Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee
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RURAL AFFAIRS, CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE Wednesday 11 November 2015 Session 4 © Parliamentary copyright. Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Information on the Scottish Parliament’s copyright policy can be found on the website - www.scottish.parliament.uk or by contacting Public Information on 0131 348 5000 Wednesday 11 November 2015 CONTENTS Col. DECISION ON TAKING BUSINESS IN PRIVATE ....................................................................................................... 1 SUBORDINATE LEGISLATION............................................................................................................................... 2 Private and Public Water Supplies (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2015 (SSI 2015/346)................................................................................................................................................... 2 Climate Change (Duties of Public Bodies: Reporting Requirements) (Scotland) Order 2015 (SSI 2015/347) ................................................................................................................................................................... 2 PARIS 2015: 21ST CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES .............................................................................................. 5 AGRICULTURAL HOLDINGS (SCOTLAND) ACT 2003 REMEDIAL ORDER 2014 (MEDIATION AND COMPENSATION PROCESS) ....................................................................................................................................................... 27 RURAL AFFAIRS, CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE 34th Meeting 2015, Session 4 CONVENER *Rob Gibson (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP) DEPUTY CONVENER *Graeme Dey (Angus South) (SNP) COMMITTEE MEMBERS *Claudia Beamish (South Scotland) (Lab) *Sarah Boyack (Lothian) (Lab) *Alex Fergusson (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con) *Jim Hume (South Scotland) (LD) Angus MacDonald (Falkirk East) (SNP) *Michael Russell (Argyll and Bute) (SNP) *Dave Thompson (Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch) (SNP) *attended THE FOLLOWING ALSO PARTICIPATED: Christian Allard (North East Scotland) (SNP) (Committee Substitute) Gavin Barrie (Scottish Government) John Ireland (Scottish Government) Aileen McLeod (Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform) CLERK TO THE COMMITTEE Lynn Tullis LOCATION The Mary Fairfax Somerville Room (CR2) 1 11 NOVEMBER 2015 2 Scottish Parliament Subordinate Legislation Rural Affairs, Climate Change Private and Public Water Supplies and Environment Committee (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2015 (SSI 2015/346) Wednesday 11 November 2015 Climate Change (Duties of Public Bodies: Reporting Requirements) (Scotland) Order [The Convener opened the meeting at 10:15] 2015 (SSI 2015/347) Decision on Taking Business in Private 10:16 The Convener: Agenda item 2 is to consider The Convener (Rob Gibson): Good morning two negative instruments. As members will recall, everybody, and welcome to the 34th meeting of the committee has agreed as part of its work 2015 of the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and programme to write to public sector bodies Environment Committee. I remind those who are regarding their experiences of reporting in the trial present that mobile phones should be in silent year, with a view to considering the issue as part mode. Committee members use tablets, as papers of its legacy work in early 2016. I refer members to are provided in digital format. We have apologies paper RACCE/S4/15/34/1. Are there any from Angus MacDonald, but we are joined by comments? Christian Allard as his substitute. Michael Russell (Argyll and Bute) (SNP): I I remind members and those in the gallery that want to comment on the Private and Public Water the committee will be suspended between 10:50 Supplies (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) and 11:10 in order to allow people to attend the Regulations 2015. I declare an interest in that I remembrance day ceremony that is being held in used to have a private water supply—I know that the garden lobby. The agenda has been amended other committee members have private water for the period after the suspension. A new agenda supplies—and I represent quite a number of item 4, on the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act people who have private water supplies, which are 2003 Remedial Order 2014 mediation and quite common in rural Scotland. compensation process, will gives an update on the I would like to have answers on four issues, case of Andrew Stoddart. which we could perhaps seek from the Scottish Government. First, who will be affected? Our Agenda item 1 is to consider whether to take in briefing document talks about businesses being private what is now item 5, which is consideration affected, but I want to know about how individuals of the evidence that we will hear this morning from will be affected, because I suspect that many the minister on the Paris 2015 United Nations individuals will be affected. Secondly, who was Framework Convention on Climate Change consulted? The document speaks of local conference of parties 21 or COP21. Are we authorities being consulted. I want to know agreed on that? whether individual users were consulted. Thirdly, Members indicated agreement. what is the total number of extant private water supplies in Scotland? That is important. Finally, what resources are available to help people who have private water supplies to adapt in the light of the proposed changes? For example, although I do not think that it is terribly onerous to filter a private water supply, I suspect that it is very difficult to remove radon from such a supply. I presume that in circumstances where radon is found, the private supply has to cease. In that case, people would then have to connect to the mains, which, in some cases, would be impossible; in other cases, that would be extremely expensive. We need more information about the regulation. I was told that the minister would not be responding on the issue, but as she has responsibility for private water 3 11 NOVEMBER 2015 4 supplies, she now knows the questions that will be did not really see how it would affect them, but asked. Perhaps we could get information on them. other big organisations—in particular, local authorities—have thousands of staff arriving every The Convener: We will write to the minister day, so their carbon footprint would be quite about that. substantial. Christian Allard (North East Scotland) (SNP): We need to learn lessons from the organisations I am delighted that the committee will write to the that have put in place transformative policies that minister about the regulation. On radon in have worked. We also need to think about the particular, we perhaps need her reassurance organisations that are bringing up the rear and about the decision that a threshold will not be how to get the best impact from them. It is really phased as Scottish Water has asked for it to be. important that we think about the lessons to be Claudia Beamish (South Scotland) (Lab): My learned and the leadership issues to be question is on the Climate Change (Duties of communicated. Public Bodies: Reporting Requirements) The Convener: As there are no other points (Scotland) Order 2015. from members on those items, is the committee The Convener: We will come to that order in a agreed that it does not wish to make any moment. There are no more questions on SSI recommendations on the instruments? 2015/346 on water supplies, and we will write to Members indicated agreement. the minister about the points that have been raised. The Convener: Thank you. We will write to the minister about the points that have been raised. We will move on to SSI 2015/347, on climate change reporting requirements for public bodies. Claudia Beamish: My question is in relation to the financial effects of the SSI. The business and regulatory impact assessment for SSI 2015/347 says that “No significant additional financial impact is foreseen as most of these bodies already report broadly equivalent information on a voluntary basis.” I was surprised by that because I know—from evidence that we have taken and from having represented the committee as an observer on the public sector climate leaders forum—that some listed public sector bodies are much further down the road on reporting than others. The costs of catching up might have significant implications. Also, as the committee heard previously when we were taking evidence, the cost of peer assessment could well be somewhat onerous— especially for some of the smaller bodies that are listed. I would like those points to be raised. Sarah Boyack (Lothian) (Lab): To follow on from that point, clearly a lot of lessons have been learned from the voluntary efforts of the public sector agencies that have started to address the issue. Having been to a public sector climate leaders forums on behalf of the committee as substitute for Claudia Beamish and after hearing evidence to the committee, it struck me that there is a lot of best practice—the challenge is to make it standard practice right across the public sector. There is a particular challenge about organisations’ transport footprints. A lot of the organisations have a big opportunity to change not just how staff deliver services but how they get to work. That point came up after hearing from a couple of the witnesses. The police, for example, 5 11 NOVEMBER 2015 6 Paris 2015: 21st Conference of “impressive” and “remarkable” by the International Energy Agency. With regard to the draft treaty the