I am not at all sure how any of what we have just heard is in any way relevant to the legislative consent motion before us, which is the matter at hand. I will not dignify what we have just heard by responding to it. Instead, I think that it would be helpful to provide some background to members on why we are seeking Parliament’s approval for the LCM on the UK Planning and Infrastructure Bill.

Although land use and planning in Scotland are devolved, the powers to legislate for the generation, transmission, distribution and supply of electricity are reserved. The Scottish ministers determine applications to construct or install electricity infrastructure under the Electricity Act 1989. The Scottish Government has long called for that system to be reformed, for the relevant powers to be given to the Scottish ministers and for the process to be modernised, as it has been across other parts of the United Kingdom.

Having finally recognised that the Scottish consenting process needed to be reformed, the previous Conservative UK Government committed to a review in November 2023. Thankfully, those plans were continued by the current UK Labour Government, and UK and Scottish Government officials have worked together in close collaboration on the proposed reforms.

Clauses 18 to 24 of the bill relate to electricity infrastructure consenting in Scotland, and clauses 46 and 112 relate to harbour processing fees. As the proposed provisions seek to alter the competence of the Scottish ministers, they require legislative consent.

As I have set out, the changes that are proposed in clauses 18 to 24 are intended to reform outdated and inefficient elements of the electricity infrastructure consenting process. The main changes are: strengthening the pre-application requirements and procedures by—for the first time—making them statutory and allowing communities to share their views earlier in the process; creating a new, reporter-led procedure in response to an objection from a local planning authority; reducing the administrative burden of automatically having to have a public inquiry, while retaining that as an option; and moving from a lengthy judicial review process to one of statutory appeals, in alignment with existing processes under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997.

The Scottish Government intends to consult on proposals for secondary legislation as soon as possible after the bill has received royal assent. That consultation will seek views from a wide range of stakeholders, including communities, public bodies and the industry, so that all voices can be heard in shaping the future of the process in Scotland.

In addition, I welcome the productive engagement between the Scottish Government and the UK Government, which has resulted in amendments to Clause 46 and clause 112 of the bill. Those clauses will ensure that the commencement of all provisions relating to the new system of harbour revision order fees in Scotland will be a matter for Scottish ministers only. The UK Government’s decision to make those amendments in a devolved area reflects a constructive approach to devolution, and I acknowledge that.

I therefore ask Parliament to approve the motion for legislative consent in relation to the aforementioned clauses in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.