Chamber and committees

You raised the subject of online learning and the opportunities that undoubtedly exist around that, but you also mentioned the aim of attracting people to Scotland. Are there any tensions between those things? Are there any potential threats, or are you confident that you can manage the new landscape? Many of us do not know quite what the new landscape of online learning looks like. Perhaps you could say a bit about that.

Mr Hampson, in relation to Professor Nolan’s last point, but also in relation to a point that you made about how you unify international strategy and policy, one of the traditional ways of doing that is through diplomacy. You touched on Scotland’s offices abroad. How do cultural organisations get the most out of those offices? Should we have more of them?

I turn to international development, which is another area that is your responsibility, although you have a new Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development in Neil Gray. There is a lot of reciprocity in the relationships that exist between Scotland and the countries in which we work—most famously Malawi, but also others, including Zambia. There has been a review of our international development policy and a keenness on the part of Government to challenge our assumptions about how international development is done. For example, there has been talk about removing the white gaze from the way in which we do international development. Will you say a bit about what is changing so that the committee can understand that?

I thank Ariane Burgess for bringing this important debate to the chamber.

As others have said, here in Scotland we are fortunate to enjoy a wealth of diverse coastlines that are rich in both natural resources and natural environment. Our coastal communities from Stranraer to Stornoway and beyond face an array of unique challenges, including the protection of the land and sea around them.

The beaches of the Hebrides are renowned for their crystal-clear waters and clean white sand but, as we have heard, unfortunately, we still face significant challenges when it comes to protecting those marine environments from litter and pollution. Issues such as lack of affordable housing, insufficient transport links and depopulation continue to threaten the resilience of our island communities against the backdrop of the climate and nature emergencies.

I was recently contacted by a constituent on the Isle of Lewis who is deeply concerned about the erosion of an embankment that previously safeguarded the foreshore adjacent to his village. Over the past 10 years, the embankment has gradually been eroded, leading to a situation that is described by a council engineer as “critical”. If no action is taken to protect what remains of the embankment, the inland area forming part of the machair—a type of low-lying fertile land that is unique to the west coast of Scotland—risks becoming permanently under water.

Coastal erosion is just one thing that will endanger our coastal communities in the future—and it is clearly having a detrimental impact already. It is just one of the many difficulties that we need to urgently address to preserve and protect our coastlines and the communities who live by them. The Coastal Communities Network provides an important platform for communication and support between the residents of coastal locations across Scotland. I share its belief that coastal communities themselves are best placed to harness the most effective long-term solutions for the sustainable management of the seas around them. The management of our seas must include input from all local stakeholders, not least those who make their living from marine resources. Our marine environment must be protected while continuing to play its part in the diverse local economies of our coastal areas.

Representing the Coastal Communities Network in my constituency is the organisation Clean Coast Outer Hebrides, which has been working tirelessly since its formation in 2018 to tackle the plastic waste that, sadly, washes up on our many beautiful beaches. Collaborating with the local authority, schools, community organisations and individuals, it organises beach cleans that engage local communities in its work and raise awareness of the importance of marine conservation, with a focus on educating and involving younger people in particular.

That spirit of collaboration is essential in local communities and across the network of coastal communities, as well as at local and national Government levels, in order to best protect and conserve our marine environment for the generations to come. As I have said, it is important that the economic resilience of our coastal communities is fully considered in any and all policy. The voices of people in the fishing industry must be listened to as fishers continue to adapt their practices to become more sustainable.

The restoration and sustainable development of our coastal areas should be community focused and community led, building on the on-going work of organisations such as those in the Coastal Communities Network, in order for us to play our part in tackling the climate and nature emergencies.

I begin by thanking Rona MacKay, Angus Campbell and Naomi Bremner for the work that they have done in my constituency on behalf of the Uist economic task force to bring the petition to the committee.

Island communities are all reliant on lifeline transport links. They are vital to every aspect of our lives. However, the organisations that are tasked with delivering those services have virtually no one with experience of living in the communities that they serve on their boards. The petitioners’ submission rightly states that community and place should be at the heart of good government.

Given that the principal mission of organisations such as David MacBrayne Ltd, Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd and Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd is to serve island communities, it is not in the interests of good governance of the boards of those organisations to be as remote from their service users as they currently are. I say that as no criticism of existing board members, but I do not think that any of them probably faces the experience that I, fairly enough, face of hearing people’s views about CalMac Ferries every time I go to buy a pint of milk.

Since the committee last considered the petition in early September, I led a members’ business debate in the chamber on reserving seats for islanders on the board of CalMac. There was a large degree of cross-party consensus on the need for more representation of islanders. The then transport minister, Graeme Dey, signalled that the Scottish Government is open to changes, and in responding to a recent parliamentary question of mine the minister also stated that he had tasked the newly appointed chair of David MacBrayne to look at ways of getting an island-based presence on the boards.

Briefly, one other development that is relevant to a petition that you have just considered is that HIAL has recently confirmed that it will be taking a different approach to its ATMS plans on air traffic control jobs. The issue with HIAL also partly motivated the petition that we are presently discussing. The announcement comes after five years of bitter dispute with the affected communities and the air traffic controllers trade union. It is fair to speculate on whether the process would have been as long, acrimonious and protracted if more board members of that organisation had been based in island communities.

In closing, I will borrow a point that Rona MacKay from Uist made to me. Last year, Uist and Lewis both won titles of social enterprise places of the year. That is a testament to the large number of social enterprises on the islands, which each have unpaid boards of islanders. Islanders are not strangers to boards and nor, relevantly, is there any shortage of islanders who know about seafaring. There exists a large and healthy degree of involvement in public life in the islands. It would be in everyone’s interests if that could be utilised on the boards of the organisations that deliver lifeline services to them.

I urge the committee to keep the petition open and to push for changes in the criteria for board appointments in the organisations that we have discussed to give much more prominence to the experience of living in an island community.

This question is perhaps for Claire Hislop and Jo Teece. In previous meetings, we have considered whether a new body is needed to ensure—I do not want to use the word “enforce”—that what is outlined in the bill and the envisaged plan works. Do we need a new body in this area? Can we develop existing bodies that work around food in Scotland so that they can fulfil that function?

Will you elaborate on what you mean by the world of food being a “cluttered” environment? Will you explain what you were thinking?

Does Jo Teece have a view on that or on the more general point that I made about whether a new body is needed?

Iain Gulland, you have given us some fearful statistics about food waste and you have set out a solution. Rightly, you are advocating for more food to be grown in Scotland that can be used in Scotland. How does that relate to the problem that we were talking about last week, which is the affordability of food? It is not just about the rising cost of living. More generally, we have been talking about how to make food affordable for people on low incomes. We all want to see more food that is grown in Scotland being used in Scotland, as a solution to some of the problems that you have outlined. How do we make that happen and make it more affordable?

My question is for Dr Fletcher and Claire Hislop. You mentioned the important issue of the food environment in Scotland, which I think we would all agree needs to be changed. However, I am sure that you would also agree—although I do not want to put words in your mouth—that we cannot divorce that issue from the issue of incomes. Although I appreciate that some of the levers for determining incomes, whether through wages or benefits, are reserved, perhaps you can say a little about what you think a good food nation should be with regard to incomes.