 The next item of business is a statement by John Swinney on the Scottish and UK Government selection of green free ports. The cabinet secretary will take questions at the end of his statement. Therefore, there should be no interventions or interruptions. I call on the cabinet secretary for around 10 minutes. Scotland is living through unprecedented and difficult economic times. Our households, businesses and communities are all facing continuing challenges arising from the combined shocks of Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath, the war in Ukraine and its impacts both on our economy and our energy security, and the acute cost of living crisis confronting us all. Now, more than ever, we must use every tool at our disposal to ensure that we maximise all the opportunities that we have in Scotland's different regions, and in doing so to support the regeneration of disadvantaged communities, promote the creation of high-quality jobs, advance our fair work agenda and accelerate Scotland's just transition to net zero. That sits at the heart of our plans for Scotland's future economy. The announcement of green free ports that we made jointly with the United Kingdom Government last Friday should therefore be seen in the twin context of our national strategy for economic transformation, which was published last March, and the draft energy strategy and just transition plan, which was published just last week. The economic strategy sets out our overarching vision for a transition to a stronger wellbeing economy that will build our future resilience to future shocks, be it the economic, social or environmental, and support Scotland's people to thrive and prosper. It describes how a wellbeing economy will drive a green recovery that will meet our climate and nature targets, while ensuring that the transition to a net zero future will be a just one, and how we will build world-leading clusters of manufacturing excellence in Scotland's globally competitive high-technology sectors of the future. Within that global context, the energy strategy and just transition plan maps out the future of the energy sector and sets out an ambitious plan of action to realise that bright future. Actions for the Scottish Government, for industry, for regulators and vitally for the United Kingdom Government. This is the backdrop for Scotland's green free ports. When the Minister for Business, Trade, Enterprise and Tourism announced our co-operation with the UK Government on green free ports to Parliament last February, he explained how we had negotiated a distinctively Scottish approach, bringing our own green free ports model to modify the English free ports approach to suit Scotland's needs and priorities. In particular, he emphasised how the approach would give top priority to regeneration and high-quality job creation, would support our journey to net zero and would embed our fair work agenda at its very heart. The competition that we launched jointly last March on the basis of a detailed prospectus embodied that approach and the outcome of the competition amply justified it. Taken together, the two winning bids from the Firth of Forth and Inverness and Cromarty Firth aspire to create 775,000 new high-skilled well-paid jobs to bring forward nearly £11 billion in private and public investment to deliver a significant enhancement of our offshore wind manufacturing capacity to advance alternative fuel production, including green hydrogen, and to promote innovation and trade across multiple sectors. I will speak in a moment about the next steps in this process, but first it is important that I set out the assessment and selection process. We are very clear from the outset that the process needed to be rigorous, fair and transparent. It also had to be a balanced one in which both the Scottish and United Kingdom Governments had an equal say. The applications were assessed in parallel by Scottish and UK Government officials, looking at all the different aspects of the bids against the policy and delivery criteria that were published in the prospectus using a common assessment framework. The results of that assessment process were then subject to independent moderation by senior officials from both Governments and validated by a joint programme board before an information pack was submitted jointly to Scottish and United Kingdom Government ministers with the assessment outcome and a list of the appointable bids. I then held several discussions with the Secretary of State for levelling up and the Secretary of State for Scotland to consider the outcome and to decide on the two winners. The decision was not an easy one. It was a very strong field, and I express our thanks to all those involved in submitting the bids. It was a choice between five high-quality applications, but on the basis of the joint assessment, which was thorough and robust, UK and Scottish ministers were agreed that the first of fourth and the Inverness and Cromity first bids were the strongest ones. First from the Scottish and United Kingdom Governments will now work closely and at pace with representatives of the two winning consortia in setting up robust governing structures, developing detailed business cases to unlock start-up funding and moving towards delivery on the ground. We hope that the two green free ports will be operational before the end of this year and ministers will keep Parliament informed of progress. While acknowledging the success of the two ambitious bids from Inverness and Cromity and the first of fourth, which could be genuinely transformational, I would like to say a few words about the unsuccessful bidders. Officials from both Governments have written to each of the unsuccessful bidders offering feedback, and we will publish more information on the process in due course to provide further transparency on the decision making process. As I have said, the field was a very strong one, and there were some very promising proposals within each of the applications that were submitted. I am conscious of the investment of time, resource and expertise behind each of the bids. Beyond that, I am acutely aware of the economic opportunities across the different regions that are covered by the applications