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 789 contributions
Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee
Meeting date: 24 November 2021
Alasdair Allan
My question is for David, so I will come in if he comes back.
Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee
Meeting date: 24 November 2021
Alasdair Allan
You mentioned some of the ways in which the public sector could support the outcomes that you are looking for in dairy farming, whether through subsidy or through public contracts for food. We have touched on the issue of price, but I am interested in hearing your views on supermarkets, given that they exert—traditionally, anyway—a huge influence over the price of milk. Where do supermarkets fit into the picture, or do they not fit into it? How do we ensure that they start to take such questions more seriously?
Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee
Meeting date: 24 November 2021
Alasdair Allan
I do not dispute what you have said about the importance of public contracts. I am simply curious to know whether, in the meantime, supermarkets should be doing something that they are not doing just now.
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Meeting date: 18 November 2021
Alasdair Allan
Given the continual—
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Meeting date: 18 November 2021
Alasdair Allan
I wanted to ask about the Northern Ireland protocol, but if that is off topic, I will not ask anything at all.
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Meeting date: 18 November 2021
Alasdair Allan
I have a question for Ms Snowden. You raised the issue of what could be done in Scotland to explain and publicise the issue of finding out about, and keeping up with, European legislation. Can you explain what—if anything—the UK, with its residual representation in the EU, is doing at this stage to keep track of legislation, and whether it does anything to publicise that?
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Meeting date: 18 November 2021
Alasdair Allan
I do not think that this question is tangential; it is closely relevant to what you have just said. You have had some recent correspondence with Lord Frost about the Northern Ireland protocol and the wider implications that that might have for Scotland. You have used quite strong language. Why have you said that you are “alarmed” by the state of the conversation between the UK and the European Union about that protocol?
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Meeting date: 18 November 2021
Alasdair Allan
It does not. It relates to the Northern Ireland protocol itself, so you can move on, convener.
Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee
Meeting date: 17 November 2021
Alasdair Allan
I have a final, brief question for Professor Smith. In the environmental debate, we now factor in questions around biodiversity intactness. Scotland seems to be doing a bit better than some places in the UK on that score but perhaps not as well as other places in Europe. Other witnesses might want to chip in, but what do you understand by the term “biodiversity intactness”? In parts of Scotland such as the Highlands and Islands, for very good historical reasons, there is a slight recoil from the word “wilderness”, so what is biodiversity intactness, and how do you reconcile that with attempts to repopulate fragile areas?
Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee
Meeting date: 17 November 2021
Alasdair Allan
I have often cited an example in my constituency, where a school has had to move because of the very phenomenon that you are talking about.
Has any attempt been made to quantify the costs that we face in the coming decades as we try to cope with the infrastructure problems that Scotland will face as a result of rising sea levels?