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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 25 December 2024
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Displaying 1816 contributions

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Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Role of Local Government in Delivering Net Zero

Meeting date: 27 September 2022

Mark Ruskell

I will come back to transport again. With the national transport strategy’s strategic transport projects review 2, there has been a shift over time towards working with the transport hierarchy, prioritising active travel and public transport. Is that reflected within local authority investment plans, city deals and local transport strategies or is there a gap? Are we all moving forward together or are some local authorities still hanging on to high-carbon projects when the world has moved on?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Programme for Government

Meeting date: 27 September 2022

Mark Ruskell

Will the bill include reforms to the powers of the Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which are currently restricted to domestic animals rather than wildlife?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Programme for Government

Meeting date: 27 September 2022

Mark Ruskell

I will ask an additional question about highly protected marine areas, if I may. It is good to see those mentioned in this one-year PFG. Can you detail what exactly will happen to develop such areas in the next 12 months? There is quite a timescale here, out to 2026. I imagine a lot of stakeholder negotiations and discussions are needed and a lot of lines on maps. It would be good to know what is happening in the next year.

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Programme for Government

Meeting date: 27 September 2022

Mark Ruskell

The session has been really interesting. There is definitely a sense of a pipeline of opportunities for renewables.

Coming back to public transport, I note in the PFG a range of commitments, including reinforcing the roll-out of free bus travel for the under-22s. Can you say a bit more about the Government’s vision for buses? How does it cut across your work on capital investment, concessionary travel or better regulation or opportunities for local authorities to regulate bus travel? People have written to me to say that although free bus travel for the under-22s is great, there are still issues with the reliability of local bus services, and they are frustrated about how bus services are being run and the quality of service. What is the Government’s vision for bus services, particularly the work that will be taking place in the next year beyond concessionary travel?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Programme for Government

Meeting date: 27 September 2022

Mark Ruskell

Do you see the community bus fund as a way of building up the business case for more transformational change?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Role of Local Government in Delivering Net Zero

Meeting date: 27 September 2022

Mark Ruskell

I suppose that there is a hint of that in the programme for government, where you talk about potential new duties on public bodies to take account of well-being and sustainable development. That feels like more futures thinking, which obviously encapsulates some of the climate change issues. Minister, do you have anything to add to that?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Role of Local Government in Delivering Net Zero

Meeting date: 27 September 2022

Mark Ruskell

Are there issues around transport governance—who is making decisions and who is implementing projects—that need further consideration?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Role of Local Government in Delivering Net Zero

Meeting date: 27 September 2022

Mark Ruskell

Thanks. I will move on briefly to look at nature-based solutions. Jackie Dunbar might be interested in this area as well. The climate and nature emergencies run alongside each other, but solutions to climate change can come from investment in natural capital within council areas.

Are there ways in which the Scottish Government could enhance support to local authorities to do more of that work, to consider adaptation, to consider investment or to bring forward investable models so that private capital can come in as well? It feels as though we often talk about climate over here and nature over there, but some of the solutions, the tools, the planning and the investment that are required feel as though they are in a similar space. What can we learn from the work on climate when implementing nature-based solutions and improving natural capital?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Role of Local Government in Delivering Net Zero

Meeting date: 27 September 2022

Mark Ruskell

Cabinet secretary, I want to go back to what you said about the regulatory framework for local authorities on climate. It links in with what you were saying, minister, about developing the new deal for local authorities. Do local authorities need more duties within that framework? My impression is that some local authorities are very much focused on their own corporate emissions and doing what they can to reduce emissions within that scope but thinking less about the emissions from the wider area and about place making. Do more duties need to be placed on local authorities?

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Scotland’s Census

Meeting date: 22 September 2022

Mark Ruskell

The world is changing. Earlier, you showed us the impressive stack of written communication. When I was out canvassing earlier in the year, I saw a lot of that communication—reminders and leaflets—drifting around stairwells next to pizza delivery menus, unfortunately.