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
Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee
Meeting date: 23 February 2022
Jim Fairlie
You touched on this before. I was going to ask about the reasons why the financial memorandum does not include implementation and on-going costs.
We talked earlier about how a number of local authorities are well ahead of the game. East Ayrshire Council started its journey 10 years ago. It took the money from hungry for success and recipe for success and used it in the way that it was required to be used in order to improve the food offering. If other local authorities are going to need funding, will they be given that additional funding, or was the funding already provided previously, through recipe for success and hungry for success, such that those other councils will have to catch up? How do you see that working?
Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee
Meeting date: 9 February 2022
Jim Fairlie
I want to touch on how the scheme differs from the European maritime and fisheries fund. The instrument broadens the scope of financial support that was previously available under the EMFF to include, for example, conservation, and the enhancement or restoration of the marine and aquatic environment. I understand that you have a current funding pot of about £14 million through the marine fund Scotland and that money is coming out of the UK seafood fund as well. The EMFF provided about €108 million. Do you have a funding figure in mind for the new scheme? How does that compare with the funding amount for EMFF? How would your proposed scheme operate within the UK internal market? To what extent will the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 constrain your choices?
Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee
Meeting date: 9 February 2022
Jim Fairlie
Can I stop you there for one wee second? If you are short of that amount of money but you are saying that you have greater scope to act, does that not mean that your ability to fund will be much more limited? You will be funding more areas but with a smaller pot. How will you make that work?
Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee
Meeting date: 9 February 2022
Jim Fairlie
I am going to throw a wee curveball to you both. Should the scrutiny be through the ballot box? We have local authority elections coming up in May and we have national elections every five years. Should the performance of the people who are delivering and developing these plans ultimately be decided by the people who will be the end users, which is the public?
Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee
Meeting date: 9 February 2022
Jim Fairlie
The point about whether we use targets or outcomes is really interesting. When East Ayrshire Council started on its journey and employed the hungry for success programme, I remember very clearly that it went all out to ensure that it did all the things to meet the gold standard. I know that Argyll and Bute Council did the same, but other local authorities chose not to go down the same road. Are our current food procurement practices a hindrance? Does the national plan need to ensure that local authorities employ their own local plan so that there is take-up and it is not really voluntary, if that makes sense? I might not be being clear in what I am saying. I will come to Mark Hunter first.
Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee
Meeting date: 9 February 2022
Jim Fairlie
I understand that it is difficult for a small producer to go to a local authority. Do the current public procurement practices allow for SMEs and smaller producers to be brought in? Should the national plan say that local authorities must have such engagement to provide the good food nation objectives?
Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee
Meeting date: 9 February 2022
Jim Fairlie
In an ideal world, more fruit and vegetables would be grown in Glasgow so that the supply chain could be shortened. NPF4 would then become important.
Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee
Meeting date: 9 February 2022
Jim Fairlie
Yes. In effect, you had very restricted powers with a bigger pot of money and now you have much more powers with a restricted pot of money.
Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee
Meeting date: 9 February 2022
Jim Fairlie
I want to go back to what Rachael Hamilton talked about, and the aspiration. I remember from my early years of involvement in the issue that public procurement used to be about pence per unit. Now, it is about value for every pound that is spent, as opposed to being based on the price. What we are trying to do is a big thing. It is a cultural shift, and I am pretty sure that at the moment the bill has provisions for a review after two years. Given the number of local authorities across the country and the diversity in where they are starting from, is two years long enough for us to be able to start on the road, get it implemented, look at the situation and see what changes we need to make to take things further?
Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee
Meeting date: 9 February 2022
Jim Fairlie
Mark, do you have views on that?