Meeting of the Parliament 06 December 2016
I really should make progress.
Although that is disappointing, I am ever hopeful for change from the minister. As a general principle—I think that he would agree—we should always consider the economic and jobs impact of any public sector investment. That is not protectionist; it is sensible. It is about maximising economic opportunity and getting the best value for our investment. Quite simply, I want the lion’s share of renewables jobs to be in Scotland.
Scotland is uniquely placed to take advantage of the renewables revolution. We have lots of wind, and not just in this chamber. Indeed, if there was a renewables technology that captured energy from rain we would be quids in. Joking aside, we have considerable expertise in the oil and gas sector. Oil & Gas UK estimates that there will have been 120,000 job losses in the industry by the end of this year. Many of those who lose their jobs will be engineers with transferable skills, so let us ensure that we connect opportunities in renewables with the skilled workforce in the oil and gas sector.
I hope that the Parliament will accept Labour’s amendment, maximise the supply chain and consult on setting a target for jobs to be delivered by renewables.
Given the potential that we have, I am genuinely disappointed by the Tories’ attitude at the UK level. The announcement of the second pot of funding for contract for difference was delayed by a year. The £290 million for delivery from 2021 to 2023 is indeed welcome, but the devil, as ever, is in the detail.
We see support for offshore wind technologies. Clearly, Donald Trump did not manage to have a word with the UK Government before it decided on its course of action. He is of course the gift that keeps on giving. If anyone cares to look at his tweets, they will see one that I found:
“@David_Cameron should be run out of office for spending so much of England’s money to subsidize windfarms in Scotland.”
Dearie me. It is almost tempting to call for a comeback from David Cameron.
The UK Tory Government has not made any commitments on helping onshore wind and solar technologies find a route to market. Neither is there any minima for wave and tidal technologies, so they will have to compete with cheaper technologies, which will be difficult. There is no promise to the Scottish islands, which is a departure from the UK Government’s previous commitment to remote islands.
We know the very real challenges of delivery and investment in interconnection, as well as the clear social and industrial benefits for small island communities. I hope that, when the consultation ends, the UK Government will have listened to those remote communities and decided that they should be treated as a separate category to onshore wind projects.
Labour members support renewables, but we believe that there is even greater economic gain to be had from current and future investment. Therefore, I commend my amendment to the chamber.
I move amendment S5M-02919.3, to insert at end:
“; notes that the Scottish Government has not set a specific target for the number of jobs that the renewables sector should create; therefore urges it to do more for jobs that will support Scotland’s economy, and recognises that this should include the full use of transferable skills of the oil and gas sector so that they can be utilised in the renewables sector across a range of alternative energy projects.”
15:20Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.