Chamber and committees

I will leave it there.

Good morning, minister. Thank you for what you have said so far. To follow up on Graham Simpson’s questions, I note what you say about the TUPE-ing over of staff from CAS to Consumer Scotland and the responsibilities that have shifted. In the consultation process, did Citizens Advice Scotland identify any potential barriers or pitfalls that we should be aware of, especially given that we know that CAS will be very busy in the coming months? Are there potential pinchpoints or areas that we need to be alert to?

The minister will be acutely aware of the importance of genuine community engagement for local and regional economic development. Indeed, that is a vital part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to a just transition. Without listening to local voices, economic development cannot be just. How can we ensure that decisions on inward investment to north-east Scotland do not ride roughshod over the wishes and needs of local communities?

No.

Part of the reason why the jobs have not materialised is that we have not yet grasped the significance of the new global economy, in which we cannot rely on the very efficient supply chains that have, until now, located manufacturing in the global south. With Covid shutdowns in China, the closure of the Suez canal and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we have seen that we cannot and should not have to rely on those supply chains. Instead, we must identify onshored supply chains, which might be less efficient in some ways but which will certainly be more reliable. We will move from a just-in-time approach to a just-in-case one. We will get the jobs and the skills, and our economy will benefit from providing the clean green energy that can decarbonise the electricity supply.

What is to be done? The severe shortages of chips that are used for electric vehicles, computer processors and many other technologies point to the need to invest in manufacturing. By bringing investment and skills to Scotland, we can create new indigenous innovation networks. We know that Scotland has already been successful in attracting foreign direct investment over the past year, despite significant economic headwinds. However, that influx has largely been into our three big cities, so what about other parts of our country? The UK’s attempt to replace EU structural funds follows the same pattern of boosting performance where it already exists.

We have heard much about the arrests of people who expressed anti-imperialist or anti-monarchy views, holding signs and carrying eggs. We have heard less about the people—mostly young women—who were followed and those who were held by police and had their details taken simply for booing or being near people with anti-monarchy signs. Does the cabinet secretary believe that that shocking and intimidating behaviour was acceptable, especially given that concerns about similar behaviour were raised less than a year ago, during and after COP26?

This debate comes at a time when the importance of energy and the global economy cannot be overstated. For some time, there has been an ambition, which is shared by many here, to make Scotland a world leader in clean energy. The opportunity is well understood. We have massive capacity for wind and significant potential for new technologies such as wave and tidal energy and, despite the failure of the UK Government to support onshore wind, we have installed huge capacity for generation.

As the need to replace Russian gas takes on geostrategic importance, and the need to replace all other fossil fuels grows increasingly urgent, it is vital that we develop the capacity that we have. However, we have a problem. The jobs that were expected to come with the renewables revolution simply have not yet materialised in the Scottish economy. Partly, that is because we are shackled to a UK economy that has little interest in generating those skills and jobs in our economy. Everything that we do is in the context of a UK Government that aims to undermine the Scottish economy at every turn, be that through seeking a hard Brexit or failing to support renewables infrastructure investment and what a previous UK Prime Minister called “green crap”.

That is heartening to hear, but it remains the case that much of the investment that we see follows the pattern of boosting performance where it already exists, resulting in more unevenness than we need and would like in our economy.

We know that economic clusters can be more innovative, with thicker job markets, and that they can retain industries in a way that locating sole plants in isolation does not achieve. We therefore need to work to ensure that we support the development of clusters that serve all of Scotland.

The top four sectors that have benefited from inward investment are digital technology, utilities supply, business services and machinery and equipment. Manufacturing has seen significant investments, so we must ensure that supply chains relating to the just transition and circular economy benefit from that trend, and that we build our expertise in areas such as advanced manufacturing and data to create a manufacturing economy. That will build a virtuous circle of investment, innovation, export opportunities and well-paid, good and secure jobs.

Of course, by boosting the attractiveness of direct investment in wellbeing and local agrifood, we will help to tackle the geographic unevenness that we have seen in investment to date. Food poverty is a major issue on the horizon, so there is a strategic opportunity for all of Scotland, but particularly for many of our rural areas, such as those in Aberdeenshire and Angus in my region, to create a more food-secure future for us all.

On skills, our very high level of tertiary education is a strength, and things such as skills passports will increase the availability and skills of local workforces, which investors look at when deciding where to go. The precarity of work that is offered by the fossil fuel industry can be counterbalanced by enhancing mobility, with a strategic emphasis on the areas where skills are lacking, such as heat in buildings, renewables, transport and storage.

All of that fits with the mission-based approach that we have advocated and which has, to some extent, been adopted by the Scottish National Investment Bank. That should be a mission across government. During the debate, others have already highlighted just how important it is to have joined-up thinking not only across Government departments but across all different levels of government.

There is much that I want to say about how we must use our trading relationships to secure the highest possible standards on workers’ rights, environmental standards, animal welfare standards and so on, not just for the benefit of consumers and communities in Scotland but as part of our desire for Scotland to be a good global citizen.

We must ensure that our inward investment and trading plans focus our investment and trading activities on supporting the kind of economy that we want. Wellbeing and sustainability are integral for, not accidental to, prosperity.

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the first few weeks of operation, and how many women are now resident, at the newly opened Bella centre in Dundee, the United Kingdom’s first community custody unit. (S6O-01349)

It is becoming increasingly understood that our prison system is a product of inequality, having been developed through a class-infused lens of men’s experience. Will the minister outline the specific needs of, and challenges for, women in custody and how the vision for justice will support the much needed transformational change in the women’s prison sector?

Okay. My question was about connecting the numbers with the different locations.