Chamber and committees

The public sector in Scotland has made good progress increasing their sourcing of Scottish produce through their catering contracts with an estimated 40% increase since 2007. We are now in discussion with local authorities, and other parts of the public sector, to agree how we can work together to increase this further, including through the proposed joint industry/public sector taskforce.

The board of Scotland Food and Drink, the industry leadership body, is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the recommendations contained with the collaboration report to ensure they align and support the development of the new food and drink industry strategy. Good progress is being made to date, and this progress will be summarised in the board’s formal progress report it will produce at the end of 2016.

Scotland’s first National Marine Plan was adopted in March 2015. The plan provides a framework for planning and regulatory decisions affecting the marine environment. Implementation has therefore focussed on raising awareness of the plan’s policies and monitoring their impact on licensing decisions. We have also undertaken a series of activities to inform relevant authorities of their obligations. These activities have included attendance at relevant conferences and training events; consideration of material submitted to the Scottish Government Development plan gateway; publication of Planning Circular 1/2015 on the relationship between statutory land use planning system and marine planning and licencing; supporting the development of regional marine planning; and publication of guidance material on National Marine plan online - http://www.gov.scot/Topics/marine/seamanagement/national. Information on implementation will be fed into the review of the plan in 2018.

The Government has been working with key stakeholders to consider the most effective means to support the dairy sector. It has been decided that the Dairy Growth board will address the challenges facing the sector moving forward.

The government will establish a Scottish landings target after discussion with fishermen, representatives of processors in Scotland and others with an interest. Government officials have in particular commenced discussions with pelagic fishermen and processing companies to seek agreement on how landings into Scotland might be increased over the 2016-17 winter fishing season. Progress in increasing landings over this period will be monitored.

My officials last met with our Scottish Discards Steering Group on 24 June 2016 to discuss the discard ban, including the continued phased implementation of the ban in 2017. Further discussions on phasing will take place with the fishing industry when developing discard plans for 2018 which will be taken forward by Member States as part of the Regionalisation process.

I have met with a range of representatives from the fishing industry over the summer, including as part of the Fisheries Innovation Scotland conference on 22-23 August 2016 during which the implementation of the discard ban was discussed.

Marine Scotland and Caledonian MacBrayne perform different functions, and operate under different terms and conditions. This means that rates of pay are not directly comparable. Different arrangements for pensions, levels of leave and National Insurance also make direct comparisons difficult.

The pay rates and scales for Marine Scotland and Caledonian MacBrayne seafarers are show in the following tables. These do not show any allowances that might also be paid.

The Scottish Government proactively review mapping information utilising Aerial Photography, information from Ordinance Survey and data gathered from land inspections as part of the claim validation process. In addition claimants of CAP funding have for a number of years been encouraged to review their land maps and ensure that they are up to date and accurate.

Guidance is available from the Rural Payments and Inspections Division detailing the mapping rules, online facilities are available for farmers to view their maps to ensure their accuracy and we proactively encourage claimants to engage with their local Rural Payments and Inspections offices who are able to provide assistance and guidance in maintaining their mapping information.

The Scottish Government is committed to taking steps to encourage new entrants into the fishing industry. The Government expects to make an announcement about its quota allocation policy in the coming months, which will include new steps to pursue this objective.