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Responsibility for dealing with day-to-day land use planning matters generally rests, in the first instance, at the most local level. The Scottish Government does not hold information on applications which are being or may be considered by planning authorities.

On 28 August 2025, 22 applications from SSEN Transmission to the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit were live. We expect further applications to be submitted over the next 12 months.

Planning applications did not form any part of the joint visit by the then UK Secretary of State and Cabinet Secretary to HAD Fab.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-40615 on 7 October 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The Scottish Government has already invested more than £120 million in the North East through the Just Transition Fund and the Energy Transition Fund to support the region’s transition to net zero. This funding has helped create green jobs, support innovation, and supported the highly skilled workforce of the future.

As part of this, the Scottish Government has supported the initial phases of industry led development of an Energy Skills Passport by providing £3.7 million through the Just Transition Fund over the financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24.

The Passport is a tool to support oil and gas workers to identify training pathways into key offshore wind sectors. It is one tool in a wider landscape of support for Scotland’s oil and gas workers. For example, the Passport is complemented by the Oil and Gas Transition Training Fund (launched in July 2025 as a joint initiative from Scottish and UK Governments) which offers tailored careers advice and funded training for eligible workers looking to build the skills needed for work in Scotland’s sustainable energy sectors.

The Scottish Government’s Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray, which was the source of the £3.7 million funding awarded over 2022-23 and 2023-24 to the industry-led development of the Energy Skills Passport, has been independently evaluated. The report from that evaluation was published in July 2025 and is available here : Final report of the evaluation of the impact of the Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray.

The initial version of the industry-led Energy Skills Passport is a tool to support oil and gas workers identify training pathways into key offshore wind roles. Accounts are created by individual workers.

The Energy Skills Passport is an industry-led project, with Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) and RenewableUK (RUK) as the lead bodies.

The latest information available to Scottish Government regarding uptake, which covers the period from launch in January to August 2025, is that around 480 user profiles have been set up on the Passport’s digital system.

For the most up to date figures, we recommend contacting OEUK and RUK directly.

The Scottish Government has supported the initial phases of industry led development of an Energy Skills Passport by providing £3.7 million through the Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray over the financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24. There are no plans at this time for further funding from the Scottish Government.

We nonetheless remain a close project partner and Scottish Government officials engage regularly on the Passport with the lead industry bodies, Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) and RenewableUK (RUK), as well as with UK Government officials.

Following the launch of an initial version by the industry lead bodies in January, the Scottish Government is looking forward to now seeing the Passport develop further and provide more options and pathways for workers to transition between sectors. Success during “phase 2” of the Passport will require it to be fully supported from a range of bodies, including UK Government.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-40633 on 7 October 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

There were no approved change requests to the Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray award that altered the scope, cost or timeline of the Energy Skills Passport pilot scheme.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-40612 on 7 October 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-40619 on 7 October 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers