Chamber and committees

Could there be a conflict between those three overarching objectives—which, to be blunt, could be the objectives of any public sector strategy in Scotland; I would not disagree with them at all—and your core remit of preserving historic buildings? For example, if you invest considerable sums of money in the laudable aim of delivering the transition to net zero, might that mean that you were unable to continue the upkeep of another building?

As you say, the policy will put some flesh on the bones and identify whether there is conflict.

Ultimately, we view agriculture either as an inconvenience, as it were, that is fuelling climate change challenges, or as a solution to those challenges. How we lumber farmers and so on with various requirements will make or break agriculture as a sustainable livelihood. That is perhaps more of a comment than a question, but please feel free to respond. That is certainly the perception that has come through in my conversations.

I know that all the questions that we will ask this morning are important, but I happen to think that this one is the most important, because it is about the role of agriculture in supporting rural communities. If agriculture as a livelihood becomes unsustainable, so will life in rural communities. When I met a group of farmers in Laggan, of all places, they were talking about the challenges that they are facing in agriculture, and they made the point that the only kids in the local primary school are the children of farmers, farm workers and so on. What role will agriculture play in enabling rural communities to thrive, and what emphasis does the bill place on it?

Might there ever be conflict between any of the four objectives in the bill?

I just want to pick up on some of Caroline Warburton’s comments on telling stories and Lucy Casot’s comments on intangible cultural heritage. I have long campaigned for Gaelic to be recognised as intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO. What role does language, and Gaelic in particular, have in the stories that we tell? I often get very frustrated about there being a tokenistic, tick-box approach to this instead of an approach in which Gaelic is embedded in the stories and how you tell them. I suppose that that sort of thing—that is, the need for Gaelic speakers—points to another skill that you need to develop in your teams. I am just curious as to where you think that an intangible asset such as language sits alongside the stories that you tell about buildings.

This question is the inverse of Donald Cameron’s one. It is about new sites that are identified but which have perhaps been forgotten about, or which are becoming “roofless”—to use the word that Bryan Dickson used. Obviously, Historic Environment Scotland is not the only organisation that owns historic buildings. Where there are other properties—I do not want to name check any in particular, although Kinloch castle on the Isle of Rum is an obvious example—that are a key part of our historic environment but are not being treated as such right now, what should be the process for identifying those key assets and ensuring that they are part of a collection, irrespective of who the owner is? Where does responsibility ultimately lie for identification and ensuring that they are not lost? Maybe that is a question that is better directed to Historic Environment Scotland, but I would like to get the views of those on the panel.

We are conscious that it is a logical conclusion that, if something stands alone on its own merits, it will inevitably be clearer and more accessible. However, there is a lot of legislation around animal welfare and so on. The landscape is quite littered.

It is a cluttered landscape. Does knowing how best to prosecute, what guidance is relevant to them and where they should even start have its own challenges for anybody who comes into contact with the issue?

To start with, I have a broad question on this section of the bill. The minister was permitted the opportunity to speak about this, and so I am keen to hear Christine Grahame’s perspective on the various points that have been made, both by stakeholders and by the minister, on her rationale for proposing a registration system for unlicensed litters, and how she sees it working in practice.

Thank you. I just wanted to get that on the record.