I entirely agree with Mr Scott’s point. Of course, he will be familiar with the assistance that the Government has given for the development of decommissioning capability in the Shetland Islands, which I think has been an important contribution. I also have to say that the opportunities have been strongly embraced by the Lerwick Port Authority and the Shetland community.

Mr Scott correctly highlights a significant economic opportunity. We will ensure that our representations adequately make the case on the points that he raises. It is inevitable that there will be a focus on decommissioning and we have to make sure that as much of that activity as possible happens as close to home as possible. Although it is accepted that there will be an increased level of decommissioning activity, we have to ensure that that activity is not premature and that we take other steps to ensure that there is a viable fiscal regime in place to support the development of companies and the propositions that they take forward so that we can maximise the capability to extract sustainably the resources that exist in the North Sea oil and gas sector.