Chamber and committees

Another issue that has been highlighted in the media around the UK is the closure of ticket offices. You said previously that there will be no closure of ScotRail ticket offices, and certainly not during this session of Parliament. Can you clarify what the Government’s thinking is on other changes, such as reductions in opening hours?

I will move on to hydrogen and the potential for green hydrogen. I recently met a hydrogen developer who talked about not just hard-to-abate sectors but hard-to-abate places. That got me thinking about whether the green industrial strategy will become more place-specific in identifying where the potential uses of hydrogen are and how we will get industrial decarbonisation in key sites. How much specificity will we have in the green industrial strategy that could perhaps help to build certainty for investment, or will the strategy have broader aspirations on green hydrogen, as something that is important and that has great potential, but without drilling down into where, when and how?

That would be good. Thank you.

Those are all the questions that I have right now.

Yes—it is a new social contract.

Thinking about infrastructure, you mentioned the 1989 act. The Winser report highlighted that there perhaps needs to be greater alignment across the UK in consenting processes. Is it possible for us to make progress on that in Scotland without further devolution of powers under the 1989 act, or are there reforms, particularly on infrastructure consenting, that we can bash on with?

Green hydrogen is important as well—

We are not alone; countries around the world are considering how to ensure that there is a just transition away from oil and gas and how to do that in a responsible way that meets current and future energy needs. A lot of the conversations in that space have involved the Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance. I think that the previous First Minister indicated that the Scottish Government would seek to join that conversation at some point and to be part of that alliance, which includes countries such as Wales, Ireland, Denmark, France and New Zealand. Where are things at in that regard? Do you know, through your role as cabinet secretary, where those international conversations are at? Will we be looking to join BOGA at an appropriate level in the months to come?

My final question is about other sectors that are perhaps not highlighted in the draft energy strategy as much as some people would like, such as the solar, tidal and wave energy and battery sectors. What is your sense of whether we have the right balance of targets and market signals for each of those sectors? I will not say that they are all identical to onshore wind; they are at different stages of development and closeness to market. What is your sense of the drivers and targets that are needed? Could we start with solar and then go on to the tidal, wave and battery sectors?

On streamlining the consenting process for offshore wind, are there changes that could and should be made to make things simpler?

—which would require CCUS.

It would be useful if we could get specific feedback on the Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance and on whether—