This has been a really important debate on how we can best help the people of Scotland with their bills, but we need to ensure that every Government is doing the maximum that it can to impact on those bills. As Paul O’Kane, Foysol Choudhury and my colleague Mark Griffin said, the SNP Government can blame the UK Government all it wants, but there are many powers that it could use to make tangible differences to the cost of living crisis, and it has been in power for 18 years.

Meanwhile, Labour has been in power for just over eight months, and we are starting to make a difference. The comprehensive review of Ofgem is empowering it to facilitate growth and innovation and to become a stronger champion.

No.

We are capping the amount that can be deducted from universal credit payments while people repay short-term loans and debts, which will save 1.2 million of the poorest families in the UK an average of £420 a year. The Labour Government is taking targeted measures in the energy sector and to support households.

More than half of Scottish homes do not meet energy efficiency standards and are below recommended levels. Energy and heat are being wasted, which pushes people’s bills up—they are paying for heat that they should not have to pay for. We should better insulate our homes and use renewable energy solutions such as solar or heat pumps, which would impact on people’s bills. The Scottish Government has the power to do that.

Insulating homes should be at the heart of tackling the issue. The warm homes scheme had delivered only just over 14,000 installations by the end of 2023-24, yet 861,000 households are deemed to be in fuel poverty. Way more could be done. Could legislation fix that?

When the Scottish Government dropped its annual and interim targets, Màiri McAllan announced a package of 19 reheated old policies to show that the Scottish Government is supposedly taking action. However, I have received a response to a freedom of information request in which the Scottish Government admits that only four of the 19 policies have been delivered, and that even some of those are questionable. Can the minister outline the measurable actions that are being taken now? Our constituents cannot afford our missing the 2045 target, given the impact on their lives and businesses.

I would be delighted to take an intervention on that point.

When I first saw that the SNP Government was holding a debate on renewable energy, I was really pleased. I thought that it would be a great opportunity to debate what we need to do to support the sector in respect of supply chains, training and manufacturing and to consider the strategic infrastructure that we need, including investment in our ports and resilient grid infrastructure. I was also thinking about the long-term delays in planning and what needs to happen to ensure that we have effective systems for key Government agencies so that they have the resource to provide input into major planning decisions effectively and in a timely fashion.

Well actually, just next door to my constituency we have Torness nuclear power station, which has been operating for decades. The key issue is safe waste. In fact, the issue that people usually raise with me is waste in our waters and on our beaches, so we need to tackle waste across our society.

To go back to my point, Labour’s amendment is clear that we need to maximise the contribution of low-carbon energy technology, and in order to transition successfully to low and zero carbon energy sources, we need to deliver energy security. We need a sustainable generation baseline and, in our view, nuclear has to be part of the future energy mix. It is highly efficient—

Okay—I apologise.

The power that the site has provided to Scotland has meant that we avoided 146 million tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions. Should we not be delivering a low-carbon future?

Ed Miliband clearly wants to work with the Scottish Government to deliver our clean power mission, and Anas Sarwar said today that we should welcome the support from the UK Government for the next generation of nuclear energy technology so that Scotland does not miss out.

Let us have a joined-up approach. Let the Scottish Government deliver the leadership that our renewables industry urgently needs, and let us look at a sustainable baseline of power. We urgently need a change of direction—let us get on with it.

I move amendment S6M-16657.2, to leave out from “rejects” to end and insert:

“recognises the huge potential, and progress made, in Scotland to develop renewable energy generation capacity; considers that Scotland has a future as a renewables powerhouse and that this will help with the long-term ambitions to decarbonise Scotland’s energy usage; acknowledges that, to successfully transition to low- and zero-carbon energy sources and deliver energy security, it will require a sustainable generation baseline; considers that nuclear energy is therefore an essential part of the future energy mix, as a highly efficient, zero-emissions source of energy that generates over 20% of the electricity consumed in Scotland; notes that Torness nuclear power station directly supports hundreds of jobs, as well as many more in the wider economy in the region, and welcomes the decision to extend its lifespan; welcomes the support from the UK Government for the next generation of nuclear energy technology and the development of small modular reactors; regrets that Scotland will miss out on these investment and job opportunities due to the Scottish Government’s opposition to new nuclear energy projects, and calls on it to end its outdated ideological opposition to small modular reactors.”

On the point about having a base-load, we absolutely need renewables, but you also have intermittent renewables, and much more electricity supply is needed. Is it not a win-win to do both?

Will the member take an intervention?

If it is brief.