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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 4 April 2025
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Displaying 754 contributions

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Economy and Fair Work Committee [Draft]

Budget Scrutiny 2025-26

Meeting date: 8 January 2025

Lorna Slater

They were unable to. Only South of Scotland Enterprise said that it is starting to collect that data. I am not sure how you evaluate the budgets that you give the enterprise agencies if we are not able to understand the impact of their different types of working.

I hear you saying that you want to get money out of the door. Everyone loves a handout and being given money, but maybe it is more effective to have a few more public sector workers teaching people how to get their own funding than it is to hand public money to private enterprises. We do not appear to have the data to establish that.

SPCB Supported Bodies Landscape Review Committee

Interests

Meeting date: 12 December 2024

Lorna Slater

I do not have any interests that are relevant to the work of the committee. However, for the record, I reiterate my entry in the register of members’ interests, which states that I used to work for Orbital Marine Power, which is a tidal energy company. I am also a member of Unite the union.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Product Regulation and Metrology Bill

Meeting date: 11 December 2024

Lorna Slater

I have one more question. Under the devolution settlement, the Scottish Parliament should be able to scrutinise and give consent to legislation that concerns devolved matters. The bill, as it is currently drafted, includes no requirement to obtain consent in all devolved areas.

The Scottish Greens agree with the Scottish Government that the legislation does not respect the devolution settlement, and will not give consent to it in its current drafting. Does the minister know whether the new Labour Government is open to redrafting the bill, or will this be the first incidence of its breaching the Sewel convention?

09:45  

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Product Regulation and Metrology Bill

Meeting date: 11 December 2024

Lorna Slater

I am going to assume that the bill was initiated before the general election under the Conservative Government, which—as the minister pointed out—took a different direction of travel.

How might the bill interact with the 2020 internal market act and how might it limit Scotland’s ability to take the lead on fully devolved environmental protection and our ability to maintain alignment with the EU?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Product Regulation and Metrology Bill

Meeting date: 11 December 2024

Lorna Slater

Theoretically, could the bill not be overridden by the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

City Region and Regional Growth Deals

Meeting date: 4 December 2024

Lorna Slater

I have only two questions—I have taken out the third so, hopefully, that will speed us up.

I have a detailed question about how deals can adapt to Government policy. I am concerned that the city region deals have been a mechanism for road expansion without accountability in relation to how that expansion affects climate emissions and traffic targets. Scotland has a goal to reduce traffic kilometres by 20 per cent, and Edinburgh and Glasgow have targets for 30 per cent. How have road building projects been assessed with respect to those targets? Is there a process for that? I ask because it appears that the city region deals have avoided democratic accountability on those specific points.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

City Region and Regional Growth Deals

Meeting date: 4 December 2024

Lorna Slater

Matt Bailey, do you want to come in? I saw that you put your camera on.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

City Region and Regional Growth Deals

Meeting date: 4 December 2024

Lorna Slater

Thank you very much. It sounds like the answer to this next question might be Transport Scotland, but I am going to ask it anyway.

The question will largely be directed to Paul Lawrence, because it is about flexibility and the role of the Scottish Government in projects, and specifically about the Sheriffhall roundabout. The estimated cost of that project has gone from £120 million to £300 million. Local residents have expressed concerns about trees being cut down and increased noise and pollution, and they wonder why that money is not being spent on public transport or active travel infrastructure—we all know that Winchburgh needs a train station, for example.

During the public inquiry, one of my constituents went to a meeting and he got an admission that the modelling did not show that the development was in line with traffic reduction targets, and in January last year the then transport and environment convener of the City of Edinburgh Council, Scott Arthur, said:

“I have been clear for some time that the £125 million Sheriffhall roundabout upgrade has no place in the Edinburgh City Region Deal—Edinburgh asked for housing.”

So, if local residents do not want it, the council does not want it, and it is not compatible with national or local traffic targets, who is deciding that this should go ahead and how can we stop it? What would the process for stopping it look like?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

City Region and Regional Growth Deals

Meeting date: 4 December 2024

Lorna Slater

Thank you. I really appreciate that answer.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

City Region and Regional Growth Deals

Meeting date: 27 November 2024

Lorna Slater

That is a good point. I would like Ms Young to come in, too. That is true. Some of this comes down to environmental review of the project. Because it has taken so long, further reviews have been done and now it might conflict with newer priorities, but it is still not able to move forward.