Chamber and committees

Yes, you are reading me right. I would not in any way seek to minimise the scientific evidence. However, much of that evidence is predicated, to some extent, on smoke outside houses, although some of the evidence is about smoke inside houses. Many of the scenarios that have been considered are about conurbations where solid fuel is burned. I do not wish to be complacent, but we do not have evidence of conurbations where that is happening.

I am happy to try to respond to that, and I will ask officials to respond if they wish to come in on this.

I come back to the point that the measure that we are considering relates to the regulations on the building of new houses. I take seriously the learned reports on air quality—I do not dismiss any of that work—but it is important to be clear that you will struggle to find a new-build house in an urban area that has a wood-burning stove as the primary means of heating. In fact, statistics show that in the past three years, even before there was any talk of changes to the regulations, there was one new-build house in Aberdeen that had a wood-burning stove as its primary source of heating, none in Dundee, none in Edinburgh and none in Glasgow. There were 83 scattered across much of Scotland, many of which were, I take it, in rural areas, but certainly outwith all the cities.

Even with new-build houses, which again are what the regulations are about, you would be looking at between 12 and 16 in each of Scotland’s four biggest cities where a wood-burning stove was a secondary source of heating. It is important to draw the distinction that the regulations—this measure—is about new-build houses, and there is just no evidence that the concerns that have been expressed about new-build houses with wood-burning stoves are based in reality, in the sense that there are no such houses in any significant numbers.

All that I would add is that the evidence that has been presented to the committee and is now on the public record will, I am sure, be available when the review of the cleaner air for Scotland 2 strategy review is done. I do not do not know whether it is likely to formally feature in part of that work, or not.

As of June 2024, there was 15.6GW of renewable electricity capacity in Scotland. In the past 12 months, renewable electricity capacity has risen, and it is up 5 per cent since June 2023. That is largely due to increases in onshore and offshore wind capacity.

Since 1 January 2021, a total of nine planning appeals for onshore wind farm developments in the Highlands and Islands region have been allowed.

I do not accept the premise of the question, which is that the process ignores people’s views. However, as I have mentioned, the Government is continually seeking to improve the process. That is why we are working with the United Kingdom Government to include things such as pre-consultation for major applications to ensure that those views are taken into account at the earliest possible stage.

The member is well aware that I simply cannot comment on a live application of the kind that he mentions. I reiterate what I said about the fact that, looking into the future, the Scottish Government is happy to work with the UK Government on finding solutions and reform around the planning system. However, as I said, the member knows full well that I cannot comment on a live application.

There are twin aims, and it is vital that people and communities share the wealth of Scotland’s abundant renewable energy resources and net zero transition. Through our good-practice principles for onshore development, the Scottish Government continues to encourage developers to offer community benefits as standard on all renewable energy projects. Community benefits are a well-established and integral part of renewable energy projects in Scotland, with more than £30 million of community benefits being offered to Scottish communities in the past 12 months.

As the member will be aware, decisions on offshore oil and gas licensing and consenting are reserved to the United Kingdom Government. The Scottish Government’s draft energy strategy and just transition plan includes a proposal for consultation of support for a presumption against licensing for exploration to identify entirely new fields. We have never proposed a policy of no new licensing at all. Where fields are already identified but are not yet in production, we consulted on support for those continuing to progress through the licensing and consenting process, subject to a robust climate compatibility checkpoint.

The judgments and issues in the strategy are informed and influenced by recent developments in the UK Government’s energy policy and court decisions. This is a rapidly changing landscape and we are taking time to reflect on those developments and the strategy before drawing any conclusions and publishing any final strategy.

I do not think that anyone could be in any doubt, realistically, about the Scottish Government’s commitment not only to finding a just transition but to supporting the jobs that exist in the sector that the member mentioned.

The member also mentioned Grangemouth. I remind her of her exchange with the First Minister on the subject, in which he reacted to the comments that she made about the situation at Grangemouth, saying:

“I am actively pursuing an option to maintain the refining capacity at Grangemouth. If that needs to be stated again, I will state it again to Parliament”.—[Official Report, 21 November 2024; c 17.]