Chamber and committees

Thank you for the intervention, Mr Fairlie. It would be reassuring if there had been similar amendments to other legislation, but it is not something that I have come across during the scrutiny of other legislation by the committee. It is very unusual, which is why I am highlighting it. It appears that the Government is expecting to fail. The Government should accept that I am questioning the amendment because it is unusual.

I am concerned about amendments 45 and 46. Is the minister able to give any examples of how those provisions could compare to wildlife welfare legislation, in terms of not providing a certificate if asked?

If I am reading amendment 45 correctly, the potential owner will no longer have to confirm that they understand that they must keep the certificate for the duration of the ownership of the dog, and amendment 46 provides that the certificate no longer has to be shown to the police. Is that consistent with any other welfare legislation, perhaps about wildlife rather than kept animals?

Will the minister outline what progress has been made towards working with the UK Government on a single microchip database?

On the point—

I will follow on from Beatrice Wishart’s questions. I do not know whether you managed to catch Mike Cohen from the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations on “Farming Today” yesterday. He talked about how important it is to take an evidence-based scientific approach when making decisions on FMPs. How does that square with the reduction in the budget for research and science, as you will have heard from the evidence session last week, given how important it is to ensure that fishermen are able to provide food to put on our plates?

I have a supplementary question about the scrutiny session on the marine directorate that we held last week. Elspeth Macdonald of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation said:

“many of us feel that there has been a serious lack of investment of public money in our inshore fisheries. We have many data gaps and poor information in relation to many of our inshore fisheries compared with some of the other fisheries.”—[Official Report, Rural Affairs and Islands Committee, 4 September 2024; c 14.]

The lack of investment in research and monitoring was a common theme throughout the session. Taking into account Elspeth Macdonald’s comments, will the cabinet secretary outline how effective delivery can be achieved in inshore fisheries?

When will the new head of the marine directorate be recruited?

When will you be able to come to the committee to answer the questions around how rural inequalities are being addressed and how equality in rural areas is being achieved?

Would you be willing to ensure that what you are hearing from FLS is actually true? Jobs have gone and houses are in disrepair, so it is important to recognise that what you are being told is not the reality.