Chamber and committees

As you are very aware, Scotland’s position is one of a state of flux to some extent. It is interesting that you mentioned alignment, and I think that Mr Salamone used the word “Europeanisation” to describe what is happening to our political culture. I suppose that this is a question for both of you. Are those two sides of the same coin? Are we talking about roughly the same thing, or different things?

Welcome, Mr McAllister. It is always nice to have a friendly and very diplomatic face to deal with in our relationship with the European Parliament. You are diplomatic, and you have rightly said a number of times that you have to respect the constitutional order in the UK. Of course, I do not have to do that, so I will ask a question as diplomatically as I can.

You have said that we can use channels through the UK to communicate with the EU, and you have alluded gently to the fact that the relationship between the UK and the EU has not been simple over the past few years. The Scottish Government and many actors in Scotland have a sense of frustration that, for reasons that are not your fault, we cannot exercise any formal channels of parliamentary communication and we have to rely on the informal ones. Has that frustration been conveyed or is it widely appreciated?

That is a very diplomatic and kind answer. We will take you up on your invitation individually and, I hope, collectively, when that is possible at some stage.

My next question is perhaps more diplomatic and is about the German point of view: it is about the Länder and your experience in Lower Saxony. What role do the Länder have in representing themselves in Brussels, and does that vary from Land to Land?

You mentioned land ownership. You will be aware that the pattern of land ownership has been a continuing matter of debate in Scotland for the past couple of centuries. There are examples in some parts of Scotland of well-intentioned and benign individuals with their own ideas of what is good for the environment coming in and buying very large amounts of land. Is that pattern of land ownership entirely helpful in trying to achieve the kind of outcomes that you are talking about? Where do communities fit into that debate when, sometimes, they have little say over what a landowner does?

Thank you. When I asked Professor Sir Dieter Helm about land ownership, his interesting reply was that the fact that somebody owns something does not mean that they should not be constrained in what they do with it. I am not asking you to comment on the big political issues of land ownership, but I am curious to know about the Scottish National Investment Bank’s attitude when it invests in rural Scotland and whether it would have that advice in mind about ensuring that there was monitoring and on-going contact with landowners to see how investment was carried out.

I have a lot of sympathy with what you are saying about Sitka spruce and monocultures. How should Government juggle those competing imperatives of wanting to plant more trees, for all the right reasons, and avoiding the dangers of planting only trees that can deliver in the short term? How would you advise juggling those two competing things?

As I hope you heard, we had an interesting contribution from Professor Helm, and I will unashamedly pick up on some of the themes that he raised. My first question is for Eilidh Mactaggart. What do you make of the ideas about a green economy and viewing capital and the natural environment in a different way? I am asking not whether they are right or wrong—there is a growing consensus about that—but how we make those ideas real in the eyes of investors, agriculture, Government and everyone else. What is the next step in ensuring that the ideas take hold?

Thank you. I have a final question for Jo Pike. Again, it is based on the interesting conversations that we have had with Professor Sir Dieter Helm about the concept of rewilding. How do you understand that, and where do communities fit in when we are handling that concept?

Dr Melo Araujo, we have heard one view about article 16. Is it fair to say that there are mixed expectations about that issue in Northern Ireland? Are you able to say anything about the range of opinion that exists about that and about the prospect of article 16 being triggered? I am thinking of public opinion.

I have a question for Professor McEwen. The committee has heard about how, although trade might be a reserved area, the impact of trade policy is felt in devolved areas. Looking at the road ahead, what areas of devolved policy do you think we might have to be prepared for change in?