Chamber and committees

Is the committee content to delegate authority to me to sign off a letter to the Scottish Government, informing it of our decision today, and to confirm that no Scottish statutory instruments were made under the defective power that the SI seeks to correct?

Members indicated agreement.

Thank you, Professor Dwyer. We still have some technical problems—I hope that broadcasting can sort them out as we go along—but I think that we got the gist of your opening comments.

How has the commission created its work programme? Has there been any involvement of the Scottish Government? What progress it has made so far in relation to achieving the objectives of the work plan?

Would bodies have to demonstrate that they had gone through that process?

Good morning, panel. I am interested in the terminology. The phrase “have regard to” is used a lot. It seems quite subjective and open to interpretation. I would therefore like to get a better understanding of what it means throughout the bill. Could “have regard to” become “disregard”?

I want to ask about the data on transport, because I feel that in the executive summary there has been a bit of pulling together and mixing up of interisland ferry travel and mainland travel. When you were looking at different island settings, what account did you take of islands with small populations and only one way of getting to mainland Shetland? What consideration was given to travel outwith the islands? Some islands have only ferries, while others have a mix of ferries and interisland air travel. What account was taken of islands with small populations versus outer islands with larger populations?

Without proper transport, the islands cannot survive and thrive, so the question is very important, especially when it comes to future policy.

I note the comment in the report that middle-aged residents are more likely to make use of interisland ferries, but if that is the only choice, that observation will cut across the whole population.

My question is for Jenny Milne and Alex Reid, but I will respond to a comment that Derek Logie made in his opening remarks. I would not like people to have the impression that it is easy to get a house in Lerwick—I can assure you that it is not, although I agree that we need to build more houses outwith Shetland’s central belt, as I would call it. Mr Logie made a valid point about the population and the number of houses in the Lerwick area. Building two houses on an island that has a population of fewer than 50 could make a huge difference to bringing people in.

My question is about the reliability of Scotland’s ageing ferry fleet and how it is damaging island economies, which you highlighted in your paper. What are your thoughts about connecting islands with tunnels, where it is geographically possible, rather than replacing ferries?

I want to continue the line of questioning on domestic dogs. I take on board the comments about responsible ownership and education. Crofters and farmers in my constituency would welcome that, given the impact that irresponsible dog ownership can have through livestock worrying, which is a scourge, especially in the lambing season. Some dog owners simply do not seem to understand that.

I would like to hear the panel’s views on dogs and livestock worrying, starting with Mike Flynn.

Some of my questions may have been answered already. I am interested in climate change and biodiversity loss and how we achieve the balance between the changes in land use and ensuring that farmers and crofters are still protected and able to do the job that they have to do. How do we manage that? Sally Shortall touched on ensuring that there are business skills to manage changes. I am interested in the panel’s views on how the changes can be managed, particularly for crofters and farmers.

Donald MacKinnon mentioned crofting common grazings and peatland restoration. Are there opportunities or barriers to expansion of woodlands on common grazings?