Chamber and committees

European Union state aid rules, which are still applicable, do not permit public bodies to make the award of a public contract conditional on the contractor paying staff the living wage. So although Crown Estate Scotland fully supports and encourages the living wage, applicants will not be asked to commit to paying the real living wage. In practice, available data indicates that the renewable energy sector is marked by comparatively high remuneration https://www.gov.scot/publications/growth-sector-statistics/ .

As part of the update that Skills Development Scotland provided to the Strategic Leadership Group on Oil and Gas and Energy Transition they outlined that PACE has supported 59 Oil and Gas employer sites since February 2020. Information on PACE support has been made available to 4977 employees across these sites. These figures ran up to the 25th of June 2020.

In response to the dual impacts of Covid-19 and the oil and gas price crash, the Oil and Gas and Energy Transition Strategic Leadership Group (SLG), for which I am the ministerial chair, was refocused in April and is meeting monthly to identify practical actions to support the sector and its workforce.

The SLG is already taking a taskforce approach and working in partnership with industry, public agencies and government to protect jobs, stimulate activity in the sector and address future employment needs. Three of its four meetings since the pandemic commenced have taken a taskforce approach. The most recent meeting on 2 July focused on the retention of talent and skills within the sector.

Given the valuable channel we already have for engagement of the sector and supply chain, through the SLG and given this is working effectively and on a taskforce basis, and where feedback from members has been positive, it is my view that there is no requirement to establish an entirely new, stand-alone Taskforce. The next meeting will take place on 6 August with a particular focus on the enterprise and skills agencies’ support for the supply chain.

As part of the update that Skills Development Scotland (SDS) provided to the Strategic Leadership Group on Oil and Gas and Energy Transition SDS outlined that Oil and Gas Sector employers had notified agencies of 7,414 jobs that were at risk in Scotland, as at the 25th June 2020.

I should advise you that SDS does not monitor the number of actual redundancies because their focus is on providing support to those affected by redundancy. As such, PACE partners respond to reports of redundancy which may be received from a range of sources including HR1 notifications, the media and local intelligence. An offer of support is made to each employer and SDS's key focus is to ensure all employees who may require our support receive it.

Additionally, I should explain that redundancy HR1 notifications may not, ultimately and following consultation, result in actual redundancies and there is a number of reasons for this: for example, they may be related to a change in terms and conditions which, if accepted, do not result in redundancies or other means of avoiding redundancies.

Clearly, given that the UK Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which has allowed furloughing of staff, is currently scheduled to end in October, we remain concerned that there may yet be more HR1 notifications to follow in the sector.

The oil and gas industry remains a critical component of the Scottish economy, with oil and gas extraction alone worth £8.8 billion in GVA (5% of GDP) to the Scottish economy in 2019. The industry estimate that in total it supported employment of 101,400 in Scotland in 2018 through direct, indirect and induced effects. The industry also has a crucial role to play in the energy transition required to move to an economy and society that generates net zero greenhouse gas emissions.

The Scottish Government has launched a £62 million Energy Transition Fund which will support businesses in the oil, gas and energy sectors to grow and diversify and will help to attract private sector investment. This investment, which it is hoped will be part of an overall investment package of more than £900 million across public and private investment, is a direct response to requests for support from industry stakeholders and in line with calls from within the Oil and Gas and Energy Transition Strategic Leadership Group for support from both the Scottish and UK Governments. The Fund will support and develop sustainable jobs and contribute to inclusive economic growth across the country, in areas such as hydrogen, carbon capture utilisation and storage and decarbonisation of production through electrification, e.g. through developing offshore wind to power installations.

Most recently the Advisory Group on Economic Recovery have published their recommendations on ensuring the transition towards a greener, net-zero and wellbeing economy as Scotland’s economy recovers from the pandemic, which will now be considered in detail by the Scottish Government and partners.

The Scottish Government will also continue to work closely with the UK Government, which retains many of the key powers and levers needed to support the sector, including delivery of an oil and gas sector deal.

The Scottish Government has reviewed the 2 metre physical distancing rule and has decided that it will remain in place as a key measure in the prevention and mitigation of the transmission of Covid. We have agreed that from the 15 July there can be conditional exceptions to the physical distancing rule of 2 metres (to 1 metre) for the hospitality and retail (including hairdressers) sectors and public transport, but only where a risk assessment and agreed mitigation measures are in place.

This decision has been taken in light of the current low prevalence of the virus in Scotland. However, the evidence base in relation to physical distance and transmission remains the same and the virus continues to pose a threat to public health. Therefore, our approach remain precautionary, as well as proportionate.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-30843 on 21 July 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the aviation sector globally as demand for travel has collapsed. This has meant that airlines have cancelled, suspended, or reduced capacity on routes to reflect that current lack of demand and mitigate operating losses. TUI has decided to suspend Aberdeen flights for the rest of summer 2020. We have remained in touch with TUI in recent weeks and are working with Scotland's airports to help them rebuild Scotland's connectivity with the rest of the world. We do not underestimate the challenge of restoring the level of connectivity we had before Covid-19 but the Scottish Government has a strong track record of helping airports secure new routes and that work will continue in earnest.

The First Minister has spoken on many occasions of her pride in all those across the public sector and beyond who have been working day and night to respond to the challenges of this unprecedented public health emergency.

Nevertheless, given the scale of the challenge of this emergency, the Scottish Government accepts that there will be important lessons to be learned.

Whilst there are decisions to be made about the correct form of an inquiry, it would be inconceivable not to seek to learn the lessons of the last few months. Terms of reference for public inquiries are agreed in consultation with the appointed Chair.

It is also right that we wait until we are over what is still an ongoing crisis before those decisions are taken.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-30128 on 7 July 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .