Committee
Environment and Rural Development Committee, 14 Feb 2007
14 Feb 2007 · S2 · Environment and Rural Development Committee
Item of business
Petition
National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000 (PE1011)
Our final item is consideration of petition PE1011, from Ian MacKinnon, on behalf of Action Against Marine Park, which calls on the Scottish Parliament to amend the National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000 to require approval by a majority in a local referendum before any national park can be established. Members have a copy of the petition and a background note from the clerk.Unfortunately, the petition was referred to us too late to be incorporated in our marine environment inquiry. We now have limited time left in this session, and we need to decide how we will deal with the petition. My feeling is that the petition is more about the consultation process than the marine environment. I suggest that we write to the Minister for Environment and Rural Development, asking which organisations were consulted, why they were chosen and why community councils, for example, were not consulted. We can also ask what other opportunities there will be for consultation as the process rolls out. We will want some fairly detailed explanations from the minister. Are members content with that as a first step?Members indicated agreement.
In the same item of business
The Convener:
Lab
Our final item is consideration of petition PE1011, from Ian MacKinnon, on behalf of Action Against Marine Park, which calls on the Scottish Parliament to am...
Eleanor Scott:
Green
We should ask the minister what the Executive has done to inform the communities that could be affected by the national park of any possible benefits to thei...
Nora Radcliffe:
LD
There is the classic tension between consultation—when things are not written in tablets of stone—and people wanting things to be written in tablets of stone...
The Convener:
Lab
Perhaps we can ask the minister to clarify the effect that the establishment of a national park might have on sea industries such as fishing and aquaculture....
Rob Gibson:
SNP
I do not want to open up any controversy. However, there must be lessons that can be learned from the way in which SNH and others operated the processes that...
The Convener:
Lab
That is fine. Can members think of anything else to put in the letter?
Members:
No.
The Convener:
Lab
Okay. Our next meeting will be on 21 February at 10 o'clock in committee room 5.
Meeting closed at 12:21.