Chamber and committees

Energy Consents applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis, with all relevant information considered to ensure balanced decision-making. This includes environmental information, consultee responses and if applicable, the inquiry report.

This information (for the years 2014-15 – 2023-24) is available from the Office of Rail and Road statistics portal, published on its website. The Member may wish to access the following link, which provides the information requested: Passenger rail usage | ORR Data Portal

Passenger patronage for the year 2024-25 for ScotRail was recorded as 84.7 million.

The decision-making rationale for each of these applications is set out in the determination letters which are publicly available on the Energy Consents Unit website.

The decision whether to grant consent is made on a case-by-case basis, taken only after careful consideration of environmental information, consultee responses and public representations.

Our immediate priority is to capitalise on the near term opportunities set out in Project Willow, with a focus on bringing forward new jobs at Grangemouth as quickly as possible. The Grangemouth investment taskforce is delivering on this priority by working with businesses with an interest in developing projects aligned to those suggested in Project Willow.

We are continuing to give the SAWC reports on remote control static pulse devices and other aversive training devices careful consideration, along with the findings of our review into whether further provisions for wearable static pulse training devices are required, which was undertaken as part of the review of the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) (Scotland) Act 2020. Once we have finished our deliberations, we will announce our timeline for a further consultation.

Any resolution by the Scottish Parliament or report by a committee of the Parliament must be made during the 60 day period of parliamentary scrutiny. The cut-off date is therefore the expiry of this 60 day period.

A number of stakeholders with an interest in the outcome of the court case were offered 15-minute meetings with myself immediately following the ruling. For Women Scotland declined a meeting at that time. They subsequently attended a meeting with myself on 22 May for a 45-minute meeting. For Women Scotland have also subsequently met with officials.

We do not consider it necessary to commission an independent review of the consistency and transparency of decisions made by ministers in cases where public inquiry recommendations have been decided against in favour of renewable energy development.

All Energy Consents decision letters are published online for transparency, and decisions may be challenged in the Scottish court system.

The Scottish Landfill Communities Fund remains operational. A public consultation closed on the 6 June, which will inform decisions on the future of the fund. There are no current plans to introduce a new incineration tax. However, the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Authority, made up of the Scottish Government, UK Government, Welsh Government and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in the Northern Ireland has announced the intention to expand the ETS scheme to cover waste incineration from 2028.

To the extent such systems are addressed under Scottish Building regulations, such provisions were updated as part of the February 2023 publication of Scottish Building Standards Technical Handbooks and supporting documents.

Provisions relating to the control of fixed building services are set out in the 2023 Domestic and Non-domestic Building Services Compliance Guides.