Greenhouse gas emissions, farming funding and First Minister Perthshire visit: EIR release
Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004
Information requested
Q1 request: Are oil and gas emissions included in the 2045 net zero plans?
Q2 request: In the House of Commons on May 9, SNP MP Steven Bonnar said: "The SNP Government have guaranteed Scottish farmers the level of funding that was available pre-Brexit, unlike the Tories here in England or indeed the Labour party in Wales." Could you provide the evidence to back up this statement?
Q3 request: In July, John Swinney visited the NFU Scotland President on his farm in Highland Perthshire. Could you supply all documentation held relating to this visit, including correspondence, minutes/notes from the meetings and briefings?
Response
Q1 request: Are oil and gas emissions included in the 2045 net zero plans?
Response to your request
Q1 response: Greenhouse gas emissions associated with the extraction of oil and gas from the UK continental shelf are classed as “unallocated” in the official statistics, i.e. not allocated to any Nation of the UK. They form no part of Scotland’s greenhouse gas statistics release and do not feature in Scotland’s emissions-reduction targets. However, onshore emissions associated with the downstream processing and use of fossil fuels are included in the statistics and targets where these activities occur within Scotland.
Q2 request: In the House of Commons on May 9, SNP MP Steven Bonnar said: "The SNP Government have guaranteed Scottish farmers the level of funding that was available pre-Brexit, unlike the Tories here in England or indeed the Labour party in Wales." Could you provide the evidence to back up this statement?
Response to your request
Q2 response: Agriculture is a devolved power and the Scottish Government has committed to maintain direct payments to farmers and crofters. The Agricultural Reform Route Map sets out that Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) will deliver Tier 1 Base support within the new framework. These commitments and further information is set out publicly at: www.ruralpayments.org/topics/agriculturalreform- programme/arp-route-map.
Information on the approach taken to BPS in England and Wales is held by the UK Government and Welsh Government and publicly available on their respective website pages.
Q3 request: In July, John Swinney visited the NFU Scotland President on his farm in Highland Perthshire. Could you supply all documentation held relating to this visit, including correspondence, minutes/notes from the meetings and briefings?
Response to your request
Q3 response: I enclose a copy of most of the information you requested in Question 3, as detailed in the specific numbered question attachment. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exceptions under regulation 10(4)(e) (internal communications), regulation 10(5)(e) (confidentiality of commercial or industrial information) and regulation 11 (2) (personal information) of the EIRs apply to that information. The reasons why these exceptions apply are explained in the Annex to this letter.
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Correspondence Unit
Email: contactus@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
There is a problem
Thanks for your feedback