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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 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 12 February 2025
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Displaying 743 contributions

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Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Electricity Infrastructure Consenting

Meeting date: 22 January 2025

Michael Matheson

I am sure that many members recognise that major infrastructure change of any nature will inevitably bring with it both opportunities and challenges. The decarbonisation of our energy network, and the strategic energy system that will be needed to support it through infrastructure at scale, will create some of those opportunities and challenges. Before I touch on some of them, I note that it would be wrong to present the issues in today’s debate, including consenting reform, as things that have happened out of the blue. The path that has led us to this point has been many years in the making.

Back in 2022, the previous UK Government increased its target for offshore wind production to 50GW by 2030. In doing so, it triggered the need not only to upgrade the existing grid infrastructure but to put in place significant new grid infrastructure. As a result, the grid operator—the energy system operator—set in course a pathway of work to achieve the target that the previous UK Government had set. That was then reinforced by the electricity networks commissioner, who highlighted the need to put in place significant new grid infrastructure to achieve the previous Government’s target.

It is important to keep in mind that the issue has not been created by the new Labour UK Government or the SNP Government in Scotland. We have been on the pathway for many years, and significant work has been undertaken to arrive at this point.

We need to recognise that the key to unlocking some of the economic opportunities from decarbonising our energy system is sufficient grid capacity. Members often speak to the need to deliver a just transition in the years ahead. However, simply delivering more offshore and onshore wind power and hydro power or hydrogen production facilities will not itself deliver a just transition. The key to delivering a just transition is the manufacturing capacity that goes alongside those developments.

Projects can achieve financial closure only if they have access to the grid, and it is only when we have a steady beat of projects in place that we can attract the economic investment in manufacturing that we need to deliver the just transition. The grid is absolutely key to supporting us in achieving the economic investment that we need to deliver a just transition.

I recognise and hear the challenges that communities have around some of the infrastructure. It is important that we have a consenting mechanism that listens to the concerns and issues that communities raise, and that we have distribution network operators that work alongside communities. When those operators provide support to communities, that must be based on the principles of community wealth building.

It will not be easy, but the reality is that we need to get the balance right between economic investment and the needs of our communities, and the proposed reforms will achieve that.

16:34  

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 15 January 2025

Michael Matheson

The minister will be aware of the real-life implications that the increase in national insurance contributions has for employers. Alexander Dennis, which is based in my constituency, went through a redundancy programme towards the end of last year. In December, it announced a further redundancy programme, with the primary reason for a second batch of redundancies being the employer national insurance contributions increase. The issue is starting to have a real-life impact on people’s jobs. Will the minister ensure that the Scottish Government and its agencies will continue to work with critical employers such as Alexander Dennis to support them in this challenging economic environment?

Meeting of the Parliament

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 12 December 2024

Michael Matheson

The minister will be aware that one of the key risks that we face in achieving our net zero targets relates to access to the right skills to support the roll-out of the renewable technologies that are required to decarbonise our energy system, whether that is offshore or onshore wind, marine and tidal energy generation or the new age of pumped storage hydro power, which is coming as a result of the planned introduction next year of a cap and floor system for pump storage. Given the critical skills that are needed to achieve net zero, can we do more to ensure that the needs of industry and colleges are effectively aligned to ensure that we are generating the workforce that will be necessary to deliver these technologies in the years ahead?

Meeting of the Parliament

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 5 December 2024

Michael Matheson

The minister recognises the importance of the alignment of skills advice with the skills gaps that are found in some sectors, and the need to encourage young people into some of those professional groupings. I am aware that Skills Development Scotland recently completed a survey of young people on their career aspirations. Does the minister feel that the findings from that survey align with the approach that Skills Development Scotland has taken in working with young people to give them careers advice? If not, what action could be taken to ensure that that is the case?

Meeting of the Parliament

Powering Futures

Meeting date: 4 December 2024

Michael Matheson

I thank members from across the chamber for their support for the motion that has enabled this evening’s debate to take place.

