Chamber and committees

Rachael Hamilton has a brief supplementary question, after which we will go to Alasdair Allan.

Good morning, and welcome to the fourth meeting in 2022 of the Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee. I remind everyone who is using electronic devices to switch them to silent.

Our first item of business is a decision on whether to take items 5 and 6 in private. Do members agree to do so?

Members indicated agreement.

Under agenda item 2, we are continuing our evidence sessions on the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Bill. I welcome our first panel, who will focus on policy outcomes relating to environment and sustainability. With us today are Iain Gulland, executive director and chief executive officer of Zero Waste Scotland; Dr Mike Rivington, land use system modeller at the James Hutton Institute; Dr Kirsteen Shields, lecturer in international law and food security at the Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Security; and Vicki Swales, head of land use policy at RSPB Scotland, who is representing Scottish Environment LINK.

We have about 90 minutes for questions. I will kick off. What are your experiences of the food system and the issues that Scotland faces in that system with regard to the environment, waste and related issues? I will go to each member of the panel. I would like Dr Rivington also to expand on experiences during the pandemic and how those might inform our approach to food policies in the event of further environmental shocks. However, we will start with Iain Gulland.

Alasdair Allan has a supplementary question.

John Davidson touched on targets. Will you summarise your position on targets, John?

I appreciate those opening statements. We will move to questions, which will take us to approximately 10.25. I would very much appreciate it if questions and answers were kept as succinct as possible.

Within your own areas of expertise what are your experiences of the food system issues facing Scotland? If you work across the UK, what are your views of how Scotland’s problems and policy solutions compare with those of other UK nations?

We now move to questions. Given the experience that each of you has in the food production and supply sector, what do you think are the most difficult challenges that the sector faces? Are those challenges unique to the sector in Scotland? What are the opportunities? Could you compare the situation in Scotland, where we have policies such as the delivery of the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Bill, with what is happening in the rest of the United Kingdom?

I invite Jonnie Hall to come in first.

Thank you very much, Claire. We now move to Alasdair Allan.

I share your concerns about the lack of socioeconomic impact assessment, given that the first order has been in place for 12 months and there has been a commitment to a public consultation on making it a permanent MPA. I agree that we should write to the Government, asking about its interventions to look at the potential economic impact on the fishing industry.

In that letter, I want to include questions on the potential for people reporting, for example, flapper skate egg locations to be reluctant to report such important findings in the future if they are tied up in the ban. It would be good to know what work is being done around that to ensure that we continue to identify important MPAs—areas that should be protected—and that there is no reduction in their identification because of the impact on the people who identify them.

Are members content for me to write to the Government with those questions? Are there any other comments? There are no comments.

Are members content to note the instruments? I ask members who are participating remotely to type an N in the chat box if they do not agree; otherwise, I will presume that members are content. There are no comments, so we are content.

That concludes our business in public.

Jim, I will stop you there, as we need to focus on this bill. We have little time, so we will move on to the supplementary question from Alasdair Allan.