We have some news concerning the rumour that the Scottish Government may take over responsibility for the distribution of community benefit, which could potentially allow any community to claim a share, not just rural communities affected by renewable energy development.
Knowing full well that it would take a while to get a response under FOI, we asked a jounalist to question them. The response she received this morning is the usual Government waffle.
“We are consulting on the Good Practice Principles for onshore and offshore renewable energy developments to ensure our guidance supports sustainable and meaningful outcomes for communities. We want to gather a wide range of views from across communities, industry, the third sector and public sector partners to inform a refresh of our guidance. We cannot pre-empt the outcome of the consultation and will consider all responses as we work towards updating the guidance by the end of 2025. The Scottish Government does not currently have the power to legislate for community benefits, which lies with the UK Government.”
Note the word “communities” not rural communities and “we do not currently have the power”.
So we leave you to come to your own conclusions! What we would ask you to do is respond to the Consultation and give your own views. Just answer as many questions as you want. The closing date is 11 April.
We will publish our own response as soon as possible https://www.gov.scot/news/community-benefits-consultation/?fbclid=IwY2xjawIjESRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHblGe_vLjQjsfyMp_3QsyPsi2c8Qcqy0Saj4NncYE4kVx3bLIclcVkvf5A_aem_R-s3o4CzV_0Ez0mja-kDgg
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