‘Potential conflict of interest' after education chief is asked if ‘happy' with FoI response related to himself
An expert on Freedom of Information law has said it is a 'potential conflict of interest' for Education Authority chief executive Richard Pengelly to be involved in decision-making about the release of material relating to himself.
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Scotsman
3 days ago
- Scotsman
SNP ministers accused of secrecy over £2m Grangemouth carbon capture study
Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... SNP ministers have been accused of secrecy after refusing to publish a £2 million study into whether a pipeline that will connect Grangemouth with a key carbon capture project will fall flat. The 'alarming' move comes as Chancellor Rachel Reeves is poised to confirm at her spending review this week whether the Acorn carbon capture project for St Fergus, near Peterhead, will finally receive the funding it needs to get off the ground. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Carbon capture technology is seen as being essential to Scotland and the UK reaching net zero | POOL/AFP via Getty Images The previous Conservative UK government only granted the Acorn project reserve status and ploughed funding into carbon capture and storage projects south of the Border instead. This comes as finance secretary Shona Robison asked Chancellor Rachel Reeves to award funding for the Acorn carbon capture project and to ensure Scotland receives a share of GB Energy funding that matches its contribution to UK clean energy goals, ahead of the UK spending review. She also called on the Chancellor to 'prioritise growth' and to fully fund the employer national insurance increase for Scotland's public services. Ms Robison urged the UK Government to abandon some of its 'damaging policies' such as cuts to welfare support for disabled people, to scrap the two-child benefit cap and to reinstate a universal winter fuel payment, ahead of the review on 11 June. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad She said the Scottish Government had not yet been provided with 'clarity' on spending priorities. The delays to the project has been partly blamed for SNP ministers rolling back climate targets, with the Acorn plans initially hoped to be up and running before 2030. But now, the Scottish Government has refused to release the results of a feasibility study into the pipeline, despite confirming the document was completed in March. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad SNP ministers handed over £2m to National Gas last year to assess whether it was possible to turn an old 174-mile gas pipeline that runs from Grangemouth in the Central Belt to St Fergus, Aberdeenshire into 'Europe's largest carbon capture pipeline'. Officials have refused to release details of what the study shows, despite campaigners requesting it under Freedom of Information law. Acting Energy Secretary Gillian Martin during a visit to drone manufacturer Flowcopter in Loanhead, to mark the publication of the Scottish Government's Green Industrial Strategy | Andrew Milligan/PA Wire Concerns have been raised about carbon capture technology, which campaigners warn simply allows oil and gas companies to continue burning fossil fuels. Under the technology, harmful carbon emissions are prevented from being released into the atmosphere and instead trapped and injected into the seabed. Fears have been raised about leakage, with the technology not yet tested at commercial scale. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad During a trip to St Fergus in 2023, then prime minister Rishi Sunak also raised concerns about the technology, warning that it would be a boost 'if we can get it to work'. Now, campaigners have warned that any further public funds for the Acorn project would benefit major oil companies, including Shell, which have made £90 billion profits in recent years and Harbour Energy who recently laid off 250 staff despite paying out almost £1bn to shareholders in the past three years. The UK government has already pledged £22bn to the carbon capture industry, a move which the Public Accounts Committee branded a 'high risk gamble' that could push up household energy bills. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad First Minister John Swinney has vowed to increase the public handout from the Scottish Government for the Acorn project beyond £80m. But that is contingent on the UK government first backing the project - amid doubts the funding could be axed in the spending review amid a perilous economic backdrop. Friends of the Earth Scotland's climate campaigner Alex Lee said: 'The public are again being forced to pay for the oil industry's greenwashing carbon capture plans, and it is deeply alarming that we don't even get to see what our money has unearthed. 'Plans to run a 280km high pressure carbon pipeline through towns and villages are fraught with danger and uncertainty because this has never been done before in Scotland. Have the people who live along the route of this pipeline proposal been informed of the risks and consulted on these proposals? Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It is a farce that ministers have been talking up carbon capture for 20 years and only now are they checking whether it would even be feasible to do this. 'When working climate solutions are crying out for funding, there should be no public investment in dodgy scams like carbon capture.' Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves and Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband during a meeting of the National Wealth Fund Taskforce in 11 Downing Street. PIC: Justin Tallis/PA Wire Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said: 'The Greens have always been sceptical about putting too much reliance on untested carbon capture technology, and we are firmly opposed to using it as an excuse for more fossil fuel extraction or burning. 'Even its advocates don't think it will make any impact on our emissions in the near future, so the priority has to be the action we know how to take right now - cutting road and air traffic levels, insulating homes and shifting to clean heating, and supporting communities to change land use. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Climate action isn't rocket science and we don't need to wait for new technologies to get off the drawing board - we just need to do what we know works.' A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'The Scottish Government provided National Gas with a £2m grant to support a study to explore the technical feasibility and viability of repurposing an existing gas pipeline for the transportation of carbon dioxide. 'The conclusions of the study were requested under environmental information regulations. However, for reasons of commercial confidentiality these can't be released. 'The Scottish Government fully supports the deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS), and we have been advised by the Climate Change Committee that they 'cannot see a route to net zero that does not include CCS'.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A UK government spokesperson said: 'We are delivering first of a kind carbon capture projects in the UK, supporting thousands of jobs across the country, reigniting industrial heartlands and tackling the climate crisis.
