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Flagship SNP Government fund creates few renewables jobs

Flagship SNP Government fund creates few renewables jobs

Supporters of the Inch Cape windfarm off the Angus coast claim it will be able to generate enough green energy to power half the homes in Scotland while making a major contribution to the UK economy.
Development work is expected to be completed in 2027 following more than £3.5 billion investment in the UK's energy infrastructure. We are told this should include a significant boost for the Scottish supply chain.
Take a closer look, however, and it appears that Scottish suppliers are only in line to get the scraps from the table.
The bad news comes after a report found last week that the Just Transition Fund has created a risible number of jobs since it was launched amid fanfare in 2021.
READ MORE: Scale of SNP Government climate change failings underlined by experts
Inch Cape held an event in Montrose town hall earlier this month to highlight the opportunities for local firms to win business.
This is the kind of talk that SNP ministers love.
But the contracts for the supply of the most valuable and labour-intensive elements of the 72-turbine project were awarded to firms based overseas long ago.
Chinese businesses were engaged to supply the foundations and towers for the turbines.
Smulders of Belgium and Germany's Siemens Energy won the contract for electrical transmission infrastructure, some of which will be produced in Wallsend, Newcastle.
Vestas of Denmark will supply the giant turbine blades for the windfarm.
Scotland does not have a suitable production facility, despite SNP Governments making lots of noise about putting the infrastructure in place to ensure the offshore wind supply chain prospers.
READ MORE: SNP Government green jobs failure seen in English city's success
There was excitement in June last year when Vestas announced that it was considering developing a turbine blade production plant on the site of Leith docks in Edinburgh.
Such a plant would expect to bid for work that may be awarded by the firms that are considering developing a new generation of floating windfarms off Scotland.
However, the Leith site will face competition for investment by Vestas from other places as the company weighs up opportunities in the global market.
Asked when the company expected to decide whether to go ahead, a spokesperson said: 'Vestas has identified the Port of Leith as a possible location for a wind turbine blade manufacturing facility.
'A final investment decision has not been made and will be based on several factors including the viability of the business case and the market outlook.'
The spokesperson said Vestas would utilise its existing network of production plants to fulfil the Inch Cape contract without elaborating. Vestas has plants on the continent and one on the Isle of Wight. This produced blades used on SSE's Seagreen windfarm off Angus but is now focusing on onshore projects.
READ MORE: As Chevron closes Aberdeen office, what now for North Sea jobs?
Scottish firms have had to battle for a share of the smaller contracts for Inch Cape windfarm work.
The Inch Cape website states that around £150m has been spent with 125 Scottish companies to date. That works out at around £1.2m each.
In terms of long-term jobs impact, Scotland must make the most of the 50 jobs that are expected to be created at the Montrose operations and maintenance base.
The profits generated on the output from the windfarm will go to ESB of Ireland and Chinese-owned Red Rock Power which have equal stakes in the project.
