Chamber and committees

Good morning, cabinet secretary. I will follow on from Maggie Chapman’s questions on employability funding. I recognise the severe pressures on the budget, but I think that there are things that can be done that do not require huge amounts of money.

Let me give you an example. We have a huge pool of talent in our neurodiverse population, yet so many folks with neurodiversity find it very difficult to get into employment. We have seen, over the years, the difference that the carer positive employer scheme has made in getting carers into employment. Would the cabinet secretary and his colleagues consider looking at whether a neurodiverse positive employer scheme could be established to get folk into the workforce—a workforce that would be better for having them?

Thanks for that positive response.

I will change tack a little. Obviously, as a north-east MSP, ensuring a just transition is a priority for me. I certainly welcome the Government’s commitment to the north-east just transition fund. I wish that the UK Government would act in a similar manner and match the moneys that the Scottish Government has allocated for that. However, one thing that is missing from the budget is the £80 million that was committed by the Scottish Government for the Scottish cluster for carbon capture and storage. I recognise that we are still waiting on track 2 decisions from the UK Government, but could you give us an indication of what will happen here, given that there is no allocation? If there is a move from the UK Government, will the Scottish Government find the money that has been promised to ensure that the Scottish cluster goes ahead?

Have you got a spy looking over my shoulder at my notes, Colin?

On the VAT threshold and folk choosing not to trade up beyond £85,000, do you have any idea how many of the businesses that you represent fall into that bracket?

Please, convener.

Colin Wilkinson talked about being hit by legislation and gave the example of the low-emission zone in Glasgow. It would be interesting to see the figures from the LEZ, particularly as we move forward with change. What other legislation, Colin, do you think is having an impact?

What legislation is that?

Many other parts of the world have tourism levies that have worked and have not had an impact. How would a tourism levy coming into play here be different from the tourism levies that exist in other parts of the world, such as Spain, Germany and across Europe?

I thank the panel members for joining us. We have spent a lot of time on business rates. I have to say that I get folk at me about business rates—you could probably name the folk from among your members—but there are not as many at me about that issue as about certain other things. You mentioned high energy prices. From conversations that I have had over the past year or 18 months, I know that additional business costs as a result of energy prices have been way up there. You might want to comment on that.

The other issue that comes up again and again is VAT. Some changes were made to VAT during the pandemic that were beneficial, but some structural elements have remained the same for a long while. For example, the other week, the Federation of Small Businesses called on the UK Government to uplift the VAT threshold by the rate of inflation, which has not happened since 2017. There have been calls from others in the industry for different VAT rates for hospitality, including pubs and hotels. What would you do on that front? Do you back the FSB’s call on the threshold? What else would you do to change the VAT regime to make it easier for your members?

I can give you jurisdictions such as Germany, for example, where they are injecting hydrogen into the natural gas supply. There are many examples out there, minister, as I say, and I am sure that we could give you more.

You said in one of your answers that the UK imports 81 per cent of its jet fuel, which, as my colleague Gordon MacDonald says, does not seem to ensure energy security. There has been a lot of talk about sustainable aviation fuel. How quickly can the UK Government move forward on the regulatory regime for SAF? Are there opportunities for Grangemouth or elsewhere in the production of SAF, once we get those regulatory regimes right?

Okay. I want to follow up on the questions about hydrogen that Colin Beattie has just asked. One of the difficulties in moving forward with hydrogen, whether at Grangemouth or elsewhere, is the snail’s pace of the UK Government in setting out the regulatory regime for the production, transportation and even use of hydrogen and injecting it into the natural gas supply. When will the UK Government be in a position to have those regimes in place so that we can get on with it like some of our competitors?