Chamber and committees

We move on to the next theme, which is on the parliamentary process. I invite Meghan Gallacher to lead on that.

Under agenda item 2, the committee will take evidence to inform its scrutiny of the draft Valuation and Rating (Coronavirus) (Scotland) Order 2021. This session is the first of three sessions on the order that the committee will hold. I welcome Marc Crothall, who is the chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance; Stuart Mackinnon, who is the head of communications and public affairs at the Federation of Small Businesses; Leon Thompson, who is the executive director of UK Hospitality; Paul Togneri, who is the senior policy manager at the Scottish Beer & Pub Association; and Colin Wilkinson, who is the managing director of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association.

Before I invite questions from members, I ask that those who are participating remotely should press R in the BlueJeans chat function if they wish to respond to a question. The chat function should not be used to write responses to questions, as they will not be recorded. My colleague Jenny Mouncer will help me to keep track of the chat function.

Paul McLennan wants to take the lead on our first theme.

As no one else wants to come in on the question of processing appeals, we will move on to local authority revenue.

We move on to our fifth and final theme, which is other forms of business support. I invite Willie Coffey to start on that theme.

We have come to the end of our questions. I thank all the witnesses very much for giving evidence. It was interesting to hear some of you say that this is the first time that you have been able to get your points of view across, so we really appreciate your evidence.

Good morning, and welcome to the eighth meeting in 2021 of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee. I ask all members and witnesses to ensure that their mobile phones are on silent and that all other notifications are turned off during the meeting.

Our first agenda item is to consider whether to take agenda items 3 and 4 in private. Agenda item 3 will provide an opportunity for members to reflect on the evidence that they have heard earlier in the meeting. Under agenda item 4, the committee will consider a draft of its pre-budget correspondence to the Scottish Government. Do members agree to take agenda items 3 and 4 in private?

Members indicated agreement.

Thank you. I will bring in Elena Whitham, who is also joining us virtually.

I have been asked to direct my question to one person, which is difficult. I will put the question to Artemis Pana and maybe we can sneak in one more person.

The national islands plan document says that the Government and public bodies will put in place

“adaptation plans on islands that are at greater risk from climate change”

and that those adaptation plans will link closely to

“development plans for those islands”.

It is important to ensure that development plans, which contribute to infrastructure and town planning, consider changes, such as rising sea levels and stronger storms, and increase the resilience of communities and local economies, without increasing emissions. I would appreciate hearing your thoughts on those priorities for climate adaptation plans. I am sorry; I know that there was a lot in that.

Thank you for going through your work and explaining it. I love the online results explorer. Is it possible to see the breakdown of the data on fuel poverty—is there a slide for that? That is not my main question, but I ask that because we are working on the issue in the Parliament.

Respondents to the survey felt that, in some cases, there was a lack of support for young people to remain on islands. One key reason for residents’ leaving is the lack of jobs in general or jobs within their skill set. Are we starting to get enough data on the provision of jobs in different locations—in different island groupings—and in different sectors? I am looking for a mapping exercise that allows us to see where there are well-paid jobs with secure long-term contracts. Part of what underlies that question is that I am working on the issue of Highlands and Islands Airports Limited’s wanting to centralise air traffic controllers to Inverness, taking away well-paid jobs. The sense is that taking away those jobs destabilises communities. I would love to start to understand whether we have well-paid jobs in the islands with good prospects for young people. That question is directed to Philip Raines and Ruth Wilson.

Thank you.