Food Protection (Emergency Prohibitions) (Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning)<br />(West Coast) (No 10) (Scotland) Order 2004 (SSI 2004/412)
I welcome the new Minister for Health and Community Care to the committee. I take it that attendance here is his first official duty in that role. I have no doubt that he is extremely well briefed and has become an expert in amnesic shellfish poisoning overnight. Here, too, is Lydia Wilkie, who is assistant director of the Food Standards Agency Scotland. The Subordinate Legislation Committee considered the order that is under consideration this morning, and has no comment to make on the instrument. I ask whether any member wishes to seek clarification from the minister and his official on the instrument.
Good afternoon, minister. Welcome to the hot seat. I wish to ask you two or three things so that you can convey to the committee some details of your thinking on this matter. Do you agree that, by moving the balance of control activity from monitoring to processes, it would be possible to improve public safety and to protect the industry while reducing the amount of Government expenditure that is necessary to manage the problem?
Just that one question, is it?
That is the starter.
First, it is a great pleasure to be here. I look forward to passing many long hours with the committee in discussion of issues that are critical to the health of Scotland.
The minister will be aware that scallops from Ireland may be sold here at times of the year when they have the same problem that we in Scotland have—when Scottish scallops cannot be sold in Scotland. The Irish use end-product testing. Does the minister intend to have any work carried out to consider other ways to deal with the problem? I gather that the current regulations are being met only temporarily.
I disagree that the current measures are being met only temporarily. We are not using the tiered system that has been promoted in some parts of Europe, but that does not mean that we are only partly meeting the requirements. We are always looking out for better ways of doing things; as I said, we have looked at the Irish model. What we see as being our major focus, however, is that we should underpin the values that are enshrined in the European directive to ensure that we deliver what we seek on public health—as the Government, through agencies, is responsible for doing. I do not think that what Mr Davidson suggests is an appropriate way forward. Perhaps Lydia Wilkie would care to comment more fully on those matters.
I presume that David Davidson was talking about the Republic of Ireland, rather than Northern Ireland; naturally, we organise things on a United Kingdom basis. The Irish system also uses monitoring, but theirs is a very different shellfish industry to ours. Ours is an awful lot more complex, particularly in relation to the offshore scallop industry. The Irish do carry out monitoring, however, and are under the same requirement of due diligence that applies to our industry, which is to ensure that the product is safe through end-product testing. We have looked into that over the years, and we do not consider that there is any difference. Their industry is completely different, but that reflects the scale of the industry.
Do you have a timescale for when the details of that might be published?
The European consolidation regulations are already published, but they contain flexibility for each member state to produce regimes that will, in a proportionate way, meet the food safety requirements. Those are due to come into effect on 1 January 2006, which is why we are very much concentrating on this area.
Might I invite the minister to meet me to discuss some science papers that I offered to the previous incumbent of his illustrious position?
I am sure that the minister has noted that generous offer. I call Shona Robison.
My question was on the new regime, but it has just been answered.
Would you agree, minister, that a safety-first principle must always be upheld in food health, and that that is a fundamental principle? Do you agree that, if there was regime change in this area, we would have to be very careful? If such a change resulted in any change to the safety-first principle, and if something went wrong, then the industry would be damaged.
I agree totally with that. That is why, in the debates that we have held in the Parliament, we have been so tied to that policy. If we were to let it go, we would have a serious problem, not just for scallop fishing but for all food procurement and food consumption and it would result in people losing faith in the system that we adopt to protect them. That principle is fundamental to our approach. When it comes to protecting public safety, I do not like to second-guess those who are at the front line and who are working with the directives as they currently stand.
If there are no further questions, and if no member wishes to debate the order, I invite the minister to move motion S2M-1811.
Motion moved,
That the Health Committee recommends that the Food Protection (Emergency Prohibitions) (Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning) (West Coast) (No. 10) (Scotland) Order 2004 (SSI 2004/412) be approved.—[Mr Andy Kerr.]
The question is, that motion S2M-1811 be agreed to. Are we all agreed?
No.
There will be a division.
For
The result of the division is: For 6, Against 1, Abstentions 1.
Motion agreed to.
Community Health Partnerships (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (SSI 2004/386)<br />Mental Health (Advance Statements) (Prescribed Class of Persons) (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (SSI 2004/387)
Mental Health (Patient Representation) (Prescribed Persons) (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (SSI 2004/388)<br />National Assistance<br />(Assessment of Resources) Amendment (No 2) (Scotland) Regulations 2004<br />(SSI 2004/389)
Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (SSI 2004/394)<br />Food Safety<br />(Act of Accession concerning the Czech Republic and other States)<br />(Consequential Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (SSI 2004/395)
Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland (Disciplinary Committee) Regulations 2004 (SSI 2004/402)
We will now deal with seven items of subordinate legislation that are subject to the negative procedure. The Subordinate Legislation Committee had no comment to make on the Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (SSI 2004/394), the Food Safety (Act of Accession concerning the Czech Republic and other States) (Consequential Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (SSI 2004/395) or the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland (Disciplinary Committee) Regulations 2004 (SSI 2004/402).
Members indicated agreement.