►
Description
Economy, Energy and Fair Work Committee
A
A
Yes,
thank
you
and
we
now
turn
to
item
two
on
our
agenda,
which
is
to
do
with
pre-budget
scrutiny
for
2021
to
22
and
the
impact
of
covet
19
on
businesses,
workers
and
the
economy
and
we'll
we
have
for
this
session.
A
number
of
witnesses
with
us.
First
of
all,
jane
martin
who's,
the
managing
director
of
business
services
and
advice,
and
also
with
her
douglas
cahoon
chief
financial
officer
both
of
scottish
enterprise,
and
I
think,
jane,
is
joining
us
by
sound
link
rather
than
video
dependent
on
technology.
A
B
B
Very
bad,
but
we've
been
used
to
doing
that
for
individual
businesses
and
or
specific
sectors
in
factory
reactors.
What
we've
had
to
face
into
over
the
past
six
months
has
been
constantly
relentless
and
impacting
across
the
whole
of
the
economy,
and
while
there
are
loads
that
we
can
learn
what
we
can
improve
on,
I
genuinely
do
think
that
the
system
as
a
whole
has
shown
its
hands
a
little
bit.
B
B
B
A
C
Thanks
very
much
I
want
to
just
briefly
give
a
flavor
of
the
impact
of
covert
and
the
highlands
and
islands.
We
have
a
greater
share
of
employment
in
the
sectors
that
have
been
most
affected
by
the
pandemic,
including
tourism,
creative
industries
also
a
higher
proportion
of
self-employment
and
micro
businesses
compared
to
the
country
as
a
whole.
C
Unfortunately,
that
means
that
the
economic
impact
of
covert
on
our
region
has
been
disproportionately
severe.
Figures
to
the
end
of
june
show
that
around
72
000
people
have
been
furloughed.
Regional
unemployment
has
more
than
doubled
to
5.7
percent,
and
particularly
concerning
youth
unemployment
higher
still
at
just
under
10
numbers.
C
C
Online
services
such
as
fine
business
support,
have
been
really
a
vital
resource
for
business
over
this
time
and
being
able
to
use
online
services
to
keep
running
things
like
events
to
support
the
business
community
across
the
region
and
a
great
example
of
this
is
expo
north.
That's,
scotland's
largest
creative
industries
conference,
usually
held
in
inverness
over
two
days
in
july,
and
rather
than
cancel
that
we
made
that
a
virtual
event
between
the
live
participation
on
the
days
and
further
streaming.
C
C
Phase.
We're
mindful
we're
going
to
be
living
with
covert
for
some
time
now
and
we're
hearing
that
in
the
news
clearly
this
morning
and
brexit
is
also
a
significant
change
for
the
majority
of
our
clients.
So
our
top
priority
is
about
retaining
and
creating
jobs,
organizing
all
of
our
resources
to
support
those
key
sectors
in
the
region's
economy
which
depend
on
those
key
sectors
and
those
have
been
amongst
the
hardest
hit
to
including
tourism
and
food
and
drink.
C
We
also
continue
to
focus
on
the
key
geographies
that
have
been
severely
impacted,
including
our
islands
and
remote
mainland
areas,
but
we
are
looking
at
those
new
opportunities
growing,
a
space
sector,
life
sciences,
renewable
energy
and
the
marine
economy.
These
are
places
where
our
region
has
a
natural
place-based
advantage
which
can
contribute
both
to
our
regional
growth
and
a
significant
contribution
to
scotland.
C
D
Good
morning
south
of
scotland
enterprise
came
into
being
during
the
pandemic.
We
assumed
our
legal
powers
on
the
1st
of
april.
Only
a
few
days
after
lockdown,
we
immediately
focused
our
nascent
organizational
capacity
on
enabling
businesses
to
access
covid19
support,
as
well
as
providing
advice
and
crucial
reassurance.
D
We
were
able
to
bring
funding
of
over
12
million
pounds
to
almost
300
businesses,
and
that
was
in
addition
to
the
75
million
provided
through
the
two
local
authorities.
Many
of
these
businesses
would
not
have
survived
without
this
and
other
public
support
at
a
local
level.
We
work
through
teams
south
of
scotland,
with
other
organizations
in
the
south
to
deliver
an
aligned
approach,
particularly
with
scottish
borders,
council,
gunfires
and
galleries,
council
skills,
development,
scotland
and
visit
scotland,
and
nationally.
D
D
We've
also
supported
businesses
to
find
new
opportunities,
for
example,
alpha
solway
and
annan,
with
its
50
million
contract
to
manufacture
ppe
for
the
nhs
creating
over
200
jobs
in
the
area
and
scott
mass
in
kelso
to
produce
high
level
disinfectants,
enabling
them
to
take
on
10
local,
modern
apprentices,
as
well
as
dealing
with
the
immediate
impacts
of
covid19
on
businesses.
Communities
in
the
south
of
scotland,
we've
continued
to
build
our
new
organization
and
look
to
the
future.
D
On
the
4th
of
september,
we
published
our
operating
plan.
This
sets
out
the
progress
we
have
made
to
establish
the
organization
and
our
ambition
for
the
rest
of
this
financial
year
to
drive
forward
our
collective
ambitions
for
the
south.
The
new
regional
economic
partnership
met
for
the
first
time
last
friday.
D
E
Good
morning,
everyone
responding
to
the
health
and
subsequent
economic
crisis
has
been
a
central
focus
of
local
government
activity
and
throughout
this
we've
been
focused
on
the
health,
safety
and
well-being
of
our
employees
and
our
citizens.
Despite
the
challenges,
we've
continued
to
deliver
vital
services
to
vulnerable
people,
communities
and
businesses
across
scotland.
E
We
believe
that
economic
recovery,
as
well
as
needing
to
be
place
based,
requires
a
whole
system
response
and
global
government
is
uniquely
pleased
to
be
involved
in
that
we've
played
a
pivotal
role
in
ensuring
scottish
government.
Funding
for
businesses
has
been
delivered
quickly
and
effectively
by
8th
of
september
councils
had
received
and
processed
over
100
000
grant.
Applications
of
the
small
business
grant
over
90
000
applications
were
approved
and
funding
of
over
1
billion
had
been
awarded.
E
In
the
first
quarter
of
this
financial
year,
the
service
handled
over
6
000
inquiries
from
established
businesses,
that's
more
than
double
for
the
same
period
in
2019
and
the
number
of
people
attending
webinars
more
than
doubled
to
10
800.
In
that
period,
local
government
also
plays
a
pivotal
role
in
supporting
people
and
communities
through
its
long-standing
work
in
leading
local
employability
services
through
a
formal
known
life
behind
partnership
agreement
with
scottish
government.
Those
services
are
increasingly
targeted
at
those
that
need
the
greatest
support
to
get
them
into
fair
work.
E
As
mentioned
earlier,
local
governments
continue
to
deliver
vital
services.
That's
come
at
a
cost
with
reductions
in
income
from
a
range
of
sources
and
increased
expenditure
to
respond
to
the
crisis
councils
will
face
a
funding
gap
this
year
of
around
350
million,
once
all
consequentials
have
been
factored
in.
E
F
And
my
opening
question,
we
cover
some
of
the
territory
that
our
three
speakers
introduced.
They
are
actually
a
very
highly
and
evolve
area.
It
is
very
often
at
peace
in
the
two
in
response
to
this
health,
emergency
and
charlotte.
You
gave
some
good
examples
in
your
opening
remarks
about
what
you
had
to
do
and
I
was
I
was
particularly
interested
in
your
expo
north
virtual
session,
which
I
think
you
said
it
ended
up
having
6
000
attendees
double
what
you
might
have
expected.
F
F
C
I
suppose
my
example
around
expo
north
is
is
an
example
in
a
way
that
a
lot
of
our
activity
around
engagement
and
events
has
been
difficult
to
do
so.
The
the
choice
has
been
to
shift
that
online
and
expo
north
was
a
really
good
example
of
how
we've
extended
the
reach
by
the
both
the
live
event
itself
and
the
fact
that
it
was
then
recorded
and
people
have
continued
to
access
and
use
it.
C
We
had
such
amazing
feedback
from
businesses,
particularly
in
tourism,
who,
at
the
point
of
the
start
of
the
pandemic,
really
were
quite
desperate
around
how
the
situation
might
unfold,
as
we've
got
through
from
the
relaxation
in
july,
and
seen
activity
ramp
up
that.
That
has
meant
that
we've
seen
a
lot
more
interest
in
continuing
to
progress
projects
as
originally
committed
to
by
our
clients.
C
So,
overall,
I
think
it's
been
a
question
of
timing
and
making
sure
that
we
flex
and
respond
to
ensure
that
we
respond
to
the
client's
immediate
need,
whether
that's
about
cash
flow
information
and
advice,
and
can
pull
back
from
activities
that
we
might
have
been
pushing.
If
you
like
towards
clients,
say
around
leadership
and
other.
F
B
In
the
first
stages,
a
lot
of
our
effort
went
into
information,
information
sharing
and
ensuring
that
we
had
enough
people
on
our
helpline
and
ensuring
that
we
had
adequate
resources
on
to
find
business
support,
which
is
the
kind
of
entry
portal
which
very
quickly,
between
the
the
go-to
place,
to
get
information
about
the
pandemic
and
advice
to
businesses.
What
support
was
available.
B
A
A
F
D
What
they
found
really
valuable
someone
that
would
actually
ring
them
up
and
talk
through
their
situation
because
of
kind
of
a
psychological
challenge.
I
think
of
suddenly
moving
from
one
economic
situation
to
them
being
closed
down
was
very
considerable
and
I
think
the
one
thing
we
were
able
to
offer
with
our
relatively
small
number
of
staff
was
a
friendly
voice
at
the
end
of
the
phone
talk
through
your
problem.
What
can
we
do
to
help?
F
The
message
that
I've
been
picking
up
from
all
of
you
is
how
important
the
digital
side
of
everything
has
been
during
this
and
there's
some
examples
that
you
gave
there
that
were
really
quite
impressive.
Do
you
think
that
the
exploitation
of
digital
technology-
it's
it's,
going
to
be
something
that
you
will
will
grow
and
develop,
rather
than
go
back
to
whatever
normal
was
before
this?
Do
you
see
advantages
of
engaging
with
the
digital
technology
that
perhaps
it
went
immediately
obvious
to
us
before
the
spending
endemic
began.
D
Absolutely
I
think
digital
is
really
important,
and
what
this
has
shown
us
is
that
those
companies
and
communities
that
are
already
strongly
into
this
space
were
able
to
manage
the
shift
really
quite
quickly
and
those
that
weren't
have.
We
and
others
have
been
giving
a
lot
of
support
to
do
that.
I
would
have
one
note
of
caution,
though
digital
is
fantastic,
but
the
human
touch
is
equally
important,
so
using
digital
works
really
strong
and
provides
benefits
reaching
new
customers.
H
C
I
think
the
point
I
wanted
to
make
was
the
real
advantage.
We've
seen,
we've
spoken
a
few
times
already
about
the
importance
of
engagement
and
communication
with
both
businesses
and
communities,
and
you
know
for
a
region
that
covers
half
of
the
landmass
of
scotland,
like
the
highlands
and
islands,
sometimes
getting
that
reach
is
hard,
so
the
one
benefit
I
think
I've
had
is.
I
can
be
in
shetland
and
argyle
in
the
same
day
at
the
moment
talking
to
clients
which
I
could
never
do
very
easily
previously.
E
E
So
businesses
themselves
were
seeing
the
need
to
be
online
to
be
more
digitally
oriented
and
we
deliver
a
program
called
digital
boost
in
partnership
with
scottish
government,
which
is
we've
been
doing
that
for
over
four
years
now
and
and
that's
built
on
the
government's
digital
strategy
for
scotland
and
the
need
for
smes
in
scotland
to
be
more
digitally
savvy.
And
we
saw
that
coming
out
over
that
period,
that
more
and
more
businesses
or
that
need
to
be
more
digitally
active.
F
A
B
Okay,
thank
you,
and
I
I
think
I
I
didn't
hear
everything
that
everybody
said
there
in
the
in
the
overview.
So
hopefully
I'm
not
repeating
anything,
but
essentially
what
I
wanted
to
what
I
was
saying
it
was
scottish
identifies
in
the
early
stages.
It
did
a
lot
of
what
charlotte
was
referring
to
in
terms
of
outreach,
wrapping
our
arms
around
our
clients
and
customers,
understanding
the
immediate
impact
and
using
that
intelligence
to
then
drive
and
prioritize
our
next
steps.
B
B
That's
kind
of
depository
sign
posting
service
for
all
kinds
of
support
that
we
could
in
place
just
before
code,
actually
at
the
start
of
the
financial
year,
and
that
that
really
came
into
its
own
as
being
a
physical
repository
for
all
kinds
of
information
and
advice
for
businesses
and
about
the
support
that's
available
to
them.
We
also
did
a
number
of
webinars
and
similar
to
what
our
colleagues
have
already
explained.
B
Examples
how
they've
been
working
work
with
each
other
share,
their
own
advice
and
and
that's
something
that
we
see
there's
an
opportunity
to
build
and
what
we've
put
in
place
around.
That
was
250
companies
on
that
program
at
the
moment,
and
we
see
an
opportunity
to
build
much
more
of
that
going
forward.
I
C
C
I
think
the
key
test,
even
more
so
is
to
have
that
level
of
trust
and
responsibility
and
sharing
workload
and
tasks
to
be
as
effective
as
efficient
and
efficient
as
possible,
which
clearly
has
been
critical
over
the
last
few
months,
and
I
think
we
found
that
communicating
with
each
other.
We
talked
quite
a
bit
about
communication
already,
but
communicating
with
each
other
the
regular
purpose,
driven
communications,
ensuring
that
with
those
and
making
sure
that
the
messaging
from
the
chief
executives
down
throughout
the
organizations
has
supported
that
absolute
team.
