Chamber and committees

Scotland's Place in Europe: People, Jobs and Investment sets out the possible impacts of leaving the EU on the Scottish economy, including the fishing industry (paragraphs 93-97).

The Scottish Government has also undertaken work to look at how leaving the EU may affect the wider seafood industry. In support of this, we have commissioned specific research on the potential impact of losing free movement of people, and of alternative EU exit scenarios on key UK seafood and aquaculture exports and imports.

The first of these reports was published in January 2018 and is available on the Scottish Government website. The second will be published in the near future, once finalised.

The Options for Scotland Report focuses predominantly on the tax regime regarding the decommissioning of fixed oil and gas structures, namely the topsides and jackets of offshore oil and gas platforms. As you will be aware the UK Government approve and regulate decommissioning programmes for all UKCS fixed oil and gas installations and pipelines, and are responsible for ensuring that decommissioning is delivered in a safe, efficient and cost effective manner whilst minimising the risk to the environment and other users of the sea. Although decommissioning is a reserved matter, the Scottish Government is committed to maximising the economic benefits available from decommissioning, and supporting Scottish industry to win valuable contracts in areas such as topside salvage and disposal, building upon the existing successes in capturing high value projects in areas such as well-plugging and abandonment.

The Floating Market Study, published on 5 January, by the Scottish enterprise agencies (SE and HIE) indicates there is significant market potential in decommissioning floating and mobile oil and gas infrastructure, including oil rigs, floating production vessels, and support vessels. It is imperative that the Scottish supply chain ready itself for the full range and diversity of decommissioning opportunities for fixed and floating assets in order to compete with other nations which are already active in decommissioning; thereby making the most of these economic opportunities for Scotland. The range of projects that we have funded through the Decommissioning Challenge Fund indicates that there are already organisations poised ready to capitalise on these markets. Slowing our momentum could therefore mean that we permanently miss out on opportunities across the sector.

We are aware of the wider issues raised by the Options for Scotland report, particularly the growing debate around environmental management, and regulatory and market capability aspects of decommissioning. As this industry develops we will continue to review all the latest evidence, including perspectives of industry and regulators, to ensure that our approach to decommissioning utilises best practice and seeks to optimise the benefits for Scotland.