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From my experience, it seems that those agencies are under some pressure even now, so I am glad that that is part of your consideration.

As we move further into the new year and towards the spring, the UK Government’s sixth contracts for difference auction round is very important to the renewables industry in Scotland, and we need to ensure that we maximise that opportunity. That involves timeous consenting for projects that are relevant and looking to benefit from that. Contracts for difference allocation round 6—or AR6—could be not just a huge opportunity to drive forward renewable deployment but a huge opportunity to move beyond the mishap, to be frank, of AR5. I know that you are very engaged with that issue, but could you set out what the Scottish Government is doing to impress on the UK Government that it needs to set an ambitious budget for the auction and ensure that Scotland can maximise the opportunity by having as many projects eligible for the auction as possible?

Good morning to you and your officials, cabinet secretary. Thank you for being with us.

I want to focus again on the current position on wind power, particularly offshore, as well as other marine-based energy forms. Given your commitment to halve the consenting time for renewables projects, what are your plans for improving the resource that local authorities will need to reduce the time for assessing planning applications for new energy projects? I mean those that will be dealt with by local authorities; in due course, I will have questions about those for other licensing bodies.

It is important to acknowledge the expertise and high levels of skill that we have in Scotland, both in professional services and within local authorities, which have been developed over a long period of time.

Those are real assets in Scotland’s renewable development work.

Your answer mentioned offshore wind projects. The issue that I will raise is also relevant to port development. I saw the work that led to the port of Leith becoming a renewables hub, the project for which is now well under way and is being consented. During that process, though, there was concern about the time that it took Marine Scotland to deliver the necessary consenting validations. Has the Scottish Government considered how it will ensure that Marine Scotland’s licensing operations team is effectively resourced in the period ahead, given that that will be essential for consenting to offshore wind projects? Rightly, we want to work thoroughly, robustly and appropriately with regard to environmental considerations. However, where projects are compliant, we want those licences to be issued as timeously as possible, whether they are for offshore wind or tidal energy projects.

I will write to you shortly about Nova Innovation in my constituency—I know that you have visited it. It is looking to deploy in Orkney, but it is still, along with partners, waiting for the necessary consenting.

How can we improve the situation to ensure that we maximise investors’ determination to make projects happen and that the processes are undertaken thoroughly? I appreciate that we will need to grow the skills base in that area and that that takes a bit of time, but how can we make that happen?

Of course.

I apologise for going back to something that I raised earlier, cabinet secretary, but it was great to hear the commitment to on-going consideration of whether further resource is required to assist local authorities with their planning processes. Can you indicate whether that is also the case for the Scottish Government and its agencies, particularly Marine Scotland and NatureScot? For example, more resource may be required to speed up the process and provide a greater number of individuals with the necessary expertise. Is that on your mind?

I appreciate that the growth in offshore and marine renewables, in particular, is moving at a pace that is perhaps out of kilter with the time that is required to build up the expertise, so there is a challenge there. I am glad that you are focused on making a difference in that regard.

What is the projection for 2024-25?

There have been some questions and discussion about the potential reduction in numbers in the 2024-25 budget, but it is important, for context, to consider the provision that there has been in recent years. Cabinet secretary, you said that, in the 2021-22 financial year, a record number of Scottish students were state funded to go to higher education institutions in Scotland. Do you want to put a number on that? We are talking about tens of thousands of young people having a state-funded opportunity in Scotland that is not available elsewhere in the UK. Indeed, it would be useful and interesting for members to hear the numbers for 2022-23 and 2023-24.