C
Scotland
approach
importantly
also
making
sure
the
space
for
that
local,
targeted
response
and
the
importance
of
those
local
partnerships,
as
working
with
councils,
has
been
a
particular
part
of
the
effective
response
so
far
and
find
business
support.
The
work
on
developing
that
resource
and
the
mission
activity
to
support
the
enterprise
and
skills
strategic
board.
And
it
also
meant
that
those
relationships
throughout
the
organizations
at
a
peer-to-peer
level
were
in
place
with
key
agency
leads.
C
C
We're
working
with
business
gateway
on
a
new
program
jointly
to
provide
capital
support
to
businesses
under
five
years
old,
so
working
across
both
of
our
client
bases
working
with
scottish
government
also
there's
been
some
effective
repurposing
of
some
of
the
the
key
forums
that
were
in
place,
including
those
within
the
rural
teams.
First,
I'm
sure
for
south
of
scotland
as
well.
I
think
we
found
that
linkages
with
the
office
of
the
chief
economic
advisor
as
well
as
the
agencies
on
the
data
piece
has
been
really
important.
D
D
So
for
the
local
level,
for
example,
as
I
mentioned
earlier,
we
meet
and
we
continue
to
meet
weekly
with
senior
officials
in
all
the
other
agencies,
to
see
how
we
can
share
information,
how
we
can
manage
interventions-
and
it
can
be
as
simple
as
saying
we've
had
this
company
on
the
line,
they're
really
worried
and
someone
a
local
authority
said.
Oh
yes,
there's
the
background
to
this,
and
we've
already
helped
them
with
this.
D
So
it's
just
absolutely
coordinating
as
well
as
then
amalgamating
information
and
feeding
it
out
to
scottish
government
and
working
with
our
agencies
and
the
two
funds
that
we
mentioned
earlier
on
the
perth
and
the
hardship
fund.
Absolutely
we've
had
to
come
together
and
work
really
closely
at
all
levels
to
make
that
as
effective
as
possible.
D
E
Hi,
I
think
it's
worth
mentioning
that
we
collaborately
and
collectively
we've
been
working
for
quite
some
time
on
the
the
issues
that
brexit
has
obviously
raised
and
when
covered
19
came
around.
What
we
did
was
pivoted
that
group
to
look
at
the
specific
issues
that
we
were
trying
to
deal
with,
with
with
with
covert
19
and
sadly,
now,
with
brexit
back
on
the
agenda.
E
That
group
has
again
kind
of
rejigged
itself
and
is
now
the
business
resilience
steering
group,
because
we
recognize
that
we're
not
over
the
woods
and
covert
19.
We
now
have
brexit
coming
at
us
as
well
and
so
again
we're
working
as
we
have
been
for
quite
some
time
now,
together
to
make
sure
we're
joined
up
and
we're
offering
the
best
support
we
can
to
to
the
business
community
to
respond
to,
as
I
say
now,
both
covered
19
and
brexit.
I
Just
as
a
follow-up
to
the
the
general
interactions,
obviously
you've
spoken
about
how
you
interact
between
the
enterprise
agencies,
but
I'm
interested
how
you
might
also
work
with
other
agencies
in
the
enterprise
and
economic
development
landscape.
So,
for
example,
cepa
has
a
role
in
in
supporting
businesses
and
indeed
business
resilience.
C
Some
other
examples
that
perhaps
wouldn't
spring
to
mind
and
to
be
honest,
certainly
wouldn't
have
sprung
to
mind
originally
but
have
been
part
of
this
engagement
and
communications.
Recently
and
for
example,
I
have
had
a
series
of
dialogues
with
architecture
and
design
scotland
now
that
might
not
have
been
the
first
on
my
group
of
lists
of
people
that
I
would
work
with
generally.
C
But
we
have
been
looking
at
what
we
do
with
our
capital
infrastructure
portfolio
and
they
have
some
very
interesting
guidance
and
ideas
about
how
to
really
ensure
that
we
target
that,
in
the
best
way,
both
to
meet
the
the
new
needs
of
communities
and
businesses,
but
also
that
it's
helping
us
to
meet
the
the
net
zero
carbon
agenda.
So
there
are
some
alliances
there,
which
could
be
really
important.
C
I
talked
to
agencies
like
heritage
lottery
fund,
about
how
their
support,
because
they've
seen
some
challenges
in
being
able
to
deliver
some
of
the
projects
they
had
already
committed.
How
we
can
work
together
so
that
that
support
is
targeted,
perhaps
more
in
a
revenue
way
than
a
capital
way
to
support
some
of
those
e-projects
in
places
like
the
argyle.
C
I'm
thinking
of
the
noon,
picture
campbelltown,
picture
house
and
others
which
have
had
great
support
from
them.
But
clearly
they've
been
really
impacted
by
the
current
situation.
Where
they've
not
been
able
to
put
on
events
so
are
experiencing
difficulties
in
terms
of
the
revenue,
the
guest
point
I'm
making
is.
Actually,
there
is
a
much
wider
reach
to
a
whole
range
of
both
the
sector
and
other
agencies,
who
are
all
part
of
that
landscape.
I
D
Not
only
the
local
authorities
in
the
south,
but
also
with
northumberland,
cumbria
and
carlisle,
and
this
will
be
a
major
investment-
and
this
has
been
a
bit
out
of
sight-
I
suppose
during
covid,
but
is
absolutely
an
important
area
where
we
need
to
pull
together
strands
across
how
we
deal
with
depopulation,
how
we
increase
digital,
how
we
work
on
natural
capital,
all
of
these
long-term
drivers
of
the
green
growth
and
green
recovery.
So
a
few
a
bit
of
a
flavor
from
the
south.
I
H
And
some
of
the
things
that
nick
and
charlotte
have
just
said,
I
would
say,
probably
the
good
19
response
steering
group
and
played
a
crucial
role
in
deporting
and
collaborating
across
a
range
of
partners,
including
the
enterprise
agencies,
a
girls
development,
scotland,
scottish
funding,
council,
local
authorities,
scottish
government,
public
health,
scotland
and
healthy
working
lives,
initiatives
and
this
hue
referenced
earlier.
It
kind
of
arose
out
of
brexit
preparations
and
actually
will
pivot
back
to
being
a
kind
of
joint
covert,
19
and
brexit
action
in
group
in
over
the
next
few
months.
H
My
chief
executive,
steve,
dunlop
and
and
others
a
senior
management
team
were
involved
in
regular
calls
with
the
mds
and
chief
operating
officers
of
the
scotland's
main
retail
banks
just
to
establish
what
they
were
going
to
do
in
terms
of
supporting
scottish
businesses
these
unprecedented
times.
And
then
I
think
it's
already
been
referenced
by
nick
and
charlotte
in
terms
of
the
creation
of
the
pivotal
enterprise
resilience
fund
and
the
hardship
fund.
H
Those
those
were
used
very
specific
insights
at
the
local
level
from
the
local
authorities
and
also
the
insights
that
visit
scotland
and
creative
scotland
could
provide
into
into
those
areas
so
very
strong
collaboration.
I
think,
as
charlotte
said,
coming
from
a
very
strong
position,
but
rather
frenetic,
particularly
in
the
early
stages
activity,
but
drawing
tremendous
drawing
together
of
all
these
partners
and
different
bodies.
C
Thanks
so
just
to
get
into
into
the
specifics
there.
So
in
terms
of
I,
I
think
behind
your
point
is
probably
about
some
sort
of
data
sharing
or
information
sharing
around
businesses.
So
clearly
there
has
to
be
a
set
of
protocols
around
that
and
that's
probably
most
developed
between
ourselves
and
business
gateway,
and
I
think
I
might
have
mentioned
that
in
some
of
our
areas
in
the
highlands
lounge
we're
co-located
with
business
gateway,
and
these
are
actually
really
embedded
within
the
local
economy.
C
So
that
actually
makes
that
piece,
a
sharing
information
being
able
to
prioritize
and
being
clear
if
you
like,
who
does
what
or
how
we
might
pass
clients
from
one
to
the
other.
It
works
more
effectively
in
those
ways
in
terms
of
the
wider
landscape,
I
think
that's
more
a
signposting
piece
as
to
actually
share
information
about
clients
that
would,
as
I
say,
require
a
set
of
protocols
in
place,
and
I
think
douglas
just
referenced
conversations
with
the
banks.
C
E
Thanks
just
interesting,
your
use
of
the
work
triage
there,
that
is
the
principal
role
of
the
business
gateway
services,
is
a
triage
service.
What
our
boys
and
girls
do
on
the
ground,
if
we're
able
to
help
the
people
directly
we'll
do
that.
If
there's
other
support
out
there
that
we
know
of
that,
that
would
benefit
them.
E
We
will
point
them
to
that,
so
we
work
very
very
closely
in
partnership
very
much
with
with
the
agencies
so,
for
example,
we're
a
channel
partner
on
innovation,
support,
we're
a
channel
partner
and
on
internationalization
you
know
these
are
services
that
we
don't
necessarily
deliver
ourselves.
It's
particularly
scottish
enterprise
delivers,
but
we
will
make
sure
that
clients
are
time
posted
referred
to
those
services.
E
So
we
we
work
closely
in
partnership
with
interface,
for
example.
We
work
very
closely
with
scottish
edge
and,
as
does
our
agency
colleagues
in
making
that
work
really
really
well,
we
work
with
creative
scotland.
Interestingly,
you
mentioned
cepa
there.
We
have
something
called
the
scottish
sustainable
business
partnership
which
involves
cepa
ourselves,
the
enterprise
agencies,
and
it
clearly
has
a
particular
focus
on
the
kind
of
sustainable
business
practices
side,
but
but
they're
there
they're
engaged
it's
a
big
family.
B
B
Business
gateway
provides
a
great
triage
service,
but
we're
looking
to
work
together
to
ensure
that
actually,
no
matter
where
the
business
enters
the
system
there
we're
able
to
triage
their
needs,
we're
able
to
divert
them
to
the
right
part
of
the
system
and
actually
bring
to
bear
lots
of
different
parts
of
the
public
sector
in
order
to
meet
their
needs
rather
than
them
being
referred.
You
know
and
signposted.
So
we
want
to
want
to
take
that
deeper
if
you
like,
and
make
that
much
much
more
effective.
B
I
C
C
Hours
have
been
around
the
science
skills
academy,
which
does
what
it
says
on
the
tin
really
and
the
northern
innovation
hub,
which
is
projects
around
small
businesses,
emerging
technologies
and
entrepreneurs,
and
also
life
sciences.
Innovation
center,
I'm
raising
those,
as
what
we've
done
is
make
sure
that
they
are
more
become
more
focused
towards
the
challenges
of
the
pandemic
at
the
moment,
so
life
sciences,
innovation,
has
seen
something
where
we've
seen
great
examples.
C
The
other
deals
within
highlands
and
ireland,
murray
and
argyle
and
butte,
and
the
islands
deal
are
earlier
stages
and
our
role
there
has
been
working
with
them
to
develop
the
outline
business
case
and
I
suppose
the
advantage
to
a
degree.
There
is
that
we
can
now
position
that
within
what
we
now
understand
to
be
the
greatest
economic
challenge
that
we
have
ever
faced
and
how
we
use
that
resource
and
that
partnership
approach
to
deal
with
it.
A
Sorry,
if
I
might
just
interject,
I
think
we're
probably
a
bit
pressed
for
time.
So
I
mean
if,
if
others
do
have
something
to
say
in
that
point,
perhaps
they
could
simply
write
into
the
committee
if
they
feel
they
have
something
that
they
would
like
to
contribute
on
that.
But
we
have
a
number
of
other
members
wanting
to
get
questions
in.
So
I'd
like
to
move
now
to
rhoda
grant.
Please.
J
E
It's
hugh
here,
just
to
respond
to
that,
I
I
think
place
based
is,
is
essentially
a
central
part
of
what
local
government's
proposition
through
the
the
recovery
process
that
we're
underway
just
now
it,
and
it
is
very
much
a
central
part
of
what
we
we're
talking
about.
Local
government
already
delivers
a
place
based
level.
E
Jane
touched
on
there,
the
regional
economic
and
the
partnerships
others
have
touched
on
those,
so
we're
very
much
involved
in
those
and
believe
that
the
the
support
the
delivery
needs
to
be
happening
at
that
kind
of
local
level,
and,
as
I
said
earlier,
it's
a
whole
system
approach
that
there
are.
You
know,
business
business
support
is
not
the
only
piece
of
the
puzzle
that
needs
to
be
in
place.
There's
the
wider
regulatory
support
from,
for
example,
environmental,
health
trading
standards
planning
education.
E
All
of
these
things
come
together
switch
as
far
as
I
said
earlier.
Local
proposition
here
is
that
place
based
yep,
that's
the
way
to
go,
but
it's
a
whole
system
and
that's
what
we've
been
we've
been
pitching
as
part
of
this
process
of
economic
recovery
and
working
with
partners
to
look
at
how
best
we
make
that
happen.
C
Roger
it's
charlotte,
I
mean,
I
think,
you're
aware
within
highlands
and
islands,
that
working
on
a
local
basis
has
always
been
absolutely
part
of
our
dna
and
that's
the
way.
We
think
economic
development
really
works
for
the
highlands
and
islands
based
around
local
communities.
So
our
own
distributed
organization
and
the
way
we
work
supports
that
and
in
terms
of
how
forums
work.
The
question
of
a
regional
economic
partnership
is
one
we've
discussed
with
scottish
government.
C
As
that
moves
towards
its
complete
decommissioning-
and
that
has
been
very
successful
in
bringing
partners
to
the
table-
including
crown
state
that
I
mentioned
early
earlier-
nuclear
decommissioning
agency,
who
have
a
very
pertinent
role
in
that
particular
circumstance
to
deal
with
what
could
be
a
a
real
challenge
to
a
community
which
relies
on
the
highly
paid
and
very
highly
skilled
jobs
that
are
currently
available
within
june
ray
as
an
example.
