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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 4 November 2024
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Displaying 479 contributions

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Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 31 October 2024

Alasdair Allan

The Scottish Government will have to study the implications of the UK Government’s budget for Scotland. We work with suppliers and others to ensure that there is as much certainty as possible on those matters, but we are at the mercy of decisions in the UK about our overall budget. However, we certainly keep in touch with suppliers and agencies to ensure that there is as much certainty in the system as possible.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 31 October 2024

Alasdair Allan

Heating our homes and workplaces causes 20 per cent of our emissions. We have already made significant progress: emissions from buildings fell by 32 per cent between 1990 and 2022.

The energy efficiency of our homes is increasing across all tenures and more heat pumps are being installed than ever before. More than 150,000 households in Scotland have already benefited from our delivery schemes and we provided more than £210 million to those schemes in the last financial year.

We intend to lay regulations in December 2024 to deliver a Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus standard.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Invasive Non-native Species

Meeting date: 31 October 2024

Alasdair Allan

I am happy to acknowledge the important work that local authorities do in that area. I would also mention the £2 million for phase 2 of the Scottish invasive species initiative for tackling invasive plants and mink across the north-east of Scotland, for instance, as well as more than £1.5 million for the Orkney native wildlife project to eradicate stoats, and the £1 million going to the saving Scotland’s red squirrels project to control grey squirrels and reinforce protections for our iconic native red squirrel, as many members have mentioned today.

I will make one specific point about the yellow-legged hornet. Although no sightings have yet been officially recorded in Scotland, we are not complacent about that. My understanding is that we have contingency plans in place should sightings be confirmed.

The nature restoration fund also actively supports a range of other projects, including tackling rhododendron ponticum across areas that are important for nature and enhancing biosecurity for Scotland’s seabirds.

On the point that Jackie Baillie and Colin Smyth raised about Sitka spruce, the Government is aware of the concerns about the self-seeding of the species and it is now reviewing the guidance about buffer zones to seek to address the issue. We appreciate the point being made.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Invasive Non-native Species

Meeting date: 31 October 2024

Alasdair Allan

I appreciate the point that Christine Grahame makes, and I will undertake to copy her and others in on the work that is being done on reviewing guidance in that area.

We know that all those measures, important as they are, are not enough on their own to address the problem of established INNS in Scotland. Securing responsible private investment alongside public funds will be critical in supporting long-term plans to tackle invasive species such as rhododendron, giant hogweed and mink more widely and effectively.

However, it is not just about tackling those INNS that are established in Scotland. We must take action to enhance prevention and surveillance for new INNS and to develop robust and rapid response measures to tackle incursions effectively. We have been working closely with other UK Administrations on finalising five GB pathway action plans to raise stakeholder awareness of INNS and of what can be done to prevent them from becoming established in the UK. We are also developing a Scottish angling pathway action plan, which is relevant in that respect. We know that we need to improve prevention and surveillance, which are especially critical to the eradication of predators on Scotland’s seabird islands and in the marine environment, where control becomes challenging.

The Scottish Government welcomes the debate and the insightful report that has been produced by Scottish Environment LINK, and we look forward to working closely with Scottish Environment LINK and our other stakeholders as we develop and implement our INNS plan.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Invasive Non-native Species

Meeting date: 31 October 2024

Alasdair Allan

I, too, thank Audrey Nicoll for bringing this fascinating and important debate to the chamber, and I thank members for their speeches. I also thank the organisations that were involved in producing the Scottish Environment LINK report, “Invasive Non-native Species in Scotland: A Plan for Effective Action”.

It has certainly been an interesting and useful debate. I never thought that I would find myself mentioning Mr Burnett of Leys and Elvis in the same sentence, but it seems that they have something in common in their alleged taste for eating squirrels. In any case, the debate is timely, given that the 16th conference of the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity is currently taking place in Colombia, where countries are working together to ensure that the global biodiversity framework is effectively implemented.

That framework recognises the need, as members have done, for urgent action to tackle the current impacts of invasive species and to prevent the establishment of new ones. It is really important for us in Scotland, as it requires the eradication or control of invasive non-native species in priority sites such as islands—in my constituency, for instance, I am very aware of the protracted efforts to remove mink from the islands and hedgehogs from Uist.

All those efforts are why we are embedding key actions on biodiversity, including controlling and preventing the spread of INNS across Scottish Government policy. We are finalising our Scottish biodiversity strategy and delivery plan for publication later this year. In that delivery plan, we have committed to developing and implementing a Scottish plan for INNS surveillance, prevention and control, and securing wider support measures to enable long-term, effective INNS removal at scale. We are working hard on developing our Scottish INNS plan, which will set out in detail what we intend to do to tackle INNS. We will ensure that resources are better focused on preventing and controlling those species where possible.

As we undertake that work, we will engage with a wide range of stakeholders and delivery partners. We will also look carefully at the recommendations in the LINK report. Many of those recommendations are already under consideration or in train, but we recognise that more action is needed. However, Government cannot do that alone. We must work in partnership with and use the expertise of those who manage our land and who know it best. We will need an inclusive, whole-of-society approach that engages communities, businesses and decision makers alike.

I will pick up on Ms Nicoll’s question about funding. We know that tackling INNS requires significant investment, which is why commitments such as our £65 million nature restoration fund are essential. Since its launch in July 2021, the fund has provided more than £7.6 million to support projects to tackle INNS.

