Chamber and committees

Thank you for that reminder, convener.

We have spoken quite a bit about the 30 by 30 target, which is, I suppose, the headline of the framework. That makes me think about the other 70 per cent, though. Deborah Long has spoken about agricultural subsidy reform.

In relation to marine space, is it enough for Governments to designate marine protected areas, put in place management measures and police them, or should we be looking beyond that to wider ecosystem management? For example, should we consider the impact of dredging and trawling on inshore areas? Is there a danger that the 30 by 30 target will, dare I say, focus all the attention on the parks, if you like, and that we will lose the ecological coherence that we need across the management of wider seas?

Do any of the other witnesses want to add to that before we move on?

I will pick up on marine, because I think that Deborah Long wanted to talk about that. First, however, I ask Dr Mitchell whether she has anything to add.

Is that best done through a sector-by-sector approach? If we are looking at consumption targets, for example, are there very obvious sectors where the impact on climate and biodiversity is acute and where we need to focus? Do we perhaps have levers in some areas but not in others?

My final question, which is broadly for Colin Galbraith, is about the role of the JNCC in providing UK-wide governance in relation to the international agreements that we are signed up to.

Separately, I also want to ask about the JNCC’s role in co-operation. The committee is considering a very live example of that with the Energy Bill and the establishment of offshore wind mitigation, in relation to which there are a lot of complexities around devolved and reserved boundaries. Without opening up a huge can of worms, would you briefly address those two points?

Thank you for those perspectives.

Okay. Thank you very much.

I turn to Baroness Drake. Please can you give a House of Lords perspective.

Do you see any advantage to structural changes in Westminster committees? Are the committees set up to allow scrutiny of overriding of the Sewel convention? Would innovation be needed there?

I heard recently that a German national radio station has commissioned a series of programmes about the Scottish jazz scene. It is showcasing Scottish jazz talent and is very excited about it. Do you not think that it is pretty shameful that our national radio broadcaster is not creating that space for Scottish talent but a German national radio broadcaster is?

Sixty per cent of the track listings on “Jazz Nights” are by Scottish artists, a great proportion of whom are emerging artists. There is no way that you can get that kind of coverage in “The Afternoon Show” or within the formats of linear programmes on Radio 2 or Radio 3 that end up on BBC Sounds. It simply cannot be done. You are constraining that genre. You are constraining the creativity and the talent of that genre into tiny little slots within mainstream programmes; are you not?