But
I
think
you
probably
know
us
quite
well
in
the
way
that
we
work
with
that
place-based
approach.
D
Thank
you
really
just
to
to
add
a
couple
of
points
I
mentioned
earlier
on
our
regional
economic
partnership,
which
obviously
goes
across
both
dumfries
and
gallery
and
scottish
borders
and
how
we
are
taking
that
forward
with
its
first
substantive
meeting
last
week.
So
at
the
regional
level
we
have
a
the
the
the
start
of
a
very
strong
growing
partnership.
D
But
the
other
point
I
wanted
to
make
is
that
when
we
talk
about
place
based,
we
also
need
to
look
much
lower
down
than
that
and
in
the
sparsely
populated
area
that
is
the
south
of
scotland.
Our
approach
is
to
look
at
each
community
on
its
own.
So
what?
What
are
the
collective
needs
of
businesses
and
community
third
sector
within
that
individual
space?
So
I
mentioned
langham
at
the
start,
we're
very
much
working
with
that
whole
community
to
work
out
what
the
businesses
and
the
community
their
need
and
looking
at
that
place
so
langham.
D
We
know,
for
example,
a
number
of
folks
who
work
there
who
live
there.
Actually
work
in
cumbria
just
take
that
into
account
working
with
stran
ra.
We
need
to
be
working
with
county
antrim
as
much
as
we
do
with
other
parts
of
the
south
and,
if
we're
looking
at
eye
mouth
and
over
in
berkshire,
we're
engaging
with
north
northumberland,
because
that
is
that
is
the
place
that
those
people
who
work
and
live
there
are
considered
that
are
part
of
the
place
in
which
they
live.
So
it's
a
multi-layered
approach.
B
B
We
see
an
opportunity
to
to
work
in
different
ways
actually,
and
I
think
it's
important
that
the
economic
development
system
works
well
locally,
regionally
nationally
and
also
takes
account
of
international
opportunities
and
and
and
kind
of,
the
advantages
that
scotland
have
had
and
the
opportunities
for
for
growth
across
scotland.
As
a
result
of
that,
so
we're
an
active
partner
across
a
number
of
regional
economic
partnerships.
B
So
we
recognize
that
a
one-size-fits-all
approach
is
is
not
appropriate
when
it
comes
to
things
like
business
support,
we
want
to
use
our
expertise
but
be
able
to
flex
that
and
swing
behind
what
might
be
happening
in
local
and
regional
areas
and
work
very
differently
actually
with
local
government
and
other
partners
to
think
about
what
does
the
business
base
need
of
us
across
the
certain
community
or
across
a
certain
part
of
scotland?
What
kind
of
kind
of
resources
can
we
bring
to
beer?
K
K
H
H
H
As
things
currently
stand,
so
we
started
at
342
million
as
things
currently
standard
budgets
sitting
at
529
million,
and
that
reflects
the
additional
and
very
significant
funding
received
from
the
scottish
government,
which
was
critical
in
allowing
all
the
enterprise
agencies
to
support
businesses
quickly
to
survive.
The
immediate
challenge
of
the
sharp
drop
in
the
economic
activity
resulting
from
the
lockdown.
H
H
We've
seen
very
little
of
that
anticipated,
attrition
or
slippage
emerge,
and
our
legal
commitments
have
have
converted
into
expenditure,
so
just
just
to
illustrate
over
excluding
the
monies
that
we
deployed
for
perfect
hardship,
our
expenditure
over
the
five-month
period,
the
end
of
august
is
105
million
pounds
that
that's
the
highest
level
of
expenditure
we've
incurred
in
the
last
five
years.
It's
a
testament
to
the
delivery
and
I
suppose
the
resilience
of
the
business
base
that
there
are
companies
who
are
moving
on
with
the
projects
that
they
planned.
H
However,
in
budget
terms,
I
would,
I
would
say,
it's
finely
balanced
and
on
a
knife
edge
at
this
point,
so
just
to
illustrate
the
way
it
could
move.
Any
additional
volatility
and
erosion
in
our
income
forecast
could
could
move
us
into
a
potential
overspend
position
fairly
quickly.
At
this
point,
we're
actually
running
with
slight
deficits
on
our
capital
and
resource
budgets.
H
Equally,
if
that
attrition
or
slippage
that
I
referred
to
earlier
starts
to
really
emerge
significantly,
particularly
in
the
latter
stages
of
the
year,
then
we
could
very
quickly
move
into
an
underspend,
a
position.
So
at
the
moment,
as
you
see
we're
sitting
with
a
deficit,
these
we
think
are
manageable,
but
I've
been
32
years
in
scottish
enterprise,
and
this
is
the
most
challenging
set
of
circumstances
that
I've
ever
faced
in
my
career,
so
that
that's
kind
of
a
a
fairly
long-winded
answer
to
your
question.
L
Yes,
yes,
thank
you,
yes,
very
similar
to
scottish
enterprise.
Well,
there
are
some
differences,
so
I'll
concentrate
on
the
differences,
rather
than
repeating
what
douglas
said.
Our
income
base
we're
not
so
reliant
on
income
and
our
income
is
actually
held
up.
Okay,
we've
had
120
000
pounds
of
deferrals
of
rent
from
tenants,
but
at
the
moment
those
are
deferrals
rather
than
sort
of
write
off,
so
we're
hoping
that
will
stand
up.
We
entered
the
year
with
a
very
heavy
commitment
space
and
with
a
four
million
pound
reduction
in
our
baseline.
L
L
L
So
I
think
we're
at
the
moment
we're.
Okay,
we've
responded
to
the
to
the
request
to
make
investments
and
we
are
monitoring
our
position
very
carefully
and
we
review
our
budgets
every
month
and
we
are
very
quickly
realigned
widgets
when
we
see
sort
of
changes
in
the
forecast
at
the
moment,
we
are
still
on
course,
to
meet
our
targets.
M
Yeah,
thank
you.
Like
my
colleagues
douglas
and
nick.
He
certainly
has
a
very
challenging
sort
of
circumstance,
he's
associated
slightly
different
and
that
we
come
in
with
almost
no
commitments
and
therefore,
in
line
with
the
strategic
guidance
letter
of
interim
one
and
we've
directed
almost
all
our
funding.
M
The
storm
and
our
board
continues
to
focus
and
align
with
that
guidance
letter
and
and
the
emerging
fiscal,
economic
and
social
challenge
that
we
still
are
going
through
and,
as
we
touched
on,
brexit
coming
up
fast
and
to
us
as
well
so
again
paying
attention
to
that
and
what
what
I
would
say
is
like
douglas.
We
are
currently
forecast
through
budget
divisions.
We
started
at
24.8
million
pounds.
N
All
right
so
in
terms
of
local
government
finance,
we've
been
working
with
the
directors
of
finance
across
all
councils,
since
the
the
beginning
of
the
pandemic
really
to
monitor
the
situation
for
councils
and
since
march.
At
the
moment,
once
all
consequentials
that
are
known
about
at
the
moment
are
factored
in
we're
looking
at
a
gap
of
around
about
350
million
for
councils.
N
Obviously,
a
huge
part
of
that
is
additional
expenditure,
but
more
significantly
at
loss
of
income.
That's
the
area
that
we're
projecting
and
very
very
a
very
large
gap,
we're
currently
working
with
the
scottish
government
around
the
loss
of
income
scheme
which
replicates
the
scheme-
that's
currently
in
operation
in
england.
But
we
said
we're
actually
working
with
government
to
design
that
at
the
moment-
and
it
doesn't
look
like
the
consequentials
will
be
enough
at
the
moment
to
plug
that
back
at
that
gap.
N
But
at
the
moment
councils
are
taking
their
budgets
back
through
committee
at
the
moment
to
kind
of
recast
and
re-prioritize,
as
people
have
already
alluded
to,
and
that's
required
this
year.
But
significantly,
we've
been
working
with
scottish
government
to
explore
a
range
of
fiscal
flexibilities
that
we
would
seek
to
use
in
this
financial
year
and
next
financial
year.
So
that
includes
things
like
using
a
proportion
of
this
year's
general
capital
grant
for
revenue
purposes.
N
So
at
the
moment
there's
a
letter
sitting
the
treasury
that
looks
to
do
the
kind
of
due
diligence
around
the
use
of
these
flexibilities.
Obviously,
these
would
be
welcomed
by
councils.
It
would
put
things
on
a
slightly
more
sustainable
footing
for
next
year,
but
really
we
can't
see
them
as
an
alternative
to
fair
funding
for
21.22,
but
they
would
certainly
help
councils
to
mitigate
some
of
the
issues
that
we're
experiencing
this
year
in
relation
to
revenue
pressures.
K
K
H
Sort
of
recall
and
yeah
just
just
to
add
to
that
slightly
yeah.
As
I
said,
we've
been
very
successful
in
stimulating
a
a
large
pipeline
of
investable
opportunities
and
growth
opportunities
over
the
past
few
years
and
where
those
opportunities
have
actually
been
approved
and
committed,
particularly
the
other
capital
in
nature,
the
resulting
commitments
tend
to
be
relatively
large.
H
They
tend
to
be
multi-annual
and
therefore,
we've
gone
through
a
process
if
you
like,
where
we're
layering
these
commitments
year
on
year,
as
we
approve
each
new
project,
though
so
that's
an
element
that
that
means
we've
got
that
forward
commitment
and
we
always
have
that.
We've
got
commitments
getting
out
actually
two
or
three
financial
years
from
now.
As
a
result
of
that
process,
as
I
said
also
today,
we
haven't
seen
that
level
of
attrition
or
slippage
against
the
programmes
that
we
perhaps
anticipated.
H
However,
as
both
sarah
and
and
hugh
have
alluded
to
earlier,
the
government's
obviously
facing
into
you
know
financial
constraints
next
year,
and
it
will
face
difficulties
across
its
budget
from
its
response
to
the
aeger
report,
it
is
clear
that
the
government
will
do
is
wanting
to
do
all
it
can
to
support
jobs.
Investment
growth
in
a
green
recovery
and
obviously
our
activities
and
and
the
enterprise
agencies
are
fully
aligned
with
with
that.
H
Well,
as
today,
we're
dealing
with
a
rolling
programme
of
activity
and
we
enter
into
these
commitments
on
ongoing
basis
week
one
week.
One
of
the
issues
I'm
sure
we've
all
faced
into
recently
is
the
annuality
of
the
budget
settlement
process,
which
I
think
has
has
has,
unfortunately
happened
for
a
whole
variety
of
reasons,
including
sort
of
parliamentary
cycles.
We
were
led
to
understand
that
we
may
get
particularly
in
capital.
H
We
may
get
allocations
that
will
give
us
more
certainty
over
the
next
only
two
to
three
years,
and
that
would
be
extremely
useful
in
terms
of
of
doing
things.
But
but
yes,
we
were
always
monitoring
in
terms
of
our
standard
reporting,
internally
we're
reporting
both
on
the
current
year
and
also
monitoring
the
build-up
of
commitments
that
that
we
have
going
into
future
years
too.
So
that
we're
very
clear
at
any
point
in
time
and
what
kind
of
discretionary
funding
we
have
available.
A
O
Thank
you
convener.
I
do
know
we're
under
a
time
constraint
now
two
quick
questions:
how
has
covert
19
impacted
on
performance
and
measurements
and
targets?
I
noticed
that
hie
has
no
targets
this
year.
What
progress
have
you
made
on
linking
performance
to
a
national
performance
framework?
Can
I
start
with
charlotte
right?
Please.
C
Yeah,
thank
you
and
so
covert
has
hadn't
had
an
impact
even
towards
the
end
of
last
financial
year
on
some
of
our
qualitative
data
gathering
which
impacted
on
gathering
the
data
for
some
of
our
1920
outcomes,
around
fair
work
and
community
capacity
targets.
The
reason
for
that
is
actual
engagement
for
clients
to
get
the
qualitative
data
which
we
didn't
feel
it
was
appropriate
to
do
in
terms
of
targets
for
this
year.
C
Yes,
we
did
not,
and
scottish
government
hasn't
set
agreed
with
us
a
set
of
targets
for
this
current
year,
but
what
we
are
doing
with
our
board
is
using
last
year's
set
of
targets
and
tracking
our
performance
against
those
and
so
to
date.
That's
on
course
in
some
areas,
including
job
creation,
which
is
pretty
important,
although
and
that's
principally,
actually
around
job
retention
rather
than
creation.
So
we
are
tracking
our
usual
set
of
measures
and
reporting
to
our
board
on
those.
C
O
Basically,
so
I
don't
need
to
come
back
to
each
other,
I'm
going
to
ask
you.
Another
question
then
move
on
to
someone
else,
and
this
may
not
particularly
relate
to
what
we're
discussing,
but
I'm
interested
as
previously
working
with
the
royal
bank
of
scotland.
What
planning
or
discussions
are
you
having
with
your
staff
re-performance
and
do
staff
performance
reviews
take
place,
and
what
this
year's
performance
review
affect
the
yearly
performance
because
it
covered
19.
C
Yes,
so
we
have
a
very
embedded
approach
on
setting
performance
outcomes
for
all
of
our
staff
and
they're
done
on
an
annual
basis
with
a
quarterly
kind
of
catch-up
throughout
that,
and
we
have
looked
to
reset
what
some
of
those
targets
and
outcomes
would
be
as
so
that
they
are
focused
on
absolutely.
The
coverage
response.
B
Yes,
of
course,
thanks
very
much
just
for
for
speed
we're
taking
a
very
similar
approach
to
high
in
terms
of
our
targets
and
our
measures
this
year
our
measures
were
signed
off
and
approved
back
in
in
january.
So,
and
things
have
changed,
however,
we
do
the
things
that
we're
monitoring
around
jobs
created
and
safeguarded
capital
investment
by
companies,
growth,
funding,
raised
innovation
and
r
d
remain
really
key
drivers
for
the
for
the
economy.
