Chamber and committees

The Federation of Small Businesses told the committee:

“I am not sure that businesses can be in survival mode and also make the transition to substantial decarbonisation. I just do not think that they can do it, and if they can ... they will need extensive public support.”—[Official Report, Economy and Fair Work Committee, 1 September 2021; c 32.]

Obviously, we have had a difficult last couple of years with all that has gone on with the pandemic. That might have had no impact on your plans for decarbonisation or it might have made those plans more of a priority. How has the pandemic impacted on your plans for decarbonisation?

A Citizens Advice Scotland report earlier this year found that 52 per cent of small and medium-sized enterprises have not taken any action to decarbonise. Obviously, all the panellists today are very passionate about and committed to decarbonisation, but many are not as advanced as you are. There are a number of questions. We have talked briefly about barriers to decarbonisation. Fairly substantial amounts of resources and time will be required to look at the support available, to get advice and to take projects through. For businesses that are smaller than those that you represent, that could have a real impact on the desire to decarbonise. How much personal resource have you had to put into it? Is the information and support that is presented to you available in an easy way? Is there a one-stop shop that provides UK and Scottish Government support and advice and, if not, would that be helpful?

This question is for Fraser Sime, because of the nature of the work of the Bank of Scotland. A number of banks have closed branches in rural areas and across the Highlands and Islands. Do you think that the closures have had an impact, particularly in terms of the ability to deliver face-to-face and one-to-one services?

I put the same question about supporting rural businesses to David Ovens and then to Simon Crichton.

It is encouraging to hear such enthusiastic people talk about the issue. Perhaps we should have had some complete cynics as well, to give a fuller idea of some of the barriers.

I think that it should probably be Jamie Hepburn to whom you apologise. [Laughter.]

Good morning. The committee has discussed supply chain issues and is obviously looking at issues around energy and so on. On the points that have just been made in what the cabinet secretary said, does that mean that there might, looking towards the 2022-23 budget, be more focus on building resilience into our economy? We have talked about opportunities that we are finding, including more local sourcing and procurement. Will there be increased focus on building in resilience, on innovation and so on?

Thank you very much. There are a number of areas in which the Scottish Government does not have responsibility, but there will be areas in which improvement can be made within the powers of this Parliament. I hope that there will be a focus on that.

There has been a huge focus on economic development agencies and VisitScotland supporting businesses through the pandemic. As has been rightly pointed out, continued support for existing businesses and sectors will be needed. For the current budget and the anticipated budget for 2022-23, where do you think the focus will be in relation to supporting existing businesses while also providing support for new businesses and new entrepreneurs, which will be so important for economic recovery? Are you confident that they will have support in the budget to do that?

The Economy, Energy and Fair Work Committee legacy report from the previous session—I had been on the committee but was not involved in that report—talked about how difficult it is to measure outcomes from the development agencies in particular. Has there been any work done to improve our ability to work out the size of the bang for the buck in investment in our development agencies?

Cabinet secretary, you talked about rural infrastructure, roads and the like. I am sure you are aware that one of the issues for an island community like mine is the need for investment in new ferries within our island communities, such as in the northern isles, but also on the west coast. What hope can you give to island communities that in the next budget and looking forward there will be some serious investment in the ferry infrastructure?

What on-going consultation or discussions are there with the UK Government at ministerial or official level?