The companies may claim they deserve to do well after sticking with a project that has been years in development.
However, the scheme benefited from crucial UK Government support that will be funded by households.
The windfarm will get revenue support under the Contracts for Difference programme. It won an award in the fourth CFD allocation round held in 2022, which was topped up in round 6 last year.
READ MORE: Israeli-owned firm takes control of UK's biggest gas field
Banks around the world will also share in the spoils. Some 22 lenders sighed up to support the funding round completed by Inch Cape's shareholders in January. The exercise will have provided work for armies of well-paid advisers.
To put the Scottish employment numbers in perspective, Equinor has said the Rosebank oil field development it plans to complete West of Shetland will support around 1,600 jobs at the height of construction work and 450 UK-based posts during the operations phase.
But former first minister Humza Yousaf condemned the UK Government's decision to approve the Rosebank development in September 2023.
His predecessor Nicola Sturgeon claimed then that work on Rosebank risked slowing the green transition and the jobs that came from it.
During Ms Sturgeon's term as FM, in 2021, the SNP Government struck a collaboration deal with the Scottish Greens and turned against the oil and gas industry.
Since the agreement unravelled in April last year, the SNP Government led by John Swinney has vacillated about what line to take on oil and gas ahead of the Holyrood elections that are expected to be held next May.
READ MORE: SNP Government oil hypocrisy shocking amid Scottish jobs cull
The Scottish Government has yet to publish a final version of the draft energy strategy issued by Ms Sturgeon in January 2023, which said the development of renewables should be accelerated. The draft recommended a presumption against further oil and gas exploration in the North Sea.
The future of Rosebank was cast into doubt after a Scottish court ruled in January that approval was unlawful because it failed to take account of all the related emissions. Equinor will have to submit a fresh environmental impact assessment that provides the data required.
However, the green jobs promised by Ms Sturgeon and predecessors have not materialised.
Last week came fresh proof that the centrepiece of Ms Sturgeon's job creation strategy has had negligible impact.
In a bid to keep supporters in the SNP's North East Scotland heartlands onside Ms Sturgeon announced the £500m Just Transition Fund in 2021.
The fund was suspended following the first two years of applications as MSPs expressed serious concern about its effectiveness.
It was reopened to applications in May although the SNP Government has yet to publish the refresh of the just transition strategy that it promised.
A report issued quietly by the SNP Government on July 7 noted the fund had created the grand total of 110 jobs in the first two years and supported 120 others. This followed a £43m outlay.
The authors insisted nonetheless that the fund had provided the foundations for economic and environmental change by supporting initiatives such as the development of a skills passport to help oil and gas workers transition to renewables.
That will probably provide little comfort to the 250 Aberdeen workers who are set to lose their jobs under the cost-cutting programme announced by North Sea oil heavyweight Harbour Energy in May.
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Phillipson vows to tackle ‘thorny' challenge facing white working-class pupils
Phillipson vows to tackle ‘thorny' challenge facing white working-class pupils

