Speeches by Sullivan.

“What do you think the main challenges are to building a more diverse economy? Pauline, did you mention a diversified economy?”

“It is an opportunity for more home-grown businesses that could bring more stability to the local economy.”

“I will pick up on a couple of points you made, Altany. Do you view the rollout of digital connectivity as a potential key enabler and facilitator to attract more businesses into rural areas? As you say, we do not want our rural area to become a commuter area, purely taking people out of the area into cities where they …”

“Q11. I welcome the Government’s investment of £680 million into mental health support. Meanwhile, in Scotland, many children in my constituency are stuck on an NHS Lothian neurodevelopmental waiting list, which only recently has seen patients referred in March 2022. This delay can lead to poor mental health, with child…”

“I thank the Prime Minister for negotiating this deal, which is good for the UK and, according to umpteen businesses, good for Scotland. As someone who benefited from a year in France many years ago, I welcome the work that is under way to give young people in my constituency access to a youth experience scheme, but wil…”

“Will my hon. Friend give way?”

“I thank my hon. Friend for giving way; I was going to let him make that critical point before intervening. It is fair to say that nobody is comfortable with the heated way in which the debate has taken place over the past few years, but does he agree that, in fact, women’s sex-based rights have been ignored for many ye…”

“My constituent Gerry Borge shared with me the story of his father’s and uncle’s service with the Royal Scots in the far east during world war two. Next Tuesday, a memorial will be unveiled in the Zhoushan islands to commemorate the death of over 800 allied servicemen who were captive on the sunken freighter Lisbon Maru…”

“In short, colleges are not in the place that they could or should be in order to play their role fully in the skills transition. We could be further ahead, had colleges been better financially supported over the years.”

“Since you have raised that, Neil, I wonder if you could expand on that. I have heard from other industries that there is an issue with how the apprenticeship levy is operating in Scotland. I would be really keen for this Committee to get a better understanding of what that is and how it directly impacts the energy sect…”

“It is about making that direct comparison. Just to continue with that theme, we have also met some workers from oil and gas who want to make the transition, but have had to foot the training bill themselves. How prevalent is it that workers are having to pay the bill for their own retraining? How could that be addresse…”

“This Committee has received evidence—not just written evidence, but from people who have come to this Committee and from organisations that we have visited—that there is not yet parity in the remuneration packages in clean energy versus those in high-carbon industries. We are hearing about substantial differences in pa…”

“If I can follow on from that targeted approach, your organisation has called for a cross-departmental Government taskforce to monitor and address workforce bottlenecks. What problems do you think that would solve?”

“Thanks, Jim. That is an important point that you make about demand. We heard the same from the higher education sector, related to space and engineering, so it is really interesting. It comes back to those tough choices. The demand is there, but the funding is not currently supporting what you can offer.”

“This Committee has also heard from many people that relocating for clean energy jobs is another barrier. How much of a problem is this?”

“Are you confident that the UK’s Office for Clean Energy Jobs will have a really important role to play in improving workforce planning in Scotland?”

“Would you agree, following on from earlier comments, that it is important to act before something happens? You are saying that the jobs are not there yet. Is this not a vital step to ensure that the skills are there to provide the workforce with once the jobs come online?”

“We have already heard from the previous panel their thoughts on the energy skills passport. What are your views on how effective it is? What role does industry have to play in making that passport a success?”

“3. What steps his Department is taking to improve digital inclusion in Bathgate and Linlithgow constituency.”

“I welcome the investment in my constituency from Project Gigabit’s £157 million deal to upgrade Scotland’s broadband. The remote jobs market opens up employment opportunities for those who live outside the major cities. However, several constituents from more rural areas around Bridgend, Armadale, Bo’ness and Bathgate …”