Portfolio Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament am 2:00 pm ar 26 Medi 2024.
Stephen Kerr
Ceidwadwyr
2:00,
26 Medi 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Just Transition Commission’s recent report on the future of Grangemouth. (S6O-03766)
Alasdair Allan
Scottish National Party
The Scottish Government welcomes the Just Transition Commission’s report on the future of the Grangemouth industrial cluster. The acting Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Net Zero wrote to the commission’s co-chairs earlier this year to express that.
The Scottish Government considered those proposals in the drafting of the Grangemouth industrial just transition plan, which will be published for consultation in due course. I should note that some of the proposals are far reaching and will require consideration by a wider set of stakeholders regarding practical implementation, particularly across the Grangemouth future industry board. I look forward to further working with the JTC on how that can be achieved.
Stephen Kerr
Ceidwadwyr
I thank the Minister for that reply and welcome the tone and content of what he has said. One of the key findings of the Just Transition Commission’s report is that the people of Grangemouth want more than just “warm words”. Will he elaborate on his response? The report stated that GFIB must have
“clear, actionable, measurable commitments from each party that go beyond ‘business as usual’”.
It emphasised that the credibility of the just transition plan for Grangemouth hinges on transparent accountability. Will the minister confirm that the published plan will include commitments, actions, timelines and deadlines?
Alasdair Allan
Scottish National Party
Yes—I confirm that it will. The member mentions some themes that came through in the report, which were that the plan must earn the trust of the workers, that it must be the first in a series of just transition plans for different parts of the Scottish economy and that a new intergenerational social contract is needed to ensure that Grangemouth feels the benefit, which must extend to the whole region.
Another point that I wish to make—I appreciate that the member realises this—is that that is all in addition to the more immediate interventions that are taking place in and around Grangemouth, in consultation with the UK Government.
David Torrance
Scottish National Party
Our thoughts are with the workforce and their families during what is such a worrying time, and it is welcome that the Scottish and United Kingdom Governments have since announced a further £20 million, in addition to the £80 million joint-funded Falkirk and Grangemouth growth deal. Will the Minister say more about the plans for that funding and the opportunities that it will create?
Alasdair Allan
Scottish National Party
I echo David Torrance’s concerns for the workforce and families at Grangemouth. We are supportive of the UK Government matching our long-standing commitment to Grangemouth through its recent announcement of £10 million of additional funding for the Falkirk and Grangemouth growth deal. That releases £100 million of combined Government investment over the next 10 years, and it will enhance and protect Grangemouth’s manufacturing and petrochemical cluster to ensure that it continues to be of strategic importance.
Projects such as the Grangemouth sustainable manufacturing campus will aid Grangemouth’s transition to net zero, while the greener Grangemouth programme will deliver activity that is focused on regeneration and community wealth building, alongside skills investment. We are working alongside the UK Government, which has yet to outline the specific focus of its additional funding. We will continue to press it to support fuel security and sustainability.
Mr Mark Ruskell
Green
The Just Transition Commission’s report advised that the process of developing just transition plans for other industrial sites that are linked to Grangemouth, such as Mossmorran, should begin urgently. I will be hosting a worker-led summit with unions, operators and decision makers in December to start a meaningful conversation on the development of a worker-led just transition plan for Mossmorran. I invite the Minister and the Cabinet secretary to join me and all those stakeholders in a vital conversation at the summit later this year.
Alasdair Allan
Scottish National Party
I thank the member for his contribution and his helpful point about Mossmorran. The Government is very much cognisant of the role of Mossmorran and its need to have its own just transition plan and its own specific engagement. That engagement is already under way.
Question Time is an opportunity for MPs and Members of the House of Lords to ask Government Ministers questions. These questions are asked in the Chamber itself and are known as Oral Questions. Members may also put down Written Questions. In the House of Commons, Question Time takes place for an hour on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays after Prayers. The different Government Departments answer questions according to a rota and the questions asked must relate to the responsibilities of the Government Department concerned. In the House of Lords up to four questions may be asked of the Government at the beginning of each day's business. They are known as 'starred questions' because they are marked with a star on the Order Paper. Questions may also be asked at the end of each day's business and these may include a short debate. They are known as 'unstarred questions' and are less frequent. Questions in both Houses must be written down in advance and put on the agenda and both Houses have methods for selecting the questions that will be asked. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P1 at the UK Parliament site.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