South Wales Guardian

time3 hours ago

  • South Wales Guardian

Phillipson vows to tackle ‘thorny' challenge facing white working-class pupils

Bridget Phillipson has said it is a 'national disgrace' that so many young people are 'written off' and do not get what they need in the education system to achieve and thrive after leaving school. Speaking before A-level results day on Thursday, Ms Phillipson said her focus will be turning around the 'stark' attainment gap and outcomes between white working-class children and their peers. The Government will set out its plans for the challenge in a schools white paper in the autumn, she said. Fewer than a fifth (18.6%) of white British pupils eligible for free school meals achieved at least a grade 5 – which is considered a 'strong pass' – in their English and maths GCSEs in 2023/24, compared to 45.9% of all state school pupils in England, according to Department for Education (DfE) data. The Education Secretary told the PA news agency: 'They're not well positioned to carry on with studies, to get an apprenticeship, to go on to university. 'That is why the schools white paper we will be publishing in the autumn will set out an ambitious vision for how we can tackle this generational challenge of what many young people experience. '(It) is a national disgrace that so many young people are written off and don't get what they need to achieve and thrive.' She added: 'Far too many young people, particularly white working-class British students, don't get the exam results that they need at GCSE or A-level to allow them to continue onto university.' Students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will receive their A-level results on Thursday and they will decide whether to study in higher education, do an apprenticeship or go straight into work. University sector leaders have suggested that cost-of-living pressures are affecting young people's choices around university – with more opting to stay living at home while doing their degree. Jo Saxton, chief executive of Ucas, would like the Government to provide more bursaries and maintenance support for young people amid a rise in students who are choosing to stay living at home. She said students were opting not to move away from home for their studies amid cost-of-living pressures, and some were choosing a university near home so they could keep an existing part-time job. Dr Saxton told PA there has also been a rise in UK 19-year-old first-time applicants as more young people are wanting to work and 'raise some funds' for a year before they go to university due to pressures. Ucas figures released last month revealed that the number of UK 19-year-olds who have applied to higher education by the June 30 deadline has increased by 1.4% compared to last year. Addressing the cost-of-living pressures facing students, the Education Secretary said the Government recognises that there is 'still more to do' to tackle some of the disparities that young people experience. She told PA: 'I do want all students to be able to get the full benefits of their time at university, to be able to take up internships, study trips (and) other work experience opportunities. 'I don't want students from less well-off backgrounds to be deterred from doing that because of having to take on more hours of paid work.' When asked if the Government is considering bringing back maintenance grants in England to support poorer students facing cost pressures, Ms Phillipson said: 'We're looking at all of the options in terms of how we can support students to both get to university but also to thrive while they're at university.' She added that universities have responsibilities 'to make sure students from less well-off backgrounds are given the support that they need' to get to university and to complete their studies. 'There's still a big challenge there in terms of some of the unacceptably high dropout rates that we see for some students,' the Education Secretary said. Last year, the Government announced that undergraduate tuition fees in England, which have been frozen at £9,250 since 2017, will rise to £9,535 for the 2025-26 academic year. It also announced that maintenance loans will increase in line with inflation in the 2025-26 academic year to help students with their living costs. But university leaders have called for maintenance support to be adjusted in line with inflation in future years rather than as a one-off as part of the Government's reforms which will be set out in the autumn. When asked about these calls, Ms Phillipson said: 'Both in terms of student finance and the financial sustainability of universities, I understand the arguments that universities make around certainty of funding and that's something we're considering as part of the post-16 white paper.' Speaking to PA before the start of the new academic year, the Education Secretary said: 'My big priority for this year will be how we focus on the really stark picture that we see around attainment and outcomes for children from white working-class backgrounds in places like Sunderland.' She added: 'The focus will be how we tackle some of those really thorny and generational challenges – like the gaps that we see around white working-class children and their attainment. 'That's why both the post-16 white paper and the schools white paper will have a focus on how we turn that around, and how we make sure that all children in our country can achieve and thrive.' An independent inquiry into the educational outcomes of white working-class children was commissioned by Sir Hamid Patel, chief executive of the multi-academy trust Star Academies, in June. Speaking before A-level results day, Ucas chief Dr Saxton told PA that an increase in UK 19-year-old first-time applicants was a 'new emerging trend'. She said: 'I don't think it's the gap year in the sort of traditional Sloaney sense. '(The) number one concern that we hear from students concerned about the cost of living and they want to work for a bit and raise some funds before they go to study.' Dr Saxton added: 'Would I like to see the Government provide more bursaries and maintenance support? Yes, of course I would.' The Ucas boss said 'commuter students' – those who decide not to move away for university – are using clearing to decline their place to study closer to home 'either because of caring responsibilities, or related to cost of living, or because it means they can keep a part-time job they already have'. On the rise of UK 19-year-old applicants, Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK (UUK), said: 'There's clearly an affordability concern for applicants.' She told PA: 'I'd be saying to Government this is another reason to get your skates on and address the maintenance and support issue. 'Because it might be students who are taking a bit of time out to earn a bit of money to help them as they enter university. 'But if it's because they are worried about the availability of finance through the maintenance loan – and it's the threshold not going up, as well as the total value of the maintenance loan not going up, that's been a problem – then I think Government should be paying a bit of attention to it.'

