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It is not set out in this budget, no. It is going to be a separate consideration that is based on whether we can finance it, on whether the subsidy control rules will allow us to and on what comes through, and then we will seek finance to allow that to happen.

I do not think that that is a correct assessment, no. The crucial factor in the small vessels programme is, again, that making a direct award is allowed only in very limited circumstances, and we also want to improve the productivity of the yard to allow it to compete for future work, such as a small vessels programme.

Those are on-going considerations. However, the critical factor therein is whether we can legally come forward to make a direct award, which is not something that I have a direct responsibility for, as you will appreciate.

No, no. I think that you are conflating two issues there, with respect—

One issue is getting the yard fit to compete for future work and another is whether we can make a direct award. Those are separate considerations—

It would come from the Scottish budget somewhere, but we are dealing with hypotheticals based on a business plan coming forward and assessing whether that passes the subsidy control test and whether we think that that is prudent expenditure. We have to make sure that we get over those hurdles; at this stage, those are hypotheticals.

There is a strong relationship between me, other ministers and the officials who work with SNIB to analyse its work. It reports regularly on its investments and their performance. However, the advisory board is a commitment that we hold, and we will stick to it. As I said, the update will come in due course.

I am happy to provide that to the committee in answer to Mr Doris’s questions.

I acknowledge the first point that Mr Macpherson made, which is that we have a competitive advantage in skills across the system from our experience in energy, consenting, engineering and so on. That puts us in a very strong position.

Obviously, we are talking about new technology in some areas and going into areas of the environment that we have not considered before. Some of that will take time. However, I am keen to continue to work not just to fulfil my responsibilities, which include consenting to some of those projects, but to fulfil some of the responsibilities that my colleagues have for bodies such as Marine Scotland, NatureScot and others that Mr Macpherson referred to in order to ensure that they have the capacity, skills, experience and direction so that we balance the consenting requirements.

We sometimes have competing environmental considerations. We consider our climate change responsibilities, but we also ensure that we protect seabirds, for instance. There are competing demands in some areas. We take those seriously and look to provide as much certainty as possible for industry and to provide timeous responses, as Mr Macpherson put it.

I am well aware of Nova Innovation, which is a phenomenal success story and a really strong brand that is becoming internationally recognised. Obviously, it would not be appropriate for me to discuss individual applications but, in general terms, we would look to provide consenting in a timeous fashion and in a way that is demonstrably fair and compliant with the regime that we have set out.

I appreciate that Mr Macpherson has a direct interest in the port of Leith. Other ports are available and there will be plenty of work to go around all of them.

There are obviously huge opportunities for the port of Leith, given its location and capacity and the fact that it is a green freeport. It can take advantage of the opportunities that will come from developing the Scottish renewables supply chain.

I will pick up on a number of areas. Developing a Scotland-based supply chain for our renewables industry in general and for offshore wind in particular is one of our greatest economic opportunities, so I take that incredibly seriously. That is why the First Minister came forward with the £500 million commitment, which has been welcomed by industry as giving not only certainty but confidence to investors, who can see that we are taking the issue seriously.

I will be developing that with colleagues and bringing forward a green industrial strategy by this summer. That will take decisions and set out a pathway for how we develop the supply chain, what it looks like and which areas we will prioritise. If we are getting that right, we will not be pleasing everybody. We will have to prioritise where public funding goes and that will be considered partly through the green industrial strategy.

We also have the strategic investment model that Gillian Martin took forward last year, which has huge potential. It includes port and harbour infrastructure and other elements that will enable some supply chain opportunities to be realised. We are collaborating on that across Government, as Mr Macpherson would expect. We are also working with industry partners to ensure that we get that right and maximise the economic opportunities, as well as facilitating and enabling developers to come forward, particularly for ScotWind, at the earliest opportunity.