Chamber and committees

My colleague Colin Smyth has already outlined the significant cost to local government and the environment that will be caused by the delay. Someone has to pay for the cost of it. The minister is aware that the DRS is supposed to be a producer-responsibility scheme, so will she tell us what steps the Scottish Government is taking to ensure that producers, not taxpayers and local authorities, will foot the bill for the 13-month delay?

Would it be possible to write to the Scottish Government to ask for an update on how the scheme is running and what the sector is saying about how effective the scheme has been in supporting the industry?

As we have heard, the Scottish Government’s response to the just transition commission’s report is not bold enough. Four key areas are crucial to delivering a just transition: skills transferability, public transport, fair work and support for consumers with energy costs.

We heard from Katy Clark that the Scottish Government must do more on skills transferability, particularly in the offshore energy sector. Offshore oil and gas workers are being prevented from transitioning into greener jobs by training costs and a lack of common training standards in the offshore energy sector. I have been working with trade unions such as the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers and climate campaigners such as Friends of the Earth Scotland to highlight the need for an offshore training passport.

I do not have time.

When I first raised the suggestion back in September, the First Minister welcomed it as a “constructive proposal”, but the follow-up letter that I received from the Minister for Just Transition, Employment and Fair Work offered no new ideas. When I raised the issue again in October, the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity said that she

“would be delighted to meet ... to discuss”—[Official Report, 28 October 2021; c 46.]

the issue, but that meeting has never materialised. Perhaps the just transition minister can clarify the Scottish Government’s position today.

The energy skills alliance is currently developing an all-energy apprenticeship. That will benefit new entrants to the industry, but it will not help the existing workforce. I therefore ask the minister to address, in his closing remarks, whether the Scottish Government will commit to exploring all options for the introduction of an offshore training passport, including through the ESA.

We heard from Graham Simpson that, on public transport, the Scottish Government must do more. It says that it will commission a fair fares review to look at an integrated approach to transport fares. However, many will be wondering why, when integrated fares could be delivered for delegates to COP26, a review is required before the policy can be rolled out to ordinary passengers.

The Scottish Government is also committed to introducing free bus travel for the under-22s, but that does not go far enough. Yesterday, my colleague Paul Sweeney launched his campaign to extend free bus travel to asylum seekers. That would use just 0.0005 per cent of the Scottish budget and, for such small change, would make a massive difference.

Another crucial omission from the Scottish Government’s response is the key role that councils could play in providing affordable, accessible and sustainable public transport. Councils now have the power, but not the cash, to implement that. I ask the minister whether he will commit to looking at all options, including providing start-up capital through the Scottish National Investment Bank, to empower councils to set up municipal bus services.

On fair work, there are fundamental barriers such as low pay, insecure work and poor working conditions that often prevent workers from transitioning into green jobs. To ensure that our transition away from carbon-intensive sectors is worker led, we must ensure that new green jobs are well paid, on secure contracts with excellent terms and conditions. The Scottish Government has committed to introducing a new just transition commission, but that commission must act in the interests of workers. That leads me to my third ask of the minister: will he look at instructing the commission to plan for a just transition framework that extends trade union recognition and collective bargaining rights for workers in all green sectors of the economy?

On public energy, a poll for Citizens Advice Scotland revealed yesterday that more than one in three Scots are struggling to pay their energy bills. Last week, after two years of waiting, the Scottish Government finally released the outline business case for a publicly owned energy company, which revealed that that would produce annual savings for consumers. However, despite so many struggling with energy costs, the Scottish Government appears to be abandoning its pledge to deliver a publicly owned energy company, as Dean Lockhart mentioned earlier—

My final ask of the minister is: will the Scottish Government fulfil that pledge, or will it be just another empty promise?

On Tuesday, the Scottish Government released the outline business case for a publicly owned energy company, two years after it was written. The business case highlights that a publicly owned energy company would produce annual savings for customers. Age Scotland recently revealed that eight in 10 older people were greatly concerned about paying their energy bills. With nearly 30 per cent of pensioner households in Scotland living in fuel poverty, does the cabinet secretary not think that it is time for the Scottish Government to fulfil its promise to deliver a publicly owned energy company?

I have a couple of questions, but I do not know whether we can write to ministers or, indeed, how the process works. I note that the instrument

“Increases the amount of seabass that can be landed as bycatch”,

and I seek some clarification on that increase. Secondly, I have some questions about the fact that it

“Revokes a closed season for fishing sandeels”.

Good morning. I have two questions. We have spoken about solutions to marine animal entanglements and the sustainability of current fishing practices. Does the Scottish Entanglement Alliance have a view on the relative sustainability of creeling over trawling if they take place in the same area of inshore waters?

I have one question for Danny Renton, now that we have him back. A couple of weeks ago, the committee heard about the lack of commercially viable white-fish stocks on the west coast. It is great that Seawilding is working to recover inshore ecosystems and to provide better nursery grounds for fish species, but that is restricted to the project at one specific loch. What should be done to recover cod and herring stocks on the wider west coast?

Would it improve the reporting and monitoring of incidents if larger boats were fitted with electronic monitoring equipment?