Chamber and committees

We will move on to questions on policing and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. I will ask about the funding provision for the 26th United Nations climate change conference of the parties—COP26. We are still in the middle of that unique and, so far, extremely successful event, but it has had a budget implication for Police Scotland.

We recently visited Gartcosh and spoke to the chief constable. Having got the policing budget on track in recent years, he is keen for it not to be unsettled. Can you reassure me that the UK Government will meet its obligation to fully fund the policing of COP26, including any legacy costs? We are aware that there were some lessons learned from the G8 event at Gleneagles. Some UK provision was made for the budget implications of that, but it did not cover the final costs. I am interested in the plan for COP26.

We move on to Jamie Greene, and then we will move to questions on prisons.

I will hand over to Jamie Greene, then I will bring in Collette Stevenson.

That is noted—thank you.

As there are no further comments, I suggest that we note the content of the letter and that the SSI is being taken forward by a different committee, and that we keep under review the timetable for the review of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. Are members happy with that?

Members indicated agreement.

What steps are being taken to ensure that policing by consent and a rights-based approach continue to form the core of policing practice?

I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate and I thank other members for their contributions.

As a child, I spent every Saturday morning being dragged to Aberdeen fish market, where my father, who was then an accountant in the fishing industry—there seems to be a theme here—stood staring at landing prices on a big chalk board. Then, as now, we took this wonderful food source for granted.

The 2021 coastal state negotiations are a crucial event for Scotland’s fish producers and processors and the wider supply chain, as well as being an important forum in which to discuss how coastal states can work together to ensure that the fishing industry is sustainable in the long term. The UK Government’s decision to impose a hard Brexit during a pandemic has, predictably, made the negotiations harder than they would otherwise have been.

Across Scotland, more than 12,000 people are employed in the fishing and processing industries and, in 2018, those industries were worth more than £2.2 billion. According to Peter Cook from Opportunity North East, the turnover of the local seafood processing sector is around £700 million per annum—it accounts for 32 per cent of total north-east food and drink sales. I am proud that my constituency of Aberdeen South and North Kincardine is home to several local processing businesses.

Recently, I spent small business week meeting local businesses in the constituency, including two long-standing family-run processing businesses that produce speciality products using fish that is sourced from across Scotland. Both those businesses are key parts of the local economy. They employ skilled local workers, supply the local food and drink sector and export their products as far afield as China.

However, things have been rough for those businesses. Both found themselves navigating the Covid-19 pandemic when along came the disaster of Brexit and the resultant uncertainty over workforce availability, export cost increases and diminishing export markets. Despite that, the businesses have shown extraordinary resilience. In September, John Ross, master curer and smoker, celebrated its gold star award from the Guild of Fine Food for its whisky smoked salmon. J Charles, a third-generation family-run business, made the brave decision to expand its online business during the pandemic, remaining open and building up online deliveries. That is now a thriving part of its business.

At the most recent meeting of the north-east Scotland fisheries development partnership, Mike Park of the Scottish White Fish Producers Association updated us on the challenges that quota constraints, loss of access to fishing grounds in Norway and fear were having on the industry. The importance of the coastal negotiations, therefore, cannot be underestimated if we are to continue to have a thriving processing sector. According to Andrew Charles, it is absolutely vital that robust, sustainable science supports the total allowable catch agreed and that the total accountability of the stock catch is properly managed and policed.

As an independent coastal state, it is therefore vital that we have a robust and independent fisheries management force. The failure of the UK Government to build good working relationships with our nearest and most important quota trading partners will, regrettably, require robust policing. In that regard, I ask the UK Government to provide clarity around what increases in fishery protection might have to be budgeted for now that we cannot rely on European co-operation.

Never has there been a time when these negotiations have been more important, and never has there been a time when the case for independence has been so evident. I look forward to working with the cabinet secretary to ensure that the negotiations are a success for all who are involved in the sector, and especially for businesses in Aberdeen South and North Kincardine.

I draw members’ attention to my entry in the register of members’ interests: I, too, am a councillor on Aberdeen City Council.

I am pleased to see that Aberdeen harbour is one of the proposed national developments included in the draft NPF4. Will the minister outline the role that the Government envisages the harbour playing in the transition to net zero and in stimulating economic investment in the north-east?

I acknowledge that call-out numbers were down this year, but much work still needs to be done. What progress has the Scottish Government made in implementing the recommendations of the independent fireworks review group, to ensure that fireworks are used safely and appropriately?

If you do not mind, I will pull the session back to staffing issues. We will come back to the important issue of drugs, but that will keep the session on track.

Good morning and welcome to the ninth meeting in 2021 of the Criminal Justice Committee. No apologies have been received.

Under item 1, do members agree to take in private item 3, which is consideration of today’s evidence?

Members indicated agreement.