In
spite
of
covert
so
we're
continuing
to
track
our
performance
there.
B
We
have
a
low
confidence
that
will
achieve
all
our
targets
this
year
because
of
everything
else.
That
is
happening,
but
we
remain
highly
committed
to
reporting
on
our
overall
performance
on
a
regular
basis,
not
just
in
our
normal
targets,
but
you
know
some
of
the
other
additional
work
that
we're
doing
over
recent
months.
B
The
scottish
government,
just
for
the
committee's
awareness,
is
leading
on
the
piece
of
work
that
we're
going
to
be
part
of
which
will
evaluate
the
past
and
hardship
funds
that
we've
done,
starting
with
some
survey,
work
kicking
off
in
october
to
look
at
the
kind
of
and
the
gender
mix
and
ethnicity
and
the
ethnicity
of
other
companies,
and
things
like
that
that
we've
supported.
So
this
will
be
working
on
going
around
that
which
I'm
sure
will
be
made
fully
fully
public.
B
And
in
terms
of
your
your
second
point
there
about
individual
staff
performance.
British
enterprises
actually
started
rolling
out
a
new
performance
of
portugal
lake
earlier
this
year.
Building
on,
and
you
know,
kind
of
work,
that's
very
firmly
embedded
across
our
organizations
around
individual
performance
plans
and
personal
objective
setting
and
we've
shifted
that
to
to
make
it.
You
know
more
than
one
year
so
kind
of
two
three
years
and
also
a
combination
of
what
staff
deliver,
but
also
how
they
deliver
and
also
team
objectives.
B
You
know
with
that
whole
sense
of
collaborative
working,
a
teammate
both
how
we
work
together,
we've
embedded
in
our
in
our
kind
of
performance
approaches
and
we've
also
done
quite
a
lot
of
work
in
in
recent
months.
Around
staff,
well-being
and
that
kind
of
thing
and
those
kind
of
conversations
are
a
fundamental
part
of
our
performance
discussions
going
on
in
light
of
the
current
circumstances,
but
also
we
want
to
ensure
that
our
staff
are
well
cared
for
and
motivated
to
deliver
on
an
ongoing
basis.
D
D
But
some
of
that
is
also
about
how
we
will
help
develop
ourselves
through
the
year
as
part
of
our
three-year
setup,
and
we
will
also
be
developing
some
more
concrete
measures
that
tie
in
not
only
business
development
but
look
at
the
economic
sort
of
the
community
and
the
environmental
elements
so
that
we
have
a
a
a
measurement
suite
right
across
the
economy
and
associated
elements,
and
just
on
performance
management.
We've
actually
considered
instigated
monthly
conversations
the
rather
than
doing
on
an
annual
basis.
D
O
P
I'll
try
and
roll
my
question
into
one
instead
of
time.
I
want
to
move
on
to
sort
of
economic
recovery.
In
the
past
year,
we've
seen
the
announcement
of
a
climate
emergency
we've
seen
the
scottish
national
investment
bank
missions,
including
net
zero
by
2045,
and
we've
seen
the
advisory
group
and
economic
recovery
publishers
report,
and
I
just
want
to
ask
a
question
of
jane
martin
from
scottish
enterprise
and
sarah
waters,
then
from
kosla
jane
martin.
B
So
we've
we've
been
doing
it
just
at
risk.
Last
point:
we've
been
doing
a
lot
of
work
with
the
oil
and
gas
sector
and
one
northeast
and
others
around,
actually
the
the
transition,
the
transitioning
agenda
and
working
to
build
a
high
profile
for
scotland's
kind
of
subsidy,
expertise
and
that
kind
of
thing,
but
from
the
from
the
point
of
view
of
deconditioning
and
transitioning
to
zero
economy.
B
So
there's
work
on
going
in
that
and
one
of
the
kind
of
key
plants
of
our
kind
of
inward
investment
priorities
and
our
plan
going
forward
is
how
we
positioning
scotland
and
scotland's
business
space
and
the
expertise
that
we've
got
in
oil
and
gas
around
that
that
that
net
zero
agenda,
so
that
that's
a
critical
priority
for
us
in
a
at
the
moment.
There'll
be
more
work
in
that
coming
coming
out
over
the
coming
weeks
ahead,
and
I
didn't
I'm
sorry,
I
didn't
catch
the
first
part
of
your
question
because
I
was
being
unmuted.
P
B
Okay,
so
the
the
the
climate
emergency
and
the
net
zero
was
obviously
a
fundamental
part
of
our
of
our
future
strategy.
You
know
coming
straight
through
from
scottish
government's
policy
priorities
and
in
fact,
we've
got
two
days
with
our
board
in
a
couple
of
weeks.
Time
dedicated
to
this
we've
done
a
lot
of
work
in
in
recent
years
around,
as
I
said,
I
learned
investment
plans,
sporting
projects
such
as
calgo
and
you
know
deliberately
going
out
and
and
trying
to
bring
in
investment,
which
fits
with
that
low
carbon
agenda.
B
So
all
that
kind
of
insight
and
experience
that
we've
got
we
will
be
sharing
with
the
scottish
national
investment
bank,
we're
actually
busy
preparing
a
kind
of
formal
response
to
their
consultation.
Just
now
on
their
on
their
missions
approach
and
the
key
missions
that
they've
identified
and
again
that
will
be
a
kind
of
key
discussion
with
our
with
our
board
in
the
next
couple
of
weeks.
What
we
feel
as
an
organisation
is,
while
we've
been
doing
various
initiatives,
we
need
to
do
more
to
embed
it
across
all
our
operations
and
all
our
decisions.
B
And,
while
I
think
we've
been
a
strong
supporter
of
a
decarbonised
economy,
I
think
with
the
climate
and
emergency,
we
need
to
embed
that
in
terms
of
how
we
prioritize
and
how
we
work
with
businesses
and
work
in
projects
and
implicitly
right
across
everything
that
we
do.
So
we
see
it
as
being
a
tool
for
how
we
might
prioritize
activities
and
interventions
across
the
peace
and
future,
and
so,
for
example,
if
we're
supporting
a
business
with
money
and
if
you're,
looking
as
part
of
that,
they
will
partner
with
us
in
terms
of
that
net.
B
P
Okay,
thank
you.
Perhaps
you
could
maybe
write
to
the
committee
about
sdi's
ongoing
support
for
the
export
of
oil
gas
technology
sarah
waters
just
finally,
the
the
one
of
the
other
missions.
Draft
missions
of
the
scottish
national
investment
bank
will
be
a
place-based
mission
and,
together
with
the
signaling
of
scottish
enterprise,
focus
more
on
a
place-based
approach.
Presumably
cosla
welcomes
this
and
sees
great
opportunities.
N
It
will
also
require
ideally
multi-year
budgets,
so
we
can
actually
take
that
longer
term
planning
approach
that
you
know.
We
need
to
look
at
vehicles
estate,
green
growth,
accelerators
they
all
require.
You
know,
they'll
require
capital
funding.
They'll
also
require
ongoing
rent
revenue
expenditures,
so
absolutely
supportive
of
both
agendas
and,
as
I
say,
I
think
our
blueprint
for
local
government
and
articulates
the
key
role
for
local
government.
Q
Hey
thanks
so
much
convener
really
to
follow
on
from
the
the
questions
about
scottish
national
investment
bank.
We
did
speak
to
them
previously
and
raised
the
question
of
whether
they
thought
demand
was
going
to
be
sufficient
and,
of
course,
covid
makes
that
maybe
even
more
questionable.
So
my
question
to
the
witnesses-
and
I
think
I've
already
heard
from
scottish
enterprise
that
they
felt
demand
for
their
services
was
holding
up.
So
maybe
we
could
start
with
them.
B
So
and
I
I
think
that
what
we've
been
doing
in
recent
years
is
we've
been
creating
and
stimulating
demand
actually
for
the
whole
system.
You
know,
and
I
think
it's
important,
that
we
are
ambitious
about
what
can
be
achieved
and
not
be
constrained
by
you
know
what
we've
got
our
own
hand.
I
feel
like
we've
got
our
own
disposal
so
that
that's
a
fundamental
part
of
our
strategy
going
forward
and
in
terms
of
stimulating
demand
for
the
scottish
national
investment
bank.
B
So
I
think
that
there
is
a
real
opportunity
there
and
but
we
can
we've
got
access
to
even
even
through
sip.
You
know
not
just
the
companies
that
we've
worked
with,
but
we've
got
kind
of
a
wide
range
of
contacts
with
potential
co-investors
on
new
opportunities
and
the
new
missions.
So
we
see
that
a
good
opportunity
to
stipulate
to
stimulate
the
man
that
way
and
we've
already
talked
about
the
work
that
we've
been
doing
around
regional
economic
partnerships
looking
at
covered
recovery
plans
that
will
also
open
up
new
demand
for
for
patient
capital.
B
Q
Okay,
well
thanks
very
much
for
that
response.
I'll
assume
the
hie
and
south
of
scotland
are
similar
unless
they
particularly
want
to
come
in,
but
if
I
could
hear
maybe
from
business
gateway
and
cosla,
do
they
view
that
in
the
same
way,
do
you
think
there'll
be
demand
for
the
snib
and
what
about
the
position
of
women-led
businesses.
E
E
I
think
our
view
would
be
that
that
access
to
capital,
as
described
there,
ties
in
very
closely
with
one
of
the
things
we
see
as
being
a
top
priority
kind
of
of
the
advisory
groups
report
and
that's
capital
investment,
and
we
saw
a
strong
connection
between
the
the
the
report
and
and
snip
coming
along.
There
is
clearly
an
opportunity
for
that
capital.
Investment
in
terms
of
looking
at
women
enterprise
side
of
things.
Business
game
is
a
universal
service.
E
I'll
jump
in
again,
as
I
said
earlier,
we
were
working
collectively
together
on
the
kind
of
response
to
brexit,
which
obviously
was
a
challenge,
because
no
one
was
quite
clear
what
that
was
going
to
be,
but
we
recognized
the
potential
impacts
on
on
businesses.
So
we
were
working
together
on
that
through
what
was
the
brexit
response?
E
Steering
group
that,
as
I
mentioned
earlier,
was
repurposed
to
respond
to
the
more
immediate
needs
of
of
the
kinecovid
situation
and
to
some
extent,
because
brexit
had
kind
of
slipped
off
the
table,
as
I
said
earlier,
as
well,
clearly
brexit
very
much
and
very
firmly
back
on
the
table.
So
the
the
work
that
we've
been
doing
has
now
again
kind
of
coalesced
around
this
idea
that
we
we
need
to
be
responding
to
covert
19,
which
we're
not
out
of
and
brexit,
which
is
now
just
around
the
corner.
E
So,
as
I
said,
we
have
the
business
resilience
steering
group
as
well
as
we're
styling
it
now,
which
involves
the
government,
the
agencies,
local
authorities
through
slade
ourselves,
osla
and
we're
coming
together
very
very
much
as
a
collective
group
trying
to
look
at
well.
What
are
the
impacts
going
to
be?
How
do
we
repurpose
ourselves
and
make
sure
that
we're
able
to
respond
to
what
comes
around
the
corner
increasingly
well,
it
depends
how
things
go.
Then
it's
of
three
four
weeks
are
we
looking
at
an
ideal
scenario?
C
C
It
hasn't
been
touched
by
eu
funds,
we're
particularly
keen
to
see
the
progress
of
the
shared
prosperity
fund
and
working
with
a
scottish
government
to
set
up
a
future
funds
team
which
is
multi-agency
and
that
consultation
has
demonstrated
strong
support
for
a
regional
approach
to
both
governance
and
delivery,
and
just
wanted
to
say
something
that
that's.
I
would
absolutely
endorse
that
as
the
way
forward
and
that
we
would
hope
to
hear
something
soon
about
it.
G
A
All
right,
thank
you
very
much
and
thank
you
to
our
witnesses
for
being
with
us
today.
Please
do
feel
free
to
write
in
if
you
want
to
add
detail
on
matters
that
may
not
have
been
possible
to
advise
the
committee
of
so
thank
you
very
much
I'll
now
suspend
the
meeting
before
we
move
to
the
next
panel.
Thank
you.
A
A
S
Our
early
response
stages,
supported
businesses
to
safely
shut
down
and
help
to
maintain
productive
capacity
in
scotland's
economy,
with
a
business
support
program
worth
2.3
billion
pounds
delivered
through
our
enterprise
agencies
and
in
conjunction
with
local
authorities.
We
work
to
ensure
that
the
support
can
be
made
available
as
quickly
as
possible
to
the
eligible
companies.
S
Our
reset
and
restart
work
involve
the
ongoing
process
with
industry
and
trade
unions
to
develop
and
update
guidance
for
businesses
and
workers
to
operate
in
as
safe
a
way
as
possible
as
more
business
sectors
reopened,
supported
by
the
three
pillars
of
workplace
guidance.
Secondly,
compliance
and
enforcement
with
hse
environmental
and
police
support,
and,
thirdly,
test
and
protect.
S
We
have
published
recovery
plans
in
the
last
couple
of
weeks,
the
economic
recovery
implementation
plan,
the
report
on
measures
to
mitigate
the
impacts
on
the
labour
market
and
particularly
for
our
young
people
and,
most
recently,
the
programme
for
government.
I
hope
that
today
we
can
discuss
much
of
the
work
that
has
happened
so
far,
and
I
can
provide
some
more
details
on
our
plans
for
economic
recovery,
which
are
carefully
balanced
against
our
overall
priority
of
protecting
public
health
and
eliminating
the
virus.
S
I
would
like
to
record
the
importance
of
the
role
that
scotland's
businesses
and
workers
have
played,
not
just
our
key
workers,
keeping
the
essential
parts
of
our
economy,
moving
at
the
height
of
lockdown,
but
those
across
the
country
for
the
way
in
which
they
have
approached
the
reopening
of
business
and
services.
