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Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 4 May 2021
  6. Current session: 13 May 2021 to 19 March 2026
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Displaying 1194 contributions

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Economy and Fair Work Committee

Scottish Government Policy Priorities (Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy)

Meeting date: 10 May 2023

Neil Gray

It is a constant challenge. I have the responsibility of ensuring that I drive a fair work agenda across Government. We are already doing well. We have the highest number of employees being paid the real living wage anywhere in the UK, and the lowest number of employees being paid below the real living wage anywhere in the UK. We also have incredibly strong labour market statistics that give opportunity but also pose a challenge. A tight labour market gives us opportunities to discuss with employers the importance of advancing the fair work agenda to reduce workplace attrition and ensure the continued support of employees.

We will continue to progress that alongside the work that we do with the Fair Work Convention and the Scottish Trades Union Congress. I believe that I am due to meet Roz Foyer soon. I was with her at the anti-poverty summit that the First Minister hosted last week and we had a very good conversation off the back of that.

We will continue to do all that we can to ensure that fair work drives success, wellbeing and prosperity for individuals and businesses, and to ensure that employers continue to understand the importance of demonstrating fair work, not just because it is the right thing to do from a social perspective but because it drives economic benefit to their organisation.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Scottish Government Policy Priorities (Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy)

Meeting date: 10 May 2023

Neil Gray

As a result of the Bute house agreement, conditionality will be attached from, I believe, 1 July, when public sector procurement will have fair work principles attached to it. That is an important first step, but we will keep the effectiveness of that conditionality under review and look at whether there will be opportunities to go further. However, we will need to ensure that there is time, from the start of that process on 1 July, to monitor its effectiveness so that we can see whether there are opportunities to reform it in any way.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Scottish Government Policy Priorities (Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy)

Meeting date: 10 May 2023

Neil Gray

I look forward to listening to that.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Scottish Government Policy Priorities (Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy)

Meeting date: 10 May 2023

Neil Gray

Obviously, we keep the situation under constant review and we will seek to recoup the money that has been invested in Prestwick as best we can, to ensure good value for the public purse. I am sure that Graham Simpson would expect that.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Scottish Government Policy Priorities (Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy)

Meeting date: 10 May 2023

Neil Gray

We expect Mr Withers’s report very soon. When it arrives, I and colleagues across Government—after all, the issue touches not just on my areas of responsibility but on those of Jenny Gilruth, Graeme Dey and others across Government—will ensure that we respond timeously and that we take seriously what he says.

As for the climate report, I turn to Gary Gillespie to fill in the detail.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Scottish Government Policy Priorities (Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy)

Meeting date: 10 May 2023

Neil Gray

We will ensure that we follow that up with the committee in writing as and when Mr Withers’s report comes back. To give Mr Beattie confidence, I can confirm in answer to his question that the two elements will be joined.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Scottish Government Policy Priorities (Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy)

Meeting date: 10 May 2023

Neil Gray

That is work in progress. Part of the area that we touched on in an exchange with Ms Hyslop at yesterday’s meeting of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee was how we ensure that we have both a successful supply chain and a successful infrastructure to enable us to deliver on our net zero ambitions.

Mr Beattie is right to say that public finance is finite. We have already touched on the current challenges in the sector, because of the areas that have been impacted in recent years thanks to decisions outwith our control. However, we continue to work with the likes of the Scottish National Investment Bank and our investor panel on where we can leverage private capital to ensure that we are able to meet such demands both on investments, in the form of private capital coming into the supply chain, and on the required infrastructure.

The scale of that will be challenging. National Grid Electricity System Operator Limited estimates that the grid infrastructure alone will require investment of £7 billion; in any case, a substantial amount of capital will be required. We will do what we can both on our investment priorities, to deliver as much as we can within that envelope, and on working with private capital to ensure that we can meet those demands.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Scottish Government Policy Priorities (Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy)

Meeting date: 10 May 2023

Neil Gray

Nothing is anticipated. Progress is good. As I say, the asset is currently generating income for the Scottish Government, but we will keep monitoring the situation closely to ensure that our investment continues to be strong and that the commitments, including on the billet factory, are met.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Scottish Government Policy Priorities (Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy)

Meeting date: 10 May 2023

Neil Gray

Ms Thomson absolutely gets to the nub of the issue: we need to understand the landscape within which we operate if we are to have informed policy decisions aimed at improving the situation.

To answer her question directly, I have to say that I am more than open minded. The first step would be to ensure that we are working on that initial recommendation. I cannot give a full commitment until I have met Ms Stewart and we have published our response in detail, but I can say that Ms Stewart will certainly have a sympathetic ear from me in that regard.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Scottish Government Policy Priorities (Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy)

Meeting date: 10 May 2023

Neil Gray

We have received incredible interest in that consultation. I believe that, at the previous count, there were more than 1,400 responses to it, which is almost seven times the number of responses that we had the previous time that we consulted on an energy strategy, so there is clear interest in it. We need to ensure that we give that proper consideration, but we will seek to publish our final strategy as quickly as we can off the back of considering the consultation responses.