Seòmar agus comataidhean

Do you believe that that issue has been largely resolved or is in the process of being resolved and that a legislative change is therefore not required?

Yes, I am content to agree to it. We are where we are. However, there is a risk of the regulation having to be brought back again, for the Government to amend the amendment on the basis of there having been another international conversation. It seems like a bit of a waste of time.

I was struck by your initial comments, Richard, about the big challenges in making sure that there is a climate change plan that delivers for Scotland’s potential role under the proposed natural environment bill and around unanswered questions about environmental governance. However, there is a whole range of other issues as well. You mentioned seal scarers in fish farms, and the whole raft of regulatory reform analysis that Environmental Standards Scotland performs.

How challenging is that landscape at the moment? Week in, week out, I come across demands for reform of regulation and questions about enforcement. Most recently, we heard about the treatment of battery waste at recycling centres, which is an issue that raises questions about whether the regulations are adequate.

In a landscape in which there is such a strong demand for ESS’s services, how do you equip the organisation to deal with the breadth of that demand, to analyse whether regulations are being enforced appropriately and to consider whether they are fit for purpose in the first place?

I have a final question. The committee has been looking at the bill for quite some time, during which other legislation has been progressing through Parliament, including the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024. Is the bill also an opportunity to address some loopholes and issues in other acts that relate to land use? In particular, there are concerns about a loophole in the aforementioned act in relation to the area that is subject to grouse moor licensing. Clearly, some such issues were not foreseen when the bill was drafted. Given that we are in the last year of the parliamentary session, is the cabinet secretary considering whether the bill would be an appropriate vehicle to try and tidy up anything that exists in that space? [Laughter.]

Okay.

I will move on to lotting. I understand the interaction between the two things, but there is a concern that new owners could just combine land that has been lotted under a ministerial decision. Concern was raised around natural capital projects, with major investors perhaps seeing small parcels of land and deciding to buy them. What is your answer to that concern?

Would you say that the resources that you currently have as an organisation are adequate?

I know that you are not investing in housing and that it is not your interest, but—

Sandra, do you want to come in on that?

Finlay, have you any reflections on that?