Chamber and committees

My next question was actually going to be about making the energy transition fair for everybody. As you say, we have not done that sort of thing well in the past, with the result that inequalities have widened and perpetuated in our economy and our society.

As well as the issue of macro-energy, if I can call it that—I mean the big stuff around renewables—we desperately need a focus on and investment in things such as retrofitting houses, because we cannot build new houses for all the people who are currently living in shoddy homes. Action in that regard is as urgent as action on renewables and so on, and must take place concurrently. How do you see the supply chain and people’s skill sets working in that regard?

That links to what you said about communities, because one of the things that came out strongly in the inquiry that the committee held on the just transition for the north-east and Moray is that communities do not trust that the things that you mention will happen. I think that that is because they do not see material benefits in their own lives—for example, they do not see their homes being retrofitted or local transport links improving so that they can get to local jobs that might be available. That direct translation of economic activity into people’s lives is utterly missing at the moment. How will all the work around the just transition and the green industrial strategy deliver in that regard?

I might follow up on a couple of those issues later.

In your opening remarks, you mentioned the strength and potential of Scotland’s wind energy economy. One of the concerns around that is whether we can connect up the necessary supply chains in Scotland. The business objectives and the pressures on businesses are important in that regard. However, you have not talked about how the economy supports communities and how we can ensure that the private investment that comes in to do the important and valuable work does not just suck the benefits out of local communities. How can we strike a balance in that regard? What is your role in that? How can the green industrial strategy ensure that we support vibrant local economies as well as maximising investment and generating the profits that we need in order to support public services?

Good morning. I am interested in talking about the green industrial strategy and the just transition, but first I have a question about Glasgow Prestwick Airport Ltd. When we visited the airport, we heard that some employees there are still not receiving the real living wage. Given that the business is owned by the Scottish Government, do you think that that is appropriate? What steps will you take to remedy the situation?

Can I ask one final question?

A few weeks ago, a young satellite-tagged hen harrier disappeared in suspicious circumstances in the Angus glens. Indeed, the north-east had the highest number of wildlife offences in 2020-21 and the second highest in 2021-22, which is the last year for which data is available. Many organisations, including internationally respected ones such as the International Fund for Animal Welfare, are concerned that wildlife crime is not being taken seriously enough. Does the minister believe that investigatory and enforcement bodies have what they need, both in terms of resources and policy direction, to address wildlife crimes, including poisoning, shooting and illegal trapping of birds of prey?

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to tackle wildlife crime. (S6O-03490)

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to tackle wildlife crime.

That is right. There need to be differences in what “accountability” even means. It is not possible for 129 MSPs to have the technical expertise that is necessary for some functions, but it is possible for 129 MSPs to understand what rights realisation outcomes look like. There would be very different routes and requirements for accountability in that different architecture.

There are a couple of different points in that. Overall, £18.2 million is not a large proportion of the overall budget. It is the expectation of members of the public for such bodies to deliver for them that is of interest to us, however. The resources enable commissioners to carry out their role, but it is the task that should be of primary interest. When there are disparities in resource—with £640,000 as the expected budget for the patient safety commissioner, I think David McGill said—what would that office be able to do in comparison with some of the similar mechanisms that might already exist within the NHS, with all the financial and institutional backing that it has? There are legitimate questions around those issues.