Chamber and committees

That is very helpful. Does Ian Hughes have anything to add?

Sticking with skills, I will direct a question to Robbie Calvert. In your opening comments, you said that people in England can do a planning apprenticeship but that such apprenticeships are not yet available in Scotland. Can you help the committee to understand why that difference exists? You also talked about work that you are doing to introduce an apprenticeship in Scotland. When will there be a decision on whether that will happen, and in whose gift is it to bring in an apprenticeship here?

Pam, would you like to add to that?

My first question is for Jane Tennant. You talked in your opening remarks about how you found planning as a new career. What options and support are available for those who wish to change career and work in planning? What can be done to encourage more people to make that move?

I will ask one more question, if I may, convener. As I am joining you remotely, I am just going to do it.

Chris Brodie, something occurred to me as you were speaking. In an earlier response, you talked about there being a trebling of the workforce to achieve net zero. Is there a straight correlation here, such that a trebling of the workforce requires a trebling of the budget that is available for funding the sorts of courses that Simon Hewitt has just been talking about, or does it not work quite like that?

Thank you. I have no further questions.

Good morning. I will direct my first question to Chris Brodie. The number of green jobs in Scotland has been declining in recent years. Last week, in a response to a parliamentary question that I submitted, I saw that the Scottish Government is considering changing the definition of what constitutes a green job. Has Skills Development Scotland been involved in discussions and planning about that, given the impact on skills development that would presumably occur?

Thank you. I would be grateful if you could provide that information later.

Simon Hewitt, on the upskilling and reskilling that Chris Brodie has just talked about, the convener asked earlier on about the training that will be required. In a previous session of Parliament, I sat on the Public Audit and Post-legislative Scrutiny Committee and I seem to recall that the number of college places has been cut significantly in recent years by more than 150,000 places. I also recall reading in January, in one of the newspapers, that colleges were facing a £51.9 million cut in funding.

Simon Hewitt, does that landscape have an impact on our prospects of achieving net zero? If so, is there any sign of the Scottish Government recognising and addressing the need for greater funding and more college places?

That is a fair point.

My next point is also for you, Robbie, although Pam Ewen and Jane Tennant can come in if they wish to add something. It sounds as if demand for planners will be huge and, as you say, it will be vitally important. Are you aware of what impact local authority funding settlements from the Scottish Government have had on the number of places to train and get skills, and on local authorities’ ability to hire more planners? Do you have any sense yet of what this year’s settlement, which I think the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities said was a £100 million cut to local authority budgets, might have on the number of places to study and local authorities’ ability to hire the planners that they need?

I am very grateful for that response and look forward to setting up that meeting, minister.