Committee
Environment and Rural Development Committee, 14 Feb 2007
14 Feb 2007 · S2 · Environment and Rural Development Committee
Item of business
Cairngorms National Park Boundary Bill: Stage 1
Absolutely.I will move on, as it appears that the reasons why certain aspects of topography were excluded will not be elicited from the Government. The reasons were not elicited from Allan Wilson when he explained the issues in 2002. The park includes the Angus glens and Strathdon but not the higher-value areas around Blair Atholl.On finance, what level of efficiency savings do you expect each year from the absolute budget of the existing national park?
In the same item of business
The Convener (Maureen Macmillan):
Lab
Good morning. I welcome members, witnesses and members of the public and the press. We have received apologies from Richard Lochhead.Item 1 is the final evid...
The Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development (Sarah Boyack):
Lab
I have with me Helen Jones and Mike Liddle, who are working on national parks.I will take a few minutes to put three issues on to the agenda for the committe...
The Convener:
Lab
That was useful, minister. A number of members have questions.
Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab):
Lab
I draw members' attention to my interests on the matter that I have previously declared.I am grateful to the minister for setting out the reasoning behind th...
Sarah Boyack:
Lab
With the park plan, we would basically have to go back to the drawing board and draft another one. A significant area would have been added to the park, so b...
Peter Peacock:
Lab
There was one about the legislative position.
Sarah Boyack:
Lab
Even if the bill was passed, we would have to go back and amend the original National Parks (Scotland) Bill because of issues to do with the boundaries and t...
Helen Jones (Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department):
That is correct. If the park boundary were changed now by passing the bill, which is primary legislation, there would still be issues to be considered about ...
Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab):
Lab
Minister, you say that it would be better to wait until 2008. Will the review that takes place then consider the boundary, and will there be consultation aro...
Sarah Boyack:
Lab
It will be for ministers to set the terms of the quinquennial review. In 2004, the First Minister said that he expected that the issue of boundaries would be...
Elaine Smith:
Lab
I just thought that it was important to get that stated clearly at this stage.
Peter Peacock:
Lab
It is helpful to have that reassurance about the quinquennial review, but let us be absolutely clear about this. It is your firm contention that, notwithstan...
Sarah Boyack:
Lab
I would not want to predict the outcome of what would be quite a complicated set of processes that would be put in chain. My main comment is that passing the...
Peter Peacock:
Lab
I want to raise a completely different issue, but I am happy to leave it there.
The Convener:
Lab
Perhaps we will come back to that later.
Mr Alasdair Morrison (Western Isles) (Lab):
Lab
There are two issues that I would like to pursue. First, in your opening statement, you talked about the significant financial implications of the bill. Woul...
Sarah Boyack:
Lab
I will answer your second question first. We do not have up-to-date comparators from other countries. When we were drafting the National Parks (Scotland) Bil...
Mr Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con):
Con
Notwithstanding the minister's eloquent advocacy in her presentation, I found the evidence presented last week at Blair Atholl on extending the boundaries of...
Sarah Boyack:
Lab
It would be my firm expectation that the whole issue of boundaries would be considered in the quinquennial review, although I cannot prejudge the outcome of ...
Mr Brocklebank:
Con
I heard what you said about the year-on-year costs of taking on an extra part of the park. If the quinquennial review concluded that there should be addition...
Sarah Boyack:
Lab
A year from now will be the quinquennial review stage and, as Peter Peacock said, there will be no instant change on the ground at that point. Ted Brockleban...
Mr Brocklebank:
Con
You are saying that it makes more economic sense to stick a pillar into the ground at Drumochter that you are prepared to accept might have to be lifted out ...
Sarah Boyack:
Lab
As I said, either we park the stone where it is at the moment or we get it out there. That is a judgment for the park authority to make. I would just like th...
Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP):
SNP
The minister made much of the unwieldy nature of the administration that would be needed to add Blair Atholl to the park. She also said that this is the bigg...
Sarah Boyack:
Lab
No. The committee had a robust discussion last week, and the John Muir Trust was clear that if it had its way, most of the Highlands and Islands would be a n...
Rob Gibson:
SNP
So, if we are thinking big, presumably we want to take into account the environmental and topographical integrity of the decisions that were made. I hear you...
Sarah Boyack:
Lab
You imply that they were not considered the first time round, but I assure you that they were; we just did not agree on where the boundaries should be drawn....
Rob Gibson:
SNP
Absolutely.I will move on, as it appears that the reasons why certain aspects of topography were excluded will not be elicited from the Government. The reaso...
Sarah Boyack:
Lab
I ask Helen Jones to answer that.
Helen Jones:
Do you mean the efficiency savings from the current operation of the park?