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That is a good question, and it is on something that we have wrestled with. We want to get the fund under way, because we do not have time: we cannot wait several years for perfect plans for the future, especially when we are in an evolving situation. We therefore chose the route of no-regret decisions—that is, all decisions will contribute in their own way, because they are all good projects. There are large projects, smaller projects, community projects, strategic projects, science projects, skills projects and so on, so there is a good basket of things that are required for the just transition in the years ahead.

We intend to use the next two or three years to develop a more strategic approach. What we are funding just now fits in with that direction of travel, whether in relation to hydrogen or plugging the skills gaps that will need to be addressed in the years ahead. We are confident that all the projects are good and robust projects that will contribute to the just transition.

However, we know that we have to work on the fund for the north-east and Moray in relation to the strategic robustness that is required to ensure that it is transformational. We have to ensure that when we look back in 10 years, we will see that we have invested £500 million of public money in transformation, which is a big challenge. I hope that some of the projects will be transformational, and that when we will look back, they will have benefited not only the north-east of Scotland but the rest of the country.

I thought that you were going to give me a warning there. [Laughter.]

That is a good challenge to put to the Government and to the local economic partnerships that are involved.

As a backdrop, I note that since day 1, when speaking to organisations, public sector groups and community groups in north-east Scotland, I have been clear that, in a project that is as vital for north-east Scotland as energy transition is—which includes the energy transition zone and development of Aberdeen harbour—if the neighbouring communities do not see benefits, the just transition will have failed in those areas.

When it comes to the plans for the energy transition zone, I understand that, recently, there has been some good community engagement, and that residents are now involved in plans for the future of that area. I hope that that is productive and that progress is made.

We have not directly funded any oil or gas companies. The development of the north-east economy cannot be supported without the involvement of the offshore sector and the oil and gas industry—

—which is a crucial part of the just transition. That industry has the skills, the expertise and the investment that will underpin the just transition. We need its buy-in and we need to work with it as it transitions over the coming decades because, irrespective of net zero policies, employment in oil and gas in Aberdeen and north-east Scotland is going to decline substantially by 2040 to 2050. The transition is therefore superimportant for the future economy, so those industries are part of the local economic partnerships with which we will work.

We must take care to say that none of the just transition funding that was announced has gone directly to oil and gas companies. We are supporting economic partnerships, of which the oil and gas sector has to be a part.

Through the area-based schemes, the Scottish Government funds local authorities to carry out retrofitting and other such measures in the renewable energy sector, so the situation that has arisen is not necessarily the Government’s direct responsibility. It might be that various factors have slowed down the implementation of some schemes over the past couple of years, but I would have to investigate the reasons behind that. I am happy to do that and come back to the committee.

As I said before, we have a big challenge in ensuring that we have the people to realise our ambitions and the economic opportunities in Scotland. We are working on ensuring that we have people with the right skills and that the projects are delivered.

At the moment, we are not far off the tipping points that I mentioned earlier. The supply chain companies in Scotland are excited about the future, but they are waiting for the projects to happen so that they can keep people in work and stay in Scotland. That is a big issue in the north-east of Scotland. There is a lot of excitement, but people are waiting for the first projects to come on stream, which should, I hope, happen.

As far as the skills guarantee is concerned, we know that there is the potential to employ even more people in energy in the north-east of Scotland than is the case at the moment. Robert Gordon University’s “Making the Switch” report, which the Government funded, found that we could create 9,000 more jobs in offshore energy in the north-east of Scotland than we have at the moment. Therefore, it is not just a case of protecting what we have; we have the opportunity to create more jobs.

Through the just transition fund, we have provided OPITO, which is the offshore skills organisation, with nearly £5 million to create a digital passport to make it easy for people to use their transferable skills to move from oil and gas jobs into jobs in renewables and decarbonised energy.

The picture is optimistic at the moment, but the projects must take place so that business can be delivered for the supply chains and we can move forward.

We have had correspondence with the commission a couple of times. I think that it asked us some follow-up questions, and we have responded to that. The first report was geared around many of the things that we have spoken about today, which are the key principles that underpin just transition and the issues that have to be addressed. It is an important first stage that we accept the principle of co-design and the principle of keeping a close eye on people to ensure that they do not fall behind or pay a disproportionate cost of the transition. The first report was about those general principles to get things going and setting the parameters of what a just transition is all about. I am sure that the detail will come and that the commission will press us more on that as time goes on.

Sure.

It is an issue. I have come across it in my constituency, and I am sure that it is an issue throughout the Highlands and Islands. We have started discussions on that internally and with the further and higher education sectors. We probably have a bit more work to do with the private companies, because we are finding that the big players are sending technicians and engineers up from the central belt to rural areas, but they are less likely to do that if there are only a couple of jobs, because of the travel and time issues. Ironically, many of the areas where there is more fuel poverty are in the north of Scotland, so that area should be prioritised. We have to address that issue through our skills system and education system, and there is a bit of work going on on that.

As you can imagine, because it is vital to delivering it, we are mainstreaming the just transition through all portfolios and policies. Therefore, I have bilateral meetings and correspondence with all other cabinet secretaries and ministers. We discuss the urgency of transport or other areas in which we support the just transition.

All ministers are working on the just transition dimensions of their own responsibilities. My responsibility is to help to co-ordinate that and the publication of the plans. My officials will co-ordinate the publication of the plans, but the different teams and ministers across Government have responsibility for populating them and the measures that we will take.