Belfast Telegraph
19-05-2025
- Belfast Telegraph
‘Potential conflict of interest' after education chief is asked if ‘happy' with FoI response related to himself
An expert on Freedom of Information law has said it is a 'potential conflict of interest' for Education Authority chief executive Richard Pengelly to be involved in decision-making about the release of material relating to himself.
The National
18-05-2025
- The National
Highland beaver release blocked after Kate Forbes stepped in
A BID to release beavers in the Highlands was delayed after intensive lobbying by farmers and landowners prompted an intervention by the local MSP and Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes, The Ferret can reveal. Emails released under Freedom of Information law disclose why the wildlife agency, NatureScot, postponed a long-awaited plan to move beavers into Loch Beinn A' Mheadhoin in Glen Affric. Forbes, the National Farmers Union in Scotland (NFUS) and local landowners privately piled pressure on the agency to derail a beaver licence application by the Government's Forestry and Land Scotland. The tree-felling, dam-building, semi-aquatic mammals were due to start being released in spring 2025. But NatureScot announced in April that it would 'take the summer' for more consultations because there was 'considerable concern about the proposal among the local community and its representatives'. Campaigners have condemned the delay as 'ministerial appeasement of the NFUS at the expense of Scotland's nature'. They dubbed the revelations 'beavergate', saying they raised 'urgent questions about behind-the-scenes lobbying and hidden voices'. Forbes, however, defended her role as a local MSP relaying concerns of constituents to 'relevant public bodies'. Her status as Deputy First Minister was 'immaterial to progressing constituency casework', she said. NatureScot accepted the delay could cause 'frustration', and promised a 'short and focused' engagement on 'specific impacts'. The planned release was 'contentious' and there was 'ministerial interest', it said. Beavers were hunted to extinction in Scotland in the 16th century. They were accidentally or illegally released in Tayside before 2006, and are now thought to number more than 2000 along the Tay and the Forth. READ MORE: Archaeologist may have found William Wallace's Battle of Stirling Bridge camp In 2019, the Tayside beavers were given legal protection by the Scottish Government. But farmers and landowners, who feared the damage they could cause by flooding, were licensed to shoot 352 of them between 2019 and 2022. In 2021, Green MSP Lorna Slater, then biodiversity minister, announced a change of policy aimed at allowing beavers to be moved to other parts of Scotland instead of being shot. Authorised releases have since taken place at Loch Lomond and in the Cairngorms. In March 2022 Slater asked Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) to identify land it owned suitable for reintroducing beavers. Working with the rewilding campaign group, Trees for Life, FLS developed a proposal to release up to four beaver families on land it owns in Glen Affric, above the Beinn A' Mheadhoin dam. The Ferret reported in October 2023 that FLS had postponed applying for a beaver release licence following opposition from landowners, backed by Forbes. It wasn't until January 2025, after two years of consultations, that FLS finally submitted its full licence application to NatureScot. What happened next has now been revealed by more than 80 pages of emails released by NatureScot in response to a freedom of information request by The Ferret. Local farmers and land managers, whose names have been redacted, wrote a series of angry letters, urging NatureScot to reject the licence application. They expressed alarm about the damage that beavers might do to riverbanks and salmon spawning areas. They complained that beavers had already been illegally released downstream at Strathglass, and criticised the consultations as biased. Forbes wrote to NatureScot in January, also saying that constituents were worried that beaver dams could harm salmon spawning beds. She asked for the matter to be investigated. NatureScot told NFUS it didn't 'normally' seek comments on licence applications, but was 'happy' to receive them from farmers. On February 28, 2025, NFUS wrote to NatureScot expressing 'serious concerns', calling for a 'pause' and requesting a meeting. The letter argued that, if released, beavers would quickly move downstream from Glen Affric to a 'high conflict area of productive agricultural land'. It criticised Trees for Life and FLS for 'poor' and 'inflammatory' responses to farmers' concerns. 'Pausing the processing of this application, or even better postponing it for, say, a year, will show a willingness by NatureScot to address the genuine concerns of those most likely to be impacted,' NFUS argued. 'Our members have engaged with their local parliamentarian Kate Forbes MSP, Deputy First Minister, who is in discussion with Mairi Gougeon MSP, Minister for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands, and has advised that the Scottish Government will be looking into the matter.' After receiving the letter from NFUS, one senior NatureScot official told a colleague that it would be assessed. 