Chamber and committees

No, thank you.

We have touched on certain obligations that are placed on a host nation, such as those that relate to the management of street trading; ambush advertising; ticket touting, which Mr Kerr has just spoken about; and the sale of counterfeit goods.

Minister, you have indicated that those aspects will be managed or authorised by either the police or Glasgow City Council. They will have to take reasonable measures to prohibit, restrict and prevent some of those things from taking place. Indeed, the crux of the matter is ensuring that certain things do not take place, whether that is across the piece or in the zoned areas. How will you ensure that we have in place robust processes during the Euros and in the protected zones to deal with those aspects?

Okay. Thank you.

Thank you, convener.

The situation on the ground in Gaza is harrowing and the suffering is appalling. We have touched on access to aid and how that is progressing. The aid that we have given will be going on food distribution, education and health support in some shape, way or form, which I appreciate.

You have listed some organisations—we have had some discussions with UNRWA this morning, and you will speak to it later. I still have concerns that such organisations are being infiltrated, as suggested by commentary that we have seen and heard. The concern is that organisations that are doing legitimate work might be infiltrated by Hamas in some shape, way or form, and that they will have difficulty managing the process.

The Scottish Government has already set its parameters on what it wants to achieve with the funding that it has given. It is difficult to assess exactly how it will be managed. You have given clear guidance on what you expect and hope is taking place, but it is difficult on the ground because people are continually removed, reassessed and relocated, making it appear that everything is in complete flux all the time.

There must be real issues when it comes to ensuring that there is command, co-operation and assistance. Even when situations do occur in which individuals lose their lives while trying to queue for food, the Scottish Government has an obligation, and you have made your views and what you want to achieve clear. How can we achieve our aims if we do not have full control and are not quite sure what is happening on the ground or where we can take things in future?

My second question is, what is our plan for the future? Going forward, do we have a strategic objective for what we should be doing, given the circumstances and situations that we see every day in the media?

You have identified a very strong issue there. There is an attempt to do more, build more, and create that atmosphere and energy as you build up that industry. However, it is hard to do that if you do not have the manpower and resource to follow that effort through.

Some local authorities have many more planning applications than others. Some get dozens of planning applications daily while others do not have the same flow. Authorities have to manage the number of applications and the time that they take and then ensure that they have procedures in place to deal with them. As you have identified, all of that can have a knock-on effect on how effective and efficient the system is. However, it appears that not having the foundations and building blocks in place is making it more difficult to achieve some of your goals and ambitions.

You realise that, but it needs to be further realised that more needs to be done and achieved. At the end of the day, if you do not have the processes in place to ensure that your goals in some areas can be achieved, you are setting things up to fail. As you have identified, some areas do not have as much demand as others, but for those that have a high level, it is crucial that we enable them to achieve their planning goals and aspirations and ensure that we get things built in those locations.

Good morning. On 15 June, the chief planner wrote to authorities about the application of NPF4 policy 22, which concerns flood risk and water management. Why was it necessary for that letter to be sent? Following the issuing of the letter, what changes do you expect planning authorities and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to make to how they assess flood risk?

Fiona Simpson, do you want to add anything to that?

My second question is about the resourcing of planning departments, which has continued to be a concern for a number of years, even after the changes to the fee system that have been introduced. Do you have any plans to increase funding for planning authorities, because those changes will have an impact, depending on how the funding is managed? Do you support the ring fencing of planning fee income, which is another area that has been touched on in the past? If it were implemented, how would it work and what would it mean? It would be good to get a flavour of your views on that.

Good morning, cabinet secretary. The event was hailed as a massive success by the UK Government. The Prime Minister indicated that

“Britain is back in business”

with the EU.

As we heard, however, the reset involved huge difficulties and tensions with fisheries—you have gone into that, for which I thank you. We have also heard that there are opportunities with regard to defence and security, food and drink and energy co-operation. However, those are still just opportunities rather than agreements, because the member states still have to endorse or ratify some of them to ensure that they come into force.

What meaningful engagement would we expect from the Scottish Government and the UK Government on food and drink, energy co-operation and defence and security as we move forward? You explained some of the difficulties that you encountered with regard to fisheries. If there is a reset in those three areas that gives Scotland an opportunity, what is that opportunity and what kind of meaningful negotiation and engagement would you, as the Scottish Government, expect?