Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 24 February 2016
24 Feb 2016 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Portfolio Question Time
Renewables Industry (Business Rates Relief)
Rural Affairs, Food and Environment
I thank the minister for her reply, although I am surprised by it. Her colleague Margaret Burgess MSP has confirmed that the Government is going to cut £10 million, and the cost will fall mostly on the small and medium-sized companies that operate in the sector. Does the minister not think it a little hypocritical to complain so bitterly about the United Kingdom Government’s decision to end the renewables obligation while simultaneously taking £10 million out of the sector? What impact does she think cutting that £10 million will have on our ability to meet our carbon emissions targets?
In the same item of business
1. Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab)
Lab
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made an assessment of the environmental impact of cutting business rates relief for the renewables industry. (S...
The Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform (Aileen McLeod)
SNP
The Scottish Government does not expect any environmental impact.
Ken Macintosh
Lab
I thank the minister for her reply, although I am surprised by it. Her colleague Margaret Burgess MSP has confirmed that the Government is going to cut £10 m...
Aileen McLeod
SNP
This has been a difficult decision in a very difficult budget. The renewables industry in Scotland has benefited from relief since 2010, uniquely in the UK. ...