![](https://foe.scot/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SSE_Protest-Perth-FotE-McHarg-A-45-scaled.jpg)
‘Ministerial code broken 28 times’ in Scot Gov handling of Peterhead power station application
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.
Friends of the Earth Scotland lodged the official complaint on 19th July 2024 and said there was a “deeply concerning pattern of behaviour right across the Scottish Government”.
The 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 developers 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 roundly 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.
What are the Ministerial Code breaches?
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.
Research including analysing the lobbying register and Freedom of Information requests 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.
Ministers ‘playing fast and loose’ with rules
Friends of the Earth Scotland climate campaigner Alex Lee (they/them) 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.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
The formal complaint submitted by Friends of the Earth Scotland Ministerial Code Complaint (pdf)
Accompanying documents that evidence the complaint, along with supporting evidence such as Freedom of Information (FOI) responses, letters from Ministers and a list of meetings in question. https://foe.scot/resource/ministerial-code-breaches-supporting-evidence/
The complaint is based on a review of monthly “Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts” reports and the Scottish Parliament Lobbying Register, conducted using data available as of 28th March 2024.
Scottish Government ministerial code
https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-ministerial-code-2023-edition/
First Minister Humza Yousaf’s visit to Peterhead in July 2023
Scottish Government press release https://www.gov.scot/news/uk-government-urged-to-end-carbon-capture-scheme-delays/
Scottish Government tweet https://x.com/scotgov/status/1681328435979796480
Photos of Humza Yousaf’s visit to Peterhead available to buy via https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/humza-yousaf-peterhead.html?sortBy=relevant
Cabinet Secretary Michael Matheson’s suportive quote in SSE press release in May 2022
https://www.sse.com/news-and-views/2022/05/peterhead-carbon-capture-project-to-contribute-660-million-to-scottish-economy/
A separate report by Friends of the Earth Scotland revealed almost 800 meetings between fossil fuel companies and MSPs since 2018. Over 300 of these meetings involved Scottish Government Ministers
https://foe.scot/press-release/polluted-politics-fossil-fuel-lobbyists-met-msps-almost-800-times/
About the Peterhead gas burning power station
SSE and Equinor have submitted a planning application for a new gas burning power station with carbon capture plant at Peterhead, Aberdeenshire. The application is for an additional plant alongside the existing Peterhead gas burning power station, which is already Scotland’s single biggest polluter.
The development poses a significant risk to Scotland’s legally enshrined climate and emission reduction targets and to a just transition for workers and communities. The Scottish Government will make the decision whether to approve this project and lock households into reliance on fossil fuels for energy for the next 25 years.
https://foe.scot/resource/stopping-plans-for-a-new-gas-burning-power-station-at-peterhead-civil-society-briefing/
44 environmental organisations signed an open letter to the First Minister in May 2024, calling on Scottish Government to reject the planning application
https://foe.scot/press-release/44-organisations-urge-scottish-government-to-reject-disastrous-fossil-fuel-expansion-at-peterhead/
Friends of the Earth Scotland is:
* Scotland’s leading environmental campaigning organisation
* An independent Scottish charity with a network of thousands of supporters and active local groups across Scotland
* Part of the largest grassroots environmental network in the world, uniting over 2 million supporters, 73 national member groups, and 5,000 local activist groups.