Skip to main content

Language: English / Gàidhlig

Loading…

Seòmar agus comataidhean

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

Criathragan Hide all filters

Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 23 December 2024
Select which types of business to include


Select level of detail in results

Displaying 789 contributions

|

Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee

Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 29 June 2022

Alasdair Allan

My other question is about rabbits. You have touched on some of the issues to do with hare coursing, but I want to ask about pest control in more general terms. Some of our previous witnesses do not like the term “pest control” as they feel that it might cause offence in relation to some species, but I am going to use it. Are you satisfied that the inclusion in the bill of measures for rabbits leaves adequate room for legitimate pest control?

Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee

Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 29 June 2022

Alasdair Allan

You touched on the definition of certain words, particularly in section 1 and 2 offences. Others have discussed the use of words such as “reckless”, “stalking” and “flushing”, so I will not cover that old ground. However, in the evidence that we have received, people have asked what it would mean if a person “reasonably believed” that they were acting under an exception. That is mentioned in section 2(4). Is the term “reasonably believed” defined well enough?

Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee

Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 29 June 2022

Alasdair Allan

I will return to the process, as it were, by which the Government developed the bill. We have heard from Lord Bonomy, who said fairly positive things about the bill. Although it does not include everything that was in his report, he seems to think that it is well drafted. What was the thinking about how to get from the Bonomy report to the bill and what alternatives were considered on the way?

Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee

Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 29 June 2022

Alasdair Allan

I have questions on the next couple of themes, convener. Do you want me to run them together or come back to you?

Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee

Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 29 June 2022

Alasdair Allan

Do you have a view, minister, on the powers of search in the bill? The Law Society of Scotland had questions about whether they were sufficient in every instance.

Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee

Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 29 June 2022

Alasdair Allan

On a slightly but not completely different point, the police told us that they would find it difficult to give an opinion on some aspects of the bill until they had seen the licence. When will we hear more detail about what the licensing scheme will look like?

Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee

Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 29 June 2022

Alasdair Allan

Could you say a little about how you think that hunts could or should be monitored in future? Previous witnesses have told us about how the police and others have relied on video evidence of how hunts behave. How do you see that being done in future? What sort of evidence do you think that the police would be able to use? Would that be based on any form of monitoring?

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Channel 4

Meeting date: 23 June 2022

Alasdair Allan

Finally, I have a question for David Smith. You have all been talking about how the purchase could involve 75 per cent of the company falling into the hands of one giant. Could you say a bit about what that would mean in terms of the biodiversity of what would be on offer culturally? We have talked, quite rightly, about what the implications might be of this situation economically for Scotland, but just as Derry is keen to know how Derry is represented to itself through drama and other types of programming, so is Scotland. What would be the impact culturally in terms of diversity of the offering if so much of the channel was in the hands of one organisation?

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Channel 4

Meeting date: 23 June 2022

Alasdair Allan

A couple of you have suggested that the proposal is a solution in search of a problem. My question is for John McVay and Nicole Kleeman. From a producer’s point of view, what do you see the motivation behind this exercise being? We have heard that Channel 4 is not a financial basket case. It is difficult to see, from what you have said today, how these changes would help the independent sector in any way economically. What do you think that this exercise is trying to achieve?

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Channel 4

Meeting date: 23 June 2022

Alasdair Allan

I have just one question, which is for Alex Mahon or anyone else who wants to join in. We have talked about the economic and cultural benefits of what Channel 4 does in bringing new people on. An issue that we have not talked about so much is that of writing. We have talked about how important it is to portray Scotland and to portray places in Scotland. Surely part of that is about encouraging writing—old and new—in Scotland. What is happening on that front? What would privatisation mean for that?