Chamber
Plenary, 13 Sep 2007
13 Sep 2007 · S3 · Plenary
Item of business
Planning
I thank Tavish Scott for a long question, which is what I used to ask him, although I will not apologise for that.
Mr Scott said that the statement could have been delivered by Johann Lamont. That may be the case and, to be frank, it is not a particularly bad thing in the context of the planning debate. I am trying to encourage a debate in which Parliament focuses on shared priorities in order to ensure that we provide exactly the type of continuity that Mr McNulty was asking about, and some agreement on direction. I would have thought that that was to be welcomed, but I live in hope that consensus politics might gravitate towards Mr Scott at some stage in the future. I travel optimistically on that.
I assure Mr Scott that the council of economic advisers will have a number of opportunities to provide input to thinking on a number of policy areas that affect the Government's economic strategy, and to work on the issues that I am raising in connection with the national planning framework. The advisers have been appointed to give us the distinguished international input that they can provide.
On transport projects, the criteria that I have set out give a clear steer as to where the Government is going. Our investment programmes for the rail industry and a variety of other public transport projects are intended to encourage greater use of public transport and less use of cars. I am not going to talk about the Edinburgh airport rail link, because Mr Stevenson will make a statement on it to Parliament in due course, as Parliament requested in June.
I had an interesting meeting with Professor Bebbington, a vice-chair of the Sustainable Development Commission, and I read the commission's report with interest. There remains a big challenge for the Government to face in relation to sustainable development, which it will address. We did not inherit a perfect situation—the commission's report highlights adequately the situation that we inherited.
I acknowledge that wind farms are a sensitive issue. Mr Scott mentioned the decisions that the Government took in response to recommendations from reporters on wind farms, but he omitted to mention that the Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism, Mr Mather, approved the Harestanes wind farm in the south of Scotland which, if I recollect correctly, is the second largest wind farm that has been approved—I am looking behind me for a nod from Mr Mather. The Government is prepared to take such decisions and it is churlish to suggest otherwise.
We went over this ground before the election. I remember when the Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, quoted the Prime Minister as saying that wind farms cannot go everywhere. That is the reality of the planning legislation; wind farms are not appropriate everywhere. The Government will assess decisions based on the information in front of us, exactly as we have done so far. Mr Scott suggested that there is an issue with the Government's stance on that point, but I really do not understand what further clarity he is seeking.
Mr Scott said that the statement could have been delivered by Johann Lamont. That may be the case and, to be frank, it is not a particularly bad thing in the context of the planning debate. I am trying to encourage a debate in which Parliament focuses on shared priorities in order to ensure that we provide exactly the type of continuity that Mr McNulty was asking about, and some agreement on direction. I would have thought that that was to be welcomed, but I live in hope that consensus politics might gravitate towards Mr Scott at some stage in the future. I travel optimistically on that.
I assure Mr Scott that the council of economic advisers will have a number of opportunities to provide input to thinking on a number of policy areas that affect the Government's economic strategy, and to work on the issues that I am raising in connection with the national planning framework. The advisers have been appointed to give us the distinguished international input that they can provide.
On transport projects, the criteria that I have set out give a clear steer as to where the Government is going. Our investment programmes for the rail industry and a variety of other public transport projects are intended to encourage greater use of public transport and less use of cars. I am not going to talk about the Edinburgh airport rail link, because Mr Stevenson will make a statement on it to Parliament in due course, as Parliament requested in June.
I had an interesting meeting with Professor Bebbington, a vice-chair of the Sustainable Development Commission, and I read the commission's report with interest. There remains a big challenge for the Government to face in relation to sustainable development, which it will address. We did not inherit a perfect situation—the commission's report highlights adequately the situation that we inherited.
I acknowledge that wind farms are a sensitive issue. Mr Scott mentioned the decisions that the Government took in response to recommendations from reporters on wind farms, but he omitted to mention that the Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism, Mr Mather, approved the Harestanes wind farm in the south of Scotland which, if I recollect correctly, is the second largest wind farm that has been approved—I am looking behind me for a nod from Mr Mather. The Government is prepared to take such decisions and it is churlish to suggest otherwise.
We went over this ground before the election. I remember when the Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, quoted the Prime Minister as saying that wind farms cannot go everywhere. That is the reality of the planning legislation; wind farms are not appropriate everywhere. The Government will assess decisions based on the information in front of us, exactly as we have done so far. Mr Scott suggested that there is an issue with the Government's stance on that point, but I really do not understand what further clarity he is seeking.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Alasdair Morgan):
SNP
The next item of business is a statement by John Swinney, on national developments in planning. The cabinet secretary will take questions at the end of his s...
The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth (John Swinney):
SNP
Today's statement honours the commitment to provide Parliament with the criteria that the Government will use in designating national developments in the nat...
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
SNP
The cabinet secretary will take questions on the issues raised in his statement. I intend to move to the next item of business no later than 4.50 pm.
Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab):
Lab
In the spirit of civility, I thank Mr Swinney for advance sight of his statement.I welcome Mr Swinney's quotation from a report by the Finance Committee in t...
John Swinney:
SNP
Des McNulty is right—I quoted from a Finance Committee report that came before my own vigorous contribution to the committee's proceedings, most of which I s...
Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con):
Con
I, too, thank the cabinet secretary for advance sight of his statement, and I congratulate him on his ingenuity in managing to link the national planning fra...
John Swinney:
SNP
The link between planning and independence is planning for independence, which is perhaps what is on the minds of some of us here.On Derek Brownlee's point a...
Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD):
LD
I share Mr Swinney's desire that any conversation of whatever variety—local or national—be conducted in a civil, intelligent and mature fashion. That does no...
John Swinney:
SNP
I thank Tavish Scott for a long question, which is what I used to ask him, although I will not apologise for that.Mr Scott said that the statement could have...
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
SNP
From now on we should have short questions and, I hope, short answers, too.
Shirley-Anne Somerville (Lothians) (SNP):
SNP
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John Swinney:
SNP
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Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab):
Lab
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John Swinney:
SNP
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Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
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John Swinney:
SNP
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Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab):
Lab
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John Swinney:
SNP
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Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green):
Green
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John Swinney:
SNP
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Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con):
Con
I am not normally taken by the idea of describing the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth as a little Scotlander, but I will do so today in ...
John Swinney:
SNP
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Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD):
LD
I commend the previous Administration for developing the first national planning framework and welcome the new Administration's commitment to progressing the...
John Swinney:
SNP
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The Deputy Presiding Officer:
SNP
If members keep their questions short, I will get everyone in.
Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab):
Lab
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John Swinney:
SNP
In an earlier response to Tavish Scott, I tried to be generous in what I said about Johann Lamont in order to encourage her. I am not sure that I succeeded.J...
Stuart McMillan (West of Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
Do the cabinet secretary and Scottish ministers accept the problem of underfunding in local authority planning services? If so, what will he and ministers do...
John Swinney:
SNP
Governments always have to wrestle with the question of resources. Predominantly, the issues that are involved relate to the effectiveness of local authority...