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What size of area?

You have talked a number of times about “environmental risk”. What is the evidence on which you have arbitrarily redefined the depth of peatland that would benefit the environment? What is the scientific basis of using muirburn as a tool of last resort, as referred to on page 16 of the bill, when

“no other method of vegetation control is available”?

Would that not actually increase the risk of wildfires?

I am sorry, but I have to disagree with you. I met a huge number of creelers and trawlers on Monday and they said that the phone rings off the hook to Marine Scotland and they never get any reply. They do not feel listened to. That is an important issue to take forward.

I am so glad that you are defending the industry in terms of sustainability, cabinet secretary, because there is so much misinformation out there. What I heard from the fishermen is that they are very concerned about their safety. They already have a challenging role to play in going out to get those sustainable protein sources to feed our nation. If they are displaced, it means that they will be forced to go into areas that are dangerous and they will not even be able to take shelter.

There are a number of issues that need to be worked through with Marine Scotland and I implore you to actually listen to people who know what they are talking about. I hear you say that you are listening, but that is not the case. They are devastated and they are on their knees. Many members of this committee agree with me.

I do not know where that money goes. For clarity, has it been allocated to something else? Will it have to be found again? I do not suppose that you know that answer. It seems to me that the money can just come back if it has just been sitting somewhere. Has it been used? Does it have to be found and returned?

It would be useful for the committee to receive, as soon as possible, an update—a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis—on the challenges that our farming and crofting sectors face. I believe that there has been a contraction of 12 per cent in the beef herd. Our critical mass is reducing rapidly: we are now down to 413,000 cattle.

Given that we face a contraction of a sector that provides an essential source of protein and an affordable source of food, I would like the food security unit to provide clarity on the future of the agricultural support scheme. It should also let us know what the risks are in the supply chain. Last year, the Scottish Government reduced the funding for abattoirs from £0.5 million to £5,000. I have those figures here, if the cabinet secretary needs them.

What is the food security unit trying to do, other than state the obvious?

Last week in the chamber, in answer to a question from me, John Swinney said that the £33 million of funding following from the Bew review, which he had deferred when he was Finance Secretary, would be returned to the agriculture and rural budget. He did not give a timescale but said that that would happen in future years.

We know what the finance secretary, Shona Robison, said on Thursday about the financial black hole and the pressure that Scotland faces to cut spending or increase taxation, so do you have a timescale for the return of that £33 million?

That was in a previous financial year, so those things cannot be related.

But the contraction that I mentioned is happening as we speak.

I will give you an example from the conversation that I had with islanders yesterday. It is really important that the food security unit engages with the individuals responsible for transport in the Scottish Government because the unreliable ferry services have caused issues in getting livestock to market. We know that islanders have been having to supplement feeding because of a lack of grassland, for example. They are booking slots way ahead to get the store lambs off the islands to market, but they are being let down by the ferries. There are animal welfare issues in the islands because of it. As you have already acknowledged, there is a huge impact on the wider economic benefit to the islands. If there is anything in the food security unit that is not currently transparent, it is that cross-departmental work.

Are they supportive of that development?