The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.
All Official Reports of meetings in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
All Official Reports of public meetings of committees.
Displaying 924 contributions
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee [Draft]
Meeting date: 27 January 2026
Sarah Boyack
That leads me on to my next question, which is about the community benefits and community ownership angle.
Professor Hannon, you said that there was a missed opportunity there and that we were not moving forward in relation to how we get the right community benefits that will benefit people in the way that is needed. Is there not a mix of community benefit opportunities and community ownership opportunities? For example, at a recent cross-party group meeting, we heard about Point and Sandwick, which has huge community benefits compared with other projects. Is there a way for the Scottish Government to encourage more community or shared ownership of renewables projects, so that the focus is not just on community benefits but on community ownership, which could involve councils, individual communities or co-operative models? How could that be delivered in practice?
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee [Draft]
Meeting date: 27 January 2026
Sarah Boyack
I did, convener, because I had not heard of a correction slip either, so I wanted some clarification on it. It is useful to have had that clarified on the record that such a matter can be addressed in two ways. Neither is significant, but as long as the solution gets the support of all four nations, it will be workable, and the committee will be informed. Having that on the record is really important.
Economy and Fair Work Committee [Draft]
Meeting date: 21 January 2026
Sarah Boyack
I am stopping at this point.
Economy and Fair Work Committee [Draft]
Meeting date: 21 January 2026
Sarah Boyack
What are the key economic challenges over the remainder of the spending review period? How will future budget decisions need to change to support sustainable growth? The committee has spent a lot of time talking about the just transition and the need to invest to protect jobs, but where are the big opportunities?
Economy and Fair Work Committee [Draft]
Meeting date: 21 January 2026
Sarah Boyack
I blanked that out; I could not hear it.
Economy and Fair Work Committee [Draft]
Meeting date: 21 January 2026
Sarah Boyack
It is useful to get that feedback, because the arrangement works in other countries.
The planned capital utilisation has reduced from £341 million to £153 million. There is money there, but we are not spending it, and we are not reinvesting it.
Economy and Fair Work Committee [Draft]
Meeting date: 21 January 2026
Sarah Boyack
Okay. I just think that it is a missed opportunity. We do not have anything in those projects, and other countries are going to get resources out of our natural environment.
Economy and Fair Work Committee [Draft]
Meeting date: 21 January 2026
Sarah Boyack
You need to plan ahead; you cannot just do it.
Economy and Fair Work Committee [Draft]
Meeting date: 21 January 2026
Sarah Boyack
No—it is just a reflection. The Deputy First Minister mentioned some projects, and I have just mentioned the fact that we have not heard anything about the Berwick bank project and the potential for building the turbines in Scotland—in Leith.
Economy and Fair Work Committee [Draft]
Meeting date: 21 January 2026
Sarah Boyack
Several of us have suggested amendments in the group that are important as they seek to strengthen the legislation. My two amendments in the group, amendments 108 and 141, seek to strengthen the framework by embedding independent scrutiny and reinforcing the role of co-operatives in building fairer local economies.
Amendment 108 proposes to introduce a requirement for a regular independent review of community wealth building. I think that it is proportionate to pick up the points that the minister made earlier. An external assessment would be carried out every five years, both of the national community wealth building statement and of a representative sample of local action plans. It will be absolutely critical to learn from both. The review must publish its findings and recommendations. Ministers can then set out how they intend to respond or explain why they are not taking action. That would mean that we would review the effectiveness of the legislation every five years. During every parliamentary session, we would have a proper review, which would inform what ministers are doing, support local authorities and support different community wealth building companies. I think that those reviews will be very important.
I thank Paul Sweeney for his support of my amendment 141. It would require ministers to report regularly on the steps that they are taking to promote co-operatives and support co-operative development. It asks for clarity on what practical support and resources, including financial support, have been made available, and how effective those measures have been. It is not enough for us to say that co-operatives are a “nice to have”. We have quite a lot of them, but we should think about where there are opportunities for more and what lessons can be learned. As a member of the Co-operative Party, I have seen some fantastic local co-ops, but we need to think about how we can get more of them and how we can support people to set them up and make them work.
I am a member of the Edinburgh Community Solar Co-operative, in my constituency, and I have seen the benefits of the investment as well as the benefits for the local council. We should be ensuring that co-ops are a core part of the community wealth building approach, as they provide models of ownership and control that keep wealth rooted locally. My amendment 141 would ensure that their promotion is not just incidental, but that it is properly monitored, reported on and taken seriously as part of delivering the bill’s aims.
I am trying to ensure that the bill’s aspirations work in practice. There are many good amendments in this group. I note that the minister has offered to discuss them with us before stage 3. I hope that my amendments will achieve cross-party support, because I think that they are proportionate and that they will help in the implementation and review of the bill.