Chamber and committees

Kenny Bisset, I will throw the same question at you. As you heard, the first panel seemed to be saying there were not enough finances or resources, but I think that what I have just heard from Dom Callaghan is that the Scottish Government has been supportive to the extent that it provides those resources. Do you agree?

Paul White, you will not be surprised that, following that answer, I will come to you with the next question.

The Confederation of Passenger Transport Scotland highlighted in its submission that CAFS2 recognises the importance of the modal shift that we have been hearing about. Are the timescales and the modelling that I put to Stuart Hay earlier sufficient to achieve what the CPT would like to see? Do you recognise, given the answer that we have just heard from Gavin Thomson, that lack of joined-up thinking? If so, what needs to happen?

I am grateful to you all for those responses.

Absolutely.

My next question is for Dom Callaghan. Dom, if you have anything further to submit on this particular subject, please do so, but what we have heard from the two previous answers is that there is, arguably, a significant role for local authorities in delivering CAFS2 and implementing the policies in it. All of you heard the first panel talk about resourcing and financing. On the specific issue of idling outside schools, it was mentioned that there was a lack of resources to deliver plans and interventions. As for implementing other things, there are, according to the ESS report, huge gaps in reporting and we have heard that resourcing is what has led to that. Do local authorities have sufficient financing and resources to implement the policies in CAFS2? If not, what level of finance—and, specifically, what resources—will be required to do so?

Thank you.

I wish to come back on some of the earlier questions—which I thought were interesting—on the timescales and processes. I recently visited a big company that has some really exciting plans on building renewables and infrastructure, but it is restricted or inhibited in doing that. Its representatives told me that the company needs to apply for the grid connection many years in advance—a grid connection that it will start paying for in advance of actually putting electricity into the grid.

Once the company has gone through that, it then needs to get planning; then it needs to get the kit; and then it will need to get the skills to fit it. Once that is all stacked up—that is, if we accept that the process, the timescale and the up-front investment will potentially restrict innovation and development, or at least limit that to very large companies that can go through all of that—the question becomes one of what precisely needs to change in Scotland and which agency or body in Scotland needs to lead that change to encourage the step change in renewables investment that we all want to see.

I would like to go back to collections and space, which is an issue that Jackie Dunbar asked about earlier. What do you advise smaller or rural retailers to do if particularly large deposits come back or there is a local event and their space gets overfilled? What is the contingency plan if a more frequent uplift is needed than that of the usual collection schedule? What should those retailers do?

Good morning, panel. It has been suggested that Ofgem has an ambiguous relationship with net zero. There are proposals in a recent UK Government white paper to amend your statutory duties to include a specific reference to net zero. Do you have a view on that, Steven? What would expressly changing Ofgem’s statutory duty to include achieving net zero mean in relation to the regulation and design of markets and networks?

Thank you, convener.

The Climate Change Committee has said that we need to ramp up transmission infrastructure massively. As I understand it, Ofgem sets price controls for SPEN and SSEN, which regulate how much can be spent on investment and infrastructure. Your submission says that, on at least one metric, those two companies asked for 17 per cent more for EDT2 than they were actually given. Given all of that, how will Ofgem ensure that the next transmission and distribution network price control periods—those post-2026 and post-2028—will deliver the investment and redesign of the network that we need?

Perhaps when you respond to my next question, you will confirm whether there would be an extra cost to the retailer for an ad hoc pick-up.

David Harris, I saw recently that the collections have a value. If that is right, is the retailer liable if the products are stolen? If so, are there insurance products available to cover the risk?