Chamber and committees

That is all that we need to know. Thank you.

Before we move on, I am sure that the cabinet secretary will agree that there are multifold factors involved in the changes that we are seeing in our seas and that it is important to have robust scientific evidence underpinning any changes that are made. Is there any evidence that introducing blanket or wide-ranging restrictions on mobile fishing gear in fishing waters will have the effect that some are claiming at the moment?

Just before we move on to questions from Ariane Burgess, can you tell us the timescale for your proposals on discards and landing obligations?

We will move on to questions on fisheries, the first of which is on the future catching policy. We know that the EU’s principle is to end the discarding of fish, but that is not particularly straightforward in practice. What is the Scottish Government’s future catching policy? How does the Government intend to design a system that works for fisheries here? Will you give an update on the consultation that you carried out on the future catching policy and say what the results of the consultation were and what the next steps will be?

Thank you. That was helpful. Can you tell us roughly whether we will hear about the proposals before the end of October, before the turn of the year or in spring 2023?

We have various sections to go through, and we will try to keep to a format. Rachael Hamilton has the first questions, on agriculture.

I have a very straightforward question. How much of the £51 million of funding for the national test programme has been spent in the first year?

We will now move to questions on islands policy, for the first of which we will go back to Beatrice Wishart.

It is all about animal welfare and ensuring that mammals are dispatched appropriately. Limiting the way that they may be dispatched could remove some methods of pest control.

That is fine. If you do not get a response to the question that you are trying to ask, I will bring you in at the end.