Supporting
economic
recovery.
S
Central
to
our
plans
for
economic
recovery
is
a
commitment
to
do
everything
we
can
to
protect
existing
jobs,
to
support
workers
to
upskill
and
reskill
and
to
create
good
quality
green
jobs
for
the
future.
Our
sector-led
recovery
plans
will
be
crucial
in
this
working
with
industry,
trade
unions
and
other
stakeholders
to
chart
the
way
forward.
Similarly,
we
must
protect
and
create
opportunities
for
our
young
people,
many
of
whom
are
being
hit
hardest
by
the
economic
impacts
of
this
pandemic
are
recently
announced.
S
Youth
guarantee
will
mean
that
every
young
person
will
have
the
opportunity
to
attend
university
or
college
to
participate
in
an
apprenticeship
program
or
training
gain
fair
work,
employment,
including
work
experience
or
participating.
In
a
formal
volunteering
programme.
We
have
dedicated
60
million
pounds
of
the
100
million
pounds
that
we
have
identified
to
protect
jobs
and
reduce
the
impacts
of
covert
on
our
labor
market
to
the
implant.
Implementation
of
the
youth
guarantee.
S
The
recovery
and
growth
of
our
economy
requires
investment,
and
we
are
committed
to
that.
We
have
already
committed
over
900
million
pounds
to
supporting
scotland's
economic
recovery,
including
230
million
pounds
for
our
economic
recovery
stimulus
package,
to
invest
in
capital
projects
that
will
stimulate
the
economy,
372
million
pounds
of
transport
for
the
transport
sector
and
160
million
pounds
to
a
rural
recovery
package,
supporting
key
sectors
in
the
rural
economy
to
recover
from
the
impacts
of
covert
19..
S
Combining
the
stimulus
package
to
the
business
support
that
we've
made
available
that
totals
over
3.3
billion
pounds
of
investment
to
protect
our
economy
and
build
it
back
in
a
fairer,
greener
and
more
sustainable
way.
And
we
need
to
go
further.
Considering
the
longer
term
impacts
of
cover
19,
the
scottish
national
investment
bank
will
play
a
key
role
in
supporting
scotland's
recovery
by
delivering
patient
and
sustained
sustainable
investment.
S
We
are
dealing
with
unprecedented
uncertainty,
and
so
we
know
that
the
plans
that
we're
making
have
to
be
flexible
and
that
we
may
need
to
change
and
adapt
to
respond
to
the
impact
that
coving
makes
in
the
economic
environment
around
us
at
every
stage,
responding
to
the
needs
of
business
workers
and
everyone
with
a
stake
in
our
economy.
As
we
take
steps
forward
towards
a
successful
economic
recovery.
Thank
you
can
be
now.
A
A
But
what
I
want
to
ask
you
about
is
what
due
diligence
will
be
undertaken
to
ensure
that
that
money
has
been
spent
well
and
also,
how
will
success
of
the
spend
be
evaluated
and
perhaps
the
the
comments
from
some
businesses
about
the
need
for
practical
measures
rather
than
strategies
or
reviews
how?
How
is
how
are
the
comments
and
criticisms
of
business
going
to
be
taken
into
account
and
doing
these
things.
S
Well,
I've
said,
I
think,
to
this
committee
previously
that
both
the
uk
government
and
the
scottish
government's
economic
response
had
to
be
rapid
and
by
being
rapid.
It
was
also
fairly
blunt
in
many
respects,
all
of
the
the
responses
in
order
to
get
finances
out
quickly.
Obviously,
we
know
that
there
was
some.
S
That
was
that
was
unique
to
scotland
and
they
and
they
moved
particularly
to
trying,
as
I
said,
to
keep
productive
capacity
and
also
take
a
very
regional
approach
as
well
to
make
sure
that
in
the
south
of
scotland
and
highlands
islands
area
that
they
could
be
activity
there
on
evaluation,
which
I
think
is
very
important.
And
the
scottish
government's
office
of
the
chief
economic
advisor
and
osea
have
a
program
to
monitor
and
evaluate
the
results
of
covert
they're.
S
Currently
in
the
second
stage
of
the
evaluation
and
we'll
make
sure
the
committee
gets
the
reports
of
that
to
ensure
that
you
can
see
that
work
taking
place.
I
think
it's
quite
interesting
in
terms
of
some
of
the
the
feedback
that
have
been
has
been
received,
and
there
was
a
obviously
in
terms
of
the
analysis.
S
There
was
a
combination
of
the
the
different
funds
and
the
furlough
scheme,
undoubtedly
from
the
uk
government,
was
seen
as
a
and
still
is
seen
as
a
major
support
for
the
economy,
and
you
know
that
we've
called
in
this
parliament
collectively
have
voted
in
favor
of
calling
for
an
extension
of
that.
But
it's
also
quite
significant
that
the
additional
support
that
the
scottish
government
provided
in
terms
of
the
local
authority
grants,
but
also
through
the
enterprise
agencies,
was
instrumental
in
in
helping
businesses
be
sustainable
and
to
be
able
to
reopen.
S
So
we're
making
sure
that
there
is
that
evaluation
and
the
monitoring
of
that
and
the
impact.
And
I
think,
if
you're
you'll
probably
know
from
your
own
constituency
work
the
importance
of
those
funds.
Not
everybody
obviously
could
receive
the
funds,
they
were
very
specific
and
targeted
and
they
were
very
practical
and
that
helped
people
in
terms
of
their
recovery.
S
So
in
terms
of
the
activity
that
we've
put
in
terms
of
the
900
million
pounds
for
economic
recovery,
that
really
is
an
economic
stimulus
plan
to
to
make
sure
that
there's
a
job
creation
element
to
that
to
make
sure
that
the
economic
activity
in
terms
of
that
regeneration.
That
means
the
shovel
ready
projects
in
terms
of
some
of
some
of
the
areas
we've
also
seen
recently,
the
town
centre
regeneration
plan
as
well
that
helps
in
terms
of
economic
activity,
some
of
the
cultural
work
and
funds.
S
I've
allocated,
there's
also
about
making
sure
that
we're
heritage
jobs
are
protected
by
activity
and
practical
works,
taking
place
the
length
and
breadth
of
the
the
country.
So
that's
as
much
about
economic
stimulus,
as
well
as
the
early
stage
growth
fund
that
I
announced
and
just
last
week
helping
the
jobs
development
in
early
stage
growth
companies
as
well.
S
So
these
are
all
areas
that
are
about
making
sure
that
there's
an
economic
stimulus
for
for
job
creation
and
job
activity
and
economic
activity
and
and
in
terms
of
in
terms
of
their
the
accountability,
we'll
make
sure
that
the
committee
gets
the
full
evaluation
that
is
taking
place
to
make
sure
that
they
can
there's
a
good
understanding
of
the
impact
and
also
in
terms
of
the
activity.
That's
taking
place.
A
You're
referred
to
referred
to
denmark,
germany,
other
countries
where,
in
fact
their
furlough
schemes
are
part
of
a
decades
or
indeed,
perhaps
more
than
a
century-old
system
which
has
been
fine-tuned
to
address.
You
know
the
unusual
circumstances,
whereas
the
the
furlough
scheme
in
the
uk
is
perhaps
not
part
of
the
the
bigger
picture.
So
what
I'm
interested
in
is
what
specific
approach
and
system
have
you
recommended
to
the
uk
government
to
enable
that
provision
to
fit
into
the
long-term
plan.
S
Well,
we've
produced
an
analysis
of
the
extension
of
the
coronavirus
scheme
that
indicates
that,
for
the
cost
of
850
million
pounds,
61
000
jobs
could
be
protected.
That
would
be
an
extension
of
the
existing
scheme
for
eight
months
that
would,
at
the
equivalent
of
cost,
for
that,
for
the
uk
would
be
about
10
billion.
Now.
That's
a
lot
of
money
absolutely
understand
that,
but
we
are
in
in
critical
times
and
currently
the
ovr
indicating
about
100
and
over
190
billion
pounds
has
been
spent
by
the
uk
government.
S
Obviously
they
have
the
powers
to
borrow
and
also
in
other
means
by
which
they
can
finance
that,
as
other
countries
have
done
in
in
in
relative
terms,
the
a
thousand
pound
job.
You
know
the
the
return
for
retention
for
keeping
somebody
on
the
books
that
companies
can
get
in
january
will
cost
about
nine
billion,
which
is
not
much
less
than
this.
S
But
it's
a
scatter
gun
blanket
approach,
so
we
think
that
it's
good
value
and
that
it
would
actually
be
pay
for
itself
in
the
long
run,
because
it
would
protect
gdp
and
income
in
terms
of
tax,
take
and
also
prevent,
spend
on
unemployment
benefits.
So
that's
why
other
countries
have
also
decided
to
to
do
the
same
in
terms
of
extension.
S
So
six
countries,
australia,
austria,
france,
germany,
ireland
and
switzerland
have
extended
their
furlough
schemes
beyond
this
year,
while
italy
and
canada
have
extended
them
to
the
end
of
this
year.
So
you
ask
me
specifically
what
we've
done
in
terms
of
approaching
the
uk
government
before
lockdown,
when
we
were
in
the
period
of
self-isolation
only
before
lockdown
in
march,
I
suggested
to
the
uk
government
at
that
time
through
the
base
minister,
that
they
should
look
at
the
german
scheme,
because
the
german
scheme
is
the
one
that's
well
established.
S
S
We
have
to
have
a
means
by
which
you
know
we
can
have
some
kind
of
flexibility
and
some
kind
of
certainty.
There
are
particular
sectors
which
have
been
hardest
hit,
which
we
know
about
and
again
I
have
made
the
case.
The
uk
government
in
my
regular
quad
calls
with
the
the
uk
government
and
also
directly
when
I
was
part
of
the
at
that
time.
S
The
round
of
economy,
ministers
and
secretary
of
state's
new
uk
government
and
their
regular
calls
with
rishi
sunac
that
looking
at
some
of
the
key
areas
in
our
sectors,
oil
and
gas,
for
different
reasons,
but
related
reasons-
a
bit
to
covert
in
their
transition
to
make
sure
the
capacity
there.
The
supply
chain
for
capacity
for
engineering
for
subsea
expertise
could
be
retained.
We
need
that
for
our
move
into
to
renewables
and
zero
carbon,
the
aerospace
issue-
and
I
know,
there's
real
concern
across
all
the
administrations
about
aerospace.
S
S
Many
in
the
other
in
other
sectors,
there's
only
15
percent
that
are
still
fair
load,
so
we
know
that
there's
still
strain
on
that
area
events.
Absolutely
we
see
that,
and
also,
if
you
look
at
some
of
the
areas
around
cultural
cultural
areas-
and
we
know
also,
there
are
particular
segments,
whether
it's
face-to-face
mobile
musicians,
whether
it's
soft
play,
areas
that
are
have
not
reopened
that
are
particularly
areas
there.
So
I
think
it
would
make
sense
to
have
some
kind
of
flexibility
in
that
now.
S
The
simple
thing
would
be
to
do
what
other
countries
have
done
and
extended
existing
schemes,
and,
and
indeed
they,
but
you
can
also-
then
they
also
have
the
choice
if
they
chose
to
do
this,
to
look
at
some
a
more
sexual
approach
and
and
belgium,
canada,
italy
and
france,
their
furlough
schemes
have
special
provisions
for
businesses
or
sectors
that
have
been
hardest
hit
by
the
pandemic.
So
there's
good
international
comparisons.
I
think
we
need
a
system
that
suits
the
uk.
S
And
I
think,
a
positive
response
to
our
call
and
indeed
industries
call,
would
be
very,
very
welcome
it's
about
keeping
productive
capacity.
But
it's
also
self-interest
for
the
uk
government,
because
the
loss
of
tax
take
the
the
fallen
gdp
and
the
the
cost
of
unemployment
will
outweigh
what
would
be
a
temporary
investment
in
a
furlough
scheme.
S
Well
in
term,
the
difference
is
that
we
do
not
have
the
financial
levers
to
generate
the
190
billion
pounds.
We
don't
if
we
had
the
same
levers
as
other
countries,
whether
it's
france,
germany,
whether
it's
ireland,
whether
it's
norway,
denmark,
if
we
had
the
same
capacity
as
other
countries,
to
generate
that
level
and
degree
of
income
with
the
powers
that
we
currently
don't
have
and
then,
of
course,
we
can
make
those
decisions
to
extend
schemes
that
we
currently
have.
S
We've
managed-
and
I
think
this
is
the
the
test
here-
should
we
keep
funds
back
for
for
for
in
case,
we
need
them
because
of
the
timing
of
the
pandemic,
or
should
we
have
got
them
into
the
hands
of
businesses,
to
protect
capacity
and
to
protect
jobs,
and
we
have
allocated
our
funds
and
they
are
with
the
the
businesses
that
need
them.
So
unless
there
are
consequentials
to
this
government,
unless
there
are
flexibilities
and
powers,
we
if
we
were
given
more
powers
to
borrow
that
would
give
us
some
degree
of
capacity.
S
But
we've
got
to
be
realistic.
The
the
uk
government
is
the
state.
It
has
the
fiscal
levers.
The
economic
levers
are
required
to
do
the
scale
of
activity,
that's
needed
for
a
proper
economic
response,
and
I
would
like
this
parliament
to
have
more
powers
to
do
that,
but
we
don't
so.
We
have
to
be
realistic
about
where
we
are.
I
do
think
in
terms
of
some
of
the
business
support
that
we
need,
for
example,
for
local
lockdowns.
S
S
And
so
you
know
in
terms
of
our
allocations,
our
our
payments
have
been
been
allocated.
There
are
issues
that,
obviously,
that
I'm
sure
you
will
have
heard
and
others
about.