I take this opportunity to welcome Jennifer Tempany and Anna Bell from Powering Futures, along with students and teachers from St Kentigern’s academy in Blackburn, Craigroyston high school in Edinburgh and Dollar academy, all of whom have been part of the Powering Futures challenge programme, which I will discuss throughout my speech.

Along with the rest of the world, Scotland is at a crucial time in our history as we face the twin challenges of the climate crisis and the devastation that we now face with greater nature loss. Every sector in our economy is, rightly, under intense scrutiny to act on the role that it can play in helping to address sustainability and those twin crises. As we progress our transition to becoming a net zero nation, we will need to innovate and collaborate to deliver the change that will be necessary across every aspect of our society, so that we can do so in a way that delivers a just and fair transition for everyone. The future is very much in our hands, and it is in the interests of our future generations that we exhaust all avenues in our ambition to achieve sustainability for everyone.

To deliver a just and fair transition, we will need to empower our future workforce and enable people to have the skill sets that are needed to meet the challenge. Key to that is supporting young people to develop their skills and confidence in preparation for the world of work, while encouraging them to question and challenge businesses and industries to be prepared as best they can be for a carbon-neutral economy.

That is core to the role and purpose of Powering Futures, which is based in Falkirk, in my constituency. Founded in 2020 by David Reid and Jennifer Tempany as Fuel Change, it initially received some Government support to help the programme to develop. It focuses on helping Scotland to achieve our climate ambitions by engaging our young people and employers in the debate and by encouraging the skills that are needed to meet the climate change challenge that we face.

From the outset, the ambition of the programme was to reach every business and school across Scotland. Powering Futures was set up as a social enterprise to give our 16 to 24-year-olds a meaningful voice in tackling the climate crisis. Over the past four years, it has gone from strength to strength, calling on world leaders to motivate millions of young people to make a real difference on climate change and working with more than 3,000 young people from more than 100 schools across Scotland at the same time as engaging with 150 businesses and volunteers, who are now partnered with schools and engaging with them regularly in delivering the Powering Futures programme.

Part of the unique nature of the programme is that there are huge educational benefits to the work that Powering Futures carries out. The Powering Futures challenge programme enables learners to develop the critical meta skills that employers are looking for in their future workforce, ensuring that learners will be able to enter, excel in and support their business, so that they have a positive impact on it by helping it to adapt to the opportunities that moving to a net zero society will bring.

On the programme, learners receive a Scottish credit and qualifications framework level 6 qualification, which is equivalent to a higher, with teams of four to six young people taking on real-life sustainability challenges that are set by the sponsoring businesses. Teams work through the challenge to develop a solution before presenting it to a panel of industry judges, so that they can provide feedback. As I have seen at first hand, the programme is delivered enthusiastically by classroom teachers from a variety of subject-area backgrounds, who are fully supported by the Powering Futures team in Falkirk, by the wider community and through practical, continued and lifelong professional learning sessions. The programme also provides teachers with access to high-quality learning resources to help them to continue to support their students.

At the end of it all, those who have taken part receive an SCQF level 6 qualification. Undoubtedly, they benefit from their exposure to future industries, potential employers and the challenges that they face. Fundamentally, they leave the course having enhanced their skills and abilities, enabling them to access the future world of work with those opportunities.

I certainly encourage colleagues across the chamber to get in touch with the Powering Futures team so that they can see its work at first hand in their respective areas. I know that some members across the chamber have already done so. I can say with certainty that the work that Powering Futures is doing is putting the voice of our young people at the very heart of our energy transition in helping to clear the path to a better and more sustainable future for us all. I am sure that colleagues across the chamber will want to wish the young people who are taking part in the programme well as we continue on our journey to becoming a net zero nation.

