Minutes: 19 April 2022

1. Decision on taking business in private:

The Committee agreed to take items 3 and 4 in private.

2. Energy price rises:

The Committee took evidence from—

Dr Matthew Hannon, Reader in Sustainable Energy Policy and Business Models, Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, University of Strathclyde;

Tim Lord, Head of Climate Change, Phoenix Group and Associate Senior Fellow for Net Zero, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change;

Dr Richard Lowes, Senior Associate, The Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP).

3. Energy price rises (in private):

The Committee considered the evidence it heard earlier under agenda item 2.

4. Work programme (in private):

The Committee agreed to hold an evidence session with Scotland’s statutory environmental regulators (Environmental Standards Scotland, NatureScot and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency) after the summer recess.

The Committee considered and agreed a draft call for views on provisional Common Frameworks referred to the Committee for scrutiny.

The Committee considered its remit and agreed to write to the Presiding Officer, in her capacity as Chair of the Parliamentary Bureau, to request a discussion on this matter.