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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 26 April 2025
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Displaying 2643 contributions

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Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Climate Change Governance Stocktake

Meeting date: 12 March 2024

Mark Ruskell

I want to build on Monica Lennon’s point about where the balance of responsibilities should lie. On heat in buildings, local authorities have been tasked with devising local heat and energy efficiency strategies that will, no doubt, identify where there are opportunities for mass retrofitting of certain housing stock, establishing district heating schemes and so on. Is the governance around that working? Will the progress that is being made drive investor certainty? Is there the right balance of responsibilities, with local government identifying streets and opportunities on the ground, and national Government setting the overall strategy and a regulatory framework for investment? I realise that you probably do not want to comment on policy choices, but does that framework for dividing actions and responsibilities work?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Climate Change Governance Stocktake

Meeting date: 12 March 2024

Mark Ruskell

On the role of Government support for individual householders, do you have reflections on how the Energy Savings Trust and Home Energy Scotland are operating at the moment? How effective are they, and what is their capacity, given the scale of the challenge that we face?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Climate Change Governance Stocktake

Meeting date: 12 March 2024

Mark Ruskell

Thanks for that. I am sure that there is more work for this committee to do on that as well.

The third area of that work is the net zero test. We understand that the Government is now piloting a net zero test. Do you have any thoughts on the progress of that work, including on where it is beginning, what the early outcomes are and the prospects of ensuring that the whole of Government is able to apply that test whenever it is making balanced decisions?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Climate Change Governance Stocktake

Meeting date: 12 March 2024

Mark Ruskell

I will ask about the joint budget review work between the Parliament and the Scottish Government. The first strand of that work has already been delivered and there is a narrative on climate alongside the budget. This year, a taxonomy has been introduced that attempts to classify areas of spend and an annex has been attached to the budget. Is that piece of work meaningful, or is there room for improvement? What is your assessment of it?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Climate Change Governance Stocktake

Meeting date: 12 March 2024

Mark Ruskell

Just to be clear, though, do you see the net zero test as an absolutely critical part of how the Government mainstreams climate thinking across all departments?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Climate Change Governance Stocktake

Meeting date: 12 March 2024

Mark Ruskell

I also want to ask about the role of impartial information in allowing businesses and individuals to make choices. I note that, in its letter, which came out at the weekend, the regulatory review group on heat in buildings talks about

“The opportunity for public misunderstanding”

and

“conflicting messages ... coming in from a variety of sources including the media”.

What are your thoughts on how the Government can ensure clarity of message, given the speculation that there often is in the media and given that vested interests will argue against particular policies that conflict with their own businesses? It can be quite confusing and difficult for the public to get a genuinely impartial view on what the best options might be for them.

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Climate Change Governance Stocktake

Meeting date: 12 March 2024

Mark Ruskell

Clearly, the risk register shows that there needs to be work on public awareness and access to impartial information.

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Climate Change Governance Stocktake

Meeting date: 12 March 2024

Mark Ruskell

Okay.

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Climate Change Governance Stocktake

Meeting date: 12 March 2024

Mark Ruskell

On the back of that, I would be interested to hear whether you feel that the Government is making enough progress on systemic change. Systemic change might not come up in relation to the progress that is made from year to year to meet annual carbon reductions, but it might point to increasing capacity and more of a change in systems that would deliver progress in the years to come and beyond 2030. We might also consider the relevance of that for the 2045 target. We are looking at big, systemic changes. Is Government on track to turn that supertanker around?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Climate Change Governance Stocktake

Meeting date: 12 March 2024

Mark Ruskell

So, there might be a point when the net zero test has been piloted in a particular department that would allow for reflection about how it has driven certain decisions or improved decision making.