Chamber and committees

In cases where there is a recorded minute of these meetings, a copy will be lodged in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Energy is a reserved matter and we have continually pressed the UK Government on the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) for years. The UK Government’s CCS commercialisation competition is nearing its conclusions soon and we hope that the Peterhead project will come out of that process with a positive result but the UK Government have made no clear response to the future of CCS beyond the two planned demonstration projects.

We believe CCS is a technology needed both for electricity generation and for emission reduction.

This world leading initiative is ultimately dependant on the UK Government making a positive final investment decision on the project early in 2016. If the UK Government is willing to make this commitment the building of this project will require a construction workforce of up to 600 people and the project is expected to be operational in 2018-19.

This is a large scale project which expects to capture around 1 million tonnes of CO2 each year and transport it offshore for safe and secure storage more than two kilometres beneath the North Sea.

A second major CCS project proposal for Scotland is the Caledonia Clean Energy Project, a low-carbon power generation project proposed by Summit Power for Grangemouth which proposes to capture up to 3.5 million tonnes of CO2 each year. It is important that follow-on CCS projects such as this continue to come forward and be supported and the Scottish and UK governments have jointly agreed to provide £4.2 million funding to advance the development of this project.

Summit Power aims to achieve commercial operation of this project in the early 2020’s.

The Scottish Government’s skills agency Skills Development Scotland published an updated Energy Skills Investment Plan in March 2015. The plan maintains and develops the significant range of world-leading skills and expertise that Scotland has to offer the energy sector.

In response to the planned closure of Longannet power station in March 2016 specifically, we have already established a Longannet taskforce and our Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) team is engaging with Scottish Power and its suppliers to offer tailored assistance to the workers affected. PACE has an excellent record in helping workers facing redundancy with 72 per cent of those who receive PACE support finding employment within six months.

Scotland’s diverse energy sector will continue to require a broad range of skills and expertise to maintain a balanced mix of energy generation sources, as set out in the Scottish Government’s Electricity Generation Policy Statement 2013 – including onshore and offshore wind, conventional thermal (for example at Peterhead), new carbon capture and storage (CCS) opportunities, hydro-electric and pumped storage schemes, biomass, marine energy and existing nuclear.

Scotland is the best place in these islands to develop large-scale and cost-effective renewables, pumped storage hydro and carbon capture and storage projects. That unique potential is recognised in our Third National Planning Framework (published in July 2014) through a series of National Developments.

The potential to develop in Scotland new clean thermal power is particularly strong and would create and safeguard jobs in thermal generation. Shell/SSE are expected to make a final investment decision on the Peterhead CCS project at the end of this year or in early 2016, with the aim of the project being operational in 2018/19, and Summit Power’s Caledonia Clean Energy Project at Grangemouth is aiming to achieve commercial operation in the early 2020s.

However, the development of any new thermal generation in Scotland will require both certainty on future UK Government policy support for low-carbon generation beyond 2020 and a solution to the problem of discriminatory grid charges which penalise generators located in Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-27377 on 29 September 2015. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-27377 on 29 September 2015. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

We recognise that the impact of the closure of Longannet will be felt in Fife and across Scotland. An economic development plan will be developed by the Longannet taskforce, which was set up by the Scottish Government to support the workers, businesses and communities impacted by Scottish Power’s decision to close Longannet Power Station. The taskforce will develop an economic recovery plan to:

Help ensure individuals employed at the site are supported, maximising each individual’s opportunity to secure alternative employment;

Support the communities impacted by the closure;

Mitigate the effects on the supply chain;

Produce a masterplan for the long term future of the site, maximising the employment potential of the site; and

Consider the economic infrastructure of the local area, to identify how to create sustainable employment in the longer term.

While it is too early to say what resources might be required to support the delivery of the economic recovery plan, the taskforce will work towards identifying the various needs and requirements prior to Longannet’s closure.

Effective animal health and welfare policies that build on Scotland’s reputation for good husbandry are essential for the future of the livestock industry. Discussions have already taken place with stakeholders and identified a number of possible initiatives. However, decisions will need to take into account the outcome of the ongoing national discussion on what the industry will be like in 2025, which followed the publication of the The Future of Scotland’s Agriculture at the 2015 Royal Highland Show.

A group of stakeholders, supported by the Scottish Government and chaired by Stuart Earley, Chief Executive of the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, is looking at the welfare of farmed animals and is currently considering a number of proposals.

As noted in answer to question S4W-25563 on 2 June 2015, it is planned to bring the Microchipping of Dogs (Scotland) Regulations 2016 into force in January 2016, with the requirement for mandatory microchipping of all dogs coming into effect in April 2016.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Further details of the consultation and accompanying work will be announced in due course.

The Scottish Government is taking time to develop an extensive and robust evidence base, and ministers have continued to meet with key stakeholders over the summer to discuss this work.

In line with our cautious evidence-based approach, we will continue to take time to consider all these matters with due care and attention. Further details of the consultation and accompanying work will be announced in due course.