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Chamber and committees

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 3 July 2025
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Displaying 1576 contributions

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Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 12 June 2025

Alasdair Allan

I mentioned the heat in buildings bill, which we have committed to introduce in year 5 of this session of Parliament.

With regard to the points that were made about earlier legislation, it is worth saying that we are now exploring introducing an opt-in rights and powers licence via the heat in buildings bill, which would be akin to the installation and maintenance licence that is being introduced in the rest of GB. That is because many of the provisions of part 1 of the legislation, such as those to do with financial wellbeing, will be covered by Great Britain-wide authorisation. More detail will follow when the heat in buildings bill is introduced, but I assure Lorna Slater that that will happen in this parliamentary year.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 12 June 2025

Alasdair Allan

I am not sure that I would characterise the future situation as one in which we will have a huge excess of electricity, given the electrification of the country that is taking place. However, I understand Sarah Boyack’s point about the need to ensure that different local authorities work together. We are seeking to support such work in the part of the world that she represents, and we will do that elsewhere in the country.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Statistics 2023

Meeting date: 12 June 2025

Alasdair Allan

Scotland has 1.5 million hectares of woodland, which covers 19 per cent of our country. The age structure of the forest estate and of the trees that are concerned means that the carbon sink that I referred to earlier will reduce over the 15 years to come. We need to plant more woodland, and we are planting more trees. Scotland is far more effective at planting trees than other nations of the UK. I think that 75 per cent of the tree planting that is presently going on in the UK is happening in Scotland. We are proud of that record and we will continue to work on it.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Statistics 2023

Meeting date: 12 June 2025

Alasdair Allan

As I indicated, we are pleased that the UK Government has made commitments in that area. As the Climate Change Committee has said, Acorn is essential to our reaching net zero. It is also essential to the economy of the north-east, Grangemouth and Scotland as a whole. We are pleased that we took the lead in that area and that the UK Government is following it, but we need a timeline from the UK Government as to when that investment will come.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Statistics 2023

Meeting date: 12 June 2025

Alasdair Allan

I will tell the member what he has missed. Apart from missing concepts such as decency and manners, the member has missed out the great issue facing our world today: the need to get to net zero, which he seems to have overlooked. He seems to think—and this will be my parting word to him—that we can somehow get through the next 50 years without attempting to get to net zero. That is what he has missed.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Statistics 2023

Meeting date: 12 June 2025

Alasdair Allan

The member will not be too surprised to hear that I do not entirely accept the premises of his question. However, to try to answer it, I will say that the Scottish Government remains fully committed to delivering net zero by 2045, and our next climate change plan will set out an approach to delivering on Scotland’s net zero target in a way that is just and fair for everyone but is also ambitious, as the member rightly points out that it needs to be.

The forthcoming climate change plan, which will cover 2026 to 2040, will set out a comprehensive overview and approach not just to mitigating existing climate change but to tackling the underlying problems that we have to fix by 2045.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 12 June 2025

Alasdair Allan

First, I recognise the efforts that Ben Macpherson has made as the constituency MSP in raising the issue with the Government and others. Scottish Water remains committed to delivering the investment through its PFI partner. I understand that the delays relate to the PFI company’s difficulty in procuring a suitable supplier in the busy United Kingdom marketplace. He will know that the PFI system was the creation not of this Government but of previous ones. I understand that Scottish Water has confirmed to the Seafield stakeholder group that the procurement strategy has been revisited accordingly. I am sure that Ben Macpherson will continue to raise those issues assiduously with future ministers.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 12 June 2025

Alasdair Allan

Ensuring a just transition for Scotland’s oil and gas sector is at the heart of our green industrial strategy. Those supply chains and workers will deliver net zero and unlock growth.

We are supporting businesses, including through our £500 million 10-year just transition fund. Our investment of up to £500 million over five years in offshore wind will leverage private investment and anchor Scotland’s supply chain. A just transition depends on United Kingdom Government action across reserved areas, including providing clarity on the fiscal and regulatory regimes for oil and gas, as well as support for the Acorn carbon capture and storage project.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 12 June 2025

Alasdair Allan

As Jackie Dunbar rightly points out, both Governments have a role in that regard. I am pleased that, even in the minutes before I got to my feet, there was again discussion in Westminster about the Acorn project and a commitment to some part of that. However, timescales and funding for the whole project need to be allocated if we are to have confidence that it will go ahead. Clearly, both Governments have a role to play and, as I have indicated, we in the Scottish Government have not been shy to play ours.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 12 June 2025

Alasdair Allan

As I indicated, we have not been waiting for a plan to take action—important as a plan undoubtedly is. I have mentioned the £500 million investment over 10 years and the many actions that the Government is taking.

Douglas Lumsden is right to point to the real anxiety that exists about ensuring that the north-east has the economic future and just transition that it deserves. The reason why I also pointed to the UK Government is that, for instance, the policy on the energy profits levy is continually raised by the industry in the north-east as something that is making life more difficult. That is why we raise it with the UK Government.