and of the challenges that they are currently facing. Officials from both Governments stand ready to work with each of the unsuccessful bidders to consider whether and how it might be possible to build on aspects of their plans outside the green freeports programme to deliver jobs and growth in their regions. They will engage with the local authorities and their partners in the north-east, Clyde and Orkney, in particular through the regional economic partnerships, to discuss how targeted propositions could be developed in the context of the economic strategies in place and under development for each of those regions. They will review whether specific sectoral elements of the bidders' plans could be progressed through other relevant cross-government programmes taking a Team Scotland approach. They will look for opportunities to build on the themes and actions in each of the relevant growth deals. For the north-east, given its unique potential in the field of carbon capture, utilisation and storage, we continue to press the UK Government, as we have for some time, to set out a timeline for track 2 of the CCUS process that will ensure swift delivery of the Scottish cluster, including Acorn. That would be transformational for the region and would represent a critical step in Scotland's journey to net zero. Finally, I want to acknowledge and address some of the concerns that have previously been expressed by members about freeports more generally. As my ministerial colleagues and I have said before in this chamber, we are well aware of the mixed views and reputation of some freeports elsewhere in the world. We understand the critical importance of protecting workers' conditions and rights. We understand worries about potential displacement of economic activity from elsewhere, and we understand concerns about deregulation and potential illicit activity, so we have sought to address them in the approach that we have negotiated with the United Kingdom Government. First, we require bidders to commit to the principles of fair work, including payment of the real living wage and effective workers' voice, and to outline how they propose to embed them across the green freeports. Both of the winning bidders offered firm commitments on that. We will pursue those commitments with them in more detail as we move from initial decisions to the business case phase and onwards to funding and delivery, and we will hold them to their commitments as we monitor progress on the ground. Second, we will require the successful bidders to develop and report on their plans to monitor, mitigate and report on any potential displacement of economic activity. Finally, the green freeports will be required to adhere to the OECD code of conduct for clean free trade zones, to comply with tough UK regulations preventing money laundering, and to establish and share with enforcement agencies a register of all businesses operating within the tax sites. The operators of any custom sites will require prior authorisations by His Majesty's Revenue and Customs, and all the activities of the green freeports will be subject to close monitoring and evaluation. I am confident that the significant economic potential of the two green freeports will be accompanied by high standards of governance, transparency and enforcement. The announcement last Friday marked an important milestone. Creation of the two green freeports will support businesses to create large numbers of good green jobs, will promote growth and regeneration and will make a significant contribution to our transition to net zero. It will help us to create internationally competitive clusters of manufacturing excellence, building on specific areas of sectoral strength and able to compete on an equal footing with ports in the rest of the United Kingdom and internationally. Over time, they should yield real and lasting benefits to Scotland's local, regional and national economies. The hard work to deliver on that promise starts now, but I am very optimistic that I have brought the potential. Thank you very much, cabinet secretary. The cabinet secretary will now take questions on the issues raised in his statement. I intend to allow around 20 minutes for questions after which it will be time to move on to the next item of business, and I would invite members who wish to ask a question and who have not already done so, to press the request-to-speak buttons now. I thank the cabinet secretary for advance sight of his statement. I very much welcomed the announcement last week that the opportunity Cromity Firth and Forthport Bids were successful, and that will be a major boost to both their local and regional economies. I was also very pleased to see him to meet with the Prime Minister, Rishi Suneck, as he visited the Highlands ahead of the announcement. I will admit to being a little disappointed that the Scottish Government's welcome seemed to be a little muted and that the First Minister, who was in the Highlands herself, was not able to join the Prime Minister at Cromity Firth, because the announcement was accepted by the usual suspects, widely accepted as good news, and it was a chance to highlight what can be achieved when the UK and Scottish Governments work positively together to deliver for our communities. The cabinet secretary himself highlighted in his statement that, working collaboratively with the UK colleagues, both Governments were able to deliver a solution that met Scotland's needs. That should be welcomed, and I would suggest that the public and Scotland's business sector will want to see more of that going forward. However, as an Orcadian, I am obviously disappointed that my island's bid, which I also backed, was not successful. Can I ask the cabinet secretary to give a bit more detail, including potential actions and timescales, on how, as he mentioned in his statement, the Scottish Government will ensure that those projects that missed out this time are able to take advantage of the new opportunities that the Green Free ports offer, or to explore and exploit new opportunities? In relation to the winning bids, can the cabinet secretary tell me how the Scottish Government will ensure that local and regional infrastructure is adequate to