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 1986 contributions
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee [Draft]
Meeting date: 17 December 2024
Mark Ruskell
To avoid my submitting an FOI request, it would be useful if you could summarise what that engagement has looked like and whether it has covered any of the issues that we have talked about this morning, including the matter of call-in procedures, which the deputy convener raised. We are trying to understand where the advice sits and how Government responds, both to ESS and to any views that you might have.
I understand that, over the past 30 years, ammonia emissions have barely dropped. In fact, there is some evidence that suggests that they have increased. As we know, ammonia causes public health issues and environmental problems. Do you see that situation as a failure of regulation?
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee [Draft]
Meeting date: 17 December 2024
Mark Ruskell
So it is not covered by permit, by registration, by notification and by general binding rules. Is that correct?
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee [Draft]
Meeting date: 17 December 2024
Mark Ruskell
Do you think that there is a link back into land management plans and spelling out what the benefits will be, what the restoration and regeneration look like and whether they are monitorable?
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee [Draft]
Meeting date: 17 December 2024
Mark Ruskell
I will move on. I am interested in your views on the diversification proposals. Are they clear enough? Will they make it easier for tenants to make environmental improvements and supplement their incomes through diversification?
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee [Draft]
Meeting date: 17 December 2024
Mark Ruskell
A couple of years ago, your previous chief executive talked quite openly about SEPA focusing its activities on the big sectors that were not meeting environmental compliance—at the time, salmon farming was a focus, as was the Mossmorran plant—and that is where a lot of SEPA’s resources were going. He also talked about streamlining the regulatory process for sectors that were broadly compliant and in which a lack of compliance was a rarity.
The previous chief executive has been gone for some time, but is that the current direction of SEPA—simplifying regulation at one end and focusing on key sectors that are still problematic at the other end—or are we looking at a slightly different approach now? I am trying to see where you sit now, several years on, in relation to how you focus resources on the current environmental challenges in Scotland.
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee [Draft]
Meeting date: 17 December 2024
Mark Ruskell
Is that transparent for members of the public who want to get a grasp on which sectors or sites are problematic? We have talked about point-source pollution, for example. How will that interface with all those issues?
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee [Draft]
Meeting date: 17 December 2024
Mark Ruskell
Do the witnesses back the provisions on compensation for improvements and the shift from fixed lists to illustrative lists? I understand that the illustrative lists now include improvements that
“are presumed to facilitate or enhance sustainable and regenerative agricultural production.”
Are the illustrative lists clear enough? Would they be workable? Tom Oates is nodding.
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee [Draft]
Meeting date: 17 December 2024
Mark Ruskell
Therefore, what conversation has there been between you and ESS on the regulations?
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee [Draft]
Meeting date: 17 December 2024
Mark Ruskell
Are there any other views?
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee [Draft]
Meeting date: 17 December 2024
Mark Ruskell
So, would that be your response if I phoned you up? I am talking about a health issue here. This is an environmental nuisance, with, say, odour issues and impacts on lung health as a result of PM2.5 derived from ammonia. I am on hold to you. What action can you take? What regulatory tools do you have available?