You
know
what
the
business
rate
situation
might
be
in
the
future
and
obviously
that's
been
a
great
relief
to
to
many
businesses
and
again
that's
an
issue
that
kate
forbes
will
need
to
consider,
as
we
part
to
start
to
put
our
budget
together
for
next
year.
S
Yes,
we
have,
there
is
a
very
small,
marginal
amount
left
which
we
would
want
to
allocate
if
we
can
to
some
of
the
kind
of
issues
around
local
lockdown.
So
in
terms
of
the
the
spend
that
went
to
the
non-domestic
rates
grants
allocation-
and
that
has
been
that
has
been
used,
we've
also
then
used
any
underspend
on
that
to
help
support
some
of
our
unique
funds
in
scotland
and
also,
for
example,
the
tourism
fund
at
ferguson,
launched
in
august
to
help
maintain
capacity
in
the
tourism
sector.
S
A
And
can
you
explain
why
I
mean
you
give
germany
as
an
example,
but
of
course
they
had
a
a
surplus
for
the
three
years
prior
to
covid
happening,
of
course,
they've
gone
into
deficit
now,
so
they
had
something
like
50
billion
euros
more
in
terms
of
their
financial
position
going
into
covet.
Then
the
united
kingdom
had
purely
in
that
measure,
based
on
years
of,
I
think
what
you
would
call
austerity
measures.
S
Well,
if
you're
asking
me
to
reflect
on
the
handling
of
the
uk
government's
deficit
over
recent
years,
I
mean
I'm
not
sure
how
useful
it
is
to
reflect
on
the
scottish
budget.
But
you
know
the
scottish
government's
budget,
but
obviously
the
uk
government's
had
significant
challenges
and-
and
it's
currently
placed
at
facing
it's
at
two
trillion
of
debt-
that's
an
enormous
amount
of
debt,
as,
as
you
know,
other
countries
have
got
certain
degrees
of
debt
as
well,
but
I
mean,
I
think,
they're
in
a
very
challenging
position.
S
S
I've
actually
had
a
public
health
impact
and
if
you
look
at
those
areas
where
you've
seen
most
deaths,
sadly
they
also
reflect
areas
of
financial
deprivation
and
poverty,
and
that's
been
accentuated
with
that
period.
So
there
is
a
public
health
dynamic
to
how
you
run
your
economics,
and
I
do
think,
therefore,
that
going
if
you're
you're,
my
if
you're
asking
me
what
should
happen
in
the
future.
S
I
absolutely
don't
I
absolute
of
the
viewer
that
the
uk
government
should
not
embark
on
austerity
to
help
drive
down
the
two
trillion
pounds
of
debt
they
have
and
there
has
to
be
an
understanding
of
the
consequences
of
austerity
on
lots
of
different
areas,
but
also,
as
we've
seen
more.
Sadly,
in
relation
to
public
health.
I
Thank
you,
convener
welcome,
cabinet
secretary,
just
thinking
about
the
business
support
landscape.
How
have
other
government
agencies
who
might
have
a
role
in
business
support
or
economic
development
such
as
cepa
or
the
crown
estate,
supported
and
coordinated
with
the
enterprise
agencies
during
the
pandemic?.
S
I
would
remind
the
committee
that
I
only
took
post
several
weeks
before
lockdown,
so
it's
difficult
to
compare
from
my
own
experience
to
previously,
but
I'm
impressed
with
that
activity.
Similarly,
I
suppose,
from
a
government
point
of
view,
I've
made
sure
during
this
period
that
you
know
we
have
a
regular
weekly
meeting
of
economy
ministers
and
actually
also
there
are
regular
meetings
with
the
first
minister
of
the
cabinet
secretaries
with
an
economy
interest.
S
But
in
my
view
every
minister
has
an
economic
interest
and
so
therefore,
how
do
we
mobilize
that
activity
across
government
and
I
think,
there's
I
think,
there's
more
that
can
be
done
in
that
area.
So
I
think
that's
something
that
committee
is
interested
in
and
we
can
look
further
about
and
how
we
do
that,
certainly
from
a
green
recovery
point
of
view-
and
we
need
to
see
that
you
know
the
circular
economy,
which
I
know
the
member
is
very
interested
in
different
areas.
I
Obviously,
we've
heard
earlier
about
how
the
enterprise
agencies,
beyond
contractual
commitments,
have
you
know,
had
to
prioritize
support
during
the
covered
landscape.
Is
that
something
you've
coordinated
across
government
with
those
other
agencies
who
could
have
a
business
support
or
economic
development
role
to
ask
them
to
prioritize?
You
know
those
functions
during
this
pandemic.
S
Yes
and
that's
obviously,
the
the
in
terms
of
letters
of
guidance
that
were
issued
to
public
bodies
generally
focused
on
that,
but
to
give
you
an
example,
although
I've
transferred
responsibility
on
tourism
and
events
to
and
hospitality
to,
fergus
hewing,
I
still
keep
our
interest
and
have
a
responsibility
for
major
events
and
visit
scotland,
for
example.
Re
you
know,
suppose,
refocus
their
activity
to
help
develop.
You
know,
help
delivering
support
for
the
events
industry.
S
So,
although
we've
managed
to
allocate,
I
allocated
some
of
the
consequentials
to
the
event
sector,
they
have
also
then
looked
at
the
event
scotland
side
of
visit
scotland,
how
they
can
reorganise
some
of
the
events
scotland
activity
instead
of
delivering,
but
how
you
can
refocus
it
for
activity.
I'll,
give
you
another
example
in
relation
to.
We
know
from
the
the
the
festivals
and
the
culture
side
of
things.
They
again
we
didn't
reduce
their
funding,
but
we
said
make
sure
you
support
freelancers.
S
So,
for
example,
the
edinburgh
international
festival
helped
support
500
freelancers
during
their
activity
and
doing
virtually
in
terms
of
the
enterprise
agencies.
It's
been
more
challenging
because
actually,
although
we
might
have
expected
the
pipeline
of
opportunities
to
perhaps
have
attrition,
as
we
heard
earlier,
that
hasn't
been
the
case,
so
there's
been
less
opportunity
to
because
you
know
to
to
use
some
of
that
funding.
But
then
actually
that's
I'd
rather
have
more
opportunities
with
future.
You
know
pipeline
activity
coming
through
than
not
because
that's
the
jobs
that
we
will
need
going
forward.
S
So
therefore,
there's
been
an
adjustment
of
that,
but
we've
been
using
obviously
the
resources
that
we
have
and
try
to
reorganize
where
we
can,
because
every
penny
will
count
and
how
we
can
readjust
and
being
smart
with.
What
we've
got
is
a
real
challenge,
and
that's
why
I
talked
about
flexibility
earlier
on
in
terms
of
our
programs,
but
also
in
terms
of
our
financing,
to
make
sure
that
we're
you're
getting
resources
to
where
it's
needed.
S
But
you
know
we
have
got
challenges
and
therefore
some
of
the
flexibilities
between
capital
and
revenue,
for
example,
are
important
from
a
scottish
government's
point
of
view.
But
from
my
perspective,
in
my
budget
having
capital
for
jobs
is
really
important
and
trying
to
get
as
much
of
that
into
the
hands
of
our
enterprise
agencies
this
year.
If
we
can
do,
that
is
something
that
we'll
try
and
do
that
won't
be
reconciled
until
sometime
in
the
future.
But
I'm
sure
that's
something
that
you'll
you'll
take
an
interest
in.
K
Colin
beatty
thank
you.
Convener
government
secretary
we've,
I'd
like
to
look
a
little
bit
at
economic
development
and
we've
had
a
fair
few
comments
to
the
committee
on
that
and
if
I
pick
one
of
them,
the
sduc
states
that
it's
of
the
view
that
scotland's
economic
policy
making
infrastructure
is
fragmented
and
lacks
the
capacity
to
meaningfully
shape
economic
development.
S
Well,
economic
development
is
complex,
it
has
a
national
dimension,
it
has
an
international
event
dimension,
it
has
a
local
dimension
and
there's
a
lot
of
focus
and
again
from
the
advisory
group.
Electric
recovery
and
you've
seen
from
our
programme
for
government
more
of
an
adjustment
to
a
place-based
area
activity,
which
is
also
in
relation
to
a
more
localized
response.
S
I
I
don't.
I
don't
recognize
that
analysis.
I
think
that
there
are
frustrations
and
you
know
we
have
limits
to
some
of
the
powers
that
would
allow
us
to
have
a
more
coordinated
approach.
So
you
know
to
take
an
example.
The
in
terms
of
energy
side
of
it
in
terms
of
renewable
energy,
not
having
the
powers
over
contract
for
different
difference,
for
example,
puts
pressure
on
supply
chains,
domestic
supply
chains.
That's
a
uk
responsibility.
S
If
you
look
at
transmission,
if
you
look
at
regulation
in
terms
of
energy,
changes
in
that
area
would
help
liberate
some
of
the
activity
we
might
need
in
terms
of
again
renewable
energy
part
of
the
green
jobs
agenda.
So
I
think
we
have
to
make
sure
that
we're
coordinated
our
national
performance
framework
is
the
focus
that
we
expect
everybody
that's
receiving
public
money
to
align
to
and
indeed
more
widely
across
scotland,
and
that
again
is
where
the
alignment
is
the
strategic
board,
which
I
know
you've
heard
from.
S
I
think
in
august
the
the
convener
came
to
the
this
committee
on
and
the
strategic
board
part
of
what
they're
looking
to
try
and
do
is
make
sure
that
it's
more
alignment,
so
there's
been
quite
a
lot
of
shift
in
that
area.
I
think,
as
reflecting
my
previous
comments,
I
think
the
reality
of
dealing
with
a
crisis
has
also
brought
together
in
terms
of
relationships
and
more
coordination
in
terms
of
the
regularity
of
contact
you've
heard
from
the
agencies
that
they
have
been
on
regular
daily
calls
in
activity.
S
We've
also
had
the
business
resilience
steering
group
you
know
taking
us
through
from
brexit,
and
that's
still
an
issue
increasingly
so
in
the
coming
weeks
and
months
and
together
with
a
covert
response
actually
dealing
with
the
crisis
response
again
has
brought
people
together.
In
terms
of
my
contact,
I
have
regular
contacts
on
a
weekly
basis
with
scottish
enterprise
and
their
insights
and
looking
at
what
we
do
and
in
terms
of
that
coordination.
S
We've
got
a
75
million
pound
investment
in
that
now.
During
this
last
period,
during
the
last
six
months,
enemies
was
able
to
mobilize
quickly
in
the
early
days
of
the
pandemics
in
just
10
weeks,
and
they
had
as
address
as
many
inquiries
as
they
had
done
in
the
previous
year.
They
reached
out
to
over
400
companies
and
organizations.
S
They
offered
support
and
provided
specialist
support
in
nine
multi-agency
teams,
from
looking
at
things
from
face,
masks
to
ventilators
to
data
handling,
and
that
work
has
led
in
the
last
number
of
months
to
an
increased
manufacturing
self-sufficiency
for
scotland,
for
new
supplies
teams
and
created
four
new
supply
chains
for
ppe.
Now,
that's
again,
a
coordination
that
has
worked
across
different
agencies
working
with
different
companies
to
to
to
keep
a
common
purpose
and
develop
a
common
purpose
for
self-sufficiency
of
ppe.
S
K
Can
I
just
make
another
quote
from
the
stuc,
and
I
realize
I'm
focused
a
bit
on
the
stuc
they
when
asked
about
scotland's
economic
strategy,
they
said
that
they
believe
that
it's
questionable,
whether
an
approach
based
on
growing
investment
and
simultaneously
promoting
competitiveness
and
growth,
while
addressing
equality
is
fit
for
purpose.
Well,.
S
We've
also
worked
with
stc
and
I
was
instrumental
making
sure
that
we
put
together
those
business
and
sdc
working
groups
to
make
sure
we
had
the
safety
guidelines
going
forward
in
terms
of
recovery.
I'm
also
keen
to
make
sure
that
they're
involved
in
that
sexual
response
and
they've
been
involved
heavily,
for
example,
again
a
practical
example,
as
opposed
to
a
theoretical
one,
and
if
you
look
at
the
response
on
construction,
they
work
together
with
over
70
companies.
S
We
brought
together
the
stc
businesses
organizations
to
prepare
draft
recovery
plan
to
put
us
a
consensus
on
how
the
construction
sector
can
recover.
That's
a
very
practical
example
within
a
sector
of
it.
In
terms
of
response,
I
think
the
criticism
on
a
more
strategic
level
is,
you
know:
should
there
be
a
combined
approach
to
inward
investment
exports
as
well
as
building
indigenous
capacity?
I
think
you
have
to
do
all
of
that
area.
We
also
know
that
scotland
has
been
very
successful
in
terms
of
inward
investment.
S
We
increasingly
want
to
make
sure
that's
aligned
with
what
our
values
are.
The
areas
we
want
to
work
on
renewables,
et
cetera,
our
expertise
in
life
sciences.
So
therefore
we're
going
to
get
a
bit
more
focused
in
terms
of
activity
and
ivan
mckee
will
be
bringing
forward
the
inward
investment
plan
in
the
next
couple
of
weeks
and
again,
that's
something
I'm
sure
the
committee
will
take
an
interest
in.
Why
is
that
important?
S
Because
a
lot
of
the
companies
that
have
inward
investment
provide
a
a
large
number
of
jobs
and
also
in
in
terms
of
r
d
and
capacity,
so
it's
not
an
either
or
it's
a
both
end,
and
I
think
that
that's
what
you
would
expect,
and
so
I
I
think
we
have
to
to
make
sure
that
we're
covering
all
these
bases
and
tackling
inequality.
Absolutely
we
have
to
do
that
as
a
country,
but
we
also
know
the
reason
we
want
to
tackle
inequality
even
from
an
economic
perspective
is
actually
it
brings
growth.
