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We have good news on that front. Recently, I was in Japan to meet the board of Sumitomo Electric, which is coming forward with a large-scale inward investment project to build a factory for the production of high-voltage cables for Scotland’s offshore renewables industry. It is the first in what I hope will be a long line of inward investment opportunities that will result in much better domestic production in the supply chain, particularly with regard to the offshore wind industry. We want to see not only jobs growth here in Scotland but a well-serviced supply chain that allows the opportunities that we have in renewables to come through.

We are working with the enterprise agencies not only on ensuring that we have a good supply chain for manufacturing the items and components that will be needed but on ensuring that they are supporting domestic and inward investment opportunities and that all of this potential is well serviced. I will make sure that we write to the committee with further information on the work that is being done with the agencies.

Yes, I think that we need to have those discussions. We also need to see greater consistency in where the community benefit money goes. In some areas, it goes to community development trusts; in other areas, it goes direct to local authorities to be distributed. I would like there to be greater consistency in where those payments are distributed. I also want the benefit that a local community derives from a neighbouring project to be more demonstrable. I say that as both a Government minister and a MSP who has quite a substantial onshore wind footprint around my constituency.

No, absolutely. I invite Ragne Low to comment.

Absolutely not. The Sumitomo announcement itself relates to manufacturing, as it will be manufacturing the cable required for the offshore wind industry. Given the world-wide shortage of high-voltage cable, the fact that Sumitomo has chosen to put a factory here in Scotland will be very important in that respect.

I hope that the announcement also gives confidence to other investors, both domestic and international, to base their operations here. The fact that we are a world leader in offshore renewables was made very plain to me when I was in Japan, and there are huge opportunities in this respect, but we must ensure that we are giving domestic and international investors confidence. That will come through the work that the committee is doing today and the report that you will bring forward on ensuring that we have sufficient capacity to respond to the demand for generation arising from our offshore potential.

The contracts for difference scheme has indeed made a difference—and it is important to stress that—but we are looking for it to go further. For instance, we know that the marine energy sector was looking for £70 million-worth of investment and £20 million came forward. The scheme is making a difference, and we can see that in the projects that are coming through, but we also want it to go much further than it is at the moment.

Because we believe that that is expensive technology with the safety and environmental impacts that come off the back of it. We think that huge opportunities are coming forward for us in our renewables capability. That will give us electricity that is cheaper than what is coming forward from the new nuclear power stations that are being funded to a very costly extent by the UK Government, and our future energy security will come from renewables.

As I said in response to Mr Kerr, decisions on new offshore oil and gas exploration are for the UK Government. We have made very clear our desire for the UK Government to have much stronger climate compatibility checks as part of that process. We await its decision in that regard.

We are continuing to discuss that with UK ministers. The Scottish Government judges that both suggestions—a nodal pricing system and a zonal pricing system—have potential to disadvantage generators in Scotland because Scottish supply often outstrips demand in each area. We are concerned about the risks for generators. At the same time, it is important to acknowledge that, if the systems are designed well, they may have corresponding benefits for consumers, including business consumers.

We continue to engage with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to understand the implications for Scotland and to do what we can to inform its decision-making process.

That is undoubtedly a challenge, and it was among the foremost issues in the discussion that I had with Mr Kuslii when I met him. We want to ensure that there is minimal disruption to people as they move—especially from the ships, but also from hotel accommodation. As I said, he has given a commitment to come with me to MS Ambition—next week, I hope—in order to help to communicate what is available, the support that is in place and to give some reassurance around some of that work.

First, I am very heartened by the fact that Ukrainians who have arrived in Scotland, albeit that they are in temporary accommodation, have been able to put down roots and to establish themselves in schools, employment and other community settings. That is obviously what we want to see. Because, by its nature, temporary accommodation is temporary, there will be an element of disruption when people move on from that, which poses a challenge.

We are looking to do what we can to offer accommodation, where we can, as close as possible to where people have been based. That will not always be possible, which is why we have had staff from a number of local authorities from across Scotland go on to MS Ambition in the past few weeks. I think that 50 families are likely to move to Aberdeenshire in the coming period. We also want to impress on people the opportunities that exist for employment, schooling and housing across Scotland, not just in the central belt. When I appeared before the committee in June, I mentioned the opportunities that exist for people to move around Scotland and to be able to rebuild their lives from there.

We will work closely with Mr Kuslii and with our local authority partners. We will not work only with those that have direct involvement in the hosting of the temporary accommodation—Glasgow City Council, in the case of the accommodation on MS Ambition—but neighbouring authorities as well, to see what we can do to offer accommodation that would allow people to still be able to commute easily or to be able to go to school where they have already settled. However, I must stress that, because of the nature of temporary accommodation, there will be an element of disruption.

Finally, the national matching service has become very successful. I think that approaching 4,000 people have been matched from temporary accommodation into longer-term accommodation, whether that is hosted accommodation or longer-term accommodation in private housing or social housing. Conversations continue between people in the national matching service and those on the ships and in hotels in an effort to ensure that people can move on to areas of their choosing that will suit their needs from the point of view of education and employment.