Environment and Rural Development Committee,

Meeting date: Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Official Report 152KB pdf

---

Subordinate Legislation

---

Plant Health (Import Inspection Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 2005 (SSI 2005/216) <br />Production of Bovine Collagen Intended for Human Consumption in the United Kingdom (Scotland) Regulations 2005<br />(SSI 2005/218)

We have four instruments to consider today under the negative procedure. We will take the first two instruments together, as the Subordinate Legislation Committee has drawn our attention to points on both of them. Members have a copy of an extract from that committee's 16th report. I understand that, at its meeting of 10 May, the Subordinate Legislation Committee considered a letter that it received from the Executive on the first instrument, SSI 2005/216. The clerk will update us on whether there is anything of significance that we need to know about the instrument.

The Subordinate Legislation Committee has nothing further to report, but is examining issues arising from the instrument that may affect future similar instruments.

Right. Having read the report, I was struck by the fact that, although the comments were detailed, there was nothing of note in policy terms. From the detail of some of the comments, I wonder how worried members of the Subordinate Legislation Committee should be about both instruments, but that is for them to decide. As no member has a comment to make on the first two instruments, are members happy to make no recommendation for annulment on either instrument? Is that agreed?

Members indicated agreement.

---

Horse Passports (Scotland) Regulations 2005 (SSI 2005/223)<br />Land Management Contracts<br />(Menu Scheme) (Scotland) Regulations 2005 (SSI 2005/225)

We will have the opportunity to return to the next two sets of regulations next week, but I put them on today's agenda as well.

For some time now, we have tracked the development of the land management contracts as part of our consideration of common agricultural policy reform. I put the Land Management Contracts (Menu Scheme) (Scotland) Regulations 2005 on today's agenda to afford members the chance to raise any issues and concerns and to seek any clarification before we consider the regulations next week.

I understand that Brian Monteith has lodged a motion to annul the Horse Passports (Scotland) Regulations 2005, which we will consider formally at next week's meeting, to which the minister has been invited. Again, if members have questions for clarification or if they seek responses on any other issues before we hear from the minister next week, it would be good to hear them now. However, the formal debate on the motion to annul will definitely take place next week.

Do members wish to raise any points on either set of regulations at this stage? Let us be orderly and consider the land management contracts first.

A number of people have contacted me with concerns about some of the details of the land management contracts. I seek clarification on the nature of the regulations and on whether separate regulations will be introduced next year. I am happy for the regulations that are before us to come into force for the current year, but I will be concerned if the provisions that cause concern are preserved beyond the first year of the process. I am interested in knowing what procedure will be put in place for year 2 of the land management contracts.

We will take up that point with the minister. The land management contracts basically represent CAP reform stage 1, which is almost a steady-state process. However, things will become more creative at the next level—level 3—under which more proactive environmental projects will start to come through. I think that my interpretation is correct and that no huge changes will be made under the Land Management Contracts (Menu Scheme) (Scotland) Regulations 2005.

Like Alex Johnstone, I want to know how the scheme will develop over the next couple of years. In particular, I want to know how stakeholders from all sectors will be involved in its development.

I also have concerns about how organic agriculture will be phased into tier 3 and how that will fit in with the organic action plan. I want the opportunity to ask the minister whether quality assurance schemes will deliver good value for taxpayers' money. As well as those specific questions, I seek clarity from the minister on how the general programme will be rolled out towards 2007.

We will put all those questions on land management contracts to the minister before our meeting next week. We do not necessarily need to hear from the minister before we decide on the instrument next week, so we can ask for answers to all those questions beforehand.

For the Horse Passports (Scotland) Regulations 2005, the minister will be required to attend our meeting next week. Do members have any issues that they want to raise before then?

I want to ask about one small detail. Why do some passport-issuing organisations require applicants to fill in a wee chart for the horse, whereas others do not?

Okay. Do members have any other questions? Brian Monteith is here. Does he want to flag up any issues this week? I know that he has lodged a motion to annul, so I do not ask him to reveal the entire speech that he will deliver next week.

I thank the convener for inviting me to speak, but I am content to wait for the debate with the minister next week. However, I will be happy to go through the issues before then with any committee members, or members of the public who are watching or listening to the webcast of today's meeting.

Before I read the regulations, I had not realised that they were about horses for eating. How much trade is there between this country and Europe in horse flesh for human consumption?

We can put that question to the minister. I am conscious of having read in the weekend newspapers about illegal imports from west Africa of horse meat for consumption, so there is clearly an issue with how the trade is regulated properly. However, after that advert from Brian Monteith, it sounds like we will be able to address all the issues at length next week.

I thank colleagues. The final item on our agenda is our climate change inquiry, which will be considered in private. Before that, the next item on our agenda is our inquiry into rural development, which we will also consider in private. Therefore, I invite colleagues from other committees, the official report and broadcasting staff, the public, the press and everyone else to leave the room.

Meeting continued in private until 11:24.