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Chamber and committees

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 25 November 2024
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Displaying 986 contributions

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Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee

Annual Report

Meeting date: 18 May 2023

Emma Harper

I am relatively new to the committee, but it is really nice to read a short report.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 17 May 2023

Emma Harper

Good morning. As a nurse, I am always interested in infection control and prevention. Obviously, Covid has really educated people about how we transmit infection. You mentioned Cumbria and the movement of cattle from one side of the border to the other. The proposal is to change the validity period of negative results from 60 days to 30 days, as far as movement is concerned. How will farmers in England know that we have changed processes in Scotland? Is that a concern that we have?

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 17 May 2023

Emma Harper

The two farmers I spoke to were very well informed about and quite welcoming of the changes in the consolidation of the regulation, so they did not seem concerned. That is quite welcome.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 17 May 2023

Emma Harper

To go back to what the convener said earlier, we should be proud that Scotland has TB-free status. Biosecurity is about being aware of how diseases spread and what practical measures can be implemented to reduce spread. I am also thinking about other bovine diseases such as Johne’s disease. TB is not the only one.

My perception is that farmers are very aware of how diseases are transmitted and what they need to do to prevent that from happening, and that isolation is part of that. What do you perceive the attitudes of farmers to be? I think that they are doing a great job and that we should be—to go back to the word that the convener used—proud of our producers in Scotland. How do you feel about that?

Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee

Complaint

Meeting date: 11 May 2023

Emma Harper

I, too, agree, convener.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Salmon Farming

Meeting date: 10 May 2023

Emma Harper

There are no salmon farms in Dumfries and Galloway, but a lot of work is being done to look at how wild salmon move. Galloway Fisheries Trust is one of the groups that are doing a lot of really good research. The same applies to the River Tweed. Is that part of the engagement with local groups and local people that you are talking about?using their research and evidence to help to inform how we can address the issue of sea lice on wild salmon?

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Salmon Farming

Meeting date: 10 May 2023

Emma Harper

You talked about the 12 pressures. Lots of variables can impact the health of farmed salmon and wild salmon, such as water temperature and algae blooms. There is no one solution to how we can address the issue of sea lice on wild salmon. In relation to the framework, does further work need to be done to strengthen any regulations?

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 10 May 2023

Emma Harper

I am not here as often as Karen Adam is, so I would like to clarify: do we need a minister or do we need an official, if it is really just to clarify the information so that we can proceed and make a better-informed decision?

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Salmon Farming

Meeting date: 10 May 2023

Emma Harper

My questions have been covered, convener.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Salmon Farming

Meeting date: 10 May 2023

Emma Harper

Good morning to you all.

Jill Barber just mentioned sea lice. I am interested in sea lice interactions with the wild salmon population. I have loads of pages open here, because a lot of work is being done by the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization. The document that I have in front of me is a Government document that talks about the impacts of lice from fish farms on wild Scottish sea trout and salmon. There is lots of scientific information here about the impacts of sea lice on sea trout and wild salmon. Lots of modelling has been done, as well as observational and experimental studies. It is quite comprehensive, and work is being taken forward to look at the impacts of sea lice on wild salmon.

I am interested in hearing about what progress has been made to look at how we manage the impact of farmed salmon lice on the wild salmon population.