Hansard

If you give me two seconds, Presiding Officer, I will bring up my notes. I got a little bit distracted.

The UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021 requires the appointment of members of the board of Environmental Standards Scotland, including the chair, to be approved by the Scottish Parliament. The motion seeks the Parliament’s approval of Dr Richard Dixon as the nominated candidate for the role of board chair of ESS, as approved unanimously by the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee at its meeting on 18 February 2025.

A motion was agreed to on 30 January 2025 that approved the reappointment of Dr Dixon—an existing member of the ESS board—as an ordinary member for a further three years. However, in light of the outcome of the chair appointment process, which has now overtaken the reappointment process, the Scottish Government has not progressed Dr Dixon’s reappointment as a member of the ESS board but instead intends to appoint Dr Dixon as board chair.

For the sake of clarity, the Scottish ministers’ position is that the process for appointing the chair is separate from that for reappointing members, in line with the “Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies in Scotland”. Furthermore, and for the avoidance of doubt, the duration of the post of chair was publicly advertised as being four years, which is why there is a difference in timeframes between the motion in January and the motion before the chamber today. In short, the appointment process for the chair has overtaken the previous member reappointment process.

I move,

That the Parliament notes the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee’s consideration of Dr Richard Dixon as the nominated candidate for the role of Board Chair of Environmental Standards Scotland at its meeting on 18 February 2025; welcomes the committee’s recommendation that the Parliament approves the appointment of Dr Richard Dixon for four years in accordance with schedule 1, paragraph 2(4) of the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021, and approves the appointment as required by schedule 1, paragraph 2(2) of the Act.