Chamber and committees

I recognise that the make-up of the industry is such that you would expect that to take place. I am just curious as to whether techniques, approaches and technology are being deployed in Norway, for example, that are not being deployed here. If so, is there a rationale for that? Do circumstances mean that such things would not necessarily work in the same way?

Thanks.

Tavish Scott almost picked up the question that I was about to ask. In the conversations that I have had with the sector over a number of years, its particular message has been that it is doing as much as it can, if for no reason other than the enlightened self-interest that Ben Hadfield set out. The question is, where does the drive for innovation come from? Is it sector wide, or does it come from individual companies trying to steal a march on their competitors?

Moreover, how does it sit as far as international comparisons are concerned? It is routinely suggested that the Norwegian industry operates at a higher level than or does things differently from the Scottish sector. I appreciate that the environment and the circumstances for operators here might be different to those in the Norwegian sector, but it would be helpful to understand how the drive for the research and the innovation that Tavish Scott talked about gives some confidence that, in a changing environment, we will continue to see significant investment to improve, rather than a message of, “We’re doing as well as we can—look how well we’re doing,” which I think can come across to some as smacking of complacency. I think, therefore, that a description of how that research and innovation works and what the international comparators are would be helpful.

I do not believe that I have any interest relevant to today’s proceedings.

Unlike Miles Briggs and Stuart McMillan, who are trying to crowbar certain visitors out of the bill, I am trying to shoehorn some visitors into it. It is worth putting on the record that the levy will work only if there is sufficient local flexibility that recognises the different ways in which tourism operates in different communities and at different times of the year.

Fundamentally, there needs to be fairness and equity in relation to the way in which the bill applies. As the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities has pointed out in its briefing, cruise traffic is now a significant and growing part of the tourism economy. As the bill stands, there is a risk that tens of thousands of visitors will be exempt from paying the levy.

At a local level, in places such as Orkney, where cruise traffic brings in a significant proportion of the tourist visitors who come to the area each year, there is a risk that, without being able to apply the levy to cruise traffic passengers, the viability of the levy will not be sustainable because the revenues that are raised otherwise would not allow the administration of the levy to wash its face.

In applying the levy to some but not to others, particularly in such a significant part of the tourism sector, local authorities might risk losing public confidence in what they are doing. It is an invidious position in which to place them.

I know that there are issues of competence in relation to applying the levy to cruise traffic. I am grateful to the minister for the engagement that I have had with him in recent weeks. I know that discussions are on-going with local authorities through COSLA on how they get around the issue, but I thought it important at this stage in the scrutiny of the bill at least to allow a debate to take place so that the minister could put commitments and assurances on the record, and to allow colleagues who have similar concerns or issues in relation to their own parts of the country to put those on the record. I look forward to hearing what they have to say.

I am grateful to the minister not only for those comments, but for the engagement that we have had previously.

On the timing, there is a risk that, if one part of the levy is put in place ahead of the other, the unfairness that I talked about will be seen to apply, even if only for a year or two until a cruise ship levy applies. Therefore, the choreography of the way in which the levy will apply will be crucial to most local authorities that rely heavily on cruise line traffic. Has the minister’s engagement with COSLA picked up on the need to ensure that all aspects of the levy can be applied simultaneously, if councils wish to take forward the proposals?

I am encouraged by what you have said about your openness to discussing the issue. As I raised with the convener, there is an opportunity for island authorities to levy any such charge on vehicles that come via ferry. That seems to be an appropriate way to apply the principle that the levy is about supporting infrastructure and services. Are you open to considering whether an option exists for local authorities to apply such a levy through that route—albeit, as the convener said, it could not be applied in a similar way by mainland-based local authorities? In the spirit of allowing flexibility for the measure to be applied in appropriate ways, depending on need and circumstances, that option should, I would have thought, be available to island authorities.

In the hope of working with the minister to see whether there are ways forward, either in relation to camper vans or cruise traffic, I will not move amendment 1.

Amendment 1 not moved.

Amendment 2 not moved.

I absolutely understand the complexity of applying the levy to motorhomes. To go back to my earlier point about flexibility, there would at least be an opportunity to apply it in island communities, where the issue of motorhomes is about their impact not only once they arrive but on the capacity of ferries to and from the mainland. There is an option to apply a levy to motorhomes travelling on ferries, irrespective of where those motorhomes come from or have been leased. The revenue gathered could be allocated to benefit island communities.

As you said, that would not necessarily apply across the board. However, there needs to be recognition that local authorities should be able to apply the levy flexibly.

Any MSP will tell you that the more casework you do, the more you generate. The point that you make about better use of the existing resource is well made, but it is not unreasonable to suggest that the more the SSPCA goes down this route, the more it will do and the more it will find that it could be doing. Therefore, the anxiety might be that there is diversion away from some of the other animal welfare work that it does to focus more on this. Have you discussed that with the SSPCA?