S
And
that's
the
point
that
the
well-being
economies
are
increasingly,
I
think,
becoming
seen
as
as
a
root.
You
know
as
as
example,
exemplars
of
our
root
through
and
the
economic
crisis
we're
in
with
with
with
covert.
Would
you
recognize
that
we
we
we
have
to
build
on
a
collective,
because
the
only
way
we
will
survive
economically
is.
If
everybody
takes
into
responsibility,
it's
not,
we
can
be.
We
can't
afford
either
businesses
or
individuals
to
be
selfish
in
in
their
means.
S
Everybody
is
codependent
and
that
co-dependency
means
relying
on
everybody,
and
that
means
that
we
have
to
tackle
inequality
if
we're
going
to
deliver
that
properly.
So
as
a
as
a
theoretical
race,
it's
is
is
right,
but
as
a
practical
reality,
we
think
it
is
the
way
forward
and
it's
increasingly
recognized
as
the
way
forward.
K
S
So,
in
terms
of
that
positioning,
yes,
we
do
think
a
place
based
approach
is
increasingly
important.
You
see
that
through
the
1.9
billion
pounds
worth
of
your
city
and
growth
deals
where
there's
been.
Obviously,
even
during
the
last
few
months,
the
fall
cook
quantum
announced,
and
obviously
the
islands
deal
we're
hopeful
that
we
can
get
dates
fixed
and
coordination
with
uk
government
to
get
the
irish
growth
deal
moving
as
well
in
terms
of
the
focus
of
the
south
of
scotland.
S
Quite
clearly
is
a
regional
based
and
it
has
obviously
moved
and
had
to
hit
the
ground
running
very
very
quickly.
The
convention,
the
south
of
scotland,
is
taking
place
actually
next
week
and
the
highlands
and
islands
have
obviously
had
a
long-standing
regional
response
in
the
areas.
As
far
as
scottish
enterprise
is
concerned,
which
is
the
agency,
I've
got
particular
responsibility
for
we've
been
quite
clear
with
them
that
we
want
them
to
to
be
able
to
help
support
local
regional
based
activity.
S
Our
program
for
government
also
commits
them
and
they're
involved
in
three
particularly
three
focused
areas:
airshare
as
I've
just
mentioned,
and
the
clyde
in
terms
of
cloud
mission,
but
also
the
northeast
and
particularly
in
relation
to
that
transition.
So
we
can
make
sure
that
the
capability
and
the
capacity
and
supply
chains
and
engineering
can
focus
on
renewable
transition.
So
we've
we've
committed
them
to
that.
The
work
with
solace
and
slade
is
particularly
important.
S
O
Thank
you
cabinet
sector.
For
sake
of
time,
I'll,
ask
you
two
quick
questions.
Covered
19
is
really
not
going
away
anyway,
anytime
soon
and
we're
discussing
monetary
code
19
effects
on
businesses.
Yes,
I
know
you're
trying
to
share
the
cake,
but
there's
still
many
businesses
that
do
not
get
covered.
19
food
funding,
mainly
due
to
uk
government
regulations.
S
O
O
Okay,
okay,
okay
I'll!
Do
that,
I'm
looking
at
what
funding
is
still
available
to
now
distribute
to
people
like
joe
people,
wedding
planners
and
other
businesses
that
really
have
had
no
income
since
march,
and
I
refer
members
to
my
register
of
interest
due
to
this
question.
What
more
can
we
share
from?
What
you
suggest
is
left-
and
I
know
you're
saying
very
little
left,
but
what
more
can
we
do
to
share
this
out
and
can
we
expect
other
announcements
of
funding
help
to
these
people
to
people
who
have
not
received
any
funding
at
all.
S
So
I
think
that's
a
very
important
question,
because
clearly
a
number
of
these
sectors
were
at
the
end
of
opening
and
some
haven't
opened
at
all.
So
I
know
there's
a
pressure,
particularly
on
soft
play,
for
example
that
we
expected
might
have
been
the
24th
of
august.
It
might
have
been
then
into
september
and
again
now
it's
looking.
You
know.
S
The
indicative
date
was
the
fifth
of
october,
but
you
know
we'll
hear
the
announcement
today
as
to
what
the
current
levels
infection
will
mean
for
those
areas,
and
we
also
know
kind
of
the
chat
and
they're
all
different
challenges
on
the
the
the
show
people.
I
know
you've
got
a
particular
interest
in
this
area
and
we're
trying
to
work
with
our
colleagues
in
equality,
but
also
in
events
and
identifying.
If
there's
anything
from
and
also
with
culture
is,
can
we
poop
put
together?
You
know
a
funding
stream
that
we're
unable
to
tackle
hardship.
S
Can
I
also
say
that
these
funding
streams
have
not
been
about
income
replacement?
They
have
been
about
sustainability
and
survivability
and
about
tackling
hardship
on
the
wedding
side
of
things.
Obviously,
the
extension
that
we
just
recently
had
to
the
numbers
that
could
attend
receptions
had
helped
an
extent,
and
I
think
there
are
real
challenges
around
when
you
know
they
can
resume
in
any
numbers.
I
know
that
there
are
heavy
bookings
for
next
year.
S
Again,
we
don't
know
you
know
quite
what,
where
we're
going
to
be
next
year,
but
obviously
there'll
be
a
additional
income
activity
for
weddings
next
year.
That
doesn't
help
you
now.
So,
therefore,
you
know
there's
an
issue:
is
there
a
bespoke
package
which
might
be
a
combination
of
loans
and
grants
that
might
be
of
interest
there?
I
already
I've
already
mentioned
the
fact
that
we
know
that
face-to-face
musicians
aren't
able
to
mobile
magicians
mobile
beauticians
can't
return,
and
I've
also
mentioned
soft
play.
S
So
I
have
been
in
discussions
with
the
finance
secretary
to
try
and
identify
the
specific
areas
that
are
not
open.
As
I
said
in
other
areas,
because
of
the
the
the
heritage
culture
and
arts
consequentials,
we
are
being
able
to
provide
some
support
in
those
areas.
So
I'll
give
you
an
example
for
freelancers.
If
you
work
in
the
screen
industry,
some
of
them
haven't
had
ever
received
funding.
S
There
was
a
fund
just
opened
yesterday
from
screen
scotland
that
can
help
them
so
we're
trying
to
work
out
the
ones
that
can
get
fund.
You
know
those
sectors
that
haven't
opened
and
there's
a
lot
in
that
area
of
culture,
heritage
events
how
they
can
get
funded,
but
the
ones
you've
identified
are
quite
specific,
and
now
you
know
there
aren't
there
aren't
remaining
business
consequences.
I
can
suddenly
allocate
and
see
that
you
know
we
can
give
them
their
you
give
them
to
these
groups.
S
What
I
have
to
try
and
do
is
work
with
finance
secretary
to
see
if
there's
any
room
to
maneuver.
So,
for
example,
you
know
trying
to
change
some
of
the
capital
to
revenue,
might
help
lots
of
different
areas
in
government,
but
also
might
help
us
in
this
area,
for
example.
So
when
I
talked
about
trying
to
be
flexible
and
that's
what
is
adaptable,
it's
also
about
trying
to
be
creative.
So
we
know
the
needs
there,
and
I
can't
promise
you
that
there's
an
innocent
solution,
but
we
are
working
on
it.
O
J
Thank
you,
convener
can
I
turn
towards
in
the
investment
bank
and
its
proposed
a
missions.
Please,
and
some
of
the
organizations
that
have
been
in
touch
with
the
committee
said,
there's
a
dearth
of
information
pertaining
to
gender
equality,
and
we
also
had
an
evidence
that
there
was
a
lack
of
a
recognition
of
charity,
voluntary
and
social
enterprise
sector,
and
indeed
co-ops
as
well.
So
I
wonder
what
your
response
is
to
those
concerns
expressed
to
the
committee.
S
S
The
legislation
on
that
latter
point
is
quite
specific,
that
it
does
have
a
duty
and
responsibility
in
relation
to
third
sector
organizations
and
and
so
therefore
in
references
to
who
it
can
fund.
Of
course
you
know
it's
driven
by
the
legislation,
and
so
therefore
that
is
inclusive
in
in
in
what's
been
presented.
There
is
a
a
consultation.
S
But
your
point
is
from
a
desirability
point
of
view
that
they
open
to
do
that
and
we
don't
emphasize
again.
Convener
I've
been
very
struck
during
the
covert
experience
of
the
role
of
the
third
sector
and
helping
protect
and
generate
jobs.
So
the
third
sector
resilience
fund,
for
example,
has
been
very
effective.
S
And,
again,
I
know
from
talking
to
alien
campbell
that
that's
the
community
secretary
that
obviously
from
a
third
sector
point
of
view
ability
particularly
this
time
in
terms
of
loans,
etc.
Are
going
to
be
really
important
for
the
third
sector
in
terms
of
their
economic
activity,
so
I
think
you're
right
to
draw
attention
to
it,
but
in
terms
of
equality
as
being
one
of
the
main
missions,
obviously
from
a
place-based
point
of
view,
and
it's
really
important
that
they
consider
how
they
will
work,
particularly
with
women-led
businesses
and
on
women-led
businesses.
S
S
Although
it's
not
necessarily
clear
to
date
from
the
the
figures
so
far,
we
we
know
that
young
people
are
already
suffering
in
terms
of
and
the
impact
on
them.
We
have
yet
to
see
that
you
know
if
there
is
a
sudden
without
a
furlough.
If
there's
sudden
the
sudden
move
now
to
you
know,
mass
redundancies
are
fear.
That
is
that
women
might
suffer
most,
but
in
terms
of
looking
at
women
entrepreneurs
that
might
come
out
of
that.
S
That
I'm
not
saying
the
bank
necessarily
be
the
first
port
recall
it
might
be
business
gateway
or
or
rather
is
for
women
entrepreneurs,
but
we've
also
known
from
previous
downturns
and,
for
example,
the
financial
crisis
of
a
different
level.
But
in
highlands
islands
for
example,
there
was
a
large
number
of
startups
as
a
result
of
people
being
taking
redundancy
packages
and
then
changing
into
different
areas
back
10
years
ago.
I
want
to
make
sure
there
are
opportunities
for
women,
because
women
are
also
very
successful.
S
But
the
the
zero
carbon
just
transition
focus
is
the
primary
mission.
So
it
has
to
be
there.
But
I
think
the
points
you
you
raise
about
equalities
and
gender.
I
hope
I've,
given
you
some
kind
of
background
as
to
what
they
will
need
to
do
by
legislation.
What
we
want
them
to
do,
but
also
the
importance
of
making
sure
that
there
is
a
gender
focus
in
the
in
the
work
of
the
bank,
which
I
I
would
point
out,
is
led
by
women.
S
So
you,
as
the
cabinet
secretary,
we
hold
them
into
account
in
relation
to
their
into
the
founding
legislation
and
also,
if
that's
feedback,
that
they
would
be
their
visibility
should
be
stronger
in
in
relation
to
that
area,
and
my
regular
calls
that
I
have
with
the
chief
executive
and
the
chair,
and
I
can
speak
to
them
about
that-
that
area
in
particular.
But
do
you
want
to
kevin?
Could
you
maybe
quote
the
legislation
if
you've
got
that
time.
T
So
this
reflected
feedback
from
the
third
section,
obviously
from
parliamentarians
as
well,
so
the
the
legislation
that
insisted
I
was
referring
to
for
the
avoidance
of
doubt.
The
articles
of
association
may
provide
that
the
bank
may
give
financial
assistance
to
a
third
sector
body,
as
defined
in
section
37
of
the
community
social
justice,
scotland
act
and
as
common
secretaries
outlined
with
this
there's
a
variety
of
other
different
measures
which
we
would
be
holding
them
to
account.
R
S
I
can
tell
the
committee
that
most
recent
engagement
was
on
tuesday,
the
15th
of
september
and
an
excellent
progress
was
made,
and
so
they
are
now
entering
the
final
stages
of
the
notification
process
and
expect
formal
approval
to
be
granted
by
the
commission
in
the
coming
weeks,
and
this
will
provide
the
authorization
which
the
bank
requires
to
vest.
Thank
you.
Q
Hey
thanks,
kavina,
following
on
from
allison
harris's
question.
The
another
issue
that
has
been
outstanding
has
been
treasury
dispensation,
which
I
think
would
have
meant
at
the
end
of
the
year.
There
would
be
the
the
bank
would
be
treated
separately
and
any
balances
it
had
would
not
be
treated
as
part
of
the
government.
But
I
understand
that
has
not
been
forthcoming
and
I
just
wonder
if
you
can
update
us
where
we
are
with
that
and
if
there
are
any
problems
going
to
arise.
Because
of
that.
S
So
I
think
it's
right
to
to
identify
that
and
hello
john
I've
just
realized
where
everybody's
sitting
in
the
committee,
I
should
realize
the
yeah
you're
correct
that
for
the
bank
to
able
to
operate
in
the
way
that's
intended.
The
scottish
government
needs
to
secure
a
dispensation
from
treasury
to
have
the
flexibility
to
manage
and
carry
forward
cash
balances
for
the
bank
over
financial
year
ends.
S
So
until
there
is
a
dispensation
arrangement
for
the
bank
in
in
in
place,
its
year-end
financial
position
will
need
to
be
accommodated
as
part
of
the
overall
scotland
reserve.
Clearly,
our
preference
is
that
it's
not
because
that
provides
more
flexibility
for
the
overall
scottish
budget,
but
also
for
the
bank
itself.
So
any
encouragement
and
support
from
this
committee
to
enable
the
bank
to
have
that
flexibility
and
communicated
to
the
treasury
would
be
gratefully
received.
Q
So
in
practice,
would
that
would
mean-
hopefully
it's
only
one
year
end
that
is
march
21.
