Chamber and committees

That is a good point. What you are conveying is the importance of that support.

I believe that Paul O’Brien wants to come in. I am mindful of the time, and I think Marie McNair has a couple more questions, so please keep your responses succinct.

That is a good point. Last week, Lou Evans talked about having starter plots for people, so that they are not overwhelmed. I think that 250m2 is equivalent to a singles tennis court or something, and that can be quite a lot if you do not have horticultural skills.

That is a great idea for repurposing. Bowling greens already have fences or hedges around them, so you do not need to worry about that, and they probably have other facilities.

Exactly.

My next question is for Paul O’Brien or Wayne Priestley from APSE. Do you know whether councils measure the benefits of allotments or other community growing provisions and track the impact in other policy areas?

Sinclair, what is your experience in Aberdeen?

Thanks very much. That is helpful clarity.

That seems odd to me. We have an act that is about protecting wild mammals, and the bill will replace it entirely—is that the case?

When you had your discussions with NatureScot about granting licences for a maximum of 14 days and its capacity for doing that, did you discuss accountability and transparency?

You have broadly responded to most of my questions. The minister Màiri McAllan stated that

“chasing and killing a mammal with a dog, for sport or otherwise, has no place in modern Scotland”,

and that view is shared by 77 per cent of the Scottish public, who, in response to a 2019 poll, said that the existing legislation to protect animals from hunting needs to be strengthened. It is important to remember that protecting animal welfare is a key concern for people, and it is a key driver of the bill. Why is the title of the bill the Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Bill when the title of the previous act—the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002—better reflects the animal welfare motivation?

That is what I was wondering about.