Chamber and committees

Participatory budgeting is a way for communities to feel that they have a stake in council budgeting decisions, but those who are not in the majority can be missed when it comes to decisions on where investment, or progress on the realisation of rights, may be required. How should councils engage with a community without allowing minority voices to be overshadowed?

Good morning. Can the commission point to any examples of good practice in community engagement in budget decisions?

Good morning. I want to pick up on COSLA’s comment that

“the timing of the response and related messaging has contributed to conflation between the SLARC recommendations and ongoing pay negotiations for our workforce, which is adding to a negative perception of the councillor role.”

Could you go into a bit more detail about why that comment was made?

I want to round things up by recognising the concerns that have been expressed by COSLA and SLARC. What does the cabinet secretary see as the next steps in the process?

Yes—just briefly. Was there a way to avoid that conflation? What should have been done differently?

I am grateful for that reassurance. Another big concern is inaccurate labelling and other landing documentation, particularly where vessels land in one place but sell elsewhere. Can the cabinet secretary speak to improvements in inspections and the rate of inspections at landing sites in order to verify catches?

That is great, thank you. Last week, we heard about the possibility of the marine directorate using quotas to raise revenue and incentivise behaviour change. Is the marine directorate able to do that currently, and what percentage of quota is allocated in that way?

Last week, the committee received evidence on how revenue could be raised by the marine directorate by using quota and making changes that incentivise behaviour change among those who are working in the industry and in order to ensure sustainability.

Good morning. The cabinet secretary will be aware of comments from fishermen in Shetland about the advising of quotas and that happening far enough in advance that fishermen are able to plan. I hope that she will be able to comment on how that could be improved in the future so that fishermen are not, as they put it, fishing on a hope and a prayer until they know the quota that they are working to.

Local communities have been mentioned as consultees a few times now, but the bill refers to local authorities and representatives of tenants and landlords in that regard. Is consulting the wider community a change in direction?