Chamber and committees

A UK Government minister will attend on 17 January. That is the date that we have managed to confirm.

I will add to Mr Fraser’s question about the gap. Cabinet secretary, you talked about jobs in Aberdeen. I know that Ineos has a longer sight line regarding what it wants to do on the site, but that is not going to happen by 2025. For people who live in the central belt and work at Grangemouth, will there be opportunities in the central belt and not just in the north-east?

On timescales, other members asked what has to be done if the life of the refinery is to be extended, and you said that the Scottish Government is in discussions with business. We expect the just transition plan to be produced in the spring. Will it include an assessment of how long the refinery could be open for, and will it be later than spring 2025? Do you have an alternative idea of how long it should stay open? A just transition needs to be managed, and a date of spring 2025 does not feel particularly managed for the local community.

That seems—

Two additional members have joined us today and have questions, if you have time. I realise that we are running over.

Thank you. As I said, the committee will no doubt scrutinise that once it is published. I thank the cabinet secretary and officials for attending this morning.

Why did the newspapers report the closure as spring 2025? Where did that come from if it was not part of the announcement?

I do not know whether you can share this with us, but when was the decision made? The meeting with the workers took place on 21 November, but we had our just transition for the Grangemouth area inquiry in the summer. There could have been some recognition of the need for the plant to move towards net zero and that, as a result, plans such as these were being discussed, but not on a timescale that has been presented to us. The workers found out on 21 November, so when was the decision made?

But it would offer benefits, would it not, if you closed down the refinery and moved to an importing business?

Okay. There might be further questions on green freeports later.