Seòmar agus comataidhean

Our next item of business is an evidence session with Consumer Scotland on its activities and performance. I welcome our panel of witnesses.

Consumer Scotland is the statutory independent body for consumers in Scotland, covering the public, private and third sectors. It is a non-ministerial office, established under the Consumer Scotland Act 2020, and it is directly accountable to the Parliament. Responsibility for scrutiny of Consumer Scotland therefore falls primarily within the committee’s remit.

I welcome David Wilson, the chair of Consumer Scotland; Sam Ghibaldan, the chief executive; and Sue Bomphray, director of operations and partnership. I will make the same appeal that Claire Baker always made, which is for members and witnesses to keep their questions and answers as concise as they possibly can. I invite David Wilson to make a short opening statement.

Thank you, Mr Wilson. There will certainly be a lot of questions on some of the issues that you have raised.

I will begin by picking up on one of the subjects that you mentioned in your opening comments and one of the pieces of work that you have done, which is on postal services. The committee took evidence on concerns about the future of universal postal services, and I appreciate that Consumer Scotland has carried out some work on that. Can you tell me a little bit about that work and, specifically, what feedback you received from small businesses about the importance of those universal services? Was it different from feedback from other consumers?

You referred to the 400 direct jobs. What is your estimate of the supply chain jobs that will also be lost as a result of the decision?

I call Gordon MacDonald.

I am sure that you have more questions. I will bring in Daniel Johnson next.

Our next item of business is a follow-up evidence session with Petroineos following the announcement that refinery operations will cease at Grangemouth from next year. In November last year, it was reported that the refinery would transition to a finished fuels import terminal and distribution hub. In September, it was confirmed that the transition would take place during the second quarter of 2025. As part of the committee’s inquiry into a just transition for the Grangemouth area, we visited the Ineos site. However, at that time, we were not made aware of the intentions for the refinery.

Following the announcement, we took evidence from Petroineos, Ineos and both the United Kingdom and Scottish Governments. Today’s meeting is an opportunity for the committee to discuss developments since then. I welcome Iain Hardie, head of legal and external affairs for Petroineos Manufacturing Scotland Ltd; and Colin Pritchard, sustainability and external relations director for Ineos Olefins & Polymers UK. I invite Iain Hardie to make a short opening statement.

But you had no direct input to the production of the draft.

Thank you very much for that. I will follow up on that in relation to the concerns that we raised around small businesses. I wonder whether this is echoed in your work and what your view is. One concern was that deliveries would be reduced. Not having a Saturday delivery was probably the most fundamental issue raised by small businesses. For example, businesses who produced magazines to send to customers were concerned that there would be real delays if that were to happen. Did you come across that in your research, and does Consumer Scotland have a view?

Our next item of business is a decision on whether to take in private items 6 and 7, which concern consideration of today’s evidence. Do we agree to do so?

Members indicated agreement.

Does the company believe that the figure of more than 2,000 that is given in that report is accurate?