Chamber and committees

It has been very interesting to hear everybody’s questions so far. Recommendation 41 from the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee is that a precautionary approach should be taken to the siting of salmon farms to avoid wild salmon migratory routes. We have already talked a little bit about those migratory routes, but does the siting of new farms since 2018 indicate that a precautionary approach has been adopted? Have you seen any sites close to migratory routes?

As a bit of a segue, I know that what Norway is doing with research and development on the siting of pens is not the answer to everything, but I have been reading about these giant ships—big hulls that are floating fish farms—that can be sited in areas of deep water and can resist storms and high waves. Should we be thinking about that emerging technology instead of net pens that are fixed to the sea bed?

Good morning. The salmon interactions working group report identified the importance of the sectors developing a

“professional and collaborative working relationship”.

It also recommended the development of local engagement mechanisms between fin-fish farmers and wild fisheries management. What progress has been made on those points?

Are you able to identify what is working well in the areas in which it is working well, so that we can transfer that approach to areas where it is not working well?

Have any fish farms been relocated on the basis of evidence of sea lice? It is fascinating that, as you said earlier, sea lice can move 30km before they find a host. It is interesting to hear about the interaction between wild salmon and farmed salmon, but I am also interested in whether any sites have been relocated.

On collaboration and professional engagement, I am reading information from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in America and looking at what is happening in Canada. Pacific salmon are in decline as well. Whether you are in Pacific waters or Atlantic waters, wild salmon are in decline. Therefore, I go back to the point about collaboration and professional working: we need to work together globally to look at why wild salmon populations are in decline. Do we need to highlight the fact that professional working needs to happen globally and that Scotland needs to be part of that?

Good morning. I have a wee supplementary question on an issue that was covered in Carol Mochan’s questions. We heard evidence from the Dumfries and Galloway integration joint board that its self-directed support policies had not been reviewed since the IJB was set up. Stephen Morgan, who is the chief social work officer at Dumfries and Galloway Council, also said that the results of a recent audit contravened the principles of the 2013 act.

What work is the Scottish Government doing with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to support the review of self-directed support and the role that is played by integration joint boards and health and social care partnerships?

I am conscious of the time, but I am interested in the education and training of social workers, as well as of health professionals, such as nurses, and their knowledge of self-directed support. They do not need to know about it in detail, but enough to trigger potential referral, for instance, when they are treating patients in acute care or in the community. How can we help the higher learning institutions to convey self-directed support information in the curriculum, so that social workers are aware of what self-directed support is all about, including its principles, so that they can trigger assessments by dieticians, physiotherapists and occupational therapists, for example? I am not suggesting that social workers or even nurses need to be experts in SDS but that they need to have some knowledge of what it means.

I want to pick up on the issue of multidisciplinary teams. I know from my casework that social workers are key; they are crucial in helping people to get the services that they need. One of our social work teams operates on the multidisciplinary team model, but there are social workers who work independently, who do not have the ability to pick up the phone to refer someone to physio or whatever. “Standards in Social Work Education in Scotland” mentions social workers being innovative and empowered. The final page of that document has a section on ethical principles, which talks about

“Promoting the full involvement and participation of people receiving services”

and

“what matters to them”.

In essence, it is referring to choice and control.

The role that social workers play is critical, and it is crucial that we value the job that they do. Do you have an opinion on how we can improve connectivity by using a multidisciplinary team approach, which many people seem to value and find to be very positive?

Good morning. Thanks for coming. I am looking at your report, which identifies issues with the fragmentation of research—you have mentioned communication and having wider engagement—but the regulation of aquaculture involves local authorities, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the Government’s marine directorate and the Crown Estate for the sea bed. There are various bits of regulation. Does the wide range of aquaculture regulators contribute to that fragmentation of research?