Chamber and committees

We are talking about the impact of the war in Ukraine, but I would like us to rewind slightly and look at the resilience of food production in Scotland prior to that shock. Can you say a little about existing food resilience in Scotland—perhaps you can break it down by sector—and what the options are for strengthening it? Several of the witnesses may want to respond, but that question is probably for Scott Walker and Steven Thomson, in the first instance.

A number of people have mentioned the importance of preparing the supply chain for the future. Can Professor Matthews offer any observations about Ireland or from it on what, if anything, differs in the ways that Scotland and Ireland are preparing for the future in that respect? I am thinking specifically about making the supply chain more resilient.

I say “unusual”. We have just had a discussion about greylag geese and I have a question about food resilience. I do not know whether you were listening in, but we talked about creating a potential market for greylag geese given their prevalence on the west coast of Scotland. There is also a question about species such as venison. Why is the UK a net importer of venison? I do not pretend that those two species would ever make us a food-resilient nation, but there may be other examples, and I wonder whether you have a view on that.

That question is for anyone who wants to go first.

You mentioned housing. Will you say a bit more about the situation that some local authorities, and presumably housing associations, are in with regard to putting a figure on the number of houses that may be available? That is certainly something that hosts have asked me about. They are happy to be hosts, but they are not always entirely clear on how many houses might eventually be made available. Is COSLA beginning to put figures on that for all local authority areas?

Hazel Chisholm mentioned some of the challenges that rural local authorities face in assessing houses that have been volunteered and so on. Can you say a bit more about what kind of work is being done or needs to be done to plan the support that will be needed for families once they arrive and the challenges that rural areas might face in doing that?

My question is for Gayle Findlay, and is about the response of local authorities to volunteers. You have already explained something about that relationship and the work that local authorities are doing. Are you picking up on a hunger for information from the volunteers, from any source? I think that the Home Office has provided quite limited acknowledgements of those offers of help. Clearly, local authorities are doing their best to get around all the people and to check houses. Is there a bit of frustration among volunteer hosts that they do not seem to have heard much back from the Home Office? Certainly, some people have been in touch to put that point to me.

As we continue to look at the matter, it would be useful to get an indication from the SSPCA about why it has changed its stance. Its view on the matter would be helpful as we continue to do that.

In your interaction with the potato and horticulture sectors on some of the issues, has the Government been alive to the wider challenges that those sectors have faced? Inevitably, I think of exit from the European Union, but are there others?

You mentioned some of the limitations of the GBGB regulations, but the one track that we have is unregulated. I am interested to know what you have done as an organisation to find out why Fife is licensing an unregulated track. I appreciate that there might be a legal side that I know nothing about in terms of the powers that Fife Council does and does not have. I am curious to know what contact you have had with Fife Council about the issues.

You indicated that the interest in Scotland in this sport—to use their word—seems to be very limited. Is the gambling industry driving the defence of greyhound racing? If so, is that the gambling industry in Scotland, or are people in Ireland betting on it? Where is the incentive to keep it going?