Chamber and committees

The permanent secretary mentioned that you were engaged in discussions with the Treasury. Does the Treasury understand the risks that the Scottish Government must take in its budget and the instability that that creates? That instability is not just at national Government level; it permeates down to local level, because local government cannot be sure what funding it will get.

I talk to many community groups that say, “Please give us three years of funding. Tell us what we are going to get for the next three years”. That cannot happen, because local government does not necessarily know what it will have; nor does national Government. That is not good government; it is not a good process. What is the Treasury saying? Does it have a solution for that? Does it have something that might support our Government better?

One of the key issues in connection with the budget is sustainability, especially in the present climate, yet the Scottish budget is allocated only annually. We do not know for sure how much money we will get until well into the budgeting process. Earlier this week, we witnessed the fact that the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy was able to announce a small amount of additional money coming from the UK. If we are looking at having sustainability in the short and medium term, how do you factor that in? How do you have a sustainable budget with reliable allocations in support of those areas that need to be supported when you do not know how much money you will have and your entire allocations might be turned upside down?

There seems to be great optimism that we will be able to fill all the projected jobs from some place. At the moment, is that not a bit doubtful?

Okay. Liz, do you have a comment on this?

The creation of all those new jobs sounds good, but where are the people coming from?

Okay.

Michelle, you are an expert on employment. Where are they going to come from?

There are a couple of areas that I would like to explore. Over a number of years, I have heard so many projections of the number of jobs that might be created as a result of renewables, a just transition and so forth. Forth Ports has stated that the economic modelling projects up to 20,000 new jobs for the area, but what are the assumptions around that? Is that a gross or a net figure? It is anticipated that there will be a reduction in jobs, most likely in the fossil fuel sector, in favour of renewables. Is that a net figure? I guess that you are the man to ask, Stuart.

Will you clarify something that you said in your opening statement? Am I correct to say that those jobs are not simply about renewables and the change to new technologies but are also about expansions and changes in existing sectors?

Let me move on from that. Scottish Government strategies have highlighted the potential economic opportunities from carbon capture, utilisation and storage and from hydrogen. What are the key risks around those technologies? What enablers need to be put in place to ensure their success? Stuart, I ask you to comment first.