Chamber and committees

Support in principle for the consolidation of the Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) and National Planning Policy Guideline (NPPG) series into a single, shorter document has been expressed by most stakeholders before, during and after the consultation. Following publication of the draft, some stakeholders expressed concern about the extent of the rationalisation but only a small minority do not agree with the principle of the consolidation. All consultation responses are being considered and will be taken into account when the consolidated SPP is finalised.

In October we will be starting a further phase of consultation on the consolidated Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) to reflect legislative changes since the publication of the draft SPP and in response to representations made on the consultation. A six week consultation on these policy changes will provide a further opportunity to consider the government''s response to some of the issues raised in the consultation.

The single Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) is a consolidation of existing policy rather than a review of policy. Scottish ministers intend to notify Parliament by means of a letter to the Convenor of the Local Government and Communities Committee prior to publication of the consolidated SPP.

The Scottish Government does not provide responses to individual representations received during consultations.

We are aware of these concerns and will be taking the comments of these parties into account when finalising the consolidated Scottish Planning Policy, alongside the comments of those who support the consolidation on the basis that national planning policy is clearer and easier to understand.

All meetings have been between government officials and interested parties.

One hundred and ninety-six responses to the consultation on the consolidated Scottish Planning Policy were received. These, together with an analysis of consultation responses will be published in October.

Officials were in contact with other Member States in the lead up to the vote taken at the Standing Committee of Food Chain and Animal Health on 14 July. Direct interaction by myself and officials have been successful in obtaining concessions on the Regulations at this time. Following the UK''s agreement not to pursue any further concessions, further meeting have not been secured. Since then I have had no meetings with EU member state representatives.

As part of implementing the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Health Check, the Scottish Government was required to submit changes to the Scotland Rural Development Programme (SRDP) to the European Commission by 15 July 2009 to show how it was meeting the new challenges set by the European Commission. The Scottish Government has submitted the changes to the SRDP required following consultation with stakeholders on the SRDP''s Programme Monitoring Committee. The European Commission is currently considering those proposals and we expect to have approval from Brussels by the end of 2009. In addition, the Scottish Government is required to report annually to the European Commission on progress towards meeting the commission''s new challenges and is in the processes of setting up systems in order to do so.

The uniform monitoring of prices across Europe could be a useful tool to help analyse how food affordability differs across countries and how these trends evolve through time. Any monitoring of prices, price transmission and contractual arrangements should, however, be considered against the cost of collecting and processing such data. Careful consideration would need to be given to the implementation arrangements in order to avoid unnecessary burdens on industry.