'The case is considered novel and contentious so when we have completed, we will pass by ministers, who will take an interest,' the official wrote. NFUS chased up its letter and its demands on March 12 and again on March 31. NatureScot announced the decision to delay the Glen Affric beaver application on April 2, prompting accusations of a 'great beaver betrayal' from campaigners. Trees for Life called on NatureScot to explain its actions. 'This growing beavergate controversy raises urgent questions around the behind-the-scenes lobbying and hidden voices seeking to block Scotland's nature recovery,' chief executive Steve Micklewright told The Ferret. 'Exactly what part has Kate Forbes played in this sorry saga? Is she willing to meet and engage positively with rewilding organisations, or should we give up asking?' Micklewright argued that the issue went beyond the multiple benefits of bringing beavers back to Glen Affric. 'It goes to the heart of why the Scottish Government keeps hitting the pause button on restoring biodiversity, and whether NatureScot can show the leadership to fulfil its purpose,' he said. 'NatureScot now needs to show it can lead on nature recovery with vision and integrity – including by standing up to high-powered anti-nature lobbying. And all of our government ministers need to show that they fully support NatureScot in that.' According to the Scottish Wild Beaver Group, which campaigns to protect beavers, it was 'really disheartening' to see Forbes use her influence to halt a beaver licensing process which had been conducted with 'high community consultation standards'. The group's James Nairne said: 'It seems to mark yet another example of ministerial appeasement of the NFUS at the expense of Scotland's nature, and raises serious questions about how committed this government is to Scotland's beaver strategy and the Scottish biodiversity strategy more generally.' Malcolm Wield, a former forest manager who has lived close to Strathglass since 1993, claimed that a lot of local people were 'excited' at the idea of having beavers in the area. 'Even if many often feel the need to keep their heads down, their views have to count too,' he said. 'Undemocratic intervention by the Deputy First Minister on such an important issue is unfair and demonstrates total disregard for the breadth of views here, not to mention biodiversity.' Forbes stressed her role as a constituency MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch. 'I am obligated to relay constituency concerns and queries to the relevant public bodies and I'm proud to work hard on behalf of my constituents,' she told The Ferret. 'When multiple local residents in Glen Affric expressed concerns about the introduction of beavers at drop-in surgeries, I raised those in my constituency capacity with the relevant public bodies. 'This is consistent with the approach I would take on any issue, from healthcare to wildlife.' She added: 'My status as Deputy First Minister is immaterial to progressing constituency casework, and any suggestion to the contrary puts my constituents at a disadvantage.' NatureScot insisted it was 'absolutely committed' to expanding the beaver population across Scotland for the benefit of biodiversity. 'We understand that there may be frustration around the timeframe for this licensing decision,' said a spokesperson. 'This short and focused engagement will be on the specific impacts on land and fisheries managers and the mitigation and management available to them.' NatureScot pointed out that Scottish ministers could modify or revoke beaver licensing decisions, and it had to keep them briefed on 'any novel or contentious issues'. NatureScot's delay was backed by the Scottish Government. 'Given the concerns from the local community, it is only right that NatureScot take the time to undertake further engagement with land and fisheries managers,' said a spokesperson. READ MORE: Europe's first museum of contemporary Palestinian art opens in Edinburgh 'The Scottish Government supports the targeted reintroduction of beaver populations where appropriate. 'We want to make sure that where translocations take place, measures are put in place to ensure rural people and beavers are able to thrive.' Forestry and Land Scotland described the delay to releasing beavers in Glen Affric as 'disappointing' but said it could appreciate NatureScot's position. Consultations were extensive and allowed everyone in the local community to have their say, it argued. 'The consultation process and other inputs helped us to identify where the majority opinion lay. It also helped us to develop appropriate and adequate mitigations to address the concerns raised by those who were not in favour of beaver reintroductions,' said north region planning manager, Euan Wiseman. The National Farmers Union in Scotland said its members were committed to helping nature restoration. 'Local farmers and crofters highlighted concerns in relation to the Glen Affric beaver release to their MSP representative,' confirmed a spokesperson.
