Chamber and committees

As part of the Scottish cluster, Acorn will reuse existing energy infrastructure to transport captured CO₂ emissions and store them beneath the North Sea. Without it, key industries, including energy, chemicals and manufacturing, face mounting costs, a loss of competitiveness and a major risk of job losses. Will the cabinet secretary say more about the environmental importance of the project and its critical economic importance to the north-east and to wider cluster partners across Scotland?

In their recent letter to the Chancellor, business leaders highlighted the UK Government’s repeated commitment to a just transition and the results of a recent economic impact study that concluded that, in advancing Acorn, the Scottish cluster would contribute £17.7 billion to UK economic output by 2050, creating almost 11,000 jobs during construction and sustaining 4,700 long-term operational roles.

Does the cabinet secretary agree that, if the UK Government is serious about providing a future for Grangemouth, reaching our emissions targets, boosting economic growth and improving energy security, it must end the uncertainty about energy policy and must provide clarity on the Acorn project as a matter of urgency?

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of joint calls on the United Kingdom Government from business leaders in Scotland for the project to be progressed as a priority, whether it will provide an update on what engagement it has had with the UK Government regarding the Acorn carbon capture and storage project and Scotland’s journey to net zero. (S6T-02407)

Scotland is on a journey to becoming a renewable energy powerhouse, facilitated by our just transition to net zero. However, that will require the co-operation of the United Kingdom Government on initiatives such as the Acorn carbon capture and storage project. Will the minister provide an update on engagement with the UK Government on the Acorn project, which is of huge importance to the north-east?

The growing levels of Islamophobia in the UK are deeply concerning. It is vital that we recognise that more must be done. Will the First Minister further outline how he hopes that the gathering of representatives from key organisations with the leaders of Scotland’s parliamentary parties, which was announced last week, will assist in creating a more cohesive society in which everyone feels at home?

I welcome the opportunity to speak on behalf of the Criminal Justice Committee in this debate on the people’s panel report on reducing drug harm and deaths in Scotland. I extend our sincere gratitude to the people’s panel members for their commitment to this complex issue and for producing a thoughtful and comprehensive report. Their insights are invaluable as we strive to address the multifaceted challenges of drug-related harm in our communities.

I commend the participation and communities team and members of the stewarding board for their excellent work in making the people’s panel happen. I also thank all the committee clerks, the Scottish Parliament information centre and other colleagues for their support in assisting the Social Justice and Social Security Committee, the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee and the Criminal Justice Committee to work together in support of efforts to tackle drug use and its associated harms.

As we have heard, the people’s panel made a range of recommendations, and I will discuss in further detail those that are pertinent to the Criminal Justice Committee. The panel emphasises the necessity of sustained support for individuals who are transitioning from environments such as prisons in order to prevent the cliff edge effect whereby support diminishes and external pressures resurface, increasing the risk of relapse.

We know how important prison release plans can be, as we hear a lot of anecdotal evidence from prison mentoring groups about what can go wrong and how easy it is for someone to relapse unless proper plans are in place. I am pleased that the Scottish Government has accepted that recommendation. I know that the cabinet secretary is aware of the importance of pre-release planning.

The committee welcomes the implementation of medication assisted treatment standard 5, which ensures that people receive support to remain in treatment for as long as they desire during critical transition periods. In addition, more than £3 million is allocated to third sector partnerships, which provide voluntary throughcare services. A new national third sector throughcare service is set to launch in April this year, which will extend support to those who are leaving remand for the first time. Unplanned release from remand is a significant issue. I am delighted that that provision is being introduced, and I seek reassurance on the longer-term sustainability of the funding.

The proliferation of illicit substances—especially potent synthetic drugs—in our prison system poses significant challenges. The panel recommends that our cross-committee collaboration intensifies efforts to curb drug supply in prisons, aiming to create a safer environment for prisoners and staff. In response, the Scottish Prison Service has established an incident management team in collaboration with Public Health Scotland, the Scottish Ambulance Service, Police Scotland and national health service partners. The team has problem assessment groups to provide rapid responses to emerging issues in correctional facilities. The Scottish Prison Service is also partnering with the University of Dundee to gain deeper insight into the nature and extent of drug use in prisons. Innovative technological solutions are also being explored to detect and prevent contraband entry.

However, we must ensure that we are striking the right balance between enforcement and ensuring that prisoners who are living with drug harm receive the support that they need. The Criminal Justice Committee has scheduled a formal meeting on 23 April to deliberate on the matter, and I hope that that may initiate a further inquiry based on the panel’s recommendations. The panel advocates for an expanded public awareness campaign regarding naloxone, a life-saving medication that can reverse opioid overdoses. The goal is to empower individuals to administer naloxone confidently, knowing that there will be no legal repercussions. My constituency team and I have undergone training to administer naloxone, and I—like my colleague Collette Stevenson—would encourage anyone to consider doing likewise as it could save a life.

The Scottish Government supports that recommendation in principle, too, and it is engaging with partners to broaden the reach of naloxone distribution. Efforts have led to a substantial increase in naloxone availability, with 70 per cent of at-risk individuals now equipped with kits. Although the increased availability of naloxone is positive, I am aware that there is still room for greater awareness and for use to broaden out even further. I know that the Government is fully behind widening access to and use of naloxone, and I would welcome reassurance that that will remain a key area of delivery.

At the joint committee meeting on 20 February, the cabinet secretary committed to providing an update on several fronts. First, there is progress on the single shared assessment. Efforts are under way to streamline assessments between the NHS and third sector organisations, ensuring cohesive support for individuals. I am interested in what timelines the Government might be looking at for full implementation of that.

