Chamber and committees

Many discussions today and in other meetings have been about confidence. Mark Munro talked today about the flight of capital. Obviously, we have to recognise that oil and gas still have parts to play in the future in reaching the just transition.

One thing that is disconcerting for folk is the lack of stability. Mr Mutch mentioned decisions to move out of the North Sea basin to west Africa, where some would say that there has not, in the past, been very much stability—certainly not politically.

Some of the obviously disconcerting things for companies that have happened of late have an impact. Let me give an example. The absence of offshore wind in the recent contracts for difference allocations signals that the UK Government has failed to recognise the current market, which is why we have not seen such bids or capital. Does the UK Government need to provide more certainty in order to ensure that capital investment flows into such projects? I ask Mr Munro first.

Okay—thank you.

My next question is for Mr Jack. I am going to go a wee bit back into history. Investment in rail is pretty costly and the assessments that lead to new rail projects can be onerous. You are embarking on some of that work. If we look back to the expected patronage of Laurencekirk station as an example, it transpired that, once the station was open, patronage was—if I remember rightly—77 per cent greater than had been envisaged in any of the assessments. I would argue that that was partly because a bigger car park was put in place than was originally envisaged. We have also seen increased patronage due to changes to timetabling in the north-east. After the timetable changes between Inverurie and Stonehaven, patronage at Inverurie increased by 80 per cent. Would the Formartine to Buchan route have the required patronage to justify the reopening of that railway?

We have heard a lot about the length of time that planning and consenting take here compared with other places. It would be really useful for the committee—there is not enough time today, but I am sure that Mr Mutch of Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce in particular can help us with this—to get from businesses an idea of where the real stumbling blocks and barriers are so that we can start to get to grips with them. I do not know whether you have any quick comments to make about planning and consenting, Mr Munro.

Good. We visited a framing business that day, where Kevin was up to his eyes with work, which was a good thing for him. I imagine, however, that the likes of him, others whom we visited and others across Aberdeen and the north-east are in a similar position, where it is a case of people putting their heads down, getting on with the work and not having enough time. Do you think that local government and other public bodies are missing a trick by not utilising the good offices of the FSB and others to get that communication out there to businesses to get them to think a little differently and take a wee time out, with the information that is supplied, in order to get it right for their futures?

The committee has heard a lot about increasing capacity and modernising our ports and harbours to maximise the opportunity that offshore renewables can give us. The Fraserburgh port has a pretty ambitious expansion plan; Peterhead always has plans; and we have seen the opening of the south harbour at Aberdeen. What part do you see rail playing in the transportation of goods to those ports? How much of the study that you are undertaking is looking at freight and not just passenger movements?

Communication is king here, as well as funding. That is basically what you are driving at.

If my memory serves me well, it was not until about the mid-1980s that the freight aspect going south from Fraserburgh ceased to operate. You talked about BrewDog and Power Jacks—I am sure that all members of the committee are aware of those two companies—making the move just a wee bit south in order to get the linkages. Do you think that, if a rail freight operation had continued to exist, those companies might have stayed in Fraserburgh because it would have been easier for them to ship their goods?

You have finite resources, as we all have finite resources. You talked about the information gap. One of the things that I hear quite regularly is about folk not being able to access help and support from Scottish Enterprise or others. I think that it was Ms McGinley who talked earlier about bringing SNIB in on a roadshow; I think that she mentioned Scottish Enterprise. Could you, with partners including SNIB and others, regularly run roadshows over the next while in Aberdeen and the north-east to help companies to plug the information gap and help them to secure their futures? Often, one of the difficulties that is faced is that support is not quite there.

I will turn that on its head to give credit where credit is due. I know of a company that has had Scottish Enterprise support in recent times and has grown very quickly indeed. I will not mention it because I do not have its permission to do so. It has grown very quickly because it got sound advice, basically, but not a huge amount of financial support.

My first question is for Mr McGuinness, who will have heard Mr Boland talk about the skills passport. I recognise that you do not have complete management over this, Mr McGuinness, but where are the blockages in getting that right for people?

It would be very useful—I think that this is required, really—if you could write back to the committee. Perhaps OPITO could write to the committee as well, convener, or we can write to OPITO to find out what the blockages are, because I would be withdrawing the pizza, basically.