Chamber and committees

Agenda item 3 is consideration of a Scottish statutory instrument. The committee is invited to note the Diligence against Earnings (Variation) (Scotland) Regulations 2023.

The purpose of the instrument is to update the figures that are contained in part III of the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987, which relates to how much money an individual is allowed to keep before any payment can be taken from wages to recover debts and sets the scale of what payments can be taken above that level. The regulations increase protection for those in debt by raising the threshold beneath which deductions may not be taken from earnings by arrestment.

Although members are invited to note the instrument, they will be aware that we have received representation. Therefore, I am minded to write to the Government to request that, although we recognise that, by changing some of the thresholds, the instrument eases the current economic situation that is faced by many, perhaps more could be done in future years. I will write to the Government if members are happy for me to do so.

I also note that the Social Justice and Social Security Committee recently carried out an inquiry into such matters. Therefore, the Government is aware that the Parliament has an interest in them.

Are members content to note the instrument and to agree that a letter along those lines should be sent?

Members indicated agreement.

Our next item of business is the second evidence session of our inquiry into a just transition for the Grangemouth area.

Industry is the second-highest carbon-emitting sector in Scotland, after transport. There is currently a target for Scotland to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2045, and Grangemouth has a significant role to play in achieving that. The committee wishes to look at how we can support, incentivise and de-risk that transition, first of all in the Grangemouth area, to benefit companies and individuals. Today’s session will focus on the current workforce in Grangemouth and the skills that are needed to facilitate a just transition.

I welcome Cliff Bowen, executive councillor, and Pat Rafferty, regional secretary, from Unite the union; Gordon McGuinness, director of industry and networks, and Ronnie Palin, regional skills planning lead for central Scotland, from Skills Development Scotland; and Dominic Pritchard, national organiser for the GMB union.

As always, it would be helpful if members and witnesses could keep their questions and answers as concise as possible.

Prior to questions, I invite members to recognise my voluntary registration of Unite membership. Does anybody else wish to declare an interest?

Thank you.

That concludes the public part of the meeting. We will move into private session.

I have a question for Dominic Pritchard that is similar to the one that Pat Rafferty addressed. What are the challenges or the barriers? Pat said that there is a lack of confidence that jobs will move over. Is there a framework in place whereby people’s skills can be transferred to other sectors? At the moment, are we clear about what those other sectors are? From the evidence that we heard last week, it seems that there are a lot of energy plans that have not yet been developed or are not yet feasible or commercial. Is it clear where the workforce would move to and what its just transition future looks like?

I think that other members will probably come on to the situation at Methil and Burntisland Fabrications Ltd. We had hopes about the situation there. I think that it was Unite’s submission that said that, when the new owners came in, it was promised that upwards of 1,000 jobs would be created. However, as you have said, there have been recent redundancies at the yard. If that is a microcosm of where the just transition is headed, that is concerning. I really hope that that is not the case, but that yard was turned around to provide for the offshore wind sector. Over the years, we have lost the industrial heart of that community as a result of what has happened at BiFab.

Jamie Halcro Johnston has a brief supplementary, and then I will bring in Colin Smyth.

We move to questions, and I will start with a question for Pat Rafferty or Cliff Bowen from Unite.

The committee is looking at a just transition, and there is some debate around definitions of a just transition. What do you understand a just transition to mean? Particularly in relation to Grangemouth, is it principally about the plan or the wider economy? The Government is about to publish its draft plan for Grangemouth; it is due out in the spring. Do we have a shared understanding of what a just transition will look like?

The evidence that we are hearing this morning is important to the committee and it is interesting, but we are trying to focus on Grangemouth, so we should perhaps pull some of the discussion more pointedly back to the Grangemouth area.

Good morning and welcome to the fifth meeting in 2023 of the Economy and Fair Work Committee. I have received apologies this morning from Jamie Halcro Johnston.

Our first item of business is to make a decision on taking items 3, 4 and 5 in private. Are members content to take those items in private?

Members indicated agreement.

We took evidence from the Just Transition Commission, as well as the Climate Change Committee. Issues have been raised around private finance. The committee is interested in looking at how you de-risk the process. Stuart, I do not know whether you can comment on this. A key challenge is linking the considerable quantity of private finance that is available with the need to get the flow through to power all the proposals that are on the table and see what we need to do to reach net zero. The committee has an interest in the Scottish National Investment Bank as one of the players in that. Can you give an overview of whether more needs to be done to support private finance coming into Scotland?