Chamber and committees

That sounds reassuring. Over the past few years, we have been doing work through which it has become really clear that fishers are not aware of the Fisheries Act 2020, the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 and all of the regulations. I also get a sense that stakeholders are not really clear that Scotland and the UK have signed up to a commitment to protect and restore 30 per cent of Scotland’s land and seas by 2030. That really needs to filter down. We see that issue in relation to the national planning framework as well, where we make high-level decisions that do not seem to get through on a more local level.

That is why I am touching on the idea of CPD and that kind of approach, so that we can really take people with us. In order to have a licence or a quota, for example, people would have to do some training to understand the shifting seascape that we are now working in.

We have just worked together on the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill, which is now an act—hooray! Continuing professional development is an aspect of the act, and I wonder what your thoughts are on bringing in CPD for this, so that, to get a licence, fishermen need to do professional development work in order to move along with what will potentially be big changes in their sector.

It is interesting to hear that UK fisheries are some of the most regulated in the world. However, it is one thing to have regulation; enforcing and monitoring that is something else. I want to name that.

You are working on 21 plans in Scotland, out of—what is it?—29 plans, or something like that, in total. Scotland is responsible for a very large part of UK waters. Is there something in the mix around budget allocation for the work that needs to be done in Scotland, given that more fisheries management plans need to be developed? Is the right amount of resource being allocated, or is that part of the issue behind the delay, in that there are not enough people in the marine directorate who are able to put their attention to the work?

It was helpful that Jane MacPherson outlined the 21 plans.

I want to come back to what the cabinet secretary said about an existing suite of measures. I would be interested to hear a description of what those measures are, in the cabinet secretary’s mind, so that we understand what already exists that she is aware of.

When the plans come in, will there be a transition to them, or will some of the existing measures for how we manage fisheries—which the cabinet secretary is about to unpack for us—also stay in place? How does the cabinet secretary see the situation?

Could you come back to us with an update when you have looked at that?

Okay. Briefly, does anybody have anything new and different to add to that?

Do you have anything else, Fulton? I think that he might have frozen.

Okay. I bring in Alexander Stewart, who has a number of questions.

Before I bring in Fulton MacGregor, Emma Roddick mentioned land, but we have not really talked about that. The committee will visit Argyll and Bute in a few weeks’ time, and I am aware that there is a real challenge there. For example, if you have ever been to Oban, you will know that there is a really difficult situation there because the town centre is full of guest houses and there is not much available land.

Last week, I was at the Nordic Council in Iceland and talked to folks from that part of the world. Someone was talking about how the city of Helsinki actually owns land in Helsinki, so it can bring forward housing more easily. We do not have that kind of set-up in Scotland. Land is a perennial challenge to bringing forward housing. I am aware that developers buy land and bring it forward for local development plans, but is the land issue part of the challenge around the long-term issues, such as planning, that you are talking about?

Thank you very much.

Good morning and welcome to the 29th meeting in 2024 of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee. I remind all members and witnesses to ensure that their devices are on silent. We are joined online by Meghan Gallacher and Fulton MacGregor, and Mark Griffin will join us shortly.

Under agenda item 1, do members agree to take items 4 to 7 in private?

Members indicated agreement.