Seòmar agus comataidhean

That moves us on to a report that our Economy and Fair Work Committee carried out on the supply chain. It looked at—

I will change topic ever so slightly. Last night, we were at a British Veterinary Association dinner. Justine Shotton, its president, talked about the sustainability of the veterinary workforce as a result of Brexit—recruitment and retention issues and the pressures that vets are being put under because of vet certification. As a result of Covid, a lot more people have pets, and as a result of leaving Europe there are different requirements for pets that are travelling. What is the UK Government doing to support the recruitment of vets into the United Kingdom? I recognise that Scotland also has its own responsibility for that.

It is fair to say that the CEEAC Committee recognised that there are significant differences between the market access principles in UKIMA and in the EU single market. In particular, the list of exclusions on public interest grounds from the application of the mutual recognition principle is much narrower in UKIMA. There are differences that impact on devolved competences.

We also took evidence from stakeholders outwith Parliament on various changes in legislation. For example, Scottish Environment LINK said:

“there has been little to no stakeholder engagement on any environmental common frameworks”.

We had something similar from NFU Scotland, which said that it had “not been entirely sighted” on the common frameworks.

How can we, as legislators across the United Kingdom, ensure that we engage stakeholders who have appropriate evidence and views on how we move forward in our post-EU-exit circumstances?

I welcome that comment, but I make a plea to you to understand that the Scottish Parliament, too, has procedures, so the late laying of SIs has an impact on the ability of the Scottish Parliament and this committee to scrutinise new legislation being introduced by Westminster.

As Ariane Burgess said, the bill, as introduced, requires Scottish ministers and relevant authorities to

“have regard ... to the scope for food-related issues to affect”

matters that are listed in sections 1(5) and 7(6). Those matters currently include social and economic wellbeing, the environment, health and economic development.

My amendments 37 and 51 would add animal welfare to the lists, and amendments 36 and 50 would expand the outcome of health, such that it would read:

“health and physical and mental wellbeing (including in particular through the provision of health and social care services)”.

My amendments reflect evidence that was given to the committee at stage 1 that there should be specific reference to animal welfare and to all types of health, as well as to the impacts on the provision of health and social care in the lists of outcomes. I believe that my amendments address those concerns and I therefore urge the committee to support the amendments in my name.

I feel that I am kind of giving you a road trip round the islands in my constituency, cabinet secretary.

On Friday, I was on Jura, which is experiencing population growth and attracting younger populations. Quite rightly, the development trust and the community council there are incredibly proud of the work that they have been doing. However, they raised concerns about volunteer fatigue and who will take the island on to the next stage. Given that islands are not the same and that each has its own unique character, how is your work focusing on the differences across the islands? We can also talk about learning from other islands, as well as those in our own communities.

In your introduction, you mentioned the impact of Covid-19 on island communities. Like the whole of Scotland and the rest of the world, we have had negative impacts, but important lessons have been learned, with islanders recognising their resilience.

Last week, I was at a Community Land Scotland event that involved considering how asset management and asset ownership help communities to pull together and find solutions. That is really positive but, on the flipside, when I visit islands, I often hear concerns that other stakeholders that are incorporated into the way that islands operate perhaps put up barriers to prevent innovative ideas from coming from islanders. What can the Scottish Government and the islands team do to help to reduce that?

I want to move on to the issue of carbon neutral islands. My colleague Dr Allan mentioned the differences in transmission charges. The other side of that is that our islands are brilliantly situated to contribute to the blue economy and renewable energy, whether we are talking about tidal power, community wind turbines, small hydro power schemes, the community heating network scheme in Iona or the big W1 project off Islay and Tiree. I would like some information on how the Scottish Government is working and what it is doing to ensure that islands are supported in their drive to carbon neutrality.

I have the privilege of representing Argyll and Bute, which includes lots of amazing islands. You mentioned the Kerrera road project, which has made a huge difference. The island communities are working together to find different solutions to their problems, whether they be with housing, renewables or community land and asset ownership. Many of those issues fall under different ministerial portfolios. How do you work with your colleagues to ensure that the specifics of the islands are included in all policy areas?

That is very helpful.

When I was on Islay at the weekend, I visited the Bowmore distillery. I spent a couple of hours with the distillery manager, who told me about the increasing time that he spends on greening the process. The distillery has looked at transportation, water usage and power consumption, and it is trying to improve the heating in the adjacent swimming pool. There are lots of projects going on. I know that other distilleries on the island are also following plans. Whisky is a really important industry for Scotland and contributes billions of pounds to the UK Treasury. What engagement has the Scottish Government had with the UK Government to ensure that places such as Islay get appropriate investment to support the important and immediate work that is needed to reduce carbon footprints?