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To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Scottish Prison Service’s work to address reported noise disturbance at HMP Stirling. (S6O-03131)

I thank the cabinet secretary for that update. As I am sure that she is aware, the local community neighbouring HMP Stirling has been deeply affected by the disturbances over the past eight months. It has been a nightmare, particularly for families with children, with reported impacts on their mental health.

Will the cabinet secretary report on the progress that has been made towards implementing the SPS action plan to deal with the problems? Will she agree to meet the SPS, MSPs, councillors and local residents to assure them that the detail of the action plan is being implemented, so that people can see an end point to the misery that they have been facing over the past eight months?

I am trying to get my head around how this will incentivise industry to electrify—hopefully—and move away from oil-powered systems. Does the exemption act as an incentive or is it more about reducing the costs to industries that already have high electricity costs rather than about fuel switching or decarbonisation plans and that kind of thing?

Yes, I get that. I am trying to work out how the exemption helps industry to make the investments that it needs to make to reduce energy costs or to switch to low carbon sources. The original UK policy was called the “British industry supercharger”. How does all this help to supercharge industry in the transition to reduce energy costs and move into a low carbon space? At the moment it seems to be saying, “This is all quite expensive. Let us not put more costs on,” but what is the solution to that? Surely, it is reducing energy and investing in the future.

How much of the contingency budget has been used? If we put the LNG issue to one side, will that budget be sufficient? Is there any danger that it will not be enough?

Further to that, beyond Government investment, which other sources are you looking at for investment in the plating line and the medium-term improvements that are needed?

If there are any major changes to that, you can notify the committee on the back of those board papers. We have had good correspondence with you, but if that picture changes—

In terms of—

When you were previously at the committee, you talked about what the small vessels programme would involve. I would not say that electric propulsion systems are easier, but they can be produced off site and brought in in a modular fashion. What changes would have to be seen at the yard to carry out such a programme? Would they be changes in the way that the workforce is orientated or retrained in certain areas? I am trying to envisage what has to happen at the yard to put it on to that programme and to move fully into that for a period of time while you are building up for medium-term and longer-term possibilities.

Which bits of those two sides of the work require more investment and focus in the organisation? Which bits are you ready to go with and which bits require more time, adaption and support?