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It is helpful to hear that. The issue with guidance is that we cannot scrutinise it right now, so we are trying to get as much clarity as possible on what could be in the bill and what could be strengthened.

My final question is on urban land, because I think that I understand the points around scale and why there has been a focus on rural areas. In some urban areas, we could be talking about much smaller pieces of land, but there could still be wins for those communities through opportunities to protect and enhance biodiversity and to do work on climate mitigation and so on. Is the Government aware of that? We are behind on our climate and net zero targets in Scotland, so we need to do more and go faster. Can you reassure the committee that we will not miss the opportunity to have bold and ambitious reform in our urban communities?

Good morning, Richard, or rather good afternoon—you have been here all morning. Thank you for putting yourself forward for scrutiny. I was looking at your CV and background information, and my favourite fact is that your PhD is in astrophysics, which, in your own words, makes you “nearly a rocket scientist”—it is good to know that.

I want to ask about European Union alignment. You have said to the committee previously that one of the challenges is keeping pace with environmental law changes at the EU level. Could you say a brief word about the current approach taken by ESS and how you see it developing or improving in the future?

It is fair to say that concerns about access to environmental justice in Scotland are well documented—it is very much a topical issue. You mentioned environmental courts and governance. We do not have an environmental court at present, and we do not know what the Scottish Government will do in relation to compliance with the Aarhus convention. Does that matter to ESS? If Scotland goes down the road of compliance and ends up with an environmental court, will that affect the operation and capacity of ESS and its relationships with other bodies? If that does not happen, what is your take on what would happen next in Scotland? What would be the effect on ESS?

The bill sets out what should be included in a land management plan, including setting out a long-term vision for the land; future objectives; and how the land will be used and managed to achieve net zero emissions, adapt to climate change and in relation to biodiversity. The plan is quite high level. Can you explain how the Government arrived at those factors and criteria? Was anything considered but not included in the final bill?

That is helpful, thank you.

Yes. Rob, do you have some examples of current land management plans and the consultation that you mentioned? I looked on your website before today and had another look today and, although there was lots of information for investors, I could not find anything on it that was for the community. Where do we find case studies on community engagement and examples of consultation? Can you give us a brief example?

No. However, a number of other points that have been made do not sit comfortably with me. I am thinking about comments on taxation and community wealth that were made by the previous witnesses. We have not talked about the amount of public funding that Gresham House benefits from—for example, from the Scottish National Investment Bank—and the foreign interests that have been reported in the media. We members sometimes struggle to understand how to debunk those things and discover what is true.

Rob Carlow, I think that you have come here today and minimised the influence that Gresham House has. You have said that it is quite a minor player in land ownership. Do you want to leave the committee with the impression that you are very much a marginal stakeholder as regards land ownership and land management, or have you a more significant role in Scotland? Certainly, the impression that you have given is that you are really on the margins of the debate.

I have been asking similar questions to Mark Ruskell’s about land management plans. How do we ensure that the plans add value—instead of being just performative and adding bureaucracy—either on their own or with other processes, such as local place plans? Max Wiszniewski made the point that owning land is a privilege, because very few people in Scotland do so. In relation to rights and responsibilities, what needs to be done to strengthen the bill to ensure that land management plans can add to our net zero ambitions and our climate and nature goals? Is something missing from that part of the bill? What should we advise the Government to do differently in the bill to ensure that land management plans do good things for Scotland?

I see Sarah Madden nodding, so I will bring her in first.

Does anyone else have a view on whether we need to amend the bill when it comes to land management plans? Tara Wight? I think that Tara is possibly—

Thank you.