meet the opportunities that the free ports should deliver? For example, in relation to the Cromity Firth bid, the SNP's commitment to dual the A9 is completed in full, as promised, and that the dualling of the A96 is not kicked even further into the long grass. Finally, the Scottish Government will commit to continuing engagement with the UK Government on similar joint projects, ensuring that both of Scotland's Governments are working together to improve economic opportunities and growth. The reason the First Minister was not in the Cromity Firth, although she did change her diary to meet with the Prime Minister the evening before, was because she was involved in some of the work to manage and address the pressures in the national health service, which was pre-arranged commitments on Friday morning, and discussions to avoid any industrial action in the national health service, which I am sure Mr Halcro Johnston will be as pleased as I am that the Government has successfully avoided, unlike the United Kingdom Government. The First Minister did change her arrangements to make it possible to meet with the Prime Minister, and I am sure that the Prime Minister welcomed that. On the issue of the unsuccessful bids, I empathise with the bids that have been unsuccessful, and Mr Halcro Johnston asked me specifically about the Orkney bid. The Minister for Business will be in Orkney on tomorrow and Friday to sign the island's growth deal, so Orkney will be benefiting from that. There are some elements of the proposal emerging from Orkney on the Scapa flow, which contains some interesting possibilities for further development, and we will, of course, continue a dialogue with Orkney Islands Council in that respect. I am very confident that the local and regional infrastructure will be available to support the winning bids, and Mr Halcro Johnston will be aware of the Government's continued commitments on the A9 and A96. Lastly, I want to reflect on the point that Mr Halcro Johnston puts to me about the Scottish and UK Governments working together. I think that there are some interesting lessons in this process. This was a process of joint decision making. There was equal involvement. We both had to agree that it was not one Government, like the UK Government, setting out its will over the will of the Scottish Government, so it was about joint decision making, and perhaps the Conservative Government in London could reflect on the importance of that being the approach to how we take those things forward in the future. Thank you to the Deputy First Minister for advance sight of his statement. Is an eventual agreement between the UK and Scottish Governments in free ports? It is a drop in the ocean when it comes to what is needed to stimulate Scotland's flagging economy. There was no commitment from the Deputy First Minister of new Government resources for the ports that are missed out on free ports data, such as the Clyde Green port that has been bid from a community already reeling from more devastating news on jobs in recent days. There was no guarantee that free ports will not lead to the dilution of workers' rights. If the agreement between the UK and Scottish Governments means that every worker in a free port will be guaranteed the same rights as every other worker in other workplaces, will it guarantee that trade unions will be able to access and organise workers operating within free ports to bargain with employers over pay, terms and conditions? I think that it is unfortunately just a little bit characteristic of Mr Smith's approach to most of those things, that there is not really much of a kind of welcome for anything that really comes from him. I would say to him that I am not sure that the running commentary helps the discussion of those things, but the two Governments have set out the approach that they are taking to a difficult set of decisions about very strong bids. I empathise with those who have been unsuccessful, and, as I have said in my statement, the Governments will engage with the unsuccessful bidders to identify how we can take forward some of the very strong propositions that are contained within those propositions. In relation to his comments about the position of workers, I went to great lengths in my statement to address the fact that the construct of the green free ports in Scotland was deliberately designed to protect worker rights. That was an essential prerequisite for the Scottish Government's participation in this exercise. We were not prepared to participate in the exercise on the basis proposed by the United Kingdom Government for the English Free Ports, because we did not think that there were the protections in place for workers' rights, and those were successfully negotiated as part of the process. I am confident that those can be assured, but I also give Parliament the assurance, as I said in my statement, that there will be governance in place, there will be accountability and we will be able to monitor how those agreements and commitments are fulfilled by the delivery of the green free port status. Thank you. I am conscious of the number of members who want to ask questions, so we are going to need to have fairly succinct questions and reasonably succinct answers as well. I call first Emma Roddick to be followed by Liz Smith. