Chamber and committees

Looking at the Scottish Government’s website and the information in front of me, I note that the instrument specifies that offences for breach of the regulations in the Sea Fish (Conservation) Act 1967 have penalties that are set out. Part of it talks about a fine of up to, but not exceeding, £50,000. Other things are listed regarding the court, which can impose additional fines, but not fines exceeding the value of the fish caught in contravention of the act. The Scottish Government’s website talks about Marine Scotland compliance, which is responsible for the monitoring and enforcement of marine and fishing laws. It also talks about how the result can be a fine of up to £50,000. I would be interested in whether you think that the maximum penalty is appropriate and proportionate.

That question was very similar to the one that I was going to ask. The data being collected will be driven by algorithms, designs and, indeed, artificial intelligence as that moves forward, so I assume that this will be not just a matter of human beings sitting and looking at what comes in from television cameras. I note that putting cameras on boats longer than 10m, which catch more than 90 per cent of the fish in the UK, would cost between £4.8 million and £6.75 million a year, which is less than 1 per cent of the value of seafood caught by the vessels. Basically, then, putting cameras on vessels is a way of managing some of the costs of capturing and interrogating the data, whether by artificial intelligence or by humans. Is it reasonable to say that?

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to assist the Scottish Prison Service in the recruitment of new officers, in the light of reported concerns regarding an ageing prison officer workforce. (S6O-03332)

Through discussions with prison staff in my South Scotland region and with constituents who have applied unsuccessfully to work for the service, it has become clear to me that the aptitude testing that is used for pre-interview screening is a barrier to recruitment. Prison staff told me that the best candidates for the position—those with life experience, strong interpersonal skills, empathy and understanding—are not always able to pass the numerical reasoning and spatial awareness online tests, which many feel are not relevant to the job. Given that, will the cabinet secretary outline whether that matter has been discussed with the SPS and whether consideration could be given to changing the aptitude testing for SPS recruitment?

I am really pleased to speak in the debate, and I thank Ivan McKee for bringing it to the chamber. Before I begin, I declare that I, like Ivan McKee, am a member of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee. I also remind members that I am a registered nurse, and I fully support the health recommendations to drink no more than 14 units of alcohol each week.

Mr McKee laid out his points very well and affirmed that the Scotch whisky industry is vital for Scotland and for our future economy. It has been 200 years since the Customs and Excise Act 1823 sanctioned the distilling of whisky, so now is a good time to reflect on how the industry plans to take Scotch whisky forward for the next 200 years. For my contribution, I will highlight what I think is a key resource for the next 200 years: women in the whisky industry and marketplace.

Yale University has found that women have more taste buds on their tongues than men do, and current studies suggest that women are far superior to men when it comes to tasting and smelling. I therefore suggest that the industry needs to mak siccar that it appeals and advertises to us lassies who have discovered the amazing variation of smells and flavours that Scotch whisky offers.

I am a relatively new convener of the cross-party group on whisky. I have Gordon MacDonald MSP to thank for asking me to join—it wasnae a hard decision to make. The passion for the history, stories and experiences of Scotland’s national drink have been with me since I lived in California after moving there in 1990. In the 90s, whisky as a product and whisky as an industry were both very male-dominated and male-focused. There were only a handful of women working in the Scotch whisky industry, and almost all the adverts and marketing were directed at an older male consumer. At times, those adverts were downright and blatantly misogynistic, which seemed to send the message to women that “Scotch whisky isnae for you.”

I am thankful that the industry has almost completely stopped that practice, and overtly sexist marketing is rare now. However, the sheer lack of representation of women in marketing and editorial imagery still feeds the insidious idea that Scotch whisky is not meant for women, and I appeal to the industry to change that.

In 2020, a non-profit organisation called OurWhisky Foundation conducted a survey of how the world’s largest whisky brands represented drinkers on social media, and it found that there were

“228% more images of men than women.”

In an effort to tackle that, OurWhisky Foundation has launched a new website called “The Modern Face of Whisky”. It is a free-to-use image library that depicts people of all genders, ages and races, with the intention that the whisky industry will start using more diversity in its adverts and appeal to a wider consumer base, including women and people under the age of 35. Statistics show that Scotch whisky drinkers discover that they like it before the age of 31.

I am very proud to say that, today, there are so many women who are working prominently in the whisky industry that there are far too many for me to mention them all, which is good news. However, I will mention a few trailblazing women in whisky. Susanne Cameron-Nielsen is head of engagement for the Scotch Whisky Association; she is in the cross-party group, and she helps to keep us right with the secretariat duties. Margaret Nicol is the hidden nose behind Dalmore’s success; Dr Rachel Barrie is master blender for the Brown-Forman Corporation group of distilleries; and Cara Laing is the managing director of Douglas Laing & Co. There are too many to mention. There is also Caitlin Heard, who is the team leader at the Borders Distillery in Hawick, in my South Scotland region.

I am sure that the minister will be happy that I am not going to give him any duties this evening, except simply in asking him to acknowledge that there are distilleries in the South Scotland region that produce gin, rum and whisky—including Bladnoch, which is the southernmost distillery in Scotland.

I end by quoting what Annabel Thomas, the founder of the Nc’nean distillery, said last year:

“My dream is that we get to a place where no-one finds it surprising if women drink whisky or, indeed, if women work in the whisky industry.”

Slàinte mhath, Presiding Officer.

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to reiterate the harms caused to both livestock and farmers by livestock worrying. (S6O-03293)

I thank the Government for having supported my member’s bill.

Cammy Wilson is a sheep farmer in the South Scotland region who is doing excellent work to increase awareness of the seriousness of livestock attacks from an animal welfare perspective as well as a health and wellbeing perspective for the farmer. What consideration might the Government give to a national awareness-raising campaign to ensure that the menace of out-of-control dogs and livestock worrying is treated with the utmost seriousness that it deserves to have in the minds of the public?

Rhoda Grant mentioned market gardening. There are some really good producers that produce a lot of local produce for delivery in a very small area. Does she agree that we need to think about how we support smaller producers such as market gardeners?

No, I am in my last 10 seconds. In fact, I probably have no seconds left, so my apologies.

The committee believes that it is important for the Parliament to have oversight of the minister’s strategic priorities, budget priorities and the consequential impact on the support schemes. There should be democratic oversight and an appropriate level of scrutiny.

I realise that time is short. I agree with the general principles of the bill and, although there is a lot more that we could have discussed today, I will support the bill at decision time.

I will link my question to the Highlands and Islands region, because South Scotland faces similar challenges.