Seòmar agus comataidhean

The examples that we discussed earlier were public transport, social care and catering. Those are big areas of council spend. I am interested in how many councils are currently able or willing to provide that information.

Do you have 14 franchises down there?

Yes. I have a concern about this SSI. Obviously, concerns have been expressed about bus franchising, and I think that it is fair to say that the history of rolling out bus franchises across the UK is a pretty chequered one. I am aware that this SSI comes out of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, but there is currently a petition before the Parliament from Get Glasgow Moving, which has raised significant concerns about the process set out in the SSI, particularly the role of unelected officials in deciding whether a franchise can go ahead.

I think, therefore, that we are at quite a critical point. I know that Strathclyde Partnership for Transport is looking into the potential of franchising, and given that it will take significant investment just to do that preparatory work, there is a need for clarity on how this will work and whether there might be any intentional or unintentional biases or conflicts of interest within the panel that is appointed.

As a result, it is important that the committee takes evidence, certainly from the petitioners and those with experience of how similar franchising decision-making processes have been working down south, and that we reflect on that, ahead of Parliament making a decision to let this SSI pass—or not, as the case might be.

I think that it requires an evidence session, yes.

Are you are saying that it is impossible to work out the carbon impact of the care sector?

Mark Roberts, do you want to come in?

I am just trying to think this one through. We have mentioned social care. Surely there are also opportunities for saving money, whether that is about low-carbon heating systems or electric vehicles. It seems that the process is being presented as a problem, whereas actually is it not a way to deliver more efficiencies in public sector services as well as, ultimately, reducing carbon? Is that not why it is worth measuring the emissions?

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recommendations in the recent Oxfam Scotland report, “Cleared for Take-off: A Private Jet Tax for Scotland”. (S6O-03811)

I thank the cabinet secretary for that constructive answer.

Oxfam has calculated that introducing a tax on private jets in Scotland could raise nearly £22 million a year, which would be enough to deliver the fairer fares on trains that commuters really need. Last week at First Minister’s question time, we heard that the First Minister would be

“very much in the spirit of”—[Official Report, 26 September 2024; c 17.]

embedding such a tax on luxury travel in a future air departure tax.

Would the minister support such an initiative? Can he provide more detail on the discussions that his Government is undertaking with the UK Government on the introduction of an air departure tax for Scotland and, in particular, on the intricacies around the details of an exemption for the Highlands and Islands? How much progress can we see being made on that in the months ahead?

I join members in thanking David Torrance for lodging the motion on 125 years of Fife College. His motion rightly celebrates the origins of the college, its long history and the huge positive benefit that it has had on generations of Fifers and their communities.

It was lovely for us to meet the students in the members’ restaurant earlier; there was a huge amount of enthusiasm, and I think that we will see some real stars of the hospitality sector emerge from that group of young people. I am hugely optimistic, and I am looking forward to my dinner later on.

I will share a few thoughts on the future of the college and the critical role that it is playing in this century in the fight against climate change. It is the colleges, as much as—if not more than—the universities, that will be needed on the front line of that fight. Building the workforce of the future with practical skills for the delivery of net zero infrastructure will be critical. Supply chains will need to be transformed in the next five years to decarbonise our homes, service wind farms, restore peatland and plant woodland. Even industrial big hitters such as the Mossmorran plant in Fife will need to transition to a cleaner, greener future.

I welcome the fact that Fife College has already been part of the skills conversation at Mossmorran, and has a range of courses that are supporting the transition of our entire economy. The growth of well-paid, skilled jobs in the green economy needs to offer a bright future for young people at the start of their careers, as well as a future for those who are looking to transition into new green jobs. That is another reason why the Scottish Green Party wants restoration of the £26 million that was allocated in last year’s budget for transformation in our college sector.

We cannot hold back when there are sectors of our economy that are unable to scale up to meet the challenge of climate change and the opportunities that we are presented with. Claire Baker talked about wind. In 2016, I visited Fife College in Rosyth and met a number of students who were on the wind turbine technician course. It was exciting to see the pride that they had in growing their skills and to hear about their expectations around apprenticeships and the work that they would be doing on the next generation of wind farms. As Claire Baker outlined, it is great to see that more of those apprenticeships are now starting to be taken up. I hope that the number of those apprenticeships dramatically increases in the years ahead, because the doubling of onshore wind farm capacity between now and 2030, and the revolution that is gathering pace in offshore wind in particular, point to a really bright future. Of course, we know that there are investment opportunities in Fife, particularly in Burntisland at the moment, in relation to offshore wind.

Alongside that, I also recognise the work that is happening at Fife College’s Leven campus to develop skills in green hydrogen. To be fair, from my perspective, the jury remains out on whether hydrogen will ever be a cost-effective way to heat the majority of our homes. However, it is an area of innovation, and decarbonising heating remains a huge opportunity in the next decade. I hope that the college can also realise the far bigger opportunities surrounding the installation and servicing of heat pumps, as well as district heating, which together have the potential to power around a quarter of Scotland’s homes. There are great jobs and great potential in that area, and I hope that the college remains at the heart of that.

Of course, climate change is about more than specialist professions. It affects us all, so I was pleased to see the focus that the college has brought to the issue. The Adam Smith scholarships that were awarded to three students for their writing and art that reflected on what climate change means for them in their personal life and studies was a small but important example of climate leadership.

Fife College’s climate change strategy and action plan should also be commended. The cut in emissions by more than a half since 2014 is great progress, and plans to further strip out fossil fuel use from its operations are key, including those for Scotland’s first net zero campus in Dunfermline, which is a huge milestone for the college and for Fife.

I thank David Torrance again for bringing the debate to the chamber. I enjoyed hearing about his experience of going to college—I certainly cherished the time that I spent at Stevenson College many years ago. I thank the college staff, who do amazing work to inspire our young people and people returning to education. Let us look forward to the next 125 years—they are going to be momentous.