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Growing up in all this, I got to see the first hand, the perfect illustration of the just transition that is the port of Cromory Firth. From rigs to turbines, I am sure that their clear commitment to supporting green energy and providing quality jobs for Rosher and the Inner Murray Firth played a part in the success of their bid last week. However, many of my constituents are still worried about the agreements that the Scottish Government has secured on fair work and environmental protections and how those are going to be monitored and ensured, so can the Deputy First Minister expand on where accountability lies on those matters and reassure the people of the Highlands that the green free port is going to deliver without harming the area or workers' rights? Let me try to reassure Emma Roddick on both of those points on environmental protection and on workers' rights. The Scottish Government would not sign up to arrangements that would dilute any of the existing commitments, indeed from a wider policy perspective. Some of our concerns about the retained EU law bill proposals from the United Kingdom Government are reflected in the concern that we have that those very rights for workers or controls on environmental protection might be diminished. We have a governance structure to put in place. Those are essential commitments at the heart of the green free port status, so we will ensure that those arrangements are mandatory within the arrangements that are taken forward by the successful propositions. I very much welcome the statement and particularly welcome the very upbeat remarks from the cabinet secretary, particularly in his last paragraph of that statement. I think that it's good to hear what he says about joint working. Can I assume that the cabinet secretary does not agree with Ross Greer, who said on Friday that there is nothing, and I'm quoting here, that there is nothing green about so-called green free ports. They are a failed and dated Tory gimmick, which hands public cash over to multinational companies. They will only benefit the super-rich and big corporations who've pushed hardest for them. That quote perhaps illustrates why the concept of green free ports is an excluded area in the bute house agreement, which allows Mr Greer and I to respectfully take slightly different views on this particular question, if I can put it as delicately as that. I think that it's much better if I allow Mr Greer to speak for himself rather than to speak on his behalf. I very much congratulate the Cromarty and Four Green Port Bids on their success, but I'm very disappointed that the North East bid, where my constituency of Aberdeen South and North King Cardons located, was not successful. In addition to the update that he provided in his statement, can the Deputy First Minister, given a reassurance that the Scottish Government will ensure that the North East receives the long-term support required to help to achieve the Scottish Government's net zero and just transition targets, and will further help to maximise the opportunities granted to the North East to secure it as a future global energy hub? I quite understand the disappointment that Audrey Nicholl represents on behalf of her constituents, but let me reassure her in two respects. First, a number of measures have been taken by the Scottish and United Kingdom Governments to support the North East of Scotland, whether that's the 500 million, 10-year, North East of Scotland and Murray just transition plan, or whether that's the work that the UK Government has taken forward on the, and I think I have the term correct, the net zero project that has been led by the net zero zone that's been taken forward by Sir Ian Wood, which represents existing commitments. Secondly, let me reassure Audrey Nicholl that the First Minister and I have used every available opportunity to impress on United Kingdom ministers at the most senior level. The importance of the ACORN project has been taken forward, which is crucial for carbon capture and storage in the North East of Scotland. The ACORN project is uniquely placed to advance carbon capture technology. We have pressed that argument. The United Kingdom Government has heard us very strongly about the importance of early progress on that development and I am optimistic that that will be the case. Daniel Johnson to be followed by Michelle Thomson. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. John Swinney, a number of times in this statement, has expressed his sympathy and empathy towards those unsuccessful bids, but when I speak to Scottish Renewable Firms, they are clear that we need to upgrade not just to two of our ports, but our port infrastructure up and down Scotland if we're going to make good on the 17 Scotland projects and the 10 gigawatts of energy they're going to produce. So surely today he should be producing or should have produced an investment plan and a strategy for all our ports, not a rebadging of a pretty dubious conservative proposal on free ports? The Labour Party really is excelling itself in a lack of cheerfulness today. I don't know what's in the water today but it's certainly not reached Mr Smith or Mr Johnson. The Government has brought a statement forward here today to transparently explain a decision-making process that would involve them with the United Kingdom Government. In addition to that, the Government is investing in a variety of different propositions around the country, whether it's the Aberdeen growth deal or whether it's the Tay cities deal or the islands deal that I was talking about or the Ayrshire deal or the Clyde partnership deal, all of which have elements of addressing exactly the issue that Mr Johnson has raised with me. Those are 10, 15, sometimes 20-year sustained policy commitments in addition to the investment that the Government is making in the infrastructure of the country, and we're determined to make sure that we realise the benefits of the renewable energy production, which is Scotland's great opportunity in the years to come. I was pleased to hear the news of the success of the Crobatay and Frith of Wth Green Bids, and I'm hopeful that the latter brings economic benefits to my constituency of Falka East. The Deputy First Minister's statement recognised concerns that they could, however, have an economic displacement effect, reducing the actual impact of Government investment. Can he furnish us with more details as to how specifically this concern has been taken into account in the design of Scotland's green free ports? First of all, I very much understand the concerns that Michelle Thomson puts to me, and it's one of the fundamental issues about the green free port concept of the risk of displacement. We will be putting measures into the governance and reporting framework to ensure that there is transparency about those questions so that we can effectively scrutinise the effect of green free ports, and if necessary, have the necessary steps available to us to ensure that end displacement activity is addressed as part of the process of monitoring the effectiveness of the concept. There's