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Good morning, minister. Under what circumstances would you expect to use the power to amend an adopted national planning framework?

Finally, it is important to highlight that decisions around frameworks, development plans and similar things can be a great way for local people to have an active input into what their area does or does not need, without it being about a specific application. Folk often wait to object to individual applications, rather than feeding in at those stages.

What can councils, national Government, other individuals and members of this committee do to encourage participation in local development plan consultations, including on the amendments between each full review?

Okay. Why have you chosen the issues of combating rural depopulation, protecting disused rail infrastructure and preserving peatland as worthy of special consideration in the drafting of amendments?

I make it clear that I am disappointed in the approach that has been taken. I feel that we have not had clarity on the reason for the SSI lasting until 2030, which is a point that many witnesses raised with us. It would probably have been easier for committee members to consider those views and take them forward, had conversations about the SSI happened further in advance. Had the timescales in question been shorter—say, 2027—the option would always have been there for the minister to come back and discuss with us any need for the period to be extended.

That said, I do not feel that I can vote to defer this SSI again, because the minister has made it clear that payments might not be made to farmers. It is not a position that the committee should be put in, and I regret that we have not been able to discuss it more openly.

Thank you.

Minister, can you be very specific about the impact if the SSI is not passed today?

And is it right that there is no room within the 40 days?

I have just a brief question.

Can you say a little more about the types of intervention that that money could be used for rather than a council tax freeze?

Do you see that situation frequently—that people experiencing homelessness are in need of a property that just does not exist yet?

Recently, it became public that the UK Government had paused the £70 million rural growth deal for Argyll and Bute, which leaves it the only place in Scotland without such a deal. What impact might that have on the area, and can the witnesses suggest any steps that the Scottish Government might take to mitigate it? More generally, do witnesses have concerns about the withdrawal of funding for existing deals and the impact of that?