Skip to main content
Loading…

Seòmar agus comataidhean

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

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

Criathragan Hide all filters

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 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 12 August 2025
Select which types of business to include


Select level of detail in results

Displaying 1524 contributions

|

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Deposit Return Scheme

Meeting date: 14 March 2023

Fiona Hyslop

I want to ask about the March gateway review. Is that taking place currently? Who is conducting it?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Deposit Return Scheme

Meeting date: 14 March 2023

Fiona Hyslop

Who does the gateway review?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Just Transition (Grangemouth Area)

Meeting date: 8 March 2023

Fiona Hyslop

On housing, one issue about the plant is that some of the workers could go anywhere internationally and get paid. You want them to live and spend money in Grangemouth, so what is needed is not just social housing but any type of housing that attracts people to stay and spend money in the town. Do you see that as part of keeping the skill base that we know will be needed for the just transition?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Just Transition (Grangemouth Area)

Meeting date: 8 March 2023

Fiona Hyslop

It is quite high.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Just Transition (Grangemouth Area)

Meeting date: 8 March 2023

Fiona Hyslop

Finally, Malcolm Bennie, Falkirk Council is not only Falkirk; it also covers Grangemouth. Nobody has mentioned Bo’ness, so we better mention Bo’ness. The Falkirk growth deal and the green freeport bid cover wider areas, but the Grangemouth future industry board speaks for itself—it is about future industries in Grangemouth, not the wider area.

On your point about being a director of place, the other committee that I sit on—the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee—has just produced a report on local government partners, and one of its recommendations is that place-based solutions matter, as they are how you can pull everything together.

We are behind that agenda—not only for Falkirk town but for Grangemouth, too. How do we prioritise Grangemouth strategically? Strategic housing provision is key to this. Is the big-picture stuff of potentially using district heating—and possibly hydrogen; who knows?—where you want to get to in relation to a place-based solution for Grangemouth?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Just Transition (Grangemouth Area)

Meeting date: 8 March 2023

Fiona Hyslop

We have heard about “greener Grangemouth”, but I think that you have just come up with a new one with “greater solutions Grangemouth”, which also sounds a bit bigger and more strategic.

I will ask about one of the things that we have concerns about. Some of the growth deals have been in place for some time, but yours is more recent. It might not be reflective of that net zero drive as it was originally thought of when it was first established. We are not unpicking growth deals, because they were very carefully put together, but you talked about the need for flexibility. It would be very helpful if you could explain what that might look like, particularly if we are looking at the just transition and net zero. If you cannot do that just now, maybe you could come back to the committee on that question, as that would be helpful.

I do not know whether Diarmaid Lawlor has any comments on that.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Just Transition (Grangemouth Area)

Meeting date: 8 March 2023

Fiona Hyslop

We are the Parliament, so we can make these points to the Government, which might be helpful. What we are trying to do in this inquiry is to find what would be the most helpful thing and make recommendations to the Government to inform the just transition plan for Grangemouth. This is your opportunity to make that pitch.

Do we have time to hear from Diarmaid Lawlor, convener?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Just Transition (Grangemouth Area)

Meeting date: 8 March 2023

Fiona Hyslop

Feel free to use the phrase “greater solutions Grangemouth”.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Just Transition (Grangemouth Area)

Meeting date: 8 March 2023

Fiona Hyslop

We think that Grangemouth is special and important. This is probably the first time that a parliamentary committee has had such a focus on one town. The just transition will have an impact on everyone in Scotland, but everybody automatically thinks about the north-east. However, we have decided to look at Grangemouth first. If we can learn lessons here, we can help the rest of Scotland.

Adam Gillies, I was very struck by your perspective. You spoke about the 20,000 additional jobs that we have been told will come with the freeport and the fact that you do not want those workers to drive in and drive out of the town but to stay, and that if they are going to travel in, you want them to have the necessary rail links—the public transport—which in and of itself is about town centre regeneration.

This committee has just done an inquiry into town centre regeneration, and one of the issues was about ensuring that it is community led—you have said that that is what you want—but also that there is revenue that provides resource, as in people, to help you to do what you do. Do you have access to community development workers or people to whom the community council can say, “This is what we want done” or “Can you look at these reports?” which you are getting from left, right and centre? Is there anything like that just now?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Just Transition (Grangemouth Area)

Meeting date: 8 March 2023

Fiona Hyslop

I was also very struck by what was said about spending the £10 million quickly. That is the capital funding, but there is also £2 million revenue funding, so it would be interesting to know what is happening with the revenue funding, because from our last inquiry, we know that capital might be easier to come by but that the revenue that is needed to sustain the people to staff this is not there.

Perhaps Michelle Thomson can help me on this—or perhaps the witnesses can. Is there a Grangemouth business improvement district—a BID—or something similar in that area? I represent the Linlithgow constituency next door, where they have brought together community interests, through the community development trust, and business. There is a levy collected for that, which helps to employ staff to do this kind of work.

Diarmaid, I think that you said that you were thinking about looking at Hawick or different areas in the Borderlands. It is about how you build in people support for the decision makers, which should be the community. Is that the sort of thing that you were thinking about?