Chamber and committees

Another question that I have is about the ammunition that is used for shooting. I am aware that there are different kinds. Obviously, if we were to follow the trajectory that Jim Fairlie introduced of using geese as food, it should not be lead, and I know that RSPB Scotland is keen that lead ammunition should not be used. Do you have any thoughts on that?

Thank you for coming to give evidence, Patrick. I appreciate what you have said up to this point. The conversation that Jim Fairlie has initiated around feeding people is very interesting.

I am a regional MSP, so I cover most of the areas where geese are an issue. I live in Moray, where geese are shot on a nature reserve and the local people do not want that to happen. As Jim said, people pay to do that shooting and they come from Europe to do that at times, so that is something that we need to look at overall.

You have already answered quite a few of my questions. However, you were saying that the £50,000 is now back—is that right? That has been reintroduced, but it has been split, and Orkney gets the most because of the way in the geese are being culled there.

I have a supplementary question regarding the situation of Ukrainian seasonal workers. I direct this question to Scott Walker and possibly Steven Thomson, too. You might not have an answer to this, but a recent article in The Guardian reported:

“Hundreds of Ukrainians are believed to be living and working informally in Britain after escaping from farms they were working at, with many claiming to have been subjected to conditions of modern slavery.”

I should say that I do not know if this is necessary in Scotland but, in the article, one Ukrainian woman explained that she

“worked on a cherry farm, where they were not allowed to wear gloves, leading to their hands bleeding and skin beginning to peel off.”

She said:

“I thought our rights would be well protected in the UK but this has not happened.”

The article went on to say that seasonal farm workers are not eligible for the Government’s two main Ukrainian refugee schemes because they left the farms and were not working at them, so they fell down the gap.

What can we do to protect the rights of seasonal workers in general and to give those Ukrainians who have left jobs as seasonal workers a swift and guaranteed route to staying legally in the UK? I realise that that might be out of the scope of your knowledge, but I would be interested to hear your responses on that.

Thank you very much for your response. It is really heartening to hear that there is a good relationship between farmers, that it is not a one-off and that there is a real relationship, not just a transactional business approach.

Steven Thomson, do you have anything to add?

Thank you for those interesting responses. What underlies that for me is the need to look at better paid jobs and more job security so that people have more money in their pockets from their job and can afford the good food that is being produced in Scotland.

Item 2 is consideration of two negative Scottish statutory instruments. There is no requirement for the committee to make any recommendation on negative instruments.

I will invite comments on the instruments in turn. Do members wish to comment on the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2022?

Members indicated disagreement.

Good morning and welcome to the 13th meeting in 2022 of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee. We have received apologies from Mark Griffin.

I ask all members to ensure that their mobile phones are on silent, and that all other notifications are turned off during the meeting.

Item 1 is to decide whether to take item 3 in private. Do members agree to take that item in private?

Members indicated agreement.

Members have no comments. Thank you.

Does the committee agree that we do not wish to make any recommendation in relation to either instrument?

Members indicated agreement.

Okay. Members have no comments on the order.

Do members have comments on the Council Tax Reduction and Council Tax (Discounts) (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2022?

Members indicated disagreement.