The sudden closure of Grangemouth refinery operations was a shock to many this week. I was angry and disappointed for the 430 workers now made redundant and their families. The UK Labour government showed their true colours in supporting other industrial projects across the UK, with Scotland once again being treated as an afterthought. On Wednesday the Scottish Government made a Ministerial Statement on the closure and gave updates on Project Willow. I was pleased to be able to speak in this Statement - you can watch the full debate, including my contribution at https://www.scottishparliament.tv/.../ministerial...
I also spoke in Topical Questions on Tuesday, highlighting the possibility of legal implications following the recent Supreme Court ruling. On Wednesday, I spoke in Portfolio Questions where I asked the Deputy First Minister what economic benefits events such as Tartan Week bring through ‘Brand Scotland’. You can watch these questions and their subsequent responses at https://www.scottishparliament.tv/archive
The Finance & Public Administration Committee and the Economy & Fair Work Committee both met this week. The Finance & Public Administration Committee took evidence from both Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland and Fiona Diggle from Audit Scotland on the Scottish budget process in practice. We also looked into the Scottish Fiscal Commission Report on Fiscal Sustainability, taking evidence from Professor Graeme Roy, Professor Francis Breedon, Dr Caroline Carney and Claire Murdoch of the Fiscal Commission.
Discussions around Skills Delivery took place in the Economy & Fair Work Committee, with evidence from Sandy Begbie CBE of Scottish Financial Enterprise, Paul Campbell of Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board (SAAB), Jack Norquoy of Scottish Renewables and Paul Sheerin of Scottish Engineering. Skills Delivery will be key to many sectors in Scotland in the future, including in my constituency given the recent news of the refinery.
