Chamber and committees

Will Richard Lochhead give way?

I am in my final few paragraphs.

Let us not forget that it is the energy companies that are investing their money, time and technical expertise in renewable energy sources.

We all agree that we must work towards a more sustainable future, but our priority must be to secure a fair and managed transition to net zero for those people who rely on the energy sector for their livelihoods.

At decision time today, the Scottish Conservatives will support the SNP motion. We are sympathetic to the Labour amendment, but, if it was agreed to, it would remove our call for meaningful action. Given the findings in the Climate Change Committee’s report today, we feel that it is important to press that point. As such, we will not support the Labour amendment.

I move amendment S6M-02429.1, to insert at end:

“welcomes the UK Government’s North Sea Transition Deal, which will help to facilitate the reskilling of existing parts of the oil and gas workforce, and contains a commitment to joint investment with the energy sector of up to £16 billion by 2030 to reduce carbon emissions, and believes that discussions around a ‘just transition’ must lead to meaningful action to safeguard the jobs of tens of thousands of energy sector workers across Scotland, and particularly in the north east.”

Will the minister welcome the United Kingdom Government’s investment in tidal energy?

Does the member agree that the Scottish Labour position on Cambo has jeopardised a thousand jobs in the energy sector?

The Scottish Conservatives believe in a fair and well-managed transition to net zero. That is critical to safeguarding jobs in the energy sector, to protecting the UK’s energy security and to a green recovery.

Decarbonising our economy does not mean shutting down the oil and gas industry as soon as possible. We cannot simply turn off the taps, and we cannot ignore demand, which is set to continue until at least 2050. Instead, decarbonising our economy requires careful planning and collaboration between Governments, businesses, workers, investors and civil society. The just transition commission, which reported in March this year, has helped to focus minds in that regard.

However, as the Scottish Conservative amendment emphasises, talk of a just transition must lead to “meaningful action”. This morning, Professor Jim Skea, the commission’s chair, said that

“the big message is that we really need to get on with it.”

The Climate Change Committee’s latest report on Scotland’s climate change plan is clear. It says:

“Most of the key policy levers are now in the hands of the Scottish Government, but promises have not yet turned into action. In this new Parliament, consultations and strategies must turn decisively to implementation.”

The UK Government’s landmark North Sea transition deal, which was developed in partnership with the industry body Oil & Gas UK, is the first of its kind by any G7 country. It contains more than 50 actions to meet the UK’s climate targets by harnessing the expertise of the North Sea sector. It is not about managing the industry’s decline; instead, it is about managing its diversification to greener and more sustainable energy sources, so that it can thrive for decades to come.

Many businesses in the energy sector are already diversifying beyond oil and gas, but they are experiencing difficulties in recruiting the right technical skills. That is why implementing the people and skills plan in the North Sea transition deal is so important. We know that workers in the sector have skills and knowledge that will transition well to renewables—research from Robert Gordon University shows that that applies to more than 90 per cent of the UK’s oil and gas workforce. The loss of their expertise would be a massive blow to our net zero ambitions.

I am an MSP for the north-east, and those families and communities who are supported by the oil and gas sector are at the forefront of my mind today. Yesterday, I met representatives from Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce. They were optimistic about the region’s resilience and recovery, but they emphasised that there is still a long way to go. Even before the coronavirus outbreak, the north-east had to contend with the oil price collapse and a significant downturn in the industry. Analysis from the Fraser of Allander Institute suggests that, while other areas of Scotland “have recovered pretty well”, the north-east is lagging behind every other region.

Against that background, energy sector workers have listened to language about oil and gas from the SNP-Green coalition Government with alarm.

I agree with Graham Simpson. Patrick Harvie is not here today, but for a Scottish Government minister with a ministerial car and a salary to match to suggest that only those on the “hard right” support oil and gas extraction is, to be frank, insulting to the workers in the sector. He should try telling that to the engineer who bought a house for his family in Ellon only to be laid off. He cannot now afford to pay his mortgage. For Patrick Harvie to gloat about an exploration project hitting “the skids” when it could have created 1,000 jobs was disgraceful, but it is typical of the short-sightedness of the Scottish Greens. They would prefer us to import oil from abroad, which has a much higher carbon footprint, than to meet demand domestically.

