Chamber and committees

Yes, there were discussions between the four Administrations in setting out the JFS. I am glad that we have been able to align on the policies and objectives that are set out in it.

Stakeholder engagement has been critical to that. In the development of the JFS, a community of interest sought to gather stakeholder views from throughout the UK and kept stakeholders involved throughout the process.

Perhaps Paul McCarthy or Allan Gibb will want to say more about stakeholder engagement.

It is not possible for me to say at the moment. That detail will come when I look to make that announcement.

What we have set out will help to tackle the issues that there have been. We believe that the practical measures can be adhered to and will help us to tackle some of the challenges. We are in the middle of the consultation process, so we await further feedback on the issue.

We would need to implement the policy that would deliver on the objective.

Hopefully, they should all work together well in terms of meeting the overall objectives. We have the overall framework which, unlike other frameworks that I know that the committee will be considering, predates those other elements, as I outlined in my opening statement, which is why it is almost split into two parts. We have the joint fisheries statement, which sets out the overall policy ambitions that all the administrations would look to achieve as part of the framework, and we have the memorandum of understanding, which goes through the day-to-day elements of how the administrations would work together and resolve any conflicts that might arise. The memorandum of understanding also contains the operational agreements, which concern some of the more day-to-day technical issues that we would look to align on. Together, that is quite a cohesive package of measures that should enable us to work together in a positive way.

As I said at the start of the session, the fact that the four Administrations have agreed the overarching ambitions that are set out in the JFS and are aligned on them is positive. That shows that we can work together effectively in areas such as these while respecting devolved competences.

I do not think that the UK Government itself has thought through how the Fisheries Act 2020, the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 and the Subsidy Control Bill will all work together or align. The full ramifications of fisheries and aquaculture coming within the bill’s overall remit have not been made clear to us, and we need that further guidance so that we can see how that legislation will work in practice. However, from what we have seen so far, full consideration has not been given to the interaction between these key pieces of legislation.

I do not know whether Paul McCarthy or Allan Gibb would like to elaborate.

The JFS would not be the place to set that out. As I said, that is about setting out the high-level ambitions—

We have a strong leading role at the moment in international negotiations. I will hand over to Allan Gibb in a second so that he can provide more detail on that, given that he takes the lead and can provide more information.

Given the size of the marine area that we have, it is only fair that we would have an important role when it comes to international negotiations, and we are the joint heads of delegation when it comes to specific stocks. I will hand over to Allan Gibb on that point, as he can provide more detail of how things work.

To touch on one of the points that Allan Gibb has made, there are occasionally issues that we must escalate, but it works well in general.

You are absolutely right: it is critical that we ensure that we hear those voices. That is referenced throughout the JFS, which is always looking to consider the impact that decisions will have, not just on immediate stakeholders but on our wider communities. We want to make sure that engagement is as transparent, open and inclusive as it can be.

Of course, there are lots of complex issues to balance within that, and ultimately we want to make sure that we have a healthy marine environment and a profitable fishing industry that provides a sustainable source of protein, which is vital for our diet. We need to get the balance right between all the different considerations. However, you are absolutely right—we want the people who are most impacted by the decisions that we make to be part of the process and we want to work with them.

As I highlighted in my previous responses, we have a strong track record of co-management and engagement with stakeholders. We have a variety of forums in which we engage with stakeholders but, as I have also said, it is important that we do not just consider them in silos. This is about bringing our stakeholders together to find a way forward through the complex issues that we face, and to discuss the other challenging decisions that we will no doubt face, as we go into the future.