Phillipson vows to tackle ‘thorny' challenge facing white working-class pupils
Phillipson vows to tackle ‘thorny' challenge facing white working-class pupils

Rhyl Journal

time3 hours ago

  • Rhyl Journal

Phillipson vows to tackle ‘thorny' challenge facing white working-class pupils

Bridget Phillipson has said it is a 'national disgrace' that so many young people are 'written off' and do not get what they need in the education system to achieve and thrive after leaving school. Speaking before A-level results day on Thursday, Ms Phillipson said her focus will be turning around the 'stark' attainment gap and outcomes between white working-class children and their peers. The Government will set out its plans for the challenge in a schools white paper in the autumn, she said. Fewer than a fifth (18.6%) of white British pupils eligible for free school meals achieved at least a grade 5 – which is considered a 'strong pass' – in their English and maths GCSEs in 2023/24, compared to 45.9% of all state school pupils in England, according to Department for Education (DfE) data. The Education Secretary told the PA news agency: 'They're not well positioned to carry on with studies, to get an apprenticeship, to go on to university. 'That is why the schools white paper we will be publishing in the autumn will set out an ambitious vision for how we can tackle this generational challenge of what many young people experience. '(It) is a national disgrace that so many young people are written off and don't get what they need to achieve and thrive.' She added: 'Far too many young people, particularly white working-class British students, don't get the exam results that they need at GCSE or A-level to allow them to continue onto university.' Students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will receive their A-level results on Thursday and they will decide whether to study in higher education, do an apprenticeship or go straight into work. University sector leaders have suggested that cost-of-living pressures are affecting young people's choices around university – with more opting to stay living at home while doing their degree. Jo Saxton, chief executive of Ucas, would like the Government to provide more bursaries and maintenance support for young people amid a rise in students who are choosing to stay living at home. She said students were opting not to move away from home for their studies amid cost-of-living pressures, and some were choosing a university near home so they could keep an existing part-time job. Dr Saxton told PA there has also been a rise in UK 19-year-old first-time applicants as more young people are wanting to work and 'raise some funds' for a year before they go to university due to pressures. Ucas figures released last month revealed that the number of UK 19-year-olds who have applied to higher education by the June 30 deadline has increased by 1.4% compared to last year. Addressing the cost-of-living pressures facing students, the Education Secretary said the Government recognises that there is 'still more to do' to tackle some of the disparities that young people experience. She told PA: 'I do want all students to be able to get the full benefits of their time at university, to be able to take up internships, study trips (and) other work experience opportunities. 'I don't want students from less well-off backgrounds to be deterred from doing that because of having to take on more hours of paid work.' When asked if the Government is considering bringing back maintenance grants in England to support poorer students facing cost pressures, Ms Phillipson said: 'We're looking at all of the options in terms of how we can support students to both get to university but also to thrive while they're at university.' She added that universities have responsibilities 'to make sure students from less well-off backgrounds are given the support that they need' to get to university and to complete their studies. 'There's still a big challenge there in terms of some of the unacceptably high dropout rates that we see for some students,' the Education Secretary said. Last year, the Government announced that undergraduate tuition fees in England, which have been frozen at £9,250 since 2017, will rise to £9,535 for the 2025-26 academic year. It also announced that maintenance loans will increase in line with inflation in the 2025-26 academic year to help students with their living costs. But university leaders have called for maintenance support to be adjusted in line with inflation in future years rather than as a one-off as part of the Government's reforms which will be set out in the autumn. When asked about these calls, Ms Phillipson said: 'Both in terms of student finance and the financial sustainability of universities, I understand the arguments that universities make around certainty of funding and that's something we're considering as part of the post-16 white paper.' Speaking to PA before the start of the new academic year, the Education Secretary said: 'My big priority for this year will be how we focus on the really stark picture that we see around attainment and outcomes for children from white working-class backgrounds in places like Sunderland.' She added: 'The focus will be how we tackle some of those really thorny and generational challenges – like the gaps that we see around white working-class children and their attainment. 'That's why both the post-16 white paper and the schools white paper will have a focus on how we turn that around, and how we make sure that all children in our country can achieve and thrive.' An independent inquiry into the educational outcomes of white working-class children was commissioned by Sir Hamid Patel, chief executive of the multi-academy trust Star Academies, in June. Speaking before A-level results day, Ucas chief Dr Saxton told PA that an increase in UK 19-year-old first-time applicants was a 'new emerging trend'. She said: 'I don't think it's the gap year in the sort of traditional Sloaney sense. '(The) number one concern that we hear from students concerned about the cost of living and they want to work for a bit and raise some funds before they go to study.' Dr Saxton added: 'Would I like to see the Government provide more bursaries and maintenance support? Yes, of course I would.' The Ucas boss said 'commuter students' – those who decide not to move away for university – are using clearing to decline their place to study closer to home 'either because of caring responsibilities, or related to cost of living, or because it means they can keep a part-time job they already have'. On the rise of UK 19-year-old applicants, Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK (UUK), said: 'There's clearly an affordability concern for applicants.' She told PA: 'I'd be saying to Government this is another reason to get your skates on and address the maintenance and support issue. 'Because it might be students who are taking a bit of time out to earn a bit of money to help them as they enter university. 'But if it's because they are worried about the availability of finance through the maintenance loan – and it's the threshold not going up, as well as the total value of the maintenance loan not going up, that's been a problem – then I think Government should be paying a bit of attention to it.'

Phillipson vows to tackle ‘thorny' challenge facing white working-class pupils
Phillipson vows to tackle ‘thorny' challenge facing white working-class pupils

