Meeting of the Parliament 29 January 2026 [Draft]
::I apologise to the cabinet secretary and colleagues for not being in the chamber at the start of the debate. I missed the entire opening speech because I was chairing a Commonwealth Parliamentary Association branch executive meeting. I will look it up in the Official Report after this meeting.
As we reach the end of stage 3 of the Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill, it is clear that we have all been through an amazing process. The bill has generated an enormous level of engagement. I acknowledge the work of the committee, our clerks and our staff. The amount of support that we have received in the Parliament has been huge. We do not normally have late-night sittings. The effort made to get us to this point has been huge.
From Labour’s perspective, as regards the many amendments that were debated at stage 2, after the detailed scrutiny of our committee colleagues—and even at stage 3, when there were still huge numbers of amendments—the volume and quality of contributions from stakeholders, experts and communities have been remarkable. That engagement has shaped our approach throughout. I hope that, collectively, our efforts have strengthened the legislation and underlined how vital it is. The future of our biodiversity is uncertain in the age of the twin climate and nature emergencies, so having strong legislation and clear guidance will be critical if we are to secure a more sustainable future.
Scottish Labour has been consistent in its core aim of improving the legislation where possible and making it more ambitious, more accountable and more capable of delivering the nature recovery that Scotland urgently needs. We have lodged a series of amendments to part of the bill—not to obstruct it, but to enhance and strengthen it, and sometimes to get issues on the official record.
Those reflect proposals and detailed evidence from: Scottish Environment LINK, which has done superb work in pulling stakeholders together; the Marine Conservation Society; the Sustainable Inshore Fisheries Trust; and the Scottish Creel Fishermen’s Federation. A huge amount of work has been done by them and other organisations, such as the Woodlands Trust and RSPB Scotland. I cannot list all the organisations concerned in the way that I normally would, as there are so many, but the engagement process to strengthen transparency, improve reporting and ensure that commitments are backed by clear mechanisms for delivery has been important.
I welcome the fact that some of our proposals were accepted and received cross-party support—indeed, colleagues even assisted us in drafting them. That shows that constructive engagement can lead to better lawmaking.
Not all our amendments were successful, and we are disappointed about that. However, as I said, we have put lots of issues on the record, and I hope that in the next session new ministers will provide the leadership and action that will be urgently needed right across those issues.
Our commitment will not stop today. We will continue to work with all the stakeholders, environmental organisations, business organisations and community groups to ensure that the issues that they raised do not fall away simply because the bill has been passed. Many of the decisions involved debates about how different pieces of legislation would impact different communities. Monitoring and reporting on the bill will be critical. Delivery will matter.
I thank the committee for its consideration, and I thank the clerks. Honestly, a huge amount of work was involved. The pre-stage 1 work, moving all the way through stage 2 and having a good level of engagement at stage 3 have all been critical. It has also been vital to hear directly from people who work in our landscapes and on our rivers, our lochs and our seas.
I will reflect briefly on the marine sector in particular. Throughout the process, the passion, expertise and urgency expressed by those who work in our marine and fishing environment stood out to me. We need to do more to ensure that our seas are restored and resilient.
I will focus on that. We heard repeatedly that the Scottish Government will continue to work through all the options. I would like more clarity on what that will mean in practice. We heard concerns that the UK marine strategy requires Scotland only to contribute to UK-wide reporting on progress towards good environmental status in regional sea areas. It does not require the Scottish Government to show that progress for Scotland or to give the Scottish Parliament scrutiny powers for Scotland-specific progress. It is vital that the Parliament examines that issue in the next session, because we cannot just rely on the UK marine strategy. We have devolved powers that can and should be used to set out how we will meet nature restoration targets in our own waters.
I mentioned that I was grateful to the cabinet secretary for engaging constructively on those points, but work needs to continue. The sector is ready to contribute to the solutions that we need. I know that some work is under way, and I welcome that assurance, but delivery, transparency and accountability will determine whether the bill succeeds.
The values that underpin the bill—collaboration, ambition and a willingness to listen—must continue long after today’s vote, because nature recovery is not a short-term, tick-the-box process but a long-term exercise. It has impacts for all of us, for our health and wellbeing and for future generations, so we need sustained political support from members across the chamber.
Scottish Labour will support efforts to strengthen our natural environment and will keep pushing for the action, ambition and accountability that Scotland’s biodiversity crisis demands. That is why we will support the bill.