On naloxone campaign developments, plans are being formulated for a comprehensive naloxone awareness campaign, as we have already referenced, which aims to educate the public and reduce overdose fatalities. I would like to know whether that will be a sustained campaign.

Finally, on general practitioner engagement with MAT standards, initiatives are in place to ensure that GPs have access to and are utilising MAT standards information and training that are available online, but how many GPs are actually engaging? Will there be an evaluation to ensure that that translates into better patient outcomes? Although I understand that the issue sits more in the health space, access to primary care services for people who are living with drug harm can often be an important protective factor that prevents them from entering the justice system.

I thank the people’s panel again for this really important piece of work. The Criminal Justice Committee remains steadfast in its commitment to addressing drug-related harm through our scrutiny work, in collaboration with our colleagues on the Social Justice and Social Security Committee and the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee. The insight from the people’s panel provide a clear road map, and we are committed to translating those recommendations into tangible actions that will save lives and foster healthier communities across Scotland.

Can the cabinet secretary outline how the 2025-26 budget has already earmarked funding for support to state schools and, specifically, how the Scottish Government is supporting the recruitment of additional teachers, which is a significant issue in my constituency?

Last week, the consul of Ukraine in Scotland told the Parliament’s Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee that Ukraine requires

“not only peace but a just peace.”—[Official Report, Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee, 27 February 2025; c 5.]

Does the First Minister agree with that? What would his message be on that matter?

I am always very pleased to speak in any debate on energy. As I am a north-east MSP, today’s debate on Scotland’s renewables future is no exception.

Scotland’s offshore energy industry has been a success story for over 50 years. Although we do not need to rehearse the fact that our energy mix is shifting away from oil and gas, it is worth repeating that the tax regime that is connected to Scotland’s energy industry has seen hundreds of billions of pounds of tax revenue flow to the UK Government. Scotland has done its share of heavy lifting, heating our homes and businesses and keeping the lights on, and I hope that that continues.

However, as they say, progress is impossible without change, and we are now on a different trajectory, with a unique opportunity to repurpose our energy sector through a managed just transition. As the Deputy First Minister set out last week in a debate on increasing investment in Scotland, renewable energy generation reached a record high in the first half of 2024 and Scotland’s net zero sector has grown by more than 20 per cent since 2022. Scotland’s renewable energy industry supported more than 42,000 jobs and an economic output of more than £10.1 billion in 2021, according to the Fraser of Allander Institute. The UK’s net zero industry is growing three times faster than the overall UK economy, and it generated more than £83 billion for the UK in 2024. I call that a success story.

Some of that success is visible in my Aberdeen South and North Kincardine constituency. One business with more than 40 years of deep-water experience is scaling up its testing of offshore platform technology, which is offering important opportunities for foundation manufacturing in Scotland. Another business is developing a new type of hydrogen storage vessel to support projects that require a method of moving hydrogen to end users. Currently, there is no UK or Scottish manufacturer of that type of storage vessel; such vessels are all imported.

Port of Aberdeen continues on its journey to create an international hub for offshore wind, including by further deepening the south harbour, and the brilliant Net Zero Technology Centre’s TechX clean energy accelerator programme supports unbelievably talented clean energy start-ups to continue their journey in accelerating the transition to a net zero industry.

Of course, there are challenges relating to planning, regulatory processes and financial mechanisms. That last point has been raised with me recently by several businesses that are seeking to expand and would like a clearer shared investment strategy between the Scottish and UK Governments that will provide confidence to underpin the level of investment that is required to unlock infrastructure projects. That is particularly relevant to our port infrastructure in enabling authorities, including Port of Aberdeen, to support floating offshore wind projects. I am grateful to the cabinet secretary and the minister for their respective engagement on that issue.

I also welcome the cabinet secretary’s acknowledgement that the good practice principles must be improved and that community benefit must be ramped up—football shirts and pocket parks do not cut it. However, I remind Mr Lumsden that he inserted an industrial development on a treasured green space in my constituency, known as St Fittick’s park, with absolutely no consultation when he was one of the leaders of Aberdeen City Council, so we must all be genuine in our commentary on community benefit.

At last week’s meeting of the cross-party group on renewable energy and energy efficiency, we heard concerns about zonal pricing, which is being considered by the UK Government as part of its energy pricing mechanism review. We heard that industry bodies, trade unions and investors are very concerned that the proposal will have a material impact on the scale of the renewables sector’s investment in Scotland and on our ability to drive key projects and unlock jobs in the supply chain here. I would very much welcome an update on the Scottish Government’s position on that issue in the minister’s summing-up speech.

Reducing energy bills sits at the heart of our energy thinking. SSE’s detailed briefing sets out the challenges of our antiquated and absurd electricity charging system very well. It references analysis by Scottish Renewables that an average 1GW Scottish offshore wind project would pay £38 million a year to use the electricity network, whereas an identical wind farm in the congested seas off England’s south coast would get a £7 million payment for the same service. That is utterly unbelievable, so the regime needs urgent reform.

I do not know, but I would imagine that they would not pay any more—I would hope that they would pay less.

That allows me to segue to my final position on nuclear power, which was shaped in no small part by my working-class parents, who saw that energy option as an insult to Scotland.

The debate on nuclear has moved on, and although the new UK Government continues with its plans to boost nuclear power in England and Wales, I fail to understand the rationale for supporting an energy source that produces vast quantities of waste from which radioactivity takes decades to reduce to safe levels, is vastly more expensive than renewables, takes decades to build, cannot be switched on and off easily and is potentially dangerous and contaminating. I also agree with Patrick Harvie’s point—we must all get real about our own behaviour and our energy use.

To conclude, nuclear is not an option for Scotland; an exciting future supporting a world-leading renewables industry is.