Chamber and committees

As one of the folk who put local place plans into legislation, I am pleased to hear Gemma Cooper mention them and say how they can become a part of all of this. That was the intention behind them, and I hope that her positivity in that regard will continue.

What I am interested in here is penalties, which Mr Bean keeps coming back to. I am sure that we all want to see the best possible engagement without having to force folk into positions that they do not want to be in; after all, it is best if this is all voluntary. However, if some people choose not to do certain things, why should there not be a penalty, Mr Bean?

I have a final question, convener.

Thank you, Ms Laing.

As somebody who does not like unintended consequences, I think that the picture being painted is extremely negative. You talk about people being engineered into a breach, but guidance and regulation would have to be drafted to ensure that that was not possible. What is immensely frustrating is that community action against certain things often occurs through a lack of communication and consultation, when communication can help resolve and iron out some of the negativity and opposition.

My question is about the way in which this is being presented by all. I do not think that any of us would take the position that there should be no penalty for not following regulation, or we would have a situation in which a large number of folk did not follow the regulations. Do you agree with that?

What has happened with INTOG is obviously fantastic.

I have a question about continued dialogue. Do you think that the UK Government is listening to either the oil and gas industry or others regarding what is required not only from a fiscal regime but from a regulatory regime to allow for greater decarbonisation?

Good morning, cabinet secretary. Can you give us an idea of why venting was missed out in the ETS previously, or is that beyond yer ken?

I have a brief question. What does Mr Bean mean by “prescriptive” community engagement?

In that case, I suggest to Mr Bean that he will want consultation to take place on the regulations, which I am sure will happen. I see that Ms Laing wants to come in.

This has been an interesting section. I was interested to hear Ms Cooper talk about one of their members having sold 180 parcels of land. It would be interesting to get an idea of what all that entailed. If that does not breach commercial confidentiality, it would be useful for the committee to see the aspects of that.

Ms Laing mentioned Tornagrain and individual sales being subject to provisions. Convener, I should say that I visited Tornagrain when I was Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning. Have any of you thought about maybe putting in place conditions such as having a condition on planning that has already been agreed, to stop some folk thwarting a particular development from proceeding? Have you had anybody speak to you about that particular issue?

So it is the penalties that you have a problem with.