It is dangerous to demonise an industry, particularly when the financial and emotional wellbeing of workers is at risk, as it is in my region. For people to live with the constant threat and worry of not having a job next month or next year is exhausting. The oil and gas industry is not a villain and, as SNP MP Stephen Flynn said last week, it should not be denigrated. Sir Ian Wood has warned that politicians risk creating “an adverse investment environment” for the sector. There is nothing just or fair about that.

Infants under the age of four are being prescribed antidepressants, and the number of 5 to 14-year-olds on antidepressant medication has risen massively in recent years. Those are alarming statistics. It is a hidden mental health pandemic. We know that early intervention and prevention are key. What action is the Scottish Government taking to extend community-based mental health services for children and young people, to support youth work services and to ensure that there is an adequate pipeline of qualified counsellors for schools?

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reports that the use of antidepressant medication among children has increased by more than 80 per cent over the last 10 years. (S6F-00538)

All too often, violence against women and girls takes place in the shadows. The 16 days of activism are so important because they help to shine a light on that most shocking violation of human rights. As parliamentarians, it is our duty to look at the levers that are available to us to prevent such violence, to punish those who perpetrate it and to protect victims from further abuse.

On prevention, we must do more to address the root causes of violence against women. There is a huge amount of work to be done to tackle gender inequality, which remains stubbornly and unacceptably persistent.

On punishment, women who have been victimised must have full confidence in the criminal justice system. Many, sadly, do not. As Audrey Nicoll highlighted, we know that sexual violence is worryingly underreported. According to the most recent Scottish crime and justice survey, only 22 per cent of victims of rape reported it to the police.

Collette Stevenson mentioned Rape Crisis Scotland’s recently published report from the survivor reference group, which describes in stark terms the experience of survivors of rape and sexual crimes as they engaged with the justice system. It highlighted “attitudinal issues” among the police, “feelings of powerlessness” during investigations and “retraumatising” experiences in court—if the case progressed that far. The system is supposed to protect victims, but too often it neglects them.

Earlier this year the Scottish Parliament passed the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021—legislation that, crucially, failed to afford women the same legal protections as other groups have. The working group that is led by Helena Kennedy QC is welcome. As we know, the group is looking separately at how the Scottish criminal justice system deals with misogyny. However, it meets behind closed doors, with no detailed minutes in the public domain, and its deliberations are drip-fed to the media. Women feel as though they have been pushed to the periphery of a process that should have them at its heart.

Lord Bracadale’s review on hate crime, including misogynistic harassment, was published in 2018, and the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act was passed in 2021, but the misogyny and criminal justice in Scotland working group will not report until 2022. Every year we say that more must be done to end violence against women, but it feels as though progress cannot keep up with rhetoric.

One way that we can make progress and protect victims who have been subjected to violence is through implementation of a robust and well-administered victim notification scheme. Last week it emerged that only 37 victims of violent and sexual crimes out of a possible 4,500 had been informed when the offender in their case would be released from prison. It is clear that the current system is not fit for purpose.

The Scottish Conservatives have called for the introduction of whole-life orders for the most heinous of crimes, including violence that is perpetrated against women. It is a call that, I regret to say, other parties have resisted, to date.

The cross-party consensus on eliminating violence against women and girls is to be welcomed, but there is a great deal more that we can and should do to protect their safety. No woman should ever have to live in fear.

The First Minister said that

“vaccination is the best line of defence”,

but yesterday NHS Grampian closed vaccination centres in Aberdeenshire as a result of storm Arwen. Damage and debris are still affecting the road infrastructure in the north-east. Has the Scottish Government made any assessment of the number of people who have been unable to attend vaccination appointments because of the storm and will action be taken to ensure that vaccination centres stay open safely during severe weather this winter?