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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 13 August 2025
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Displaying 774 contributions

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Economy and Fair Work Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2024-25

Meeting date: 31 January 2024

Brian Whittle

Thank you. I will go down a similar route on the third sector. The choices that the Government is making and the squeeze on council budgets are giving our councils almost impossible decisions to make. For example, in my area I have been speaking to two third sector mental health organisations that are no longer funded and will therefore have to shut down. The people whom they support will still have to get treatment, which means that they will join an NHS queue.

That funding might have come out of the budget in the council’s ledger, but it will still come out of the Scottish Government’s budget in another portfolio. Do you acknowledge that those kinds of cuts are a false economy? I say to you again that it is short-term gain for long-term pain, and there is no real cross-portfolio working to tackle such issues.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2024-25

Meeting date: 31 January 2024

Brian Whittle

Good morning, cabinet secretary. You will be aware of my interest in longer-term strategies and the prevention agenda. Following on from some of the earlier questions, I want to dig a little bit into the cost to enterprise agencies and the SNIB and the fact that there is no allocation to the flexible workforce development fund. That will, inevitably, lead to less investment and less support to establish and grow companies, which, in the long term, will lead to a reduced tax take and less money in future budgets. Where is the long-term economic strategy in the current budget?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2024-25 (Tourism and Hospitality)

Meeting date: 24 January 2024

Brian Whittle

Thank you, convener and thank you, panel. It strikes me that the issue is not so much the LEZ itself as the way in which it has been introduced. What I am hearing with regard to the night-time economy is that the issue is not just that the clientele are unable to get in and out of the city as a result of public transport not being available at that time of the night and taxis not being available any more, but that workers themselves are struggling to get in. Can you confirm that workers cannot get into and out of work at that time of the night any more?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2024-25 (Tourism and Hospitality)

Meeting date: 24 January 2024

Brian Whittle

Can you explain the contradictions that there might be between the Verity house agreement and the new deal for business?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2024-25 (Tourism and Hospitality)

Meeting date: 24 January 2024

Brian Whittle

I have a couple of quick questions. I think that Leon Thompson mentioned the Scottish Government’s new deal for business. How would you assess progress against the commitments at the moment?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2024-25 (Tourism and Hospitality)

Meeting date: 24 January 2024

Brian Whittle

I am happy with that, convener.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Petroineos Grangemouth

Meeting date: 17 January 2024

Brian Whittle

Good morning, minister. Thank you for giving us your time. You touched on the expansion of the green freeport policy. It has been suggested that there could be future development such as a potential biofuel refinery at Grangemouth. Some of my colleagues will talk about the potential for hydrogen and for sustainable aviation fuel. The Scottish Government and Ineos suggested that the planned import terminal was not incentivised by the green freeport policy but that other industries might be. How can the Scottish and UK Governments ensure that any activity that benefits from tax incentives in green freeports represents the kind of additionality that we would like to see?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Petroineos Grangemouth

Meeting date: 17 January 2024

Brian Whittle

I am talking about using the Grangemouth facility for biofuels, hydrogen or SAF. That seems a logical way in which we could maintain a high level of jobs at the Grangemouth facility.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Petroineos Grangemouth

Meeting date: 17 January 2024

Brian Whittle

It occurs to me that, given my colleagues’ earlier conversations with you about trying to maintain high-quality jobs in the community, incentivising those particular industries is a way of maintaining a high level of skill at the Grangemouth facility. Are the Scottish and UK Governments looking specifically at incentivising those kinds of industries in green freeport areas to make sure that there does not need to be a migration of jobs away from Grangemouth?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Just Transition (North-east and Moray)

Meeting date: 10 January 2024

Brian Whittle

We heard in evidence that funding was allocated around November but had to be spent by March, and that some projects did not bother to apply because of the practicalities. They said that they just would not be able to adhere to the rules and regulations. I am just bringing that to your attention, to see whether the Scottish Government can look at it, because, of course, some of those projects could be viable.