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The point about clear signalling is important. Is it sometimes difficult for clear signalling to be given, because the views of the Scottish and UK Governments often diverge? Is it often difficult to give clear signalling when, in some areas, Government has not made the moves that would attract investment? Let us take the example of hydrogen production. The lack of movement from the UK Government on regulation of the storage and transportation of hydrogen is obviously an impediment to investment. That clear signalling that you talk about is not there. How do we improve that?

Professor Roy, given divergence and differences between the two Governments—for example, you highlighted the differences between investment in peatland and in forestry—how do we ensure that there is clear signalling from both of them? Does the UK Government have to allow flexibility in the fiscal framework to ensure that we get a bigger bang for our buck in the move to net zero, UK-wide, by investing in Scotland, so that we can achieve some of the things that the rest of the UK cannot?

There is, of course, another alternative, but you will not be able to comment on that either.

Thank you very much, Professor Roy, I will not take the opportunity, on the 10th anniversary of the independence referendum, to talk more about the other pathway.

Thank you, Professor Roy. You are selling Aberdeen very well—better than some of the folk from the area, who often take a much more pessimistic line.

Professor Bell, I want to concentrate on planning, policy and data, because it is extremely important that we get those aspects right. Earlier, we discussed the transferability of skills. Aberdeen and the north-east are awash with immensely skilled people. However, you said that skills development in the area has come too late. How do we change that at UK level, as far as investment is concerned? How can we also get it right at Scotland level, so that we manage the just transition and do not put folk from the oil and gas industry, and others, on the scrap heap, as happened to the miners a number of years back?

Both of you have highlighted in your answers to earlier questions that attracting the right people requires investment by not only the Government but the private sector. If we do not have such planning, and do not get it absolutely right, will not the private sector be much more averse to making such investments?

I thank Professor Roy for highlighting the north-east premium, which we should all take note of. In doing that, we should also ensure that there is no regional contraction and that we get it right for every region in Scotland.

Elsewhere in the world, there has been major investment in the move to net zero. The green new deal in the United States has brought in $234 billion and there has been investment in Scotland in the north-east and Moray through the just transition fund. The Labour Party promised £28 billion a year for green initiatives, but that sum has contracted quite dramatically. That investment—if it is there—should drive change.

I want to concentrate on jobs and data. Professor Bell said that we require clarity on data. The Climate Change Committee published analysis that suggested that there is the potential to create between 135,000 and 725,000 jobs across the UK by 2030 in new low-carbon sectors. Can I ask about that data? What assumptions might you have made in reaching those figures and how accurate do you think that some of that data is?

You talked about getting the planning right. Quite frankly, I would like to keep the people that Aberdeen and the north-east have gained over the piece. In relation to your report and to other discussions, there are obviously major concerns about the mismatch between the timing of the switching off of the old industries and the switching on of new industries. We all recognise that the oil and gas sector is in its twilight years. However, as Professor Roy said, it is not at an end and we will require oil and gas into the future. We should be endeavouring to make sure that we are also creating other jobs as oil and gas jobs diminish.

On planning and policy, do you think that the UK Government’s recent announcements, such as the chancellor’s statement, provide the planning and the policy to get this right, or is it a case that such announcements have been driven by current fiscal situations rather than getting it right for a just transition?

Thank you, convener.

You have touched on award letters and letters of comfort and, indeed, on parliamentary budgeting processes, which often have a major impact on some of those letters. You probably heard me ask the previous panel about what the chancellor should do when she gets to her feet on 30 October, but what does the chancellor need to do about multiyear funding, fair pay and the other issues that we have talked about today?

Good morning. We have covered a lot of ground today: multiyear funding, flexible funding, inflation adjustments, the real living wage—the list goes on. However, over a number of years, the austerity agenda has continued. The Chancellor of the Exchequer will get to her feet on 30 October to deliver her first budget. What would your message to her be?