The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.
All Official Reports of meetings in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
All Official Reports of public meetings of committees.
Displaying 2045 contributions
COVID-19 Recovery Committee
Meeting date: 28 April 2022
Jim Fairlie
Where are we in relation to the state of the pandemic? What is the situation with transmission, hospital admissions, intensive care unit admissions and so on?
COVID-19 Recovery Committee
Meeting date: 28 April 2022
Jim Fairlie
Good morning. I want to briefly go back to John Mason’s point about long Covid clinics. We have heard a lot of debate and challenge in the chamber about the Scottish Government not doing enough to set up long Covid clinics despite them existing in England. What are they doing in England that is so much better than what we are doing in Scotland and which means that there is now so much demand for long Covid clinics?
COVID-19 Recovery Committee
Meeting date: 28 April 2022
Jim Fairlie
On a number of occasions in the chamber, Sandesh Gulhane has cited a particular system that a particular hospital in England is using. Have you looked at that?
COVID-19 Recovery Committee
Meeting date: 28 April 2022
Jim Fairlie
That indicates that the vaccine is doing its job.
Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee
Meeting date: 27 April 2022
Jim Fairlie
Surely that would be a better way of spending money than poisoning geese and sticking them in a hole.
Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee
Meeting date: 27 April 2022
Jim Fairlie
I will leave it there, convener.
Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee
Meeting date: 27 April 2022
Jim Fairlie
Scott, you are as well to stay on the screen, because my question will be entirely directed to you, although Steven Thomson might want to pitch in.
I will first touch on the impact of rising input costs, which we have already talked about. What do we need to do to mitigate the rising costs? Do you see opportunities? A business in my constituency, Earnside Energy, is processing food waste and turning it into liquid fertiliser, which farmers around me are using. It is about 80 per cent cheaper than buying fertiliser at current prices.
There is also the issue of slurry storage—there is far too much slurry needing to be stored. How can we take those two issues and turn them into opportunities?
Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee
Meeting date: 27 April 2022
Jim Fairlie
Patrick, thanks very much for coming in. It is a fascinating issue. From a farming perspective, I absolutely get the reasons why you need to control numbers.
What you said about corralling blew my mind. I did not realise that it was happening. I did not realise that we are paying people to go out and poison the birds. What happens to the carcasses after they are poisoned? I presume that they get dumped.
Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee
Meeting date: 27 April 2022
Jim Fairlie
Is that where the commissioner has to have more teeth?
Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee
Meeting date: 27 April 2022
Jim Fairlie
So, a licence is needed to sell goose meat. Let us clear that up first. Why did the business need a licence to sell goose meat?