Chamber and committees

There is quite a lot to unpack in that question, and I will try to answer it as best I can.

I know that the committee took evidence on this issue last week, so it will be aware of some of the impacts. Indeed, some impacts have been well publicised. In an article last week, Andrew Faichney of East of Scotland Growers Ltd highlighted the critical shortages that it is facing, with the issue of labour, which we have already touched on today, a critical element in that respect. So much food is going to waste. Andrew Faichney says that about 2.5 million heads of broccoli and 1.5 million heads of cauliflower have been lost, simply because there is no labour to deal with them.

Labour is a critical issue across the piece, and that is down to our no longer having freedom of movement. I have also talked about the importance of labour in the processing sector and some of the percentages that we have seen there with regard to recruitment, but the fact is that putting a stop to the free movement of people was always going to have a huge impact.

There has also been a huge impact in relation to trade. I mentioned in last week’s food and drink debate that EU exit and the barriers to trade that now exist cost the food and drink industry about £700 million in January alone. Those barriers are not going to go away. On seafood, the task force that was set up with the UK Government to work through the issues and barriers as best we could has morphed into an action group. However, more barriers are due to come in over the coming months. There is no way of avoiding that. New requirements on export health certificates, which had been due to come into force by the end of this month, are now due to be introduced in January. Those requirements will affect aquaculture, in particular.

We continue to face such issues. As I said, the situation is not going to get better. If anything, the longer we go on, the more checks there will be and the more issues there will be, all of which simply serves to hamper the food and drink industry, from primary producer to manufacturer to the other end of the spectrum. We are seeing the impacts right across the board.

You are absolutely right about that. The experience on Colonsay is that there are job opportunities but there is a lack of adequate housing, including affordable housing. That is a critical point. Although I am not directly responsible for housing policy, just last week I met the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government to discuss some of those issues and to ensure that we work together across Government to address some of the critical challenges that impact on people on our islands. We have the islands bond and various other bits of funding, and we need to try to address those issues. However, although it is all very well trying to encourage people to move to islands or to create jobs there, it is critical that we ensure that there is affordable housing to enable people to live and stay there and become part of the community.

I am cognisant of that issue and, as I said, we are taking forward work on it across Government and making sure that our officials work together as we look to develop policies on that.

I talked about the rural housing action plan that we will bring forward, but I am happy to consider that issue and look into it further.

I was simply asked whether I would be appearing virtually. It is not at all that I do not think it important. This is the first meeting and the first engagement of many that I will have with the committee. I look forward to working with committee members and will, no doubt, meet you in person.

Yes, of course.

On your first point about the 3-mile limit, we have not agreed to nor adopted such a policy because we do not agree with taking a blanket approach, given how different and variable the coastline of Scotland is. A tailored approach is seen to be a lot more effective and beneficial.

The work that we have done through the future fisheries management strategy, with the regional inshore fisheries groups, looking at where local management can work, has been vital in helping to inform how we move forward and how we handle some of the issues that you outlined. So far, we have taken an approach of engagement and consultation, looking at the different environments surrounding coastal communities in Scotland. That approach makes sense, and we fully intend to continue with it.

It is not solely an islands affair, but ferries fall within the remit of the transport minister, so, if the committee was looking to do any specific pieces of work on that, he would be best placed to respond to that.

I am really sorry but I missed the first part of your question about the task force and what you were asking for.

As I mentioned, I was previously a minister who worked between two cabinet secretaries. In that situation, you do not work in isolation, especially when the issues concern various aspects across wider portfolios, so there will be close working on that. We also have a responsibility to ensure that, as we develop proposals for legislation, we engage with all the stakeholders and people who will be affected by it. I did that in my previous role and I do it now. It is critical for any legislation that there is open consultation so that we get the necessary feedback on the proposals to help us to shape the legislation and frame it in the best possible way.

That work will be undertaken in the process of developing the legislation that the member refers to. There is always a lead minister or cabinet secretary to take forward various bits of legislation, depending on where it falls in the portfolio. As I mentioned, that piece of legislation falls within the portfolio of the Minister for Environment, Biodiversity and Land Reform, who will take the lead on that.

The food and drink recovery plan has been funded with £5 million in 2020-21 and another £5 million in 2021-22. There are 50 actions in the plan. I would be happy to write to the committee to provide more information about those actions and some of the work that has been done.

The regional food fund, which I launched in Shetland in the summer, is one project that has been delivered through the plan. The fund, which seeks to showcase and develop new markets for our food and drink, received a positive welcome. We have the best produce anywhere in the world, and it is important to highlight and showcase that and to do what we can to develop markets, especially in the light of some of the challenges that we have faced recently. We have also provided £1.8 million to Seafood Scotland and, last month, we announced a food processing, marketing and co-operation grant of £7.3 million. All of that is intended to keep our food and drink businesses resilient and to help them with some of the issues that they face.

You asked about sustainably Scottish. We produce sustainably. Scotland has a lot to show off about when it comes to our food and drink, and a sustainably Scottish brand would capitalise on that. We are in the early stages of that work. We will be working closely with Scotland Food & Drink to help to develop proposals for that and to see how we can drive it forward. It is important that we highlight Scottish produce and capitalise on the fact that it is sustainably produced.