Meeting of the Parliament 03 October 2024
Mr Hoy makes an excellent point. A friend and neighbour of mine in Perth who works in the nuclear industry is now based in Cumbria, because these jobs do not exist in Scotland. All we are doing is driving talent away. Scotland was once prized as one of the centres of excellence of the nuclear power industry, and that opportunity has been lost.
I will return to the committee’s report after these interesting digressions. As Claire Baker said in her introduction, the committee highlighted as frustrating the delays in bringing forward Scottish Government strategies, such as the energy strategy and just transition plan, the regional just transition plans and the climate change update. Those delays are having an economic impact on business, investor confidence and community action.
The committee also noted the lack of clarity with regard to the investment model that is required to achieve a just transition. The model references the leveraging of private capital but makes no assessment of what is realistic or whether that will be sufficient. The committee spent a lot of time looking at the just transition fund of £500 million over 10 years, which is to be administered by the Scottish National Investment Bank. That is very welcome. However, the committee was clear that clarity is needed about the fund’s sustainability. In the first year of the just transition fund, £20 million was allocated and, in the second year, it was £50 million. However, in the coming year, that drops to just £12 million. We and the affected communities need to know that the money will be there.