Chamber and committees

I am happy to do that, and I will ensure that I follow up in writing with the committee.

Yes, I absolutely take that suggestion from Ms Hyslop and will ensure that it is given due consideration as we examine the consultation responses. I cannot pre-empt that process, obviously, but I expect to go into some of the areas that she has laid out. We will ensure that we have a concrete strategy that ensures that we can realise the potential and have a just transition that does not leave communities behind in the way that they were left behind in the 1980s and 1990s under Thatcher.

NSET is the guiding light—it has the metrics and measures to ensure that we are tracking our progress. I do not think that there are tensions. There are areas where we need to ensure that we are delivering well for people and for our planet; the deposit return scheme is one example of that. However, the DRS is also an economic opportunity because, if we can get recycling rates right, that will show that there is a clear business opportunity for dealing with commodities that come through the waste market.

Major opportunities are coming forward. The wellbeing economy elements ensure that we are focused on delivering for people; we are not focused just on the traditional gross domestic product growth elements. Growth is important for the purpose of ensuring that we are delivering better lives for people across Scotland.

It is fundamental. Grangemouth produces 8 per cent of our carbon emissions. As Ms Hyslop rightly outlines, it is our greatest emitter. Ensuring that there is a just transition means that we need the UK Government to move much faster on delivering Acorn from track 2. It is an absolute priority for us to continue pressing the UK Government for that, and I am sure that it will come up in the discussions with Graham Stuart following my appearance today.

Place is incredibly important. I represent a constituency with an incredibly strong feeling of place, but I also come from Orkney, where place-based economic development is well defined and there is a very strong feeling of place. Therefore, I understand well the importance of place.

As I said, we have discussions with our enterprise network to ensure that there is good, strong support for economic development in their regions, but we are also ensuring that we capitalise on the good work that is going on indigenously in those areas, as well as responding to the economic priorities that we have set out in NSET and in our just transition strategy, to ensure that we are taking advantage of the opportunities in different areas across Scotland.

It would be a challenge for us to say that there will be a homogeneous approach across different areas, because each region, area and place will have its own strengths, so we must build on the strengths of each area to ensure that we see the best economic performance possible. I think that Mr Cook wants to come in.

A panel meets with business to consider regulation. I have already set out the new deal for business that will be discussed over the coming months. We are looking at all those areas to see whether there is anything more that we can do, and we can consider how we can provide greater support. We have listened to business and have delayed the DRS, and we will continue to respond as best we can.

Mr Halcro Johnston has raised the issue of short-term lets. There is a competing issue, because we both know about the challenges that people living in rural areas face when trying to access housing. There is support for our looking to do what we can to make more rural housing available. The decisions that we are taking are about trying to make those situations easier for people.

It will always be a balance. We take feedback from colleagues who represent rural areas—or who, like me, are from those areas and still have family there—to ensure that we continue to get that balance right. I take seriously the feedback that Mr Halcro Johnston has given and we will continue to consider the matter as best we can.

It is a constant challenge. I have the responsibility of ensuring that I drive a fair work agenda across Government. We are already doing well. We have the highest number of employees being paid the real living wage anywhere in the UK, and the lowest number of employees being paid below the real living wage anywhere in the UK. We also have incredibly strong labour market statistics that give opportunity but also pose a challenge. A tight labour market gives us opportunities to discuss with employers the importance of advancing the fair work agenda to reduce workplace attrition and ensure the continued support of employees.

We will continue to progress that alongside the work that we do with the Fair Work Convention and the Scottish Trades Union Congress. I believe that I am due to meet Roz Foyer soon. I was with her at the anti-poverty summit that the First Minister hosted last week and we had a very good conversation off the back of that.

We will continue to do all that we can to ensure that fair work drives success, wellbeing and prosperity for individuals and businesses, and to ensure that employers continue to understand the importance of demonstrating fair work, not just because it is the right thing to do from a social perspective but because it drives economic benefit to their organisation.

As a result of the Bute house agreement, conditionality will be attached from, I believe, 1 July, when public sector procurement will have fair work principles attached to it. That is an important first step, but we will keep the effectiveness of that conditionality under review and look at whether there will be opportunities to go further. However, we will need to ensure that there is time, from the start of that process on 1 July, to monitor its effectiveness so that we can see whether there are opportunities to reform it in any way.

We have made significant investments to support businesses through and post Covid. We have allocated £500 million beyond the support that we received from the UK Government to do that. We also have the most competitive poundage for non-domestic rates in the UK and the most competitive small business bonus scheme in the UK. We continue to provide business support where we can.

Mr Halcro Johnston is right. My colleague Mr Lochhead and I engage regularly with the hospitality and tourism sectors, and we will continue to do so as it is a vital component of Scotland’s economy. Earlier, we spoke about regional economic performance and placed-based policy making, so we understand the importance of tourism and hospitality and continue to engage with those sectors on the asks that come forward.

I look forward to listening to that.