Committee
Public Petitions Committee, 25 Feb 2003
25 Feb 2003 · S1 · Public Petitions Committee
Item of business
Current Petitions
Sites of Special Scientific Interest<br />and Special Protection Areas<br />(Arran, Barra and Yell)<br />(PE462, PE463 and PE464)
The next group of petitions is about Scottish Natural Heritage. PE462 calls into question the science on which SNH based its decisions in relation to hen harrier sites on Arran. PE463, from Councillor Donald Manford, who was here earlier to talk on the Barra petition, comments on the allegedly erroneous reports of consultation carried out by SNH to sound out local public opinion on the Sound of Barra special area of conservation. Petition PE464, from Mr Robert Cunyngham Brown, calls on the Parliament to ask SNH to provide scientific justification for the list of rain goose special protection areas that it has classified or is in the process of classifying. The petitions raise complicated issues, which we had a special evidence session with SNH to discuss. The most recent development is that we now have a response from the Scottish Executive to the points that the committee raised previously. Let us go through them one by one. Petition PE462 calls into question the science on which SNH based its decisions in designating sites of special scientific interest and raises concerns about the availability of scientific data to the public. Petition PE463 questions allegedly erroneous reports of consultation by SNH. Petition PE464 questions the scientific justification for special protection area designations for the rain goose.Petitions PE462 and PE464 question the scientific evidence relating to specific designations. An appeal process exists via the Advisory Committee on Sites of Special Scientific Interest in relation to the scientific validity of SSSIs. Its remit does not extend to special areas of conservation or to special protection areas, so there seems to be a gap in the appeals process. In its evidence, the advisory committee indicated that it might welcome an extension of its remit to cover SACs and SPAs and we must consider whether that might be worthy of further consideration. If we think so, the Transport and the Environment Committee could be asked for a view on whether its successor committee should be invited to consider that issue in the new session. What do members think?
In the same item of business
The Convener:
Lab
The next group of petitions is about Scottish Natural Heritage. PE462 calls into question the science on which SNH based its decisions in relation to hen har...
Helen Eadie:
Lab
I think that the Transport and the Environment Committee should be asked to take a view on that in the new session.
Rhoda Grant:
Lab
I am concerned that people can appeal decisions only on scientific evidence. It is difficult for Joe Bloggs in the street to go and get the scientific eviden...
The Convener:
Lab
That is an important issue. The Executive response rules out taking socioeconomic considerations into account as part of the appeals process, because of a Eu...
Rhoda Grant:
Lab
That is not really my concern. My concern is that quite a lot of my constituents have come to me and said, "We do not believe the scientific evidence. We wor...
The Convener:
Lab
The Executive has indicated that it will introduce provisions in the nature conservancy bill, which I think was announced this morning, to widen consultation...
Helen Eadie:
Lab
That is an important point. We have seen that, in the national health service, consultation means one thing to some people and another thing to others. It wo...
The Convener:
Lab
What are you suggesting?
Helen Eadie:
Lab
I am suggesting that we should go ahead with a review of SNH's consultation procedures. We would need to refer the matter to the Transport and the Environmen...
The Convener:
Lab
So PE463 should be referred along with PE462 and PE464 to the Transport and the Environment Committee.
Helen Eadie:
Lab
Yes.
Dorothy-Grace Elder:
Ind
I wonder whether we should also refer the material to the Minister for Social Justice. In the Arran case, a farmer pleaded that he wanted only an extra 8 hec...
The Convener:
Lab
Rather than sending the petitions to different committees, we should refer the petitions to the Transport and the Environment Committee and leave it for it t...
Dorothy-Grace Elder:
Ind
I was wondering whether the Minister for Social Justice should be contacted, rather than the Social Justice Committee.
The Convener:
Lab
I think that, on land issues, particularly in relation to SSSIs, SPAs and SACs, she would probably say that she had no remit and that the Minister for Enviro...
Dorothy-Grace Elder:
Ind
I was thinking of the socioeconomic side.
The Convener:
Lab
When we refer the petitions to the Transport and the Environment Committee, we can ask it to consider which ministers it should involve, particularly in rela...
Irene McGugan:
SNP
I was not involved in the discussions on PE463, but it is stated that 15,000 owners, occupiers and others were consulted and that fewer than 1 per cent lodge...
Helen Eadie:
Lab
The other issue is that, as we all know, consultation means different things to different people. It can mean that an organisation simply puts advertisements...
The Convener:
Lab
Yes, but it is not our job to do that at the moment. We are deciding whether we should refer the petitions to the Transport and the Environment Committee to ...