Chamber and committees

I will bring in Adam Stachura, who has been listening patiently to what we have been discussing. I am very interested in your organisation’s perspective on the importance of support in the aftermath of a crime.

Our next item of business is consideration of the correspondence that we received on 29 April 2025 from the Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise, Natalie Don-Innes MSP.

The letter provided an update on the Scottish Government’s work to restore secure care accommodation capacity for young people in Scotland. I refer members to paper 3, which contains the letter. We will discuss our views on what action, if any, we want to take in response to it.

Does any member want to come in with comments or observations on the correspondence?

Yes, absolutely. Does anyone else want to come in on that?

That is a good point to raise. Although there is an update on capacity at Rossie, what is it in addition to, and how does it affect the overall figures? I have made a note on the reform of the contractual model too—thank you.

Will the member give way?

The safety of vulnerable individuals must be at the forefront of all actions in our justice system. Can the cabinet secretary provide further detail on how Police Scotland ensures that personal information remains secure when it is shared with third parties?

Has the member taken some time to read the recent Scottish Renewables “Scotland’s renewable energy industry—supply chain impact statement”, which sets out some of the excellent inward investment, job opportunities and value to the Scottish economy that we have seen over the past year?

The urgent need to deal with the risks of climate change and the challenges of an uncertain geopolitical and energy security landscape underpin the direction of travel of our energy industry. For more than five decades, Scotland’s oil and gas industry has supported thousands of well-paid and highly skilled jobs, underpinned a significant domestic supply chain and provided more than £400 billion of production taxes for the public purse. The North Sea is, as we know, a mature basin and the transition away from fossil fuels to a different, commercially viable energy mix, through the redeployment of the expertise and skills that are already in the energy sector, is of vital importance to Scotland’s economy and that of the UK.

In my constituency of Aberdeen South and North Kincardine, I have already seen many brilliant examples of that transition, where oil and gas businesses are actively seeking and embarking on new opportunities in offshore wind, hydrogen transportation and accelerator programmes that will support start-ups and scale-ups. However, as we know, sentiment in the sector has been taking a knock. The increase in and extension of the UK Government’s energy profits levy by the previous Tory and now Labour UK Governments has damaged North Sea investment, with Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce highlighting that 10,000 North Sea jobs have been lost since the EPL was introduced in 2022. Last week, as we have heard, Harbour Energy, which is the UK’s largest oil and gas producer, confirmed that it would cut 250 jobs in Aberdeen. Scott Barr, Harbour Energy’s UK managing director, said:

“The review is unfortunately necessary to align staffing levels with lower levels of investment, due mainly to the Government’s ongoing punitive fiscal position and a challenging regulatory environment.”

Of course, the Acorn carbon capture and storage project has been the focus of continuous pleas from business leaders, parliamentarians and stakeholders urging the UK Government to provide investment certainty in the upcoming comprehensive spending review. As a recent letter to the UK Government from a host of parliamentarians set out, Acorn could be a major driver of economic activity and growth. It could unlock £7 billion in private investment, create 15,000 new jobs, protect 18,000 existing ones and generate £17.7 billion for the UK economy.

I do not think that we can have a debate about oil and gas without acknowledging the North Sea transition task force’s report, “Securing the Future of the Energy Transition in the North Sea”. Among the many points that it raises is the importance of public bodies, businesses, industry and Governments collectively creating the right conditions to bring investment and entrepreneurship to the North Sea, with the UK Government leading the way—which, at the moment, it is not.

Without glossing over the challenges, there is a great deal to be optimistic about. Scotland is already punching above its weight to support the UK to become a clean energy superpower. Significant work is under way to attract investment, upgrade the grid and revitalise our ports infrastructure.

Despite net zero and the benefits of clean technologies coming under attack, particularly by the Tories, I commend the work by developers, supply chain, Government and communities who are making a strong case for renewables. In my conversations with stakeholders in the renewables space, it has been clear to me that a stable policy environment, unity across the Government and stakeholders, and leadership from the UK Government—rather than the damaging decisions that we are currently seeing—will ensure a viable energy sector for Scotland for the future.

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the introduction of quota management groups and whether they would benefit fishers and coastal communities. (S6O-04612)

I thank the minister for the update. In 2020, the Scottish Government initiated a quota management groups trial. What does the evaluation of that trial demonstrate, how has any learning from the trial been carried forward and how does the Scottish Government envisage that QMGs might maximise the contribution that fisheries make to Scotland?