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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 strongly concur with the member and agree with what he says about the essential nature of reaching net zero, and not only to save our planet—as if that were a small consideration—because doing so is also essential for our businesses, as the cost of adaptation to and coping with climate change will become increasingly expensive if we do not tackle the problem as we go. I very warmly concur with what the member has just said.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 12 June 2025

Alasdair Allan

As I said, some of the plans are dependent on something that is happening in another sphere—that is, on the United Kingdom Government’s interaction with the courts. We must wait for some of the information from that. However, as I indicated previously, that fact does not keep us from action. For instance, we have allocated £125 million to the economy of Aberdeen and the north-east of Scotland; on top of that, we have allocated £75 million to the just transition capital fund for the north-east and Moray. As a Government, we are committed to putting in real resources and effort to ensuring that the transition is a truly just one.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Care Reform (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Meeting date: 10 June 2025

Alasdair Allan

On a point of order, Deputy Presiding Officer. I attempted to vote no. I am seeking to find out whether it registered.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

General Question Time

Meeting date: 5 June 2025

Alasdair Allan

We welcome the report from the Just Transition Commission. As I set out in my statement on Tuesday, we accept the headline recommendations in principle. Before doing further planning, we first need clarity on the United Kingdom Government’s intentions in a range of key reserved areas, including the future regulatory and fiscal regimes for North Sea oil and gas and support for the Acorn carbon capture and storage project.

Aside from planning, the Scottish Government is taking action. We will continue to provide support to the region, including through the new £8.5 million round of the just transition fund for the north-east and Moray.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

General Question Time

Meeting date: 5 June 2025

Alasdair Allan

As I mentioned, there is on-going support from the Scottish Government in a number of those areas. The Scottish Government is committed to developing heat networks as a key part of the way in which we will decarbonise our country in the future.

As I mentioned, we have funded Zero Waste Scotland to provide capacity building in support of local authorities. It is also worth pointing out that, in Edinburgh—which will be of interest to the member—the council has recently utilised its funding to further refine the zones that are identified in its LHEES and to seek legal counsel on the most appropriate delivery model to bring heat networks to market.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

General Question Time

Meeting date: 5 June 2025

Alasdair Allan

Communities are important, and I attempted to touch on that issue in my statement. On the member’s point about community benefit, I think that she might be talking about onshore developments. The Scottish Government is in touch with the UK Government—because the issue of mandating community benefits is reserved—about ensuring that communities are the mandatory recipients of benefits in the future.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

General Question Time

Meeting date: 5 June 2025

Alasdair Allan

We are committed to supporting local authorities to deliver their LHEES and are continuously seeking their input on the process of doing so. The Scottish Government is providing £2.4 million per annum to local authorities to use at their discretion to support LHEES development and implementation. Zero Waste Scotland is also delivering capacity building to local authorities that is focused on LHEES implementation. In addition, we have committed more than £815,000 of grant funding to local authorities through our heat network support unit to take forward heat network opportunities.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

General Question Time

Meeting date: 5 June 2025

Alasdair Allan

The member is right to point out that some of these issues cross local authority boundaries. We work with local authorities to ensure that co-operation is there. We know that there is a particular enthusiasm around heat network development. We have information on grant funding that is allocated via the heat network support unit equating to more than £815,000, to support the development of city-wide, town-wide or cross-local-authority heat networks.

I encourage the member to contact the Scottish Government if he requires anything related to his local area. Co-operation is being promoted by the Scottish Government.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Just Transition (Aberdeen and North-east Scotland)

Meeting date: 3 June 2025

Alasdair Allan

The member rightly pointed to the RGU report, which I am sure the UK and Scottish Governments will draw many important lessons from.

Sarah Boyack will be aware of the investment that the Scottish Government has made, working with the UK Government, in initiatives such as the offshore skills passport and in many other wider projects that are within our responsibility—not least the wider investment in Aberdeen and the Aberdeen area through the £125 million that has been allocated for its economic development. I accept what the member says about the importance of the RGU report. We will learn from it, and we hope that the UK Government will, too.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Just Transition (Aberdeen and North-east Scotland)

Meeting date: 3 June 2025

Alasdair Allan

Publicly and privately, the Scottish Government has made plain to the UK Government its position that the levy must have an end date and that we have concerns about the increase in the levy and the impact that it clearly has, as the member is only too aware, on investment decisions that are made in the sector in the north-east of Scotland. We will continue to make that position clear publicly and in our engagements with the UK Government.