Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government''s Economic Recovery Programme states that it will do all it can to help Scottish businesses. The government is committed to ensuring that small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) have fair access to public sector contracts in Scotland