Chamber and committees

Thank you.

Another of the annual report’s objectives is

“to work with the Crofting Commission to encourage a healthy turnover of croft tenancies”

to create the demand for new entrants, but the croft house grant scheme gave out only half of its budget between 2016-17 and 2020-21. The budget was £11 million and it has distributed only £6 million. Is there a reason for that?

I wanted specific detail. Crofters cannot get a mortgage. Will the islands bond allow them to seek finance options for purchasing a croft?

Obviously, tourism, fisheries and agriculture are very important, and it is important that islanders can get things on and off the islands—including people and goods. Why does the islands plan not mention ferries, considering that they are integral to that part of the economy?

The annual report has an objective to

“work with policy colleagues to produce a National Development Plan for crofting which will set the long-term strategic direction for crofting”

and ensure that there are plenty of new entrants in rural and remote communities. Cabinet secretary, when will the Cabinet bring forward crofting reform, and how will that ensure a healthy turnover of crofting tenancies on our islands to create opportunities for new entrants?

Will the islands bond be used to enable young people to access crofting?

I met a group from Shetland who said that the STPR does not include a plan for the replacement of ferries for their ageing fleet. It is important to recognise that all of the interconnected policy aims are, perhaps, not connecting.

Will the six carbon neutral islands be announced soon? Will that happen in six months, a year or two years?

I am content with that, but can we ask the Government what the impact of the exemption is? We are asking why the Scottish Government considers it necessary to introduce the exemption, but what would the impact be if the exemption did not exist?

From the conversations that you have had, would the Scottish Government be happy to suspend the ecological focus areas as part of the greening requirements?