As the First Minister knows, I am—along with many other Scots—taking part in the Novavax vaccine trial. It is now more than two weeks since triallists in other parts of the United Kingdom were contacted and offered an alternative vaccine; however, in Scotland there has been silence. Will the Scottish Government follow the UK Government in offering trial participants two doses of an alternative vaccine? That would give them clarity and peace of mind that they were appropriately protected.

The minister said that the next two months could be make or break for many retail businesses, so when will he open his eyes and provide real help to the retail sector?

The Scottish retail industry employs more than 240,000 people and makes a huge contribution to the Scottish economy. However, the pandemic and lockdown have resulted in almost one in six shops closing down permanently. Shopper footfall has fallen by 27 per cent and shop vacancies have spiked to a six-year high, all of which is contributing to an increase in the number of empty shops on our struggling high streets. What the minister announced today does nothing to stop the rot. There is as yet no strategy, no plan and no mention of our business improvement district.

I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests, which shows that I am still a member of Aberdeen City Council.

Aberdeen City Council’s Conservative-Labour Administration has launched Abz Works, which will help people into much-needed jobs, training and education. Given that the initiative is funded directly by the council, without any Scottish Government support, will the minister confirm that this excellent example of local authority proactivity will be used as an exemplar for Scottish local authorities in the national performance framework?

I thank Gordon MacDonald for bringing this debate to Parliament. I am sure that he will forgive me for not speaking about the big noise project at Wester Hailes, but instead sharing the experience of big noise Torry in Aberdeen, which is my home town. I hope that sharing my experience of that project will highlight its benefits and the difference that it can make to people’s lives.

I want to start with a confession. Just over four years ago, when I became a councillor, I had no idea what big noise Torry was. I was told by a fellow new councillor that it was music classes for kids. I was the convener of the finance committee at the time, and it was maybe seen as a potential saving. That all changed when I visited big noise Torry.

The big noise programme is not music lessons for kids; it is a social inclusion programme primarily for children but also for their families. Yes, the children learn how to play musical instruments, but there is much more to it than that. It is about kids who might not have taken any interest in anything before suddenly becoming interested in something. It is about kids who might not have taken any pride in anything that they have done before suddenly becoming proud of what they are achieving. It is about kids who might not have owned anything before suddenly having their own violin or cello that they cherish and look after. It is about parents who might not know any other parents in a school going to a concert and mixing with others. It is about bringing communities together and inclusion. As we have heard, it is about giving confidence to kids who had no self-confidence. I experienced that at first hand during my visits to big noise Torry.

As has been mentioned, an evaluation report was carried out on big noise Torry in June 2017, and it makes for very good reading. Like Jenni Minto, I found that the experiences that children and parents fed into the report were my favourite part. One parent said:

“My son is so funny—when we see someone from Big Noise, he always shouts ‘hello’ to them. He’s really proud that he’s in an orchestra, he was telling everyone over the Christmas holidays. He’s more open now, not just wanting to be on his own all the time.”

Another parent said:

“It’s nice seeing something give her confidence. Confidence with other people but for herself as well. She knows she has a talent and that’s really good for her. She’s not just in front of the telly all the time now.”

The report describes the impact on one pupil, which highlights the programme’s worth. It says:

“Big Noise is described by his teacher and musician as providing Scott with a sense of purpose in school, and a feeling of belonging as a part of the team. Without going into detail, it is felt that Scott is a child who is at risk of being caught up in negative behaviours outwith school, particularly as he gets older. The routine, structure and stability of the after-school programme appear to provide a positive diversionary activity outwith school hours. It also gives him a chance to channel his energies positively. Perhaps most importantly it gives him an opportunity to develop skills and confidence and to be able to demonstrate that he is good at something and for this to be recognised by his teachers, family and peers.”

I wish the big noise project at Wester Hailes all the best. I am sure that it will be a huge success and will change lives in the local communities for the better. As a Parliament, we do not always agree, but on this good news story, I am sure that we can. As Michael Marra said, local authorities face enormous budget pressures, but we need to do everything that we can to defend and protect such projects.

As we can see from the progress that Scott has made, big noise is the ultimate early intervention programme, which gives children hope, improves attainment and sets them on the right path in life. I encourage all members to visit a big noise project if they can, so that they can see for themselves the smiley faces and the impact that the projects have on communities.

8.

I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests, which shows that I am a member of Aberdeen City Council.

To ask the Scottish Government whether it remains supportive of Opportunity North East’s ambition of establishing an energy transition zone adjacent to the new Aberdeen south harbour. (S6O-00182)

It is clear that, when it comes to energy transition and net zero, the Scottish National Party is the junior partner in this coalition of chaos. Support for the oil and gas business has gone, support for dualling the A96 has gone and there is no firm support for the energy transition zone plans. With this coalition, we see that the tail is certainly wagging the dog. When will the cabinet secretary stand up to the Greens and protect jobs in the north-east?

I have been contacted by a student who attends the University of Dundee. She attends the library on campus and has to wear a face mask, even though she is more than 1m away from others. She then leaves the library and goes to the student union—still on campus—with the same people, but no face coverings are required. Her question to the First Minister is, where is the logic and the science behind that rule?

I think that Patrick Harvie is on record saying that the oil and gas industry needs to “transition or die”. That type of language is not helpful to the industry.

If Scotland’s oil and gas industry was shut down immediately, hard-working men and women, who are highly skilled and capable, would be left with no hope of work, made redundant long before any greener job alternatives were made available to them. Those are the workers we need for transition.

Let us look at what the Cambo development in particular means to the Scottish economy. It would mean 1,000 direct jobs—Labour is obviously against those jobs. It would mean thousands more jobs supported through the supply chain, more than £1 billion of capital investment in the UK over the next five years and an extra £1 billion in additional support costs over the life of the field. Some £140 million has already been invested. The Scottish Government wants to flush all that down the drain. It is not just people who are employed directly through the supply chain who benefit from such investment, given that taxi drivers, restaurants, hotels and shops all depend on it.

I am coming on to parts of that.

We are not voting on our ambition to become a net zero nation. As Maurice Golden said, we are all agreed on that. Instead, we are voting on where the oil and gas will come from. We need that oil and gas now, and we will need it for the next 20 years. The UK is a net importer of oil and gas. We are transitioning to renewables, but that takes time and investment. I welcome the UK Government’s £16 billion North Sea transition deal, which the Scottish Government should perhaps match.

Just now, we have a choice. We can produce the oil and gas ourselves—thereby protecting thousands of jobs in this country—but regulate how it is produced and the impact on the environment, and ensure that the production is carried out with the lowest possible carbon footprint. We can invest in developing new technologies and we can innovate and learn how to do things differently. We can lead the way on cleaner energy production, share that learning internationally and become a world leader in transition.