Chamber and committees

It is absolutely disgraceful. All the groups that I have mentioned are watching this debate to hear the defence of the SNP Government. They are looking to see who is in the chamber today. It is disgraceful.

I am not sure what Monica Lennon is referring to. We are talking about the Aarhus convention, the human rights of individuals and access to justice.

The communities have not been consulted properly on the different options. It is a case of the wrong kit in the wrong place. The move would leave local democracy in tatters and the affected communities, in effect, disenfranchised from decision making on such projects. They are being drowned in jargon, overwhelmed by costs and, in effect, blocked from challenging decisions that could have irreversible impacts on their local environment and quality of life. That is not what the Aarhus convention promises.

Finally, and in response to Monica Lennon’s question, I point out that that is why the Scottish Conservatives would guarantee that local communities would be able to halt electricity infrastructure projects if they would not meet local needs. We need to press pause. There is still time to do the right thing in line with the principles of the Aarhus convention.

I thought that I was hearing an SNP party-political broadcast from the previous speaker, but it is good to know that the SNP is concerned about the environment.

Scotland has failed to comply with the Aarhus convention—that is clear. In failing to comply, the SNP has betrayed the principles of environmental justice. That matters, because plans are being rolled out to industrialise the north-east of Scotland with huge substations, a proliferation of battery storage, monster pylons and hundreds of kilometres of overhead lines. In the affected communities, that sprawling energy infrastructure is already having a devastating impact on hundreds of families.

Constituents from Angus to Aberdeenshire and beyond see the industrialisation of their homeland. Their land and their livelihoods are about to be destroyed, and they feel absolutely powerless to do anything about it. They also have valid concerns about the health implications of the infrastructure, which have not been explored and allayed because full independent environmental impact assessments have not been done. Wildlife, wheat fields and carrot and potato fields are about to be decimated. Communities are about to be disempowered by the very people they hoped would represent them. The SNP is numb to their plight.

Campaigners from Save Our Mearns, Angus Pylon Action Group, Deeside Against Pylons, the Leylodge against industrialisation group, the Stop Tealing Industrialisation Group, the Echt and Dunecht against pylons group, the Buchan and Formartine opposed to big energy group, Kyle of Sutherland, Dunbeath and Berriedale groups, Communities B4 Power Companies and other groups have mobilised to fight the plans. However, their monopoly provider, which has a contract to deliver, is bulldozing ahead. [Interruption.]

Presiding Officer, there are conversations going on in the chamber. I know that SNP members do not want to hear this, but I say to them that they should please listen. It is also disrespectful to talk when somebody else is speaking.

Giving evidence to the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, the Law Society of Scotland laid bare what non-compliance with the Aarhus convention means in practice:

“Developers may be well funded and there will be Government representation, but community groups or individuals may appear on their own or may have a solicitor appear for them. There is often a mismatch in what you might call the equality of arms.”—[Official Report, Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, 12 November 2024; c 13.]

This is inequality of arms. Communities are powerless to do anything as their homeland is destroyed.

I would like members to hear the voice of one of my constituents, who said this morning:

“The Scottish Government has ignored the Aarhus convention for over a decade ... What is happening now is nothing short of criminal, causing mental health issues and environmental vandalism.

That is what it is—environmental vandalism.

As my colleague has said, campaigners in Galloway raised more than £26,000 towards the costs of a lawyer and an energy expert to unsuccessfully challenge pylon plans. I think that Labour said today that it would like to have more local planning, but the problem is that the Scottish Government is overriding local planning decisions. Communities should not need to crowdfund just to have their voices heard. It is like David and Goliath, and it is clear which side the SNP Government has taken. The SNP in Holyrood and the Labour Government in Westminster want to remove the right to a public inquiry.

Monica Lennon talked about the importance of air, land and water quality. Does she agree that it is difficult to see how we can plan, and start to implement, an infrastructure or a project without a proper, thorough and independent environmental impact assessment?

Will I get the time back, Presiding Officer?

Udny Station GP surgery in my region is the latest casualty of the Scottish National Party’s chronic mismanagement of primary care. A lack of clinical workforce, rising operational costs and population growth mean that the surgery is set to close its doors, which will leave rural communities in the lurch. This is not the first time that I have mentioned the issue. Why is the SNP Government still failing to resource GP surgeries, such as the one in Udny Station, to meet the needs of rural populations? What action will it take to address this unacceptable situation?

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app would not work. I would have voted yes.

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made an assessment of the potential loss of agricultural land in the North East Scotland region as the result of development. (S6O-04516)

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app would not work. I would have voted no.

The industrialisation of the north-east, which Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks is pursuing through its monster pylon plans, is causing alarm and trauma. I recently met Angus farmers, who, along with other stakeholders, raised serious concerns with me about the overhead lines’ impact on prime agricultural land.

The use of farming machinery, such as autonomous tractors, also has worrying implications. Has the Scottish Government considered the loss of agricultural productivity that will result from SSEN’s plans, and will it commit to protecting our food security and farmers in the north-east?