North Wales Chronicle

time3 hours ago

  • North Wales Chronicle

Phillipson vows to tackle ‘thorny' challenge facing white working-class pupils

Bridget Phillipson has said it is a 'national disgrace' that so many young people are 'written off' and do not get what they need in the education system to achieve and thrive after leaving school. Speaking before A-level results day on Thursday, Ms Phillipson said her focus will be turning around the 'stark' attainment gap and outcomes between white working-class children and their peers. The Government will set out its plans for the challenge in a schools white paper in the autumn, she said. Fewer than a fifth (18.6%) of white British pupils eligible for free school meals achieved at least a grade 5 – which is considered a 'strong pass' – in their English and maths GCSEs in 2023/24, compared to 45.9% of all state school pupils in England, according to Department for Education (DfE) data. The Education Secretary told the PA news agency: 'They're not well positioned to carry on with studies, to get an apprenticeship, to go on to university. 'That is why the schools white paper we will be publishing in the autumn will set out an ambitious vision for how we can tackle this generational challenge of what many young people experience. '(It) is a national disgrace that so many young people are written off and don't get what they need to achieve and thrive.' She added: 'Far too many young people, particularly white working-class British students, don't get the exam results that they need at GCSE or A-level to allow them to continue onto university.' Students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will receive their A-level results on Thursday and they will decide whether to study in higher education, do an apprenticeship or go straight into work. University sector leaders have suggested that cost-of-living pressures are affecting young people's choices around university – with more opting to stay living at home while doing their degree. Jo Saxton, chief executive of Ucas, would like the Government to provide more bursaries and maintenance support for young people amid a rise in students who are choosing to stay living at home. She said students were opting not to move away from home for their studies amid cost-of-living pressures, and some were choosing a university near home so they could keep an existing part-time job. Dr Saxton told PA there has also been a rise in UK 19-year-old first-time applicants as more young people are wanting to work and 'raise some funds' for a year before they go to university due to pressures. Ucas figures released last month revealed that the number of UK 19-year-olds who have applied to higher education by the June 30 deadline has increased by 1.4% compared to last year. Addressing the cost-of-living pressures facing students, the Education Secretary said the Government recognises that there is 'still more to do' to tackle some of the disparities that young people experience. She told PA: 'I do want all students to be able to get the full benefits of their time at university, to be able to take up internships, study trips (and) other work experience opportunities. 'I don't want students from less well-off backgrounds to be deterred from doing that because of having to take on more hours of paid work.' When asked if the Government is considering bringing back maintenance grants in England to support poorer students facing cost pressures, Ms Phillipson said: 'We're looking at all of the options in terms of how we can support students to both get to university but also to thrive while they're at university.' She added that universities have responsibilities 'to make sure students from less well-off backgrounds are given the support that they need' to get to university and to complete their studies. 'There's still a big challenge there in terms of some of the unacceptably high dropout rates that we see for some students,' the Education Secretary said. Last year, the Government announced that undergraduate tuition fees in England, which have been frozen at £9,250 since 2017, will rise to £9,535 for the 2025-26 academic year. It also announced that maintenance loans will increase in line with inflation in the 2025-26 academic year to help students with their living costs. But university leaders have called for maintenance support to be adjusted in line with inflation in future years rather than as a one-off as part of the Government's reforms which will be set out in the autumn. When asked about these calls, Ms Phillipson said: 'Both in terms of student finance and the financial sustainability of universities, I understand the arguments that universities make around certainty of funding and that's something we're considering as part of the post-16 white paper.' Speaking to PA before the start of the new academic year, the Education Secretary said: 'My big priority for this year will be how we focus on the really stark picture that we see around attainment and outcomes for children from white working-class backgrounds in places like Sunderland.' She added: 'The focus will be how we tackle some of those really thorny and generational challenges – like the gaps that we see around white working-class children and their attainment. 'That's why both the post-16 white paper and the schools white paper will have a focus on how we turn that around, and how we make sure that all children in our country can achieve and thrive.' An independent inquiry into the educational outcomes of white working-class children was commissioned by Sir Hamid Patel, chief executive of the multi-academy trust Star Academies, in June. Speaking before A-level results day, Ucas chief Dr Saxton told PA that an increase in UK 19-year-old first-time applicants was a 'new emerging trend'. She said: 'I don't think it's the gap year in the sort of traditional Sloaney sense. '(The) number one concern that we hear from students concerned about the cost of living and they want to work for a bit and raise some funds before they go to study.' Dr Saxton added: 'Would I like to see the Government provide more bursaries and maintenance support? Yes, of course I would.' The Ucas boss said 'commuter students' – those who decide not to move away for university – are using clearing to decline their place to study closer to home 'either because of caring responsibilities, or related to cost of living, or because it means they can keep a part-time job they already have'. On the rise of UK 19-year-old applicants, Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK (UUK), said: 'There's clearly an affordability concern for applicants.' She told PA: 'I'd be saying to Government this is another reason to get your skates on and address the maintenance and support issue. 'Because it might be students who are taking a bit of time out to earn a bit of money to help them as they enter university. 'But if it's because they are worried about the availability of finance through the maintenance loan – and it's the threshold not going up, as well as the total value of the maintenance loan not going up, that's been a problem – then I think Government should be paying a bit of attention to it.'

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