17:08  

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

First Minister’s Question Time

Meeting date: 14 November 2024

Michael Matheson

The First Minister will be aware that, later this afternoon, the Falkirk growth deal will be signed by the Scottish and United Kingdom Governments. The First Minister will recognise that the Falkirk Council district is facing significant economic challenges as a result of the decision to end refining in Grangemouth. Therefore, it is critical that the Scottish and UK Governments provide as much economic support as possible to Falkirk Council and the wider district so that those challenges can be met.

Will the First Minister outline how the growth deal will meet the economic challenges that the district is facing and whether the Scottish Government will work with Falkirk Council to identify some projects that could be expedited in order to make progress with them quickly in the next couple of years?

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Bill

Meeting date: 5 November 2024

Michael Matheson

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Like a number of speakers in the debate so far, I would prefer that this piece of legislation was not required—I suspect that that is also the cabinet secretary’s view. However, we have reached a point where, as the Climate Change Committee said, our 2030 target is no longer achievable within the existing timeframe and with the policy options that are available to us.

This legislation gives us a good opportunity to reset the framework that will drive us forward to achieving our net zero target by 2045. The carbon budgeting method that has been set out has been enhanced by the scrutiny of Parliament and is in a stronger place now than it was when it was introduced. It gives us a better and stronger framework to ensure that there is greater stability with regard to how we manage the process of achieving our net zero targets.

One of the problems with the target levels that we had set in bill was that they did not give much scope for flexibility or some of the variations that will inevitably occur over a particular timeframe. However, I agree with Patrick Harvie that the key issue in that regard will be not so much the framework itself but the policy options that we pursue to ensure that we deliver on the framework that is set out in the bill. As I said in the stage 1 debate, the low-hanging fruit is well and truly gone. We are now in a position where we will have to make very significant and challenging decisions to ensure that we can deliver what the legislation is intended to achieve.

I believe that, across the chamber, there is a consensus on the need for us to achieve net zero. Certainly, the majority of members agree that it is imperative that we achieve net zero, given the impact that climate change is now having on our environment. We can see that impact in some parts of the world just now, including in Spain, which Monica Lennon referred to. Therefore, it is critical that we continue to move at pace in those areas.

There are a couple of really important areas that we need to focus on as we move forward. In order to achieve net zero here in Scotland—and within the timeframe that we have set—the areas of investment that will be necessary to make that happen will require fiscal stability. That will require the UK Government to continue to invest in net zero in order to allow capital investment to be made here in Scotland in the areas that will help us to achieve net zero. For example, one of our big emitters is energy in housing. We require public and private capital to address that, and the UK Government’s approach will be critically important to achieving that. We will need joint working between Governments and fiscal stability to allow long-term planning to be implemented and taken forward effectively.

Another big area of change is behaviour change. Monica Lennon referred to a 20 per cent reduction in car journeys, and behaviour change will be needed to achieve that target. That will require a change in how we use things such as road tax. Will we shift away from fuel duty and road tax, which are based on carbon emissions, to a system that is based on road tolls? Some would argue that that is the approach that we should take, because that will have an impact on people’s behaviour. However, agreement across the UK would be required to make that work effectively. Although we might say that that is the right thing to do in Scotland, it might be difficult to achieve that because the UK Government is not prepared to pursue that.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Meeting date: 5 November 2024

Michael Matheson

Sorry, Presiding Officer—I would have voted yes. [Interruption.]

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Bill

Meeting date: 5 November 2024

Michael Matheson

I do not disagree with that. However, I am saying that we will require political leadership across the UK to achieve some of the targets. It will require us to make decisions that, at times, prove not to be popular. Right across the Scottish Parliament chamber, at local authority level and at UK level, we will require the right political leadership to ensure that the policies that will deliver the outcomes that we need can be delivered. That will require us all to work collectively.

I believe that the bill is in a stronger position now than it was when it entered Parliament, and that the framework that the Government has set out in the bill will deliver net zero by 2045, with the right policies alongside it to achieve that.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Meeting date: 5 November 2024

Michael Matheson

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I could not connect to the app, but I would have voted against—no. [Interruption.]