Chamber and committees

Sorry—I missed what you said, Presiding Officer. Did you say three or four minutes?

Three minutes. Okay.

I thank Douglas Ross for bringing the debate to the chamber this afternoon. As the motion states, gulls can be a problem and even dangerous.

Problem behaviour is often heightened during nesting season, when vulnerable eggs and chicks need protecting. I have witnessed and experienced the intense behaviour of gulls during nesting season. One gull in my neighbourhood attacked anyone who was near the communal waste bins. I saw another fly at an unsuspecting man as he got out of his car. The large gull swooped, and its beak made contact with the man’s head and drew blood. He was quite shaken by what had happened.

I had my own gull experience a few years ago. I had hung out some washing to dry on a fine, sunny day. When I attempted to retrieve it, I was dive-bombed by a gull. I managed to bring it in only by clutching an open umbrella over my head and making a dash for safety as the gull had another go at me. I fear that, without my brolly, I, too, would have ended up with a gash to the head.

Although it seems amusing to retell the tale, there is a serious issue to deal with, and I believe that NatureScot must do much more to issue licences swiftly when there is evidence of possible harm to humans.

The Scottish Seabird Centre’s briefing pointed to the fact that 70 per cent of Scotland’s seabird species are in decline. We know that that is a result of the impact of climate change, invasive species and a reduction in natural food sources.

I have lived in a top-floor flat for more than 20 years. When I first moved in, I frequently heard the noisy call of herring gulls as they padded across the flat roof. They would fly down to the nearby seashore, pick up small crabs, starfish and sea urchins, and fly back, dropping their catch to break it open on the roof before landing to feed on their meal. They would nest in the chimneys on a nearby row of terraced houses. Interestingly, I do not see or hear them so often now.

RSPB Scotland highlights that herring gull numbers have almost halved since the 1980s. With readily available food from human waste, gulls are increasingly brought into our urban areas. They hover outside fish and chip shops in Lerwick, waiting for a feed. It is not unusual to see them sitting on top of parked cars while, inside, the occupants eat their fish suppers.

I, too, reiterate the advice not to feed the birds, not least because it can attract other wildlife. Gulls are acting naturally in an environment that we have built, and that requires us to change our behaviour so that we can live in greater harmony.

Although we can mitigate some human behaviour, NatureScot must be more proactive in reacting to evidence-based situations when licences are sought. The agency cannot give less importance to the safety and protection of humans than it does to that of gulls. There is a balance to be found.

I think that Tim Eagle is about to come on to the point of principle that Finlay Carson raised earlier today. There should have been more time for the bill to be scrutinised by the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee, of which Finlay Carson is the convener. Although I have no concerns about the bill, which originated from my Liberal Democrat MP colleague Danny Chambers, and notwithstanding what the minister has just said, does Tim Eagle agree that, in the future, committees must be given more time to fulfil their role in effectively scrutinising legislation?

I have been made aware of a potential release of non-native game birds in Shetland. Islands are more sensitive to the establishment of non-native species, which can impact the environment and compete with native species. Will the minister work with NatureScot to increase awareness of the importance of not bringing in or releasing non-native species in islands? Will he also consider legislative measures to restrict non-native game bird releases?

A constituent who found themselves homeless and was allocated emergency accommodation sought my assistance after racking up considerable debt through exorbitant electricity costs while trying to keep themselves warm in a poorly insulated property. How can the Scottish Government support energy efficiency improvements for emergency housing accommodation and ensure that people who find themselves in need of such emergency housing are treated with dignity and respect?

I thank all the members who contributed to the debate. I pay tribute to teachers across Scotland, who are working under increasing pressures. As George Adam highlighted, teachers show up and shape young people’s lives.

At the beginning of the debate, Willie Rennie touched on the £20,000 bursary for teachers of STEM subjects and the fact that it does not seem to have improved recruitment of teachers in those subjects. Scottish Liberal Democrats have previously pointed to falling numbers of teachers in those subjects since the SNP took power. The numbers in technical education and computing studies have fallen to their lowest levels since records began, with the numbers of maths and physics teachers decreasing by 12 per cent and 8 per cent respectively.

At this morning’s meeting of the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee, we scrutinised the Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill and we heard about the importance of resources to implement various aspects of the Scottish Government’s proposed legislation. I found myself wondering where the scientists, innovators, marine planners and data analysts are that we need for the future. Where are they going to come from if STEM subjects are not comprehensively taught in our schools and the possibilities for future careers in STEM are not opened up to learners?

Locally, I have heard from EIS Shetland association representatives about pressures on teachers, which include unresolved contact time issues. Teachers have reported increases in verbal abuse and violence in schools, which is putting them at risk of harm and increased stress and anxiety. At the same time, learning in classrooms is being seriously disrupted by such incidents. Teachers leave the profession because of such incidents and the stress and anxiety that they are placed under. The effect of that cannot be measured simply by figures that show that there is one less teacher; we also need to consider the loss of institutional memory and experience, which is a loss to learners, colleagues and newly qualified teachers joining the profession, who rely on experienced teachers to be mentors.

