Chamber and committees

The impact assessments for the E&S portfolio were prepared collectively and reflected in the Education and Skills portfolio analysis section in Annex B of the Equality and Fairer Scotland statement available at this link Scottish Budget - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The impact assessments for the E&S portfolio were prepared collectively and reflected in the Education and Skills portfolio analysis section in Annex B of the Equality and Fairer Scotland statement available at this link Scottish Budget - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

Despite a reduction in overall funding of £9.3m, the budget settlement for 24-25 included an increase in Capital funding to balance the reduction in Financial Transactions, this is overall sufficient to meet the demands of the Heat in Building programme in 24-25, and as a result no impact assessment was required.

Further to the response I gave on 2 February, in a particularly challenging fiscal landscape, the Scottish Government has had to take difficult decisions to deliver balanced and sustainable spending plans for the 2024-25 financial year.

The UK Autumn Statement was a worst-case scenario for Scotland. Our block grant funding, derived from the UK Government’s spending decisions, has fallen by 1.2 per cent in real terms since 2022-23 and our capital spending power is due to contract by almost 10 per cent in real terms over five years.

A significant proportion of the expenditure in the former Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition portfolio has been legally and contractually committed, and I have ensured that those commitments are met in full in this budget as well as allocating funding to support critical maintenance and renewal expenditure to ensure that the people of Scotland have access to a safe and reliable transport system. This has been compounded by continuing high inflation, which has further reduced our room for manoeuvre.

It is within these challenging circumstances that we have had to make difficult decisions to achieve a fiscally sustainable budget.

As I indicated, the Equalities and Fairer Scotland Budget Statement and Carbon Assessment were published alongside this Budget. These impact assessments not only analyse the budget and the impact of the decisions contained in it, they also consider the process of making those decisions, and how we make sure the needs of all people are actively considered. The Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition portfolio was actively engaged in the analysis and production of these assessments.

Scottish Ministers welcome the publication of the Competition and Markets Authority's completed investigation into the housing market, in particular those findings relating to Scotland and the published Scotland summary. We are considering their findings carefully and will respond formally in due course.

We also note the intention to investigate further issues relating to potential market information sharing and other matters. It is right that this is considered carefully and Ministers will consider this in turn when the Authority have completed their work on this issue.

The Strategic Investment Model (SIM) is a novel industry-led approach for the offshore wind sector in Scotland.

On 20 February 2024 SIM group published details of 32 of the 38 projects that have successfully completed stage one of the SIM selection process and three projects have been invited to move to Stage 2 of the process.

The SIM group is continuing to collaborate to identify key, shared priorities but has not yet agreed a timescale for an announcement regarding a further cohort of proposals.

Existing Just Transition Fund projects will continue to be funded in 2024-25, supporting projects and communities across the North East and Moray to create jobs, support innovation, and secure the highly skilled workforce of the future.

Scotland already outpaces the rest of the UK in creating green jobs, and our forthcoming Just Transition Plans will set out how the Scottish Government will continue to work with businesses and key partners across the economy to ensure we continue to build on this success, attracting investment into Scotland, and supporting our new and existing workforce to access the reskilling and upskilling they need to take on the green jobs of the future, while helping ensure employers and businesses are supported in attracting the talent and investment they need to continue driving green growth. Publishing a Green Industrial Strategy will also set out how we will help businesses and investors realise the opportunities of the global transition to net zero.

Our strategic investment of up to £500 million over the next five years will help stimulate and support private investment in the infrastructure and manufacturing facilities critical to the growth of our world-leading offshore wind sector. We are kick-starting our commitment to anchor our offshore wind supply-chain in Scotland with investment of £67 million next financial year. We are committed to maximising the public benefits of our renewables revolution.

It is vital that industries in Scotland have a fair opportunity to access funding under the UK Government's Green Industries Growth Accelerator. The Scottish Government is engaging with the UK Government to help ensure GIGA delivers for Scotland's businesses and communities.

Our National Strategy for Economic Transformation also sets out our ambition for Scotland to continue to take global leadership in the design, development and operationalisation within the renewables sector.

Our Making Scotland’s Future (MSF) programme helps ensure a coherent and focused approach to the provision of support to the manufacturing sector.

Centred within the MSF lies the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) which represents investment of £75 million from the Scottish Government and its agencies. NMIS works with industry to unlock productivity gains, develop new products and processes, and has a mission to make Scotland a global leader in advanced, sustainable manufacturing.

As the world’s largest commercial round for floating offshore wind, ScotWind puts Scotland at the forefront of offshore wind development globally.

The Strategic Investment Model (SIM) is coordinated by offshore wind developers, the Scottish Government, enterprise agencies and Crown Estate Scotland. Each SIM project is considered in terms of its relevance to developing the offshore wind sector in Scotland.

In October the First Minister announced strategic investment of up to £500 million over the next five years to help stimulate and support private investment in the infrastructure and manufacturing facilities critical to the growth of our world-leading offshore wind sector.

ScotWind provides an exciting opportunity to create thousands of good Scottish jobs and we want to ensure a just transition that takes our existing skilled workforce and supply chain with us. That is why we are kick-starting our commitment to anchor our offshore wind supply-chain in Scotland with investment of £67 million next financial year.

We are committed to maximising the public benefits of our renewables revolution and we will explore all options open to us to do so.

I meet regularly with the UK Minister for Energy Consumers and Affordability to discuss the pressures facing Scottish energy consumers and the need for urgent action to address these. During our last meeting, in January, I stressed the importance of working collaboratively to reduce the pressures facing consumers, calling again upon the UK Government to use its reserved powers to introduce a social energy tariff.

I believe that a social energy mechanism, supported by many consumer organisations, could be funded by the excess profits of energy producers, protecting those most vulnerable against future price spikes. I have also met with the chair and CEO of Ofgem to discuss these and other related matters”.