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Okay. In its evidence, Scottish Renewables pointed out that many workers in the sector have had to fund reskilling or upskilling out of their own pockets. Unite the union estimated that that had cost workers about £2,000. Skills Development Scotland stated that there is capacity in the skills development pipeline

“if we get the financial resource to apply to it”—[Official Report, Economy and Fair Work Committee, 15 November 2023; c.59.]

to support apprenticeships, for example. Is the Government doing enough to support workers to reskill, given the fact that they have to fund that themselves in many cases? What further action does the Government plan to take to support them?

Funding is crucial to this. Unite the union has pointed out that workers have had to pay £2,000 to reskill themselves. You mentioned Skills Development Scotland and apprenticeships, but we have seen that provision being reduced. I will again quote the evidence of SDS to the committee. It stated:

“for skills, we need more revenue resource for training activities.”—[Official Report, Economy and Fair Work Committee, 15 November 2023; c.69.]

The recent budget proposes a £4.1 million cut to the SDS budget, and the skills budget is being cut from £50.6 million to £36.9 million. We are also seeing cuts to colleges’ budgets. If we already have a problem whereby workers are effectively funding their reskilling themselves, and reductions are being made to funding, where do you see the funding coming from to support workers?

Kevin Stewart raised the point about the transition fund but, again, Skills Development Scotland told the committee—this is the point that Kevin made—that that is mainly capital, when it is revenue that is needed. I am curious about where the funding to tackle the issue will come from. What sort of proposal does the Government have?

I will follow up on some of those points. Given the direction of travel that we have had for some time and the policy decisions on net zero, the closure of the refinery will not come as a surprise to the Government. It was always likely to be the case. For clarity, when was the Government aware that the refinery was likely to close? I am not talking about the specific announcement on the timescale, which suggested that it will close in 2025.

There are several hundred jobs at risk, but even the investment in that import facility is likely to create only 100 direct jobs. I am not clear about what work is taking place to secure employment for the existing workforce in the refinery and the many—although we do not seem to know what the number is—supply chain jobs that are affected. You have talked about working with the company on the import facility and the security of the energy supply, but what work is taking place to secure a future for the hundreds of jobs at the refinery at the moment? Those affected are highly skilled workers who are likely to be looking to leave the company because they are effectively being told that their jobs are likely to be lost, come 2025.

The issue, though, is around supply chain and contractor jobs. The direct employment at the site is very high skilled. It may well be that those workers will pursue opportunities elsewhere, but that could mean that they leave Grangemouth, so that is not a just transition. The issue is around those supply chain jobs.

The Grangemouth site is critical national infrastructure. Have there been raised, in your discussions with the company, any policy interventions at all from the Scottish Government or the UK Government that would allow the site to continue for a longer period than it looks as though it is likely to? I know that we do not know the exact date, but it looks as though it will be in 2025.

There must be supply chain jobs and contractor jobs already in place in the refinery, as well as the people whom you directly employ. What assessment has been made of any potential loss there? The company constantly talks up its positive impact on supply chain jobs, but there will obviously be a negative impact. What assessment has been made of that?

I agree. If we are to have a just transition, the starting point is knowing how many people are currently employed directly and indirectly for the refinery, in order to support those people. I am still not entirely clear about the impact numerically on supply chain jobs and what assessment has been made of that.

I will come back to the 2025 figure. You have indicated that you are not clear whether the refinery will close then. What would prevent it from closing in 2025? It is making a loss at the moment, and the assessment of your direction of travel clearly shows that you should be ready to close in 2025. What is going to change between now and 2025 that you have not already built in, and what impact does that have on your existing workforce?

Highly skilled employees who are in the refinery at the moment are now being told that their job is on a timer. Presumably, they will be looking for other employment, because you cannot give them any certainty beyond 2025. What assessment has been made of the impact on your daily operations of the fact that you are likely to lose skilled staff between now and 2025? They will be looking for opportunities elsewhere, presumably away from Grangemouth, because the work that you are doing elsewhere on the site to bring other things on stream is long-term stuff—it will not create any jobs in the short term, so people are going to leave the area because of your announcement.

Are you doing anything at all to reassure those in the supply chain and to suggest that there may be alternatives? You will know who your suppliers and contractors are on the site. Are you in discussion with them about what your future plans may mean for them? They will be feeling uncertain, too, and that concerns a lot of jobs.

I will come back to the issue of jobs. The company often talks about the positive impact on local jobs, not only from the site but from supply chain and contractor jobs. Will you clarify the number of jobs that are affected? We have heard that around 400 jobs will be directly affected, but what assessment has been made of the impact on supply chains, contractors and other local businesses as a result of the closure of the refinery?

What incentive is there to stay until 2025? If you are a skilled worker looking outwith Grangemouth potentially, what is the incentive to stay there? Are you saying that, if they stay, they will get a financial bonus? They know that their job will probably disappear in 2025. You have not said anything at all that suggests that it will go beyond 2025; realistically, we know that the date is 2025. What is the incentive for skilled employees to stay on the site?