Scottish government accused of 28 breaches of ministerial code over new gas power station

The Scottish Government has been formally accused of 28 breaches of the ministerial code in connection with its handling of a planning application for a new fossil fuel power station at Peterhead, Aberdeenshire.

Scottish government: breaching the ministerial code – repeatedly

Friends of the Earth Scotland lodged the official complaint with civil servants on Friday 19 July and said there was a “deeply concerning pattern of behaviour right across the Scottish Government”.

The alleged breaches include ministers discussing the planning application with developers, ministers publicly supporting the project and the former first minister Humza Yousaf appearing in a promotional video for power station developer SSE.

Energy companies SSE and Equinor submitted the planning application for a new gas-burning power station with carbon capture in February 2022 and it is still under consideration by the Scottish Government. Environmental groups have strongly criticised the plan because of the climate pollution it will create and the fact that it will lock households into higher electricity bills linked to fossil fuels for decades to come.

The ministerial code is a collection of standards that must be adhered to to ensure integrity, accountability and transparency. It sets out how ministers should act in the handling of planning applications and states that, to make sure the planning system is fair, ministers “must do nothing which might be seen as prejudicial to that process”, including by meeting developers to discuss a proposal but not meeting all interested parties.

A litany of failures?

Research including analysing the lobbying register and Freedom of Information requests (FOIs) by Friends of the Earth Scotland has uncovered:

• Several incidents in which Scottish Government ministers were briefed by civil servants to welcome and offer their support for the controversial Peterhead gas-burning power station application in meetings with the developers SSE and Equinor, including one minister being briefed ahead of a meeting with Equinor to “offer your support in any challenges faced” by the company.
• Ministers undermining the planning process by publicly speaking in favour of the project, including then cabinet secretary for energy Michael Matheson providing a supportive press quote about the fossil fuel plant for an SSE press release.
• Former first minister Humza Yousaf breached the code with his visit to the existing Peterhead power station in July 2023. The first minister wore an SSE branded jacket as he posed for press photos and appeared in an SSE promotional video praising the company’s “plans for the future”. The Scottish Government tweeted about the event and issued a press release.
• Repeatedly meeting with developers while refusing to meet objectors. Scottish government met 61 times with SSE and Equinor between February 2022, when the planning application was submitted, and December 2023 (equivalent to more than once a fortnight) but refused to meet with objectors saying it would be inappropriate to discuss “a live planning application”.
• The Scottish government has no records, or couldn’t locate records, of another 16 meetings with SSE and Equinor: the public only know about them because of records kept by the developers themselves.

Nothing to see here?

A spokesperson for the Scottish government told STV:

The Scottish Government will consider any complaint in line with usual practice. It would not be appropriate to comment on a live planning application.

Meanwhile, SSE said:

As Scotland’s only large-scale flexible power station, decarbonising Peterhead is of significant importance which is why we continue to progress plans for the new Peterhead carbon capture power station, which would provide vital low-carbon flexible back-up to renewables

The Scottish government’s ‘deeply troubling behaviour’

Friends of the Earth Scotland climate campaigner Alex Lee said:

These 28 breaches of the ministerial code show a deeply troubling pattern of behaviour right across the Scottish government. Public concerns have been deliberately ignored to try and push through a climate damaging planning application in the interests of greedy energy companies.

Ministers and civil servants have been caught out playing fast and loose with the rules, in favour of a polluting project that risks locking households into higher energy bills for decades to come.

Our investigations show that the Scottish government has treated the outcome of this planning application as a foregone conclusion right from the beginning and has failed to follow the planning process and assess the evidence objectively.

First minister John Swinney must get his government in order and stop listening to fossil fuel companies. Once this project is assessed fairly on its merits, the huge climate pollution and impact on home energy bills will mean the only rational conclusion will be a rejection.

Workers and communities in the North East of Scotland need a credible transition plan that can move us to good green jobs in renewables, not a dodgy project built on the rotten foundations of carbon capture and backroom lobbying.

Featured image via the Canary