Seòmar agus comataidhean

Mercedes Villalba has a quick supplementary question.

I thank the cabinet secretary and her officials for their evidence this morning. As we seem to have drawn to a close early, it looks as though you will be getting back half an hour of your day.

Is the committee also content to delegate to me authority to respond to the Government and, in so doing, include the information that is set out in paragraph 2 of annex A of paper 4?

Members indicated agreement.

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the 10th meeting in 2022 of the Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee. I remind committee members who are using electronic devices to switch them to silent.

We have apologies from our convener, Finlay Carson, who will not be at the committee for a few weeks. We wish him a speedy recovery. I invite his substitute, Edward Mountain, to declare any relevant interests.

There are supplementary questions from Edward Mountain and Mercedes Villalba.

Do any other panel members wish to comment?

We are, thank you. I move on to Elspeth Macdonald.

Thank you for that. We will move to questions from Ariane Burgess.

Mercedes Villalba has a short supplementary question.

This discussion is all about the Clyde cod box. However, will the cabinet secretary tell us what consideration has been given to wider spawning grounds when deciding on offshore wind areas? I do not expect you to answer that today, but perhaps you could provide a written response.