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 2365 contributions
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Meeting date: 28 November 2023
Mark Ruskell
Beyond the discussion about a specific exemption, I am interested in Aileen McHarg’s perspective on how the common frameworks process can be used to provide certainty, so that, as policies are developed, there is the certainty that businesses can invest. It comes back to the context that you set out. The UK Government oversees an internal market for the whole UK, but it also acts as the Government of England, which is a part of the UK. There is a constitutional asymmetry in the way that the powers are used. How do we get a fair process, given that that is the constitutional settlement that we have? I am interested in your thoughts on how the process could be improved or codified.
Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: 28 November 2023
Mark Ruskell
I welcome the clarity with which the minister set out the pathway to 2045. I also welcome the stark contrast between our trajectory and the UK Government’s, because the Prime Minister’s decision to scrap minimum energy efficiency standards for private landlords will cost tenants in England £8 billion over the next decade in higher bills.
Will the minister confirm that private landlords in Scotland will be required to meet minimum energy efficiency standards? Will he outline what the resulting benefit will be to Scotland’s 300,000 private tenants?
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Meeting date: 23 November 2023
Mark Ruskell
We are in a climate emergency, and some of your comments so far have focused on that. However, I want to consider the Government’s strategy, the first priority in which is delivering the transition to net zero. The focus here is primarily on our historic environment assets. Has there been enough embedding of the historic environment sector’s views in other Government strategies that push towards net zero?
I was particularly struck by AHSS’s submission, which mentions pre-1919 buildings in Scotland. Many of us, including myself, live in such buildings and recognise the challenges that they present, but also the importance of their design features. What are your thoughts on housing, retrofitting and skills development, and whether the historic environment sector could be a driver for a wider transition in housing?
On a related point, do you see tensions within climate policy more generally? I put this question to Caroline Warburton of VisitScotland. If the objective is to grow tourism in Scotland, would that come with increased use of aviation? If it would, that would take us backwards as regards climate change. There is also the historic environment sector’s role on designations. Does that create a brake on renewable energy development, such as the use of wind farms or conservation areas, or restrict the roll-out of embedded renewables such as solar panels?
There are tensions, but there are also opportunities. Could the historic environment sector be a real driver on skills and achieving progress?
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Meeting date: 23 November 2023
Mark Ruskell
That is a good reflection. I will aim to chip away at the cement-based render on the side of my house—over a number of years.
I suppose that the question is whether you think that that is sufficiently reflected in Government strategies. We have a heat in buildings strategy coming, we talked about skills earlier, and we have a historic environment strategy, but that is very much focused on the historic environment, and we know what needs to happen. Should your sector not be embedded in other strategies?
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Meeting date: 23 November 2023
Mark Ruskell
Before I ask my question, other witnesses might want to answer Donald Cameron’s question—if we have time—because it was a good question that raised an interesting issue.
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Meeting date: 23 November 2023
Mark Ruskell
I have a very specific question about world heritage site designations. We have a range of world heritage sites in Scotland, but I am interested in the potential for further designations. Do the witnesses have any reflections on that? I know that St Andrews has been discussed in the past, but there might be other candidates.
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Meeting date: 23 November 2023
Mark Ruskell
It is on a new topic.
Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: 23 November 2023
Mark Ruskell
The evidence is clear that the noise disturbances at HMP Stirling have been getting worse, not better, despite the proposed mitigations from the SPS. At the public meeting last week, which was co-ordinated by my colleague Councillor Alasdair Tollemache, the SPS admitted that it had no way of monitoring noise around the site beyond recording the complaints from constituents. Does the cabinet secretary agree that the SPS must urgently find a way to monitor noise disturbances at HMP Stirling systematically and proactively to start to restore trust with residents, as well as monitoring whether or not the mitigations are working?
Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: 23 November 2023
Mark Ruskell
While the UK Government sinks into another culture war, cheered on by climate change deniers and naysayers, here in Scotland we are realising our ambitions on heat transition. From next April, all new buildings will need to meet our new standards for clean heating, and our package of funding support for households is the most generous in the entire UK. Does the First Minister agree that our upcoming budget must drive forward pioneering work on tackling fuel poverty and empower households and businesses to make the move to clean heating?
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Meeting date: 21 November 2023
Mark Ruskell
Yes. That would be very useful, I am sure.
My final question is about local recycling targets. Are they necessary, and should we be looking beyond recycling to other targets that reflect the waste hierarchy, such as reuse targets at local level? Is that something that local authorities would welcome?