I should emphasise that the nature restoration fund has not been withdrawn. There is a continued commitment to the £65 million figure during the current parliamentary session. It is true to say that the local authority strand of the fund has been repurposed under pressures, but I hope that I can reassure Ms Nicoll about the Government’s continued commitment in that area.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Challenge Poverty Week

Meeting date: 8 October 2024

Alasdair Allan

Will the member give way

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Challenge Poverty Week

Meeting date: 8 October 2024

Alasdair Allan

I am sure that the member will come on to this subject, but does she, or does she not, agree with the UK Government’s decision on payments for pensioners in the winter?

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Just Transition (Grangemouth Area and North-east and Moray)

Meeting date: 3 October 2024

Alasdair Allan

As I mentioned, the Scottish Government has long understood the criticality of the wider Grangemouth cluster. That is why we made a commitment to develop a just transition plan that set a clear strategic direction for the future of the whole site and recognised the need for that to change in the future. That is what project willow has been about.

Today, I will update Parliament on our decision to introduce a short delay to the development of the Grangemouth plan. It is important to separate all these things out. I have mentioned some of the direct, immediate interventions that the Scottish and UK Governments are making. With regard to the Grangemouth plan, that will allow us time to consider the recent refinery announcement and to incorporate critical evidence from the project willow study, to ensure alignment between those important pieces of work. That is distinct from, and in addition to, the more immediate work that we have just described. We will launch our consultation on the draft plan shortly, with a view to delivering the final plan in the spring of next year.

The Just Transition Commission has said that Grangemouth represents the first “litmus test” of a successful just transition in Scotland. Although the recent announcement is disappointing, I outline the Scottish Government’s unwavering commitment to delivering it, and I trust that members will look forward to engaging with the draft plan in due course.

With its report, the Economy and Fair Work Committee has carried out an essential role in providing scrutiny of all those many efforts. I look forward to discussing the committee’s recommendations and the Scottish Government’s actions in more detail, and whether further steps might be necessary in the interest of working across Parliament on a topic in which we all have a shared interest.

We are certainly under no illusions about the scale of the challenge. As we know only too well from our industrial history, poorly managed rapid transformations cause long-term damage to our society. We are absolutely determined not to repeat those mistakes of the past.

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Just Transition (Grangemouth Area and North-east and Moray)

Meeting date: 3 October 2024

Alasdair Allan

I hope that the member will forgive me, but I have to make progress. Perhaps later on.

There are long-term plans to support long-term outcomes. We have started the journey and must continually refine and develop our approach.

This work sits alongside a wide range of related work, such as our green industrial strategy, which was published last month, and substantial investments, including the just transition fund, offshore wind investment, the energy transition fund and Scotland’s heat network fund.

On the north-east and Moray specifically, I have noted the committee’s recommendations and make it clear that we remain committed to supporting just transition in the region through our fund. We are currently commissioning an independent evaluation of the fund’s impact, but it has already provided hundreds of fully funded training courses and direct investment into 26 supply chain companies in the region, estimated to create more than 1,200 new green jobs in the process. That evaluation will help to inform how funding can be further developed to best serve the needs of the region’s businesses, workers and communities.

We are also providing targeted support to the area through the £125 million Aberdeen city region deal and the £32.5 million Moray growth deal, as well as through the energy transition fund, thereby protecting existing jobs, skills and knowledge while supporting new job creation in the region and across Scotland. However, public funding alone cannot finance the region’s transition, and it is critical that we work closely with the private sector to realise our ambitions. The just transition fund has already directly unlocked a minimum of £10 million of private sector investment, and the £25 million of funding that has been allocated to the Scottish National Investment Bank has helped to leverage around £40 million of additional spend.

It is clear from the committee’s inquiries that both Grangemouth and the north-east are critical regions in Scotland’s energy system and wider economy today. It follows that they should have a critical role to play in the transition to net zero. The Scottish Government is committed to fairly managing the significant structural changes that can be expected to take place, and to support the workers and communities who are critical to the journey that lies ahead.

15:10  

Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Just Transition (Grangemouth Area and North-east and Moray)

Meeting date: 3 October 2024

Alasdair Allan

The Scottish Government welcomes the Economy and Fair Work Committee’s recent inquiries into a just transition for Grangemouth and for the north-east and Moray. I extend my sincere thanks to members and staff of the committee, as well as to all those who provided evidence to both inquiries.

As we are about to embark on a discussion that will, in part, concern Grangemouth, it would be remiss not to start by addressing the on-going situation there, following the recent announcement that the Grangemouth refinery intends to cease operations in quarter 2 of 2025, as Claire Baker referred to. That is clearly concerning for the workforce and the wider community, and I echo the First Minister and the acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy in paying tribute to the refinery workforce, which has been critical in maintaining Scotland’s fuel security over many decades.

We are working tirelessly, alongside the UK Government, to do all that we can to support those who have been impacted by the recent announcement. That is why we announced a tailored support package, which included £20 million in additional joint funding from the Scottish and UK Governments—supplementing the Falkirk and Grangemouth growth deal—as well as immediate tailored career support that will help affected workers, and the £1.5 million joint funded project willow study, which will take forward credible options for low-carbon industry at the refinery site.