Speeches by Sullivan.

“What do you think the UK Government could do that is within its reserved remit?”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir John. Many of our communities have felt left behind, with their concerns about the places where they live often going unheard, so I welcome the steps that this Government have taken since July 2024 to address that imbalance. They are giving power back to local people …”

“Having to navigate two different systems.”

“Is it easier to get young people in different parts of the UK than in Scotland? Are you seeing a geographic difference there?”

“With the Government on a mission to build 1.5 million new homes and invest billions in upgrading critical infrastructure, fit-to-form PPE is more important than ever for the expanding workforce. The Government have an opportunity to embrace BS 30417 and use the state’s substantial purchasing power to increase employee …”

“12. What steps his Department is taking to encourage the adoption of the inclusive personal protective equipment standard BS 30417 in Government procurement contracts.”

“Can you give me a bit more clarity over the factors that explain why transmission impact assessment thresholds remain significantly lower in Scotland than in England and Wales? I am sure you can appreciate that that is causing quite a bit of angst in many communities.”

“Mr Leslie, what are the most significant impacts of NESO’s connections reform on Scotland’s community energy sector?”

“If there had been that investment a number of years ago, we would not have to be looking at it as a matter of urgency now. We should have had that before now.”

“I had a few questions around constraint management, but we have spoken about that quite extensively, along with the need for flexibility and to look at other options, including batteries. Very briefly, what approaches would most effectively reduce network congestion while keeping costs down for consumers? That is absol…”

“What kind of long-duration energy storage work is under way?”

“The problem is if they bring in higher capacity or something that has a larger demand because technology has moved on. That is perhaps where the issue is.”

“I have one final thing. Community Energy Scotland has called for the presumption that community energy projects are guaranteed grid access at the end of their asset’s lifetime. Again, this has been brought up by other parties as well. What is your view on the feasibility of that?”

“Mr Leslie, we have heard about the relatively high curtailment costs in Scotland. Battery storage sites could have a role in reducing curtailment, but it has been reported that some storage sites have been bypassed or skipped up to 90% of the time. Why is that? What role do you see battery storage sites having in reduc…”

“Basically, the infrastructure has to match the ambitions that we are hoping will be delivered.”

“SSEN told us that designating community energy is crucial to achieving the Government’s target of 8 GW of community-owned power by 2030. What is your view of that assessment?”

“I understand that. At the same time, we have the Government coming out with the local power plan, and community energy is obviously central to that. I am seeing a little bit of a disconnect here.”

“Is that something you could come back on? It is quite important to understand why that was not done.”

“I am fairly confident that this topic will have been raised with the decision makers. Are you saying that you are not aware of any conscious process that took place to evaluate whether that was possible or—more to the point—desirable?”

“That is great; thank you. Another source of consternation with the community energy sector has been the fact that they have not been given a designation status for their projects to get grid connection priority. We have heard from Galson Estate Trust and other contributors to this inquiry. They are really quite alarmed…”