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I do not think that the UK Government itself has thought through how the Fisheries Act 2020, the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 and the Subsidy Control Bill will all work together or align. The full ramifications of fisheries and aquaculture coming within the bill’s overall remit have not been made clear to us, and we need that further guidance so that we can see how that legislation will work in practice. However, from what we have seen so far, full consideration has not been given to the interaction between these key pieces of legislation.

I do not know whether Paul McCarthy or Allan Gibb would like to elaborate.

The JFS would not be the place to set that out. As I said, that is about setting out the high-level ambitions—

We have a strong leading role at the moment in international negotiations. I will hand over to Allan Gibb in a second so that he can provide more detail on that, given that he takes the lead and can provide more information.

Given the size of the marine area that we have, it is only fair that we would have an important role when it comes to international negotiations, and we are the joint heads of delegation when it comes to specific stocks. I will hand over to Allan Gibb on that point, as he can provide more detail of how things work.

To touch on one of the points that Allan Gibb has made, there are occasionally issues that we must escalate, but it works well in general.

You are absolutely right: it is critical that we ensure that we hear those voices. That is referenced throughout the JFS, which is always looking to consider the impact that decisions will have, not just on immediate stakeholders but on our wider communities. We want to make sure that engagement is as transparent, open and inclusive as it can be.

Of course, there are lots of complex issues to balance within that, and ultimately we want to make sure that we have a healthy marine environment and a profitable fishing industry that provides a sustainable source of protein, which is vital for our diet. We need to get the balance right between all the different considerations. However, you are absolutely right—we want the people who are most impacted by the decisions that we make to be part of the process and we want to work with them.

As I highlighted in my previous responses, we have a strong track record of co-management and engagement with stakeholders. We have a variety of forums in which we engage with stakeholders but, as I have also said, it is important that we do not just consider them in silos. This is about bringing our stakeholders together to find a way forward through the complex issues that we face, and to discuss the other challenging decisions that we will no doubt face, as we go into the future.

Yes, it would be adhered to. That measure is more about efficiency. It is important to remember that the framework includes a memorandum of understanding, which determines how we would address any potential conflicts or issues and the stage at which those would be dealt with. However, we do not anticipate that being an issue. As I said, the matter was subject to a lot of discussion when the LCM was considered.

Yes, I am happy to do that. It would not be for the JFS to set out the detail of how that will be delivered; as I said, it sets out the high-level policy ambitions. Ultimately, it is the policies and the delivery mechanisms that we introduce that will achieve the objectives that are set out in the act.

You correctly referred to the future catching policy. I mentioned in a previous response how that meets the other objectives. In relation to the bycatch objective, the technical and spatial measures that we have set out as part of the consultation will help us to deliver on the bycatch objective. Those measures are out to consultation. We have developed the proposals in consultation with our stakeholders and with industry. It is crucial that the policy that we introduce will work and will be effective in tackling the issues. The future catching policy is out to consultation, and we will consider any correspondence that comes in as a result of that.

Allan Gibb would like to come in on that point, too.

We have set out a high level of ambition in the JFS because it shows our ambitions for our fishing industry and marine environment. We want to have a profitable industry and, as part of that, a healthy marine environment. It sets out a world-leading ambition.

There have been concerns expressed by various stakeholders about specific details that are not included in the statement. However, as I said in my opening statement, not only is it important that we have the overall high-level ambitions that we seek to achieve and that we are aligned on them, but it is vital that it is up to each Administration to determine and set out how the policy objectives will be achieved and that, in that sense, the JFS respects devolution.

The committee will be aware of the statement that I made to Parliament last week, which is a good example of that. In that statement, I set out what we intend to do on our future catching policy and remote electronic monitoring. Those two policies are out to consultation at the moment. That shows how we are actively delivering on the ambitions that have been set out in the JFS and how we intend to deliver on them through the strategies and policies that we have set out. We will continue to do that.

Yes. Transparency and accountability are important.

It is important to remember that, as part of the process, there will be regular reviews of and reports on the JFS and the fisheries management plans that we will introduce. I think that there will be a review every three years and a report every six years. Therefore, we will have to show how we have achieved the policy ambitions that are in the JFS.

I come back to the point that we have a strong track record of co-management and working with our stakeholders. As I said, the Clyde cod closure is an example of where that did not work, which we have accepted. We want to learn lessons from that. It is important that we do that and that we work with our stakeholders to implement the policies and the objectives that are set out in the JFS.