成人快手

Skip to main content
Loading…

Chamber and committees

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

Filter your results Hide all filters

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 22 June 2025
Select which types of business to include


Select level of detail in results

Displaying 2361 contributions

|

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Role of Local Government in Delivering Net Zero

Meeting date: 25 January 2022

Mark Ruskell

I have a quick supplementary question in relation to Tracy Black鈥檚 last answer. I presume that you are in favour of the free market, and there will be market-based solutions, so I am interested in your attitude to regulation. If you are talking about levelling up and effectively creating a level playing field, surely increased regulation does that. It provides certainty for business, but it also says that we will need to grow and innovate in the market for low-carbon heating systems or insulation to bring the cost down for consumers and suppliers. I am interested in your views on where regulation sits in relation to that market and whether it can drive innovation and cost reduction.

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Role of Local Government in Delivering Net Zero

Meeting date: 25 January 2022

Mark Ruskell

Okay. Back to you, convener.

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 25 January 2022

Mark Ruskell

That transparency will be welcome. Our predecessor committee asked for milestones way back in 2019, and I do not think that it got them, so the fact that we have them now is good.

What would happen if the committee decides not to vote for the statutory instrument today? What would be the implications of that?

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2022-23

Meeting date: 20 January 2022

Mark Ruskell

Okay鈥攈ere鈥檚 hoping.

I have a couple of specific questions on the budget. One is about Historic Environment Scotland, which obviously has challenges because of the reduction in the number of visits, although it is to be hoped that it will recover. Are there any projections for how it will recover? Perhaps a crystal ball is required.

My second question is about the opening of the Copenhagen office, which you mentioned in your introductory remarks. How is that progressing? There is a budget allocation for that for next year, so can we expect the office to be opened this year? Are there any details that you can share at this point?

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2022-23

Meeting date: 20 January 2022

Mark Ruskell

Everybody knows that what you have said is a good idea, but the issue is how to pin down such funding in long-term core budgets so that it does not necessarily need to come from discretionary spend, with which councils are struggling. That is what I am interested in.

To what extent is the national partnership for culture looking in depth at that type of funding? I notice that NHS 24 is represented on the partnership, and I am sure that that is welcome, but where is the discussion with health and social care partnerships or with COSLA about nailing down the matter, to ensure that, when the Government is prepared to increase investment in councils鈥攗nder very difficult circumstances; I understand that鈥攂y providing what we could say is ring-fended funding, the value of that investment is shared with the cultural sector so that it is able to deliver on those objectives? We always think that that is a great idea, but it feels as though we do not know how it will work in terms of core funding.

10:00  

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2022-23

Meeting date: 20 January 2022

Mark Ruskell

Excellent. Thank you.

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2022-23

Meeting date: 20 January 2022

Mark Ruskell

I think that the event will have a massive impact. The improvement in facilities, which will probably also benefit areas such as the Tweed valley and Fort William, will be incredible. However, in terms of cycling governance, it might still be seen as a Great Britain event. If that is the case, has there been any commitment from the UK Government to support the world championships in 2023?

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2022-23

Meeting date: 20 January 2022

Mark Ruskell

This year鈥檚 budget remains pretty challenging for local government, and we know the reasons why that is the case. It is difficult to see how councils will not be considering how to make savings in areas of discretionary spend. I hope that those savings do not fall in the culture sector, but there is a risk that they will. To what extent have you discussed that with Shona Robison and Ben Macpherson?

The flip side of the budget鈥攖he good news鈥攊s that it will result in increased funding for local government, particularly in areas such as health, social care and education. Do you see any immediate opportunities in the next year to use that increased budget to mainstream some of the excellent work that cultural organisations do to support health, mental health and wellbeing, for example, or will the increase in the budget be allocated to other priorities and not be immediately available for cultural organisations that do important work on wellbeing?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Role of Local Government in Delivering Net Zero

Meeting date: 18 January 2022

Mark Ruskell

I will ask my final question, and then maybe George can come in on that and the other aspects.

At last week鈥檚 meeting, the leader of Glasgow City Council, Susan Aitken, made an interesting point about the capacity in councils. She was talking about the capacity in her council, which is the largest in Scotland, but that is clearly an issue across multiple councils. For smaller councils, it will be an even bigger issue. How can councils work together? How can there be a sharing of capacity across the public sector? SSN is obviously one route to do that, but how do we create vehicles that enable councils and public bodies to work together to create more investable propositions, whether that is on heat, transport, procurement or any of the other issues that we have spoken about? Is there enough collaboration?

11:15  

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Role of Local Government in Delivering Net Zero

Meeting date: 18 January 2022

Mark Ruskell

Access to resources has been a bit of a theme this morning. I want to go back to Ailsa Raeburn and Mark McRitchie on access to land. It seems that, as we are tackling the climate emergency by developing renewables and putting in place nature recovery measures, carbon sequestration and so on, communities could have a role in that regard. However, access to land is a concern, and issues have been raised around green lairds and private sector investment in land. What do you see as the most important next steps in land reform, if communities are to become more involved in climate adaptation and mitigation? Perhaps Ailsa Raeburn can start.