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Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

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

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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 26 November 2024
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Displaying 1736 contributions

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Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Rural Affairs and Islands Remit

Meeting date: 31 May 2023

Mairi Gougeon

Essentially, we are asking for our fair share of funding. We already face a shortfall in what we were promised on the back of Brexit—we were promised that agriculture funding would be replaced in full, which it has not been. We have a £93 million shortfall, so we expect at least that, if not more.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Rural Affairs and Islands Remit

Meeting date: 31 May 2023

Mairi Gougeon

I have outlined that. Going forward, we need to have clarity and certainty about what funding will look like, because we cannot plan for budgets beyond 2025 or even get an overall figure, which constrains what we can do. Initially, we want clarity, but the most important thing is having the first conversation, which is not happening.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Rural Affairs and Islands Remit

Meeting date: 31 May 2023

Mairi Gougeon

Yes.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Rural Affairs and Islands Remit

Meeting date: 31 May 2023

Mairi Gougeon

It is not hypocritical at all. I think that you are confusing points that are not remotely related.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Rural Affairs and Islands Remit

Meeting date: 31 May 2023

Mairi Gougeon

I do not think that those are stupid questions at all. They are the issues that we are grappling with, because we absolutely want to see the right trees in the right places. That is about how we can have the right balance between commercial tree planting—to support the timber industry in Scotland—and native tree planting.

It is too early for me to talk about what changes might be made to the scheme, given that the consultation closed only within the past couple of weeks. I think that we had more than 200 responses to the consultation and we will need to analyse them before setting out what changes could be made. However, it is really about trying to identify what the barriers are at the moment and how we can support the better integration of trees on farms.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Rural Affairs and Islands Remit

Meeting date: 31 May 2023

Mairi Gougeon

We definitely learn lessons from what has happened in the past. Again, it is about getting the right mix with, as you said, the right trees in the right places.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Rural Affairs and Islands Remit

Meeting date: 31 May 2023

Mairi Gougeon

Yes, I am happy to do so, and I will be happy to keep the committee updated on the unit’s work as it develops.

As I outlined in last week’s debate, the Scottish Government’s food security unit is now up and running. Initially, it will focus on monitoring the risks and potential threats to the supply chain. Last year, we had the report from the food security and supply task force. That was a really useful piece of work because it highlighted where some of the evidence gaps might be and where further work needs to be done. It was helpful in making recommendations for us to pick up. The food security unit can continue that work.

Essentially, the work of the unit is about monitoring the risks and identifying what we can do in the short term. Although it is, of course, impossible to know what challenges might come down the road, the unit is seeking to identify any potential threats that could harm our food security in the future.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Rural Affairs and Islands Remit

Meeting date: 31 May 2023

Mairi Gougeon

I have outlined the initial piece of work that it will be doing. You asked for specific information about what the unit will be looking at.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Rural Affairs and Islands Remit

Meeting date: 31 May 2023

Mairi Gougeon

That follows on from the discussion that we had last week, when we talked about the national islands plan. A lot of cross-Government work goes on, particularly by islands officials, that relates to that. I was in Shetland the other week and similar issues were raised. We liaise with our colleagues across Government to ensure that we tackle those issues as best we can.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Rural Affairs and Islands Remit

Meeting date: 31 May 2023

Mairi Gougeon

There are currently no spatially explicit measures in the national marine plan. However, with regard to our marine planning, the measures that are outlined in the national planning framework 4 and our regional marine plans all look to develop that spatial planning further.

We are developing a new national marine plan: NMP2. I believe that there will be a national planning forum meeting on that in the next month so that stakeholders can feed into that process. That specific spatial ask is being considered as part of the work that is being taken forward in relation to NMP2. Annabel Turpie might want to add some further information.

10:15