Speeches by Sullivan.

“I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement and for his efforts and those of his team thus far. I also welcome the fact that there will be engagement with businesses on the potential for retaliatory action—that input is vital. While the UK has the lowest rate of reciprocal tariffs, that will be cold comfort to the m…”

“Last month, Whitburn Band, from a former mining town in my constituency, won the Scottish brass band championships for the third time in four years. The band will represent Scotland at the national brass band championships in London, and at the European brass band championships next year. Will the Leader of the House j…”

“Okay. You have probably answered this question, perhaps on my earlier question. How could the employment gap have been avoided or minimised? I expect that may be through starting Project Willow five years ago at least.”

“If I can finish on a more positive point, will there be guaranteed jobs in new industries at the site for any Petroineos worker facing redundancy?”

“Are there any pathways that you could see that you could potentially offer?”

“Okay. We are now in the position where we have nine proposed projects, some more expensive than others and some have longer lead times than others. That leads me to ask whether this should have happened years ago, because it feels to me as if it should have. Were there any conversations around this type of project when…”

“Is there an expectation? Perhaps that might be a question for you, Anu.”

“Therefore, we are still a while away.”

“If the refinery workers—and you do have a highly skilled workforce—are forced to seek alternative employment, how will this impact the recruitment for future industries on the site? The workforce will go to where they can get employment and high-quality, well-paid jobs.”

“Will that, in your view, hopefully mitigate any risks of there not being the skills present in that community to meet the future demand?”

“Thank you. Anu, do you wish to add to that?”

“Thank you. I want to pick up on the hydrocracker point because it does still seem to be a bone of contention and we have received conflicting information. You said that there had been five attempted restarts and that you came to the conclusion that it just was not possible to get it fully operational. However, when we …”

“I appreciate that, but could you answer my question as to whether any union officials were involved in discussions or were aware of the attempted restarts? I think it is important for this Committee to have a clear view on whether the hydrocracker is operational or not, although I take on board your point that it is pe…”

“I think that would be helpful. Thank you.”

“Project Willow analysed 300 potential technologies that could be deployed at Grangemouth. Why did you choose the nine proposed projects?”

“I think you have answered one of my other questions. You are saying that there might be external changes in the landscape that will shift what is realistic and deliverable and other new things that may emerge as contenders. Okay.”

“Sure.”

“I appreciate that. Thank you. Can you tell me what you think the barriers are to implementing Project Willow’s proposed projects?”

“Thank you. I appreciate that we now have a road map of sorts and that there is clarity and ambition there. However, there are still people concerned about their jobs, concerned about their communities and concerned about the gap between the closure of the refinery and moving forward with some of the projects in Willow,…”

“My final question at this juncture is: who is in charge of the site’s future and how confident are you that they will act on Project Willow’s recommendations?”