Chamber and committees

There are a number of issues to respond to. On skills retention, I have discussed with the trade unions the importance of focused support being available for employees. If Michelle Thomson, as a constituency member, encounters any employees who are finding it difficult to access any of the systems, I would ask her to contact ministers and we will address those issues.

Secondly, there are a range of investment possibilities in Grangemouth. We are creating some of the funding infrastructure to enable those to be realised. There are other funding sources, such as the Scottish National Investment Bank and the UK Government.

Thirdly, a range of ideas have emerged through the project Willow process, which are welcome, but there is a wish—this is what I am signalling today—to attract other investment to support us in realising economic opportunities in Grangemouth. The Deputy First Minister leads on that for the Scottish Government, and the Government will be open to dialogue on those questions.

There are incredibly serious and significant issues involved in the handling of the situation at Grangemouth. However, there are also incredibly serious and significant issues facing the safety and future of the planet because of the necessity to transition to net zero. I take the responsibilities seriously. They are responsibilities to future generations that we have to get right, and we also have to get the transition correct for those who are currently involved in oil and gas activity in Scotland.

That is why the Government is taking the steps that we are taking with the investments that will be made in the budget. I have announced additional investments that we are making specifically for Grangemouth, and other resources have been made available over the course of the budget process, which will hopefully be concluded by next Tuesday. That will see investment in the transition to net zero and active work and support by the Scottish Government to assist and deliver the transition to net zero. That is the correct policy direction to take.

I sense that Russell Findlay is now departing from the territory of the importance of the transition to net zero, where his party has championed the need to achieve our climate targets. He now seems to be deserting those commitments, but the Government will stay true to the course of taking responsible decisions for the future of the planet.

As I indicated in my answer to Michelle Thomson at the last First Minister’s question time before the recess, I am intensely frustrated by the amount of time that it is taking to deliver the Acorn project. I was promised an agreement to that project by the previous Conservative Government, and it did not materialise. There is now an absolute necessity for that project to be delivered by the Labour Government. I have made that point to the Prime Minister and to Ed Miliband, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, in correspondence and in meetings. I use this opportunity today in Parliament to reinforce the central importance of that decision being taken.

The Government stands ready to engage with different investment propositions to secure growth and activity in the economy. I recognise the disruptive issues that Gillian Mackay highlights, all of which will have damaging implications. We will work closely and collaboratively with Falkirk Council, with which we have good relationships, to identify what further steps we can take to address those issues.

My announcement today on investment funds is about trying to secure long-term, sustainable employment opportunities through a just transition. That will be the focus of the investment package that we are taking forward, but we stand ready to engage in discussion with the local authority on how we might help in other respects.

I welcome the points that Mr Rennie makes. He correctly assesses the significance of the site and the potential for it to play a significant part in the work that we need to take forward in the transition to net zero. We are open to dialogue with the company about how the site can be used to sustain employment in the future and how to ensure that it is an essential part of the transition to net zero. However, we need to be able to engage in constructive dialogue with the company, and I assure Mr Rennie that there will be no shortage of willingness to do that on the part of the Scottish Government.

It is essential that we replace HMP Barlinnie. We have numerous reports from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland that encourage us to do so. The Parliament has pressed us to undertake the project, and we recognise that it has to be done.

Of course, the full rigour of cost analysis has been applied to the project, which is different from the original project that led to the estimate that Mr Findlay set out. I assure him that the Government will monitor and control the costs carefully as the project takes its course.

The tone of Mr Findlay’s question is absolutely reprehensible and despicable. [Interruption.]

This project is different from the one that was originally discussed about a decade ago. The original proposition was based on estimates for a 700-place prison. In fact, the new prison will accommodate more than 1,340 prisoners, so it will be almost double that size.

The Scottish Prison Service has looked at the comparative costs. A recent report by the National Audit Office shows that, in England and Wales, the expected cost per prison place has increased by up to 259 per cent since the initial business case. The price per place has risen to between £610,000 and £840,000 in England and Wales. The price per place for His Majesty’s Prison Glasgow sits in the middle of that range, at £740,000.

Mr Findlay can say all the things that he wants to say, and he can play to all the sentiments that he is very visibly playing to. However, as First Minister of Scotland, I expect my ministers to take rational decisions to protect the public purse and to protect the public by ensuring that those who are sentenced to prison can be accommodated. I will not play games with the type of rhetoric that Mr Findlay has put to the Parliament today.

All of us can see what Mr Findlay is up to today. [Interruption.] All of us can see it. [Interruption.]

It is very visible what Mr Findlay is up to today. He is absolutely terrified of his party being consumed by Reform, as all the polls suggest, and he is playing into its hands with every bit of obnoxious rhetoric that he comes out with. [Interruption.]