As Willie Rennie stated when he opened the debate, things are not simple for newly qualified teachers either, as they face difficulties such as gaining employment, underemployment and unreliable zero-hours jobs, despite some teaching roles having been advertised repeatedly. Data from a freedom of information request by the Scottish Liberal Democrats to all local authorities covering the past five years showed that a post in Aberdeenshire had been readvertised 11 times in one of those years. In the same year, 636 teaching posts were readvertised. The same data unveiled a post that had gone unfilled for 205 days, and in Shetland, a craft, design and technology post was readvertised seven times.

I turn to some of the comments that were made in the debate. The education secretary has said repeatedly that local workforce planning is the responsibility of local authorities, but the Government is responsible for the supply.

I need to go back to school, because I cannot read my own writing. [Laughter.]

That is exactly the point that I was trying to get across. I thank Mr Whitfield.

Miles Briggs spoke about the pressure on teachers and the sharp decline in key subjects, which is impacting on subject choices and, ultimately, the Scottish economy.

Jackie Dunbar spoke about the energy sector and the STEM graduates that are sought by that sector, but she acknowledged that key subjects have shortages.

Douglas Ross highlighted that the Government’s amendment seeks to remove from the motion the words about the failure to recruit 3,500 more teachers. He also raised the issue of Highland teachers being excluded from interviews due to internal-only applications, which is diminishing the number of opportunities for more teachers to come to the area. Housing is another issue that can impact on recruitment and retention.

Alex Rowley referred to the impact of large class sizes and ratios of one teacher to 25 or 30 pupils. If primary pupils are ill-equipped to transition to secondary school, they are, in effect, being doomed to failure. Recruitment and retention is a problem in rural and island areas, which is further impacted by the lack of housing. It can make things difficult for those who are interested in moving to the Highlands and Islands to take up teaching posts there.

To stray a little into the next debate’s topic, I note that an EIS survey of teachers in Shetland found that only 11 per cent of respondents usually receive the support that they need to teach learners with ASN. In a decade, we have seen a 20 per cent increase in the number of secondary learners with ASN. Improvements in diagnoses and the reduction of stigma around mental health may have contributed to such increases, but it begs the question of why teachers do not feel supported where we are able to identify learners with ASN.

The lessons on teaching have not been learned. As the motion says, the Scottish Government needs to work with stakeholders and those in the workforce to develop a new plan. The longer we wait, the more damage we will do to our young people’s education. Young people are our future—they are our future doctors, architects, fishermen and teachers. What benefits them will benefit us all and benefit Scotland’s economic growth.

Given the importance of muirburn, its role in managing fuel loads to mitigate wildfire risks, and the timescales that we have heard about, what will the minister do to ensure that licensing applications are as informed and as accurate as possible?

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app would not connect. I would have voted yes.

We need to see scientific evidence of that, and it needs to be robust. I note that moving fishing vessels off traditional grounds is causing considerable concern to members of my constituency.

Where infrastructure must exist, it should be built with consideration and communication with all stakeholders and communities.

Shetland is home to the 4.5MW Garth wind farm, on the island of Yell, which has produced more than 90,000MW of energy to date. That £8.3 million investment is a community wind farm that is undertaken by the enterprising North Yell Development Council. The funds that are generated enable the organisation to invest in community projects, including in the industrial estate extension and in the development of the marina at Cullivoe pier. It has enabled the employment of three full-time members of staff and funding to various local community groups. The wind farm is an asset that brings benefits to the North Yell community and will continue to do so for years to come. It is an exemplar of what can be achieved in relation to practical community benefit.

Shetland Heat Energy and Power—SHEAP—has delivered district heating to homes and public buildings, including the hospital, schools and leisure centre in Lerwick, for the past 25 years. It is based on a Danish model. Customers have been spared soaring energy costs in recent years. Its income from sales of around £1 million a year stays in Shetland. The project, which was once considered unusual, is now being taken rather more seriously in policy circles.

We know that our energy infrastructure is ageing, that we will have to transition from legacy fuels and reduce demand and that we need an energy mix for the foreseeable future. Shetland is ready to contribute on all fronts from the development of renewables and from continued oil and gas supply. I believe that those who are making national energy decisions fail to recognise the importance of gas from Rosebank, which would be exported through the west of Shetland pipeline system. It would pass through Sullom Voe and end up in the UK grid, thereby reducing reliance on imported gas. That contribution to the UK’s energy security should not be ignored.

Generating power locally makes sense in so far as it reduces the inevitable loss of power between generation and destination.

If communities are presented with manageable renewables projects, as opposed to vast arrays that dominate the horizon, they are more likely to be in favour of a project, especially if it will bring benefits for the community. The benefit of adding sustainable jobs in local places is a selling point to communities that are presented with such projects. As the energy sector transitions, we must support our workers and ensure that we do not see a repeat of communities being decimated as people are cast out of their jobs.

Much more, of course, needs to be done in terms of housing and making it easier to upgrade properties with energy-efficiency measures such as greater insulation and modern heating systems. Community benefit funds can help to enable progress on that front.

Increasing community-owned energy generation projects is a sensible path forward. The Scottish Government should work to ensure that any barriers to the development of such projects are minimised so that they can support the supply chain and resource availability.