nothing green about free ports. There are many tax havens that you found that they attracted money laundering, smuggling and other criminal activities, and the last time the UK tried them it only increased regional inequality. And whilst there are lots of warm words about fair work in net zero, I can't yet see any hard legal requirements binding those free ports to the grand promises that they've made. I acknowledge that the Government has tried to address the concerns that the Scottish Greens hold, but will the Scottish Government act to remove free port status from either operator if it breaks the commitments that it's made on workers' rights and environmental protection? Yes, the Government will act in that fashion. We are serious about the points that have been advanced. Obviously, I will try hard over the period ahead to persuade Mr Greer of the merits of the steps that we are taking, but I assure him that we will act to protect the commitments that have been built into the green free port concept. Thank you, Presiding Officer. As Audrey Nicholl has already set out, we need to ensure that the north-east is not disadvantaged by this decision. Particularly, as everyone who has spoken at north-east Asia said, we should be at the heart of just transition and remain the energy capital of net zero Scotland. So I'm pleased to hear the Deputy First Minister commit to working with unsuccessful bidders, because I'm pretty sure that quite a lot in the bid doesn't need green port status in order to progress. So I'd like to ask the Cabinet Secretary if he could provide any information about when this engagement will begin and what form it might take. Presiding Officer, that engagement will start very soon. As I indicated in my answer to Audrey Nicholl, we've used the process of engagement and dialogue around the decision making process here to advance the arguments in case for the ACORN project as an example, but that engagement will start soon and it will involve those involved in the bid in the north-east of Scotland and we will work to ensure that as much as can be taken forward sustainably off the bid is able to be done so. Alex Cole-Hamilton to be followed by Douglas Lamestead. Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer, and can I warmly welcome the introduction of the free port in the fourth estuary and on behalf of my colleagues in the far north, I congratulate them on the committee first decision. The cabinet secretary's right to reference in his remarks the concerns that people have about the displacement of economic activity from around and about free ports into free ports and losing the tax revenue and work opportunities from those areas that have lost out. I'm gratified to hear him make some consideration of that in his remarks, but would you consider coming back to Parliament perhaps in a year's time or a year after the introduction of those free ports to talk about the impact on economic activities in surrounding areas? I think that's an entirely reasonable request and ministers would be happy to do so. Douglas Lamestead to be followed by Willie Coffey. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I was disappointed that the north-east bid wasn't successful, but I think that what it highlights is the connectivity between Aberdeen and Inverness is more vital than ever. Obviously, the dueling of the A96 is now key. Can I ask the Deputy First Minister whether the commitment to dueling the A96 by 2030 is going to be met? Mr Lamestead should be familiar with the contents of the Butehouse agreement, which set out the Government's approach to the A96 dueling project. We set out specific commitments within that and the process of evaluation of the wider issues in relation to the routes. Those commitments have not changed from the Butehouse agreement. Willie Coffey. Can I ask the Deputy First Minister if he recognises the economic disparity that already exists between the north and east of Scotland and the south west of Scotland? And whether he thinks that this announcement might exacerbate that divide? And whether the Scottish Government sees any merit in exploring the potential of developing the port infrastructure in Ayrshire to boost economic activity there, particularly looking towards Ireland and the European Union via Dublin port? Obviously, I'm very familiar with the economic challenges that are faced in Mr Coffey's constituency and in Ayrshire more widely, which is why the Government has been so engaged in, for example, the Ayrshire growth deal. It's also why huge amounts of time were spent on energy on securing the investment of the Mangata investment at Pruyswick airport, which is a huge strategic development, albeit not in Mr Coffey's constituency, but in his neighbour's constituency, Siobhan Brown's constituency, in Ayr. I recognise those economic disparities. That's why we concentrate on that investment. In terms of the development of connectivity to Ireland from Ayrshire ports, ministers would be happy to engage with Mr Coffey and his colleagues from Ayrshire to see what could be done to advance that agenda. Thank you, cabinet secretary. That concludes the item of business. There'll be a brief pause before we move on to the next item of business. The next item of business is consideration of business motion 7557, in the name of George Adam, on behalf of the parliamentary bureau, setting out a business programme. I call on George Adam to move the motion. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and moved. Thank you. No member has asked to speak on the motion. The question is that motion 7557 be agreed. Are we all agreed? The motion is therefore agreed. There are three questions to be put as a result of today's business. Can I remind members that if the amendment in the name of Humza Yousaf is agreed to, the amendment in the name of Sandesh Gohani will fall? The first question is that amendment 7538.2, in the name of Humza Yousaf, which seeks to amend motion 7538, in the name of Jackie Baillie, on addressing the crisis in the NHS and social care, be agreed. Are we all agreed? The Parliament is not agreed, and we will move to a vote, and there will be a brief pause to allow members to access the digital voting system.