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Chamber and committees

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 14 July 2025
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Displaying 831 contributions

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Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Future Agriculture Policy

Meeting date: 19 April 2023

Alasdair Allan

I have two other questions. First, do you accept the arguments that are being made by, for example, RSPB Scotland that, in many areas of Scotland, biodiversity—certainly in terms of wildlife—depends on a grazed environment? It is difficult to see how that will happen for certain species if there is no such environment.

My other question, which is related to that, is about what you are advocating should be grown by these people. More to the point, how are you going to encourage behavioural change that does not involve all the people in this country who currently eat meat—whether that be right or wrong—simply getting that meat from Argentina or wherever?

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Future Agriculture Policy

Meeting date: 19 April 2023

Alasdair Allan

I would not use it, if I were you.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Future Agriculture Policy

Meeting date: 19 April 2023

Alasdair Allan

I am just offering you the advice that, if you visit those communities, you should not use that word.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Future Agriculture Policy

Meeting date: 19 April 2023

Alasdair Allan

I will keep it brief, in that case, as many of the issues have already been touched on by others. Does anyone want to give a couple of examples of actions? We have heard today that actions are more important than outcomes. When we think about future food production systems, how do we get from here to there? Can anyone give a couple of examples of quick wins that would get us to where we want to be environmentally?

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers

Meeting date: 30 March 2023

Alasdair Allan

Can you tell me what it involves and how you will do that in the next few years?

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers

Meeting date: 30 March 2023

Alasdair Allan

Not everyone watching will be familiar with how the Nordic Council of Ministers, or the Nordic Council, works. Will you say a little bit about how the Nordic Council of Ministers is embedded in the political cultures of the countries concerned? Many of us look with envy at the diplomatic reach of a country such as Iceland. How do the individual countries relate to the Nordic Council of Ministers? How do your pronouncements as an organisation relate to policy in the different states?

Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers

Meeting date: 30 March 2023

Alasdair Allan

I will resist the temptation to ask whether Scotland can become a member in the future. You said that the vision for 2030 is that the Nordic region will become the most sustainable and integrated region in the world. That is a huge ambition.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Petition

Meeting date: 29 March 2023

Alasdair Allan

I am not suggesting that it is your job to decide what the law should be; I was just curious about whether you thought that it should be a criminal offence to run an event or whether you felt that there should be a law to achieve the ends that you have spoken about.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Petition

Meeting date: 29 March 2023

Alasdair Allan

When we talked about the decline of the activity, you mentioned that race meetings take place only if a bookmaker turns up. If that decline is going on, are we at the point at which bookmakers do not turn up or are unlikely or less likely to turn up? How interested is the gambling industry in the activity?

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Petition

Meeting date: 29 March 2023

Alasdair Allan

You recommended that no new greyhound tracks should be permitted in Scotland. Will you clarify who they should not be permitted by—an independent agency or local authorities, for example—or whether that should be done through criminal law? What do you mean when you say that they should not be permitted?