Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Islands and Minister for the Environment, Biodiversity and Land Reform to Convener, 27 July 2021
This letter updates the Committee on the key points from the Inter-Ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs meeting held on 28 June 2021.
The meeting was hosted by UK Government via video conference with George Eustice MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs acting as chair. Mairi Gougeon MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Islands; and Màiri McAllan MSP, Minister for Environment, Biodiversity and Land Reform represented the Scottish Government.
The main items of discussion were the four administrations Net Zero ambitions, the latest issues relating to trade, including the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement, governance of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the recent Defra consultation on the regulation of genetic technologies, future funding of fisheries, Common Frameworks and border operations.
The group noted that the next meeting was scheduled to take place in September. A read out of the meeting and summary of attendance is included in the attached communiqué and has been published on the Scottish Government website. (Annexe A)
We hope this summary is helpful. A letter to the Committee for Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment in similar terms has also been sent.
We aim to make sure all correspondence is published as a fully accessible pdf. However, when correspondence documents are sent to us by an external organisation this is not always possible. If you need this correspondence provided in an alternative format, please contact the clerk of the committee. Further information can be found in our accessibility statement.