Chamber and committees

I should declare an interest as a member of a co-operative and highlight that I am incredibly supportive of the work that they do. They are the embodiment of what a wellbeing economy is all about—good, strong and ethical business practice that sees clear discernible benefits to local communities—so we will continue to do what we can to support the co-operative movement and ensure that it continues to flourish.

We want them to continue to succeed. With regard to Mr Smyth’s question, we do not have a particular target, but I would be happy to provide more information to the committee on the work that we do to support the co-operative network on the back of this session.

I think that Mr Cook wants to supplement my answer.

Yes. We are currently sitting at around 21 per cent of GDP.

Nothing has come to me.

That is exactly what we are looking to address in the work that we and our international network are doing to attract investment into Scotland and procure a domestic supply chain that feeds not just our growth that is still to come in onshore wind but the massive growth that is still to come in offshore. Mr Smyth’s points are well made. We continue to reflect on them and provide as much support as possible to ensure that we have a strong domestic supply chain.

I made that point to the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee yesterday in response to the strong but fair challenge from Ms Hyslop. It is important that communities that neighbour onshore or offshore projects are able to see discernible benefit. That comes not just through community benefit but through the economic performance that is derived from having a strong Scottish supply chain and domestic jobs that feed it. We are absolutely committed to that and will continue to do the work to ensure that we honour that.

I have already outlined the potential for green jobs that comes from having a good just transition, and we will continue to work with the supply chain development programme to ensure that we maximise those opportunities for a strong domestic supply chain that feeds a growing and incredibly strong potential for our renewables programme. We are world leading in that regard.

To refer again to my engagements in Japan, the Japanese and others around the world are looking to what Scotland is doing as the first to market in developing offshore wind—particularly floating offshore wind—into green hydrogen, but we cannot be complacent about the fact that we are world leading. We need to keep pedalling fast to ensure that the investment opportunities are there and that there is discernible domestic economic benefit, which includes ensuring a strong domestic supply chain and strong jobs performance. That is the way that we ensure a just transition.

We have made a number of investments through the just transition fund, including in the skills passport, to ensure the transfer of jobs from the traditional oil and gas sector into the renewable sector. We will continue to make those investments to ensure that communities are not left behind in the way that they were in the deindustrialisation under Thatcher in the 1980s and early 1990s.

I will respond to Ms Hyslop’s previous question about the risks to Scotland’s economy. I should have mentioned that Scotland’s economy is performing resiliently considering the difficulties that we have faced following Brexit, Covid and the UK mini budget. Economic growth here currently outstrips that of the rest of the UK; last year we had much stronger economic growth than the rest of the UK had. We will continue to do what we can to support our economy through the difficult challenges that businesses and the third and private sectors are facing.

It has decreased substantially. I have a rough figure in my head, but I do not want to provide an incorrect number to the committee. I will make sure that that is followed up in writing so that Mr Halcro Johnston’s inquiry can be satisfied.

First, I accept the charge of a “manel” being before the member. I was cognisant of that before we came to the meeting and I made that very reference to colleagues. I should say that yesterday, when I went before the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee, I was flanked by two incredibly able women. We have incredibly strong women across the Scottish civil service, as well as very able men, such as the ones who are before you now.

Ms Thomson is absolutely right to focus on the opportunities that will arise from our narrowing not just the gender pay gap but the gender employment gap and from ensuring that women are able to get on in enterprise. It will be a massive economic opportunity as well as the right thing to do. If we are to succeed in our aims for economic growth opportunities, having women get on in enterprise will be incredibly important.

I happen to be meeting Ana Stewart later today, and I look forward to discussing her report and how we might be able to implement it. I am committed to ensuring that we honour its findings as best we can in the timescale that is allowed by our resources. That is absolutely central to the opportunity that we have to transform our economy into one that is not only innovative and agile but one which ensures that women are able to continue to perform well within it. After all, that will drive the economic growth that we want.

The honest answer is that we are competing—we are competing on an international scale. That is why our international network and the work being done by the likes of Scottish Development International and by our office network internationally are so important. They build the relationships, such as the one that we have with Sumitomo Electric, to provide confidence and they outline the opportunities that investing in Scotland gives. We will continue to work with Scottish Development International and our international network to ensure that our investment priorities—which, as we have already outlined, are around our net zero commitments and the supply chain—are communicated to potential investors globally.

If you look at investments that have been made both in the United States and in Europe through the green deal, you can see that we are competing in a highly competitive international market. We cannot afford to allow ourselves to be left behind at a time when our net zero ambitions are very challenging, and when the decisions that are taken over the next couple of years on areas such as offshore wind and hydrogen will be crucial in determining whether we continue to be a world leader in offshore wind and whether we will still have the opportunity to be first to market with green hydrogen. I therefore encourage the UK Government to look at matching some of the investment incentives that have been made by the European Union and the United States, to ensure that we are not left behind on a competitive front with regard to those nations and regions.