Seòmar agus comataidhean

I certainly do not think that we want an insecurity strategy at the moment.

Finally, do you see gas from fracking as having any bearing on energy supply and the cost of living crisis either now in the short term or in the long term in years to come? Do you have any quick thoughts on that, Tim?

Should community benefits be a material consideration in the planning system? At the moment, they are not. Projects must be considered on merits such as what they look like and where they are sited, but wider community benefits are not part of how a project is determined, and it is the planning system that holds everything up.

I welcome the fourth national planning framework. The recognition of the climate emergency for the first time as an overarching objective is particularly welcome, because what we plan for today must deliver a just transition tomorrow rather than locking us in to a polluting economy for decades to come.

However, as with other previous planning frameworks, NPF4 does not sit in isolation. What is agreed in the final version of the strategic transport projects review and the energy strategy will be key, and at the local level, councils will have work to do to translate some of the fresh thinking in the NPF into their local development plans.

Twenty-minute neighbourhoods are a case in point, because they should set a new standard for localisation where travel is minimised, people can meet more of their everyday needs locally, and our high streets are regenerated. There should be a benchmark for new developments, but we are already seeing major housing growth areas, such as in Scone, being built with minimal up-front investment in essential services, which builds in car dependency from day 1. We are still seeing multimillion-pound proposals for car-dependent out-of-town retail centres being approved by many local councils, such as the controversial Asda development in Stirling. That has to change. Twenty-minute neighbourhoods must mark the start of relocalisation that is driven by the needs of communities rather than the whim of developers.

Parliament has also heard important evidence on nature restoration, and Graham Simpson highlighted some of the woolly words that have been used on woodlands. The draft NPF acknowledges the nature emergency, which is right, but it must follow through on making sure that developments deliver net positive benefits for nature, and that nature networks are given the status in planning that they need as a major part of our national infrastructure. Environmental non-governmental organisations have provided important feedback. I know that the minister is listening, and I hope that he will now act on that feedback.

I am very proud that the Parliament, even with its limited devolved powers, has been able to put in place a ban on new nuclear power stations and fracking through the planning framework. Scotland is still living with a damaging and costly legacy from coal and nuclear power for which communities and energy consumers will pay for generations to come. The Tories and Labour need to come clean on where they would put new nuclear power stations and waste dumps in Scotland. As I read national planning framework 4, there is no place for either.

I ask the Tories: which communities, from Larbert to Canonbie, would see fracking licences resurrected and planning applications supported by Tory councillors? We cannot afford any more costly distractions such as fracking and nuclear, which would take years to implement, but would offer nothing to people who have to choose today between heating and eating.

Let us face it: Scotland has won the jackpot of clean, renewable resources. With technology costs continuing to plummet, now is the time to double down on that natural advantage and deliver new wind and solar farms. That technology has developed rapidly, and it is time that the planning system caught up. There will always be constraints on where wind farms can go, but we can maximise extensions and repower existing wind farms while developing new sites that have lingered in the planning system for years.

The draft NPF does not yet deliver the changes that are needed if we are to double the capacity of onshore wind and increase our ambition on solar. However, I look forward to the minister reflecting on the recommendations that have been made across the Parliament so that Scotland can power ahead in tackling the climate and nature emergencies while delivering a just transition that is both prosperous and fair.

Sorry—yes.

I would like to ask a bit more about seasonal workers, as we have opened up that topic. Andy Sirel mentioned some of the visa restrictions on such workers, and Graham O’Neill sent a useful briefing to the committee. Could you say a bit more about the plight of seasonal workers, particularly when it comes to housing and the challenges around having no recourse to public funds?

Andy, you spoke about the support and advice that seasonal workers need. What should that look like on the ground? Are there concentrations of seasonal workers around Scotland? Is there a way that we can effectively deliver that support in areas where significant communities of Ukrainian seasonal workers work in the agricultural sector?

Do you think that there is any exploitation of those workers happening in Scotland? That might be a difficult question to answer, but the tied nature of the work concerns me a bit. Could I go to Graham O’Neill first?

That was very powerful. Andy Sirel, do you want to add anything about practical support and advice for people?

It is obviously in a difficult position. If an employer has large numbers of seasonal workers, that is part of their business, but at the moment there is also a massive humanitarian need to support the families. What can be done in that regard to help the farming sector, but also to help those families?

I assume that there has been discussion with the Welsh Government about its free public transport pilot in this area.

I am sure that you will have caught some of the evidence that we heard earlier. We heard particularly moving evidence on the plight of Ukrainian seasonal workers in Scotland. We heard specific examples of people being trapped in employment contracts and not being able to bring their families here. Even if they were able to do so, they would be tied to forms of accommodation that would be completely unsuitable. I take it that you acknowledge that. What can be changed? What pressure can you put on the UK Government? For example, do you support seasonal workers being able to move instantly from their temporary visas to the Ukraine family scheme? Alongside that, could other forms of support for those workers and their families be provided?

That is very welcome. Has there also been a conversation with the farming sector?