Part of Portfolio Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at 2:00 pm on 31 October 2024.
Bill Kidd’s question gives me the opportunity to say that I have had multiple meetings on that point with the new UK Government ministers. I raised it in my first meetings with Michael Shanks and Ed Miliband, because we did not have agreement with the former UK Government on the mandating of community benefits and engagement. I am pleased to say that the consultation is a result of the lobbying that I have done and the conversations that I have had. We launched a joint consultation that will specifically address the issues raised. I greatly appreciate the level of engagement and collaboration that has been shown by the current UK Government as we have collectively worked through the detail of the proposed reforms, which reflect the public discontent with the current system that Bill Kidd has just articulated.