Chamber and committees

But that is what we are deciding today.

That is a decision for the committee, not the minister, but thank you for putting that on the record.

The question is: why should the date be 2030? If we assume that there will be some changes to the rate, why should it not be 2025 or 2026? Why should it be 2030 at the 2018 rates?

I am sorry, did you say to prevent undue time on—

Would this piece of legislation mean that rebasing was off the table, potentially until 2030?

Do you know by what percentage the price of an average test for cattle will go up?

Good morning, and welcome to the 23rd meeting in 2024 of the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee. I ask members and those who are joining us to ensure that all electronic devices are switched to silent, please. We have received apologies from Colin Beattie, Beatrice Wishart and Elena Whitham, and I welcome Christine Grahame, who is attending as a substitute.

Our first item of business is an evidence session with the Scottish Government to conclude our pre-budget scrutiny of the 2025-26 Scottish budget. We have about two hours for the discussion. I welcome Mairi Gougeon, the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands, who is supported by Scottish Government officials George Burgess, who is the director of agriculture and rural economy; Brendan Callaghan, who is the director of operational delivery for Scottish Forestry; Karen Morley, who is the head of agriculture and rural economy finance; Nuala Gormley, who is the deputy director of marine science, evidence, data and digital in the marine directorate; and Rebecca Hackett, who is the deputy director and portfolio lead for corporate strategy in the marine directorate.

Before we begin, I invite the cabinet secretary to make a brief opening statement.

Thank you very much. I will kick off with questions about the marine directorate. Will you explain the main purpose of the directorate’s recent restructuring? What difference should stakeholders expect to see in the delivery of fisheries policies?

Surely that will have a significant impact on some of the smaller abattoirs. Everybody will agree on the need for the inspections—and that situation is not changing—but we are talking about a significant rise in costs that might have an impact on smaller processors. In fact, one plant that I have been in contact with has suggested that its costs will increase by almost £20,000. That is not inconsiderable—indeed, it could put them over the edge.

The point is that we are making a decision today on whether to make any recommendation on the instrument, and we want to be sure that the Government has considered the potential adverse impact on small abattoirs. We know that we have a critical mass situation in Scotland, with our abattoirs, auction marts and so on worried about the cliff edge and the number of cattle that are going through. What were the Government’s considerations on that issue?

I call Rachael Hamilton.