Speeches by Sullivan.

“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?”

“Q12. Nine years and four months ago, Britain was basking in its success after the Rio Olympics, but each day, month and year since, women have lived with the chronic pain of undiagnosed endometriosis. According to Endometriosis UK’s new report, the UK’s average wait time for diagnosis has worsened since 2020, with wome…”

“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…”

“At a strategic level, do we have an aim or an end date in sight when we can have a bit more clarity?”

“Do you have a timeframe for that?”

“Are we going to get to a place where the network will have sufficiently evolved again for the thresholds in Scotland to be increased?”

“I welcome the opportunity to speak, even if it is briefly, in the debate. Young people have often felt left out of discussions and decisions about their future, and have felt that their voices do not matter, so I welcome the steps that the Bill will take to standardise the vote age across all elections. In Scotland, th…”

“Does the right hon. Gentleman recognise the valuable contribution that young people in Scotland have made to the democratic process, first in 2014, when they were able to vote in the independence referendum, and subsequently in Scottish local and parliamentary elections? Does he value their contribution?”