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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 18 July 2025
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Displaying 1523 contributions

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Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Air Quality

Meeting date: 25 April 2023

Monica Lennon

You are satisfied that there are powers that SEPA could be using. There are existing powers, but they might not be being used as often or as well as they should be. Do you have a view on why that is the case? Has there been an assessment of that? Have you had discussions with people at SEPA about any constraints or barriers that they face?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Air Quality

Meeting date: 25 April 2023

Monica Lennon

Only if we have time in hand, convener.

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Air Quality

Meeting date: 25 April 2023

Monica Lennon

I am not sure how formal this would need to be, but are you suggesting that additional duties need to be placed on SEPA?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Air Quality

Meeting date: 25 April 2023

Monica Lennon

ESS recommended that the Government should establish a new oversight body. My understanding is that that is not where you want to go. What steps will you take to ensure that there is holistic oversight of the system of air quality monitoring? Will you keep an open mind on whether there should be an oversight body in the future?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Air Quality

Meeting date: 25 April 2023

Monica Lennon

Good morning. I do not know how much you caught of the earlier discussion with ESS, but we basically heard the view that SEPA should be using existing powers more effectively. What is your assessment of the reason for the lack of enforcement action by SEPA with regard to insufficient progress by local authorities in meeting local air quality management duties? Can you help to explain that?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Air Quality

Meeting date: 25 April 2023

Monica Lennon

It is just because LEZs have been brought up. I am always reluctant to focus on very local examples, but I think that what I am going to talk about provides an important illustration for the national picture.

As colleagues might know, I am very concerned about the loss of our local bus service—the X1 express bus from Hamilton to Glasgow. It has forced people into their cars; they do not want to use them, but they have been left with no choice. That also includes people trying to get to hospital appointments at Glasgow royal infirmary.

Perhaps Vincent McInally can respond from a Transport Scotland perspective, because I am not bringing this up for political reasons. What I am saying is that we need to look at LEZs—of course we do—but in a joined-up way with other policies and the reality on the ground. My question is: what is being done to look at the fact that we cannot make that sort of express bus service work for a major town centre such as that in Hamilton? It is not unique in losing bus services; indeed, people have come to this committee and talked about bus deserts emerging in Scotland. What is being done to monitor impacts in terms of emissions and air quality? Since the service was removed, more people are using their cars to get to work, college or university, to shop, to meet friends or to go to hospital appointments. Has any assessment been made of that, not just in Hamilton but in other areas that have lost such key bus services? I think that we all want to make sure that we have that joined-up view.

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Air Quality

Meeting date: 18 April 2023

Monica Lennon

I had a couple of questions for Paul White, but I know that there is no time left. With your permission, convener, perhaps we could write to Paul with those questions.

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Air Quality

Meeting date: 18 April 2023

Monica Lennon

Okay. I am interested in the £500 million bus infrastructure fund that was announced about three years ago and the work to improve bus journey time reliability, particularly around the M8 in the Glasgow area. It looks like the business plan and design development are taking a few years, although I know that there has been Covid. Do you have any insight, Paul, into how important that work is for encouraging people to leave their cars behind and get on the bus?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Air Quality

Meeting date: 18 April 2023

Monica Lennon

That is fine. Thank you. I am not upset. [Laughter.]

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Air Quality

Meeting date: 18 April 2023

Monica Lennon

I thank the panel for their evidence, which has been very interesting. The written submission that we received from the Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland highlights the concept of clean air being a component of the human right to healthy environments and it signals opportunities in Scotland’s forthcoming human rights bill. I am keen to hear any views on that. I see Gavin Thomson nodding, so I will come to him first.