Chamber and committees

You will be my friend for life if you are always as quick as that.

I think that he has something to add. Do so briefly, please, Stephen.

Thank you for those contributions. I am mindful that I have a lot of committee members to keep happy on my first day convening the committee, and short answers to their very short questions would help me to achieve that.

Thank you very much. We had a bit of musical chairs there, but I hope that I can stay in this chair for a bit.

First of all, I thank you. I have been reading the committee’s work in the inquiry that we will continue today. I note that you called for evidence on 21 November 2021, which seems an awfully long time ago. Up to today, you have had 11 meetings, I think, on the matter; you have received more than 51 online responses; and you have received responses from the Accounts Commission, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and other individuals.

Here I must make an admission: I have not read the Official Reports of all your evidence sessions. I think that it was Councillor McVey who said in the first session that there was an “elephant in the room” when it came to the subject—well, this is my elephant in the room. Reading 11 Official Reports’ worth of meetings is a bit like eating Jacob’s crackers—they might be very tasty to start with, but you can take them only in small doses. It will take me a bit of time to get through the Official Reports. I apologise if it takes me slightly longer to do so but, if you try reading them, you will see why.

I am looking forward to joining this committee, which has obviously done a huge amount of work on the issue. As convener, I will be looking for members’ guidance and help, given that you have done much more on it than I have.

Item 4 is an evidence-taking session as part of our inquiry into the role of local government and its cross-sectoral partners in financing and delivering net zero. I refer members to the clerk and Scottish Parliament information centre papers for the item.

The inquiry was launched in December to look into progress at the local level on reaching net zero targets. In phase 2 of the inquiry, which we are in now, we are looking in depth at the key themes emerging from the initial evidence sessions and the call for views.

We will start with a panel that will focus on an overview of the operation of local authorities. I welcome the two panellists who have joined us in the room: Andrew Burns, who is a member of the Accounts Commission, and Stephen Smellie, who is vice-convener of Unison Scotland. I also welcome Louise Marix Evans, the director of Quantum Strategy and Technology, who is joining us remotely. I thank all three of you for accepting our invitations. We are delighted to have you here, in person and on the screen.

Members will ask questions in turn. It would help broadcasting if members directed their questions to a specific individual. I am sure that members do not need to know this, but I ask the panellists to keep their answers as brief as possible. When I was convener of a previous committee, I used to wiggle my pen—I think that that was a nasty habit that I got from Christine Grahame. That will mean that the person should be coming to the end of giving their answer. I have never had to let go of the pen in the person’s direction because most people have got the hint, but that is a pretty good steer for you to know when it is time for you to start wrapping up what you are saying.

As convener, I will take the privilege of asking the first question. It is probably for all three of you, so I ask you to be brief. I will start with Andrew Burns. Where do you think the biggest concerns are in relation to reducing emissions in local authorities, and in which sectors are there opportunities for innovation, learning and partnership?

I did not wag my pen. I was smiling slightly because I read in one of the Official Reports that Glasgow City Council estimated that the cost of retrofitting its buildings would exceed £1 billion.

Would Louise Marix Evans like to comment? Thank you for your submission. I understood it, and it was interesting.

Okay. Does Natalie Don want to come back in with her question to an individual?

Thank you, Stephen and Natalie. I have not had to throw my pen at anyone, which is great news.

I thank Louise Marix Evans, Stephen Smellie and Andrew Burns for their contributions. I briefly suspend the meeting to allow for a changeover of witnesses.

?We resume with our second panel as part of our local government inquiry.?As we near the end of our evidence taking, we welcome COSLA and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers to offer the perspectives of local authority leaders.? We also welcome back a representative of the Sustainable Scotland Network.

I welcome our witnesses, who are all joining us remotely. They are Councillor Gail Macgregor, COSLA environment and economy spokesperson and Dumfries and Galloway Council;? David Hammond, SOLACE representative and head of sustainability, corporate property and transport at North Ayrshire Council;?Silke Isbrand, policy manager in the environment and economy team at COSLA; and?George Tarvit, director of SSN. Thank you for joining us today, and for agreeing to rearrange your attendance.

As you are all taking part remotely, I cannot wave my pen at you, because you will not be able to see me. I apologise for this now, but if you get too verbose, I will just have to cut you off. If you could bear that in mind, that would be brilliant.

I will ask the first question. What do you think are the biggest challenges for reducing emissions in local authorities? A brief answer from each of you would be helpful, because I will be asking Mark Ruskell to delve further into that issue. Councillor Macgregor, would you like to start? What are the biggest challenges?

Natalie Don has some questions. Natalie, the microphone is yours.