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 2546 contributions
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Meeting date: 26 March 2024
Mark Ruskell
Thanks. Naomi Beingessner?
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Meeting date: 26 March 2024
Mark Ruskell
This is an obvious question, but why does the framework need teeth right now? Is it because people are not sticking to it?
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Meeting date: 26 March 2024
Mark Ruskell
Are you saying that that is absent from the interim principles, or do things just need to be tightened up?
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Meeting date: 21 March 2024
Mark Ruskell
Are there any more reflections on that point or on freedom of movement?
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Meeting date: 21 March 2024
Mark Ruskell
We have discussed the restrictions on freedom of movement with previous witnesses. I was interested in what Paddy Jack said about taking on a Ukrainian staff member. Obviously they are in the UK in what are very challenging circumstances, but I just wonder to what extent freedom of movement has been an issue for your businesses.
I also want to pick up on what Gary Stephenson said about sharing the pain a bit and the fact that it is only when the pain gets shared on the UK and the EU sides that there will a meaningful discussion about how we remove some of the more bureaucratic barriers to trade and friction. What contact have you had with colleagues and trade associations in Brussels and the EU, and what role do they play? I presume that, at one point, you would have been making all the points that you have made today about testing and regulatory standards in Brussels, because you would have been part of the system where rules were being made and stakeholders were able to have an input to that. However, you are not part of that any more, but is there still solidarity between businesses in certain sectors between the UK and the EU? Are you now very much seen as being “over there”, which means that your ability to lobby for the interests of industry across Europe has been reduced? I hope that that was clear.
Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: 21 March 2024
Mark Ruskell
Will the member give way on that point?
Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: 21 March 2024
Mark Ruskell
The minister has just mentioned that the UK Government has delayed its clean heat market mechanism, which is a scheme that uses reserved powers to regulate the industry to increase the installations that we desperately need. That delay came after months of briefing and counter-briefing on whether the scheme was to be scrapped altogether. The minister has just highlighted the need for certainty and clarity in regulation. Does he feel that the UK Government is really providing that?
Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: 21 March 2024
Mark Ruskell
I do not know whether Colin Smyth has recognised that the Greens are now a party of government. We have been influencing and working on the bill for some time, including in respect of the important provision of SSPCA powers that probably would not be in the bill had it not been for the Bute house agreement and the amazing work that the Government has done on the back of that.
Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
Meeting date: 20 March 2024
Mark Ruskell
You must surely know how many dogs have gone through your kennels in recent years. You have 40 now, so how many were there two years ago? How many dogs have been moved on over that time? We need to get a sense of the throughput of dogs.
Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
Meeting date: 20 March 2024
Mark Ruskell
Of the dogs that you pass on—you say that that is about 10 a year—how many have injuries? Do they all have injuries, or are some of them just too old and not fast enough?