Chamber and committees

Thank you very much, cabinet secretary. You have covered a wide range of issues; the committee, too, will be covering a broad range of issues, and we look forward to establishing a constructive relationship with you as we consider our inquiries and future work programmes.

Perhaps I can open with a question about the change of emphasis in your job title, in which the reference to “economy” has been changed to “wellbeing economy”. Now that it is just over a year since the publication of the 10-year economic strategy, is there any intention to look again at it—at the priority areas and the five programmes of action? What will reflect the change of emphasis in the economy role?

Before I bring in the next questioner, can I just check that the target that Government is working towards is still that of increasing exports to 25 per cent of GDP by 2032?

Before I invite you to respond, minister, I understand that you need to leave by 11:30 and I still have two members who wish to ask questions. I am going to allow Michelle Thomson to ask her question on the back of Maggie Chapman’s, as I believe that they are connected and so that you can address both together. I hope that I can then bring in Jamie Halcro Johnston before you have to leave.

I thank the minister and his officials for their contributions this morning and for their contribution to the inquiry that we are carrying out into the Grangemouth area.

Our third item of business is an additional evidence session for the committee’s inquiry into a just transition for the Grangemouth area.

I welcome Graham Stuart, the UK Government Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero. He is joined by Kathryn Aggarwal, who is head of the track 2 team, carbon capture, usage and storage, and Jonathan Hoare, who is deputy director in the clean growth directorate. As always, it will be helpful if members and witnesses keep their contributions as concise and focused as possible. I invite the minister to make a short opening statement.

That would give the committee an opportunity to scrutinise it then come back to the issues.

Ms Hyslop, do you have a supplementary question on the opening statement?

Mr Simpson, I am prepared to allow time for that questioning, but I hope that you do not intend to go into BiFab after Ferguson Marine. I do not have enough time to cover all areas in which you might be interested.

That is fine.

You say that you take it into regard. Colin Cook mentioned that there were reports on our export figures. Has the way in which we view those exports, or where we look for growth sectors in exports, been changed in any way to take into consideration a wellbeing economy approach?

I have one final question before I bring in Colin Smyth. Will the annual report on NSET, which we now expect in May, focus on an evaluation of what the wellbeing economy is and whether we are delivering on it?