That
would
be
a
problem
and
if
I'm
writing
understanding
that,
so
if
they've
got
a
balance
sitting
that
they've
not
yet
invested,
that
would
have
to
be
included
in
the
scotland
reserve,
but
but
hopefully
that
won't
be
a
problem,
because
there
won't
be
much
else
in
the
scotland
reserve.
Q
S
I
don't
think
anything's
going
to
be
plain
sailing
for
anybody
anytime
soon,
either
in
our
economy
or
globally.
I
think
there'll
be
challenges
everywhere,
but
I
I
would
reflect
that
the
experience
today,
as
we
heard
from
the
enterprise
agencies,
that
there
there
is
still
a
pipeline
of
people
wanting
to
and
businesses
wanted
to,
to
receive
an
public
support,
but
also
match
with
private
investment.
S
I
think
there's
a
challenge
and
some
areas
around
private
investment,
which
is
why
we've
specifically
as
part
of
our
economic
stimulus,
helped
support
early
stage
growth
companies
because
they
will
generate
jobs
with
investment.
I
announced
the
results
of
three
million
pounds
that
we
invested
in
the
early
stage,
growth
companies
that
have
resulted
in
41
companies
being
developed,
and
so
I
think,
in
terms
of
the
investment,
if
you
look
at
the
rest
of
our
program
for
government,
the
incentives
around
decarbonisation.
S
That's
there
in
terms
of
the
decarbonisation
fund
and
the
green
jobs
fund,
that
we've
got
from
again
from
the
programme
for
government
helping
stimulate
both
domestic
but
also
potentially,
and
with
investment.
In
terms
of
support
in
that
area
that
there
we
think
there
will
be
a
pipeline
of
interest,
we
want
scotland
to
be
the
place.
You
want
to
do
business
if
you
want
to
be
in
the
renewable
energy
or
you
want
to
be
in
whether
it's
hydrogen
in
terms
of
transportation
in
different
areas.
S
So
I
I'm
confident
that
there
will
be
an
interesting
pipeline,
but
you're
correct.
Everybody
should
be
involved
in
stimulating
that.
So
to
give
you
an
example,
just
the
other
week,
I
was
at
the
moss
end
international
freight
park,
where
we
were
launching
the
the
green
investment
portfolio
with
an
initial
capital
portfolio
of
1.6
billion,
ready
for
investment,
we're
obviously
trying
to
attract
green
finance
from
lots
of
different
parts
of
the
world,
but
also
from
scotland.
The
scottish
national
investment
bank
may
be
interested
in
partnering.
Some
of
that.
S
That's
a
pipeline
of
you
know
ready-made
different
activity
that
could
be
invested
in,
but
obviously
there's
the.
There
is
a
responsibility
in
all
the
enterprise
agencies
and
in
the
local
government
identifying
candidates
for
good
investment
opportunities
for
the
scottish
national
investment
bank.
So
it
will
need
work.
It'll
need
focus,
they'll
need
visibility
and
I
think,
referring
to
to
regrant's
question
visit
visibility
in
a
wider
spectrum,
but
remember
they
haven't
vested
yet
they've
yet
established.
S
I
think
the
amount
of
interest
and
engagement-
that's
happened
with
the
national
investment
bank
today
has
been
encouraging,
but
obviously
there's
more
work
to
do
so.
I'm
not
saying
it's
gonna
be
plain
sailing
because
it's
not,
but
I
do
think
that
counter
to
what
our
instinct
might
have
been,
that
there
would
have
been
a
drying
up
of
potential
pipeline
business
opportunities.
What
was
saying
there
might
be
some
delays,
but
it's
not
necessarily
falling
away
to
the
extent
that
we
saw
we
thought
for
the
enterprise
agencies.
S
Similarly,
I
think
for
the
national
investment
bank
there's
still
going
to
be
opportunities,
especially
if
we
get
you
know.
If
we
look
at
some
of
the
big
areas
that
we
want
to
get
involved
in
in
terms
of
net
zero,
particularly
around
some
of
the
housing
areas,
particularly
around
how
you
can
tackle
you-
know
greater
use
of
heat
pumps,
for
example,
and
how
we
can
be
really
innovative
in
district
heating,
how
we
can
really
make
sure
there's
opportunities
around
that
change
of
our
approach
and
energy
sources,
for
both
business
and
for
housing.
S
Q
I
think
it's
my
final
point,
but
I
mean
I
do
agree
that
there's
obviously
needs
around
there,
but
you
know
I
was
more
about
interested
about
how
it's
going
to
happen.
I
mean
my
understanding
is
that
a
british
business
bank
has
a
specific
unit
within
it.
The
demand
development
unit,
which
is
out
there
it
you
know,
stimulating
demand
when
asked
snub
about
that
last
week.
They
seem
to
be
more
just
feel.
Well,
it's
all
of
our
jobs.
Everybody
in
snub
will
be
out
there
seeking
to
demand.
S
Again,
the
operational
management
of
the
scottish
national
investment
bank
is
for
the
national
investment
bank
and
I
think
it's
a
bit
like
I
just-
and
I
said
previously,
I
mean
I
view
all
the
ministers
as
having
an
interest
in
the
economy,
they're
all
economy
ministers
to
an
extent.
Similarly,
that's
the
the
very
nature
of
the
scottish
national
investment
bank
there'll
be
specialisms
within
it
quite
clearly,
but
I'm
it's
not
necessary
for
the
government
minister
to
dictate
to
the
chief
executive
how
she
sets
up
the
operational
management
of
it,
but
obviously
she'll.
F
Thank
you
very
much.
Can
you
know
just
the
one
question
from
me:
convener,
given
the
time
constraints,
it's
just
to
ask
the
permanent
secretary
and
covert
is
having
a
serious
enough
impact
on
employment,
and
especially
the
followings,
where
we
might
expect
50
000
jobs
to
be
lost
in
scotland,
but
the
madness
of
brexit
is
the
elephant
in
the
room.
That's
coming
along
perfectly.
F
What
is
the
government
trying
to
do
to
reconcile
these
two
major
issues
of
major
impact,
the
scottish
economy
and
still
plan
ahead
for
our
greener
economic
recovery
and
to
meet
our
commitments
to
things
like
climate
change
and
biodiversity,
recovery
and
so
on?
How
are
we
fearing
with
all
these
challenges
that
you
face.
S
So,
coming
coming
through
covered,
the
last
thing
that
we
probably
wanted
to
see
would
be
the
headwinds
of
brexit
coming.
You
know
charging
down
over
the
next
couple
of
weeks
and
months,
particularly
when
we
don't
know,
particularly
what
the
deal
will
be.
You
know
whether
in
fact,
there'll
be
a
deal
at
all,
so
I
convey
I'm
not
necessarily
going
to
get
into
the
politics
of
brexit.
S
So
I
I
I
talked
about
the
brexit
resilience
steering
group,
which
again
is
you
know,
bringing
together
enterprise
and
skills
agencies,
business
gateway,
slade
visit,
scotland
and
the
scottish
cities
alliance
and
the
scottish
government
looking
about
what's
required.
That
means
coordinating
and
delivering
a
single
response
to
both
brexit
covert
19
across
the
agencies.
S
Making
sure
that
in
terms
of
and
definedbusinesssupport.com
there
there's
also
going
to
be
a
preparing
of
sorry,
I
should
say
this
correctly.
I
prepare
for
brexit.scott
on
the
website
as
part
of
the
main
communications
channel
again,
using
that
point
of
kind
of
coordinated
communication
of
what's
available
and
also
in
terms
of
the
brexit
response
leadership
group,
which
has
the
chairs
and
ceos
of
the
enterprise
and
skills
and
enterprise
looking
at
strategic
direction.
So
there
are
challenges.
S
We
don't
know
what
the
the
trade
agreements
are
necessarily
going
to
look
like,
although
you
know
we've,
we
have
concerns.
Obviously
around
the
you
know
the
the
response
to
the
trade
agreements
that
we've
seen
today
coming
nowhere
near
what
the
gdp
loss
will
be
from
from
the
eu.
It
is
really
important
that
we
maintain
standards
that
we
don't
have
a
race
to
the
bottom.
S
We've
got
an
internal
market
bill
that
actually
will
run
a
culture
of
horses
through
devolved
the
world
administration
responsibilities,
regulations
which
will
cause
real
real
challenges,
and-
and
we
saw
some
of
the
concerns
even
from
architects
yesterday-
about
standards
being
diminished
as
part
of
that.
So
you
know
I
could
spend
a
long
time
raising
my
concerns
about
where
we
are.
We
you,
we
have
to
try
and
chart
a
way
forward
through.
P
Thanks
very
much
container,
I
want
to
ask
the
cabinet
secretary
about
the
scottish
growth
scheme,
so
you
answered
a
question
from
dean
lockhart
a
written
question
showing
that
of
the
original
500
million
pounds
of
scottish
growth
scheme
target
from
2017
to
2020
a
little
over
250
million
had
been
allocated
by
july
2020.
Can
you
see
how
you
envisage
achieving
the
500
million.
S
S
Although
we're
saying
that
we
we
on
the
enterprise
side,
there's
a
pipeline
of
interest
in
in
different
areas
and
that
there's
been
not
necessarily
the
take-up
that
we'd
expect
you
know
of
you
know
of
activity.
So
you
know
that's
a
that's
as
much
private
sector
led
as
it
is
other
areas.
Also,
european
funds
tend
to
be
match
funding
in
some
of
these
areas
as
well.
S
That's
problematic
again,
if
the
there's
a
challenge
there,
but
I'm
trying
to
recall
kevin,
might
help
me,
which
is
the
appropriate
official
that
might
help
with
the
growth
scheme
richard
can
also
with
conveners
permission,
can
I
bring
in
richard
ralston
on
the
scottish
growth
scheme.
If
you
can
perhaps
richard
share
with
the
committee
what
the
current
status
is
and
any
other
information
we
can
provide
on
the
scottish
growth
scheme,.
G
G
P
Cabinet
secretary,
I
also
want
to
follow
up
a
letter
that
ivan
mckee
on
behalf
of
the
scottish
government,
wrote
to
us
in
february
2020,
and
this
is
in
response
to
our
work
on
the
strategic
board,
and
he
said
that
the
strategic
board's
analytical
unit
was
developing
a
measurement
framework
to
allow
the
board
to
track
progress
against
outcomes
and
impact
using
relevant
indicators
from
the
scottish
national
performance
framework.
Do
you
have
any
insight
into
how
that
works
progressing?
S
I
think
I
think
it'd
be
more.
It
should
be
more
directed
at
the
strategic
board.
I
mean
to
be
fair.
They
were
about
to
to
you,
know,
develop
this
work
and
then
covered
struck.
So
therefore,
in
terms
of
they
have
quite
correctly
sort
of
refocused
their
work
on
making
sure
that
the
agencies
were
aligned
and
they
produced
their
report
about
how
the
agency
should
work
in
response
to
covert.
S
But
the,
I
think
it's
a
very
important
piece
of
work,
because
it
aligns
with
the
national
performance
framework
which,
in
and
of
itself
also
embeds,
that
kind
of
well-being,
economy
approach.
So
I
think
it's
gonna
be
important
piece
of
work
in
terms
of
contribution,
but
I
think,
in
terms
of
the
progress
of
that
it'd
be
more
helpful,
and
if
the
committee
perhaps
approached
the
the
the
chair
of
the
strategic
board.
A
S
Clearly,
there
was
more
of
an
alignment
of
budgets
in
the
for
the
last
year
tonight,
the
2019-20
budget,
and
particularly
with
the
development
of
the
scottish
south
of
scotland
enterprise
agency,
but
also
partnership,
sorry
and
scottish
national
investment
bank,
and
there
was
a
retention
of
capital,
but
a
reduction
in
in
revenue,
and
obviously
I
would
like
to
as
the
economy
secretary,
I
would
like
to
have
more
resources
for
the
enterprise
agencies
and
any
support
this
committee
can
give
to
me.
That
would
be
welcome
in
the
process.
As
part
of
that
pre-budget
scrutiny.
S
However,
we
have
to
deal
with
the
realities
of
where
we
are
so
we
have
to
maximize
what
we
can
do
with
the
resources
we
have,
and
I
I
think,
the
pipeline
pressure
from
the
agencies.
You
have
have
stretched
them
and
in
relation
to
the
attrition
of
that,
that
hasn't
happened
during
covert.
So
therefore,
I'd
rather
have
the
opportunities
and
the
challenge
of
how
you
invest
with
them.
S
Rather
than
have
lack
of
opportunities
and
lack
of
businesses
wanting
to
develop
and
grow,
and
I
during
and
again
I
suppose
it
refers
to
something
in
your
activity
that
I've
been
involved
in.
I
think
it's
really
important
that
we
have
capital
for
jobs,
I'm
trying
to
to
ensure
as
much
as
possible
like
I
can
secure
that.
You
saw
that
in
the
program
for
government,
with
our
green
investment
jobs
allocation,
but
also
in
relation
to
and
the
infrastructure
investment
plan,
which
will
give
us
a
longer
view
of
that.
S
I
particularly
want
to
see
as
much
of
that
happen
as
we
can
during
this
year,
but,
as
you
might
appreciate,
the
government
has
challenges
across
lots
of
different
areas
and
portfolios
to
manage,
and
also
the
balance
between
capital
and
revenue
and
what
that
can
mean
to
the
overall
budget
of
the
government.
So
therefore,
the
more
opportunities
there
is
for
fixed
and
fiscal
flexibility
for
the
overall
government
budget,
the
more
opportunity
it
would.
S
We
would
provide
me,
as
the
cabinet
secretary
for
economic
for
the
economy
to
have
and
use
the
capital
availability
to,
invest
and
support
the
pipeline
of
jobs
that
we
understand
are
available
for
investment.
So
that
is
the
bit
of
the
flexibility
and
the
adaptability
that
we're
having
to
be
agile
on
during
the
course
of
this
year.
But
that
goes
to
some
extent
to
help
the
scottish
enterprise
position.