I thank the minister for that answer. One of the reasons for the industrial action is the Scottish Government’s proposal in the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill for a pilot of rape trials being conducted by a single judge without a jury. The proposed pilot trials have had a mixed reaction from victims and survivors of rape. Survivors have shared with the Criminal Justice Committee their concerns that not even judges are without unconscious bias and that decisions will rest with one judge. It is clear that the Scottish Government has not been able to secure widespread support for the pilot project from the legal sector or survivors, so will the minister support amendments at stage 2 to remove the provisions from the legislation?

Can the cabinet secretary give an update on what financial support the Scottish Government has offered to councils and small businesses to upgrade their fleets, particularly given the costs of upgrading to electric vehicles? Many councils and businesses want to do that, but there have been challenges in the aftermath of Covid, which impacted many of our small businesses.

This debate should be about how we ensure that we have the energy to power our homes and industry, how we deliver climate leadership, how we secure the economic benefits of the green economy and how we ensure that a just transition is a reality for all workers. Under the SNP and Tory Governments, that has not been the case. There is much talk of a just transition but little delivery.

Not just now, thank you.

Last month, there was another failed SNP deadline, with no draft just transition plan for Grangemouth being published despite a commitment to do so by May 2024.

I would be delighted to take the minister’s intervention now.

The point is that those projects should have been published earlier, before the election was called.

The just transition fund—slashed by 75 per cent. The green jobs fund—cut. The green growth accelerator—non-existent. The sectoral just transition plans—not delivered. The green skills passport—overdue and still not delivered.

The Scottish Trades Union Congress summed up the position very well when it said that the Scottish Government has failed to deliver the funded transition support, training support and jobs and skills audits for oil and gas workers.

I had been looking forward to the debate since it was announced, because I was intrigued to see which versions of each party we would have in the speeches. Would it be the SNP that boasts about climate action and that was, only in March, lodging amendments to motions that argued in favour of windfall taxes, or would it be the SNP that is the only party to refuse to back a windfall tax on oil and gas giants and will not rule out new licences?

For the Conservatives, do we have the Tories of Jeremy Hunt’s budget, who extended the windfall taxes to 2029, or the Tories who want unlimited North Sea oil drilling in defiance of scientific reality and climate necessity? We have a bit of everything—some vague statements and some poorly masked desperate pleas from two struggling parties that are in an election cycle that they are not enjoying.

Let me focus on the motion and amendments. It will not come as any surprise that I cannot support Douglas Lumsden’s motion. I absolutely value the work and contribution of our oil and gas workers, but Douglas Lumsden’s motion does not reflect the fact that the oil and gas deposits in the North Sea are declining. As speakers from across the parties have said, we need a plan and we need to invest now, and we need to think about how we deliver a just transition. In failing to acknowledge that fact, the Tories seem to be intent on doing to oil and gas workers what they did to the Scottish coal communities.

We need to invest in new opportunities and we need to work with the oil and gas sector, because many of its companies are transitioning to renewables and investing in innovative technology that is reducing emissions in their operations now, as they still produce oil and gas.

The points that Ben Macpherson made about jobs and skills are absolutely crucial. They are why we need the offshore skills passport now, so that workers in the North Sea can use their knowledge and experience over the coming decades in oil and gas and in renewables, there and back.

We need the offshore skills passport to happen, though, and we need the two Governments to ensure that it happens now, because some workers are already missing out on job opportunities; they must either pay several thousands or just give up.

There is a real issue about the content of the cabinet secretary’s amendment—the lack of actual action. Again, we have just heard that it would be nice if the business sector delivered the passport, but that has not happened yet. We have had far too many missed opportunities. We have been calling for the energy and just transition plan to be published for months, because we need certainty. When I meet companies in the energy sector, they say that they want clarity so that they can invest now and with confidence.

We have so many opportunities in Scotland, but the supply chains need to know where the investment will go. We know that we potentially have new renewables construction in Leith, and that the Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd project has been announced. Things are happening, but we need a joined-up approach and a plan for investment, because this is not just about the words “just transition”: it is about implementation. I am so glad that—

No. I need to move towards the end. I am in the last minute.

GB energy which I mentioned in my opening speech, is not a mystery. It will champion the transition and enable investment. There are lots of publicly owned energy companies across Europe, but we need a generating company in Scotland that will get the investment going—[Interruption.]

No, thank you.

The actions of the UK Tory Government have been just as bad. For 14 years, it has not invested in renewables jobs across the UK, which we need for a sustainable future. From David Cameron proudly announcing that he was cutting “the green crap” to the UK Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill, which the UK Government has confirmed would not take a penny off energy bills, the wrong message has been sent to investors on the UK’s commitment to the green economy.

We need change. We will not revoke existing licences. We will work with oil and gas companies to ensure that there is a sustainable, phased transition to clean energy. I am clear that the oil and gas sector in Scotland will be with us for decades to come. It is an established industry, and it is the duty of politicians and Governments to work with the sector, its workers and trade unions to ensure that we have a fair and managed transition during the next few decades.

Our green prosperity plan would create 69,000 jobs. It would create direct jobs in clean power and manufacturing and invest in the plumbers and builders that we need in our communities now to retrofit homes. Our local power plan would ensure that we can maximise the benefits of community-owned energy projects across Scotland, supplementing the technology that we already have, decarbonising our buildings and bringing down people’s bills. We would establish GB energy, an energy generating company that would be headquartered here, in Scotland.

Last year, the cabinet secretary said that she was consulting on a more robust climate compatibility checkpoint, including for oil and gas fields that are already licensed but not developed, and on a presumption of no new exploration in the North Sea. However, given the recent statements on climate compatibility and Kate Forbes’s statement today that the Government has been

“clear that we’re not against new licences”,

can the cabinet secretary confirm her position and tell us what her amendment today means?