sector where and when they are needed. As other members have highlighted, that is crucial to the delivery of our green industrial strategy, just transition plan and other strategies. I share the committee’s concerns about the suspension of the flexible workforce fund, and I hope that there is scope for that to be reconsidered. Again, I thank the Economy and Fair Work Committee, and I look forward to its next transition inquiry.

The result of the division is: For 4, Against 2, Abstentions 2.

Amendment 43 agreed to.

Amendment 44 moved—[Angela Constance].

The result of the division is: For 4, Against 2, Abstentions 2.

Amendment 44 agreed to.

Sections 4 and 5 agreed to.

Section 6—Procedures for misconduct: former constables

The debate has finished, so it is a question of moving or not moving the amendment now.

Amendment 57 not moved.

Section 7—Scottish police advisory list and Scottish police barred list

Amendment 45 moved—[Angela Constance]—and agreed to.

Amendment 46 moved—[Angela Constance].

I call Sharon Dowey to wind up and to press or withdraw amendment 16.

As no other member wants to come in, do you want to add anything else in winding up?

We move to group 2, on duty on candour. Amendment 5, in the name of the cabinet secretary, is grouped with amendments 6 to 11.