Chamber and committees

Emma Congreve, would you like to talk about the Fraser of Allander Institute’s work on the impact of inflation on the Scottish economy and how pressure on sectors such as hospitality can be relieved?

We have high employment, but quite a lot of people are in low-wage employment, are living on the breadline and are requiring greater support from the Government. Obviously, it sounds positive when we say that we have high employment rates, but a significant number of people are not earning enough money to keep their families, pay their mortgages and put food on the table. What kind of changes do we need to make in the economy? That is a huge question.

I will go back to Professor Chadha for my final question. Do you have any comments to make on employment and where employment levels might be next year?

I thank the minister and Catriona Laing for attending and for their evidence. I appreciate that the topics have been quite wide ranging.

We now move into private session for the rest of the meeting.

Is that the definition that the Government is using, because if you are setting targets for green jobs, you must have a working definition that is different from the ONS definition?

Other members may wish to pick up on that point later, but I will bring in Fiona Hyslop now.

I recognise that it will be done through co-design, but will there still be direction given about what we need to do within a certain timescale?

That might be something that we can follow up with the relevant minister. We take evidence from the Scottish National Investment Bank, but we might seek more information on how Scottish Enterprise is prioritising the issue.

I will bring in Maggie Chapman then Colin Beattie, who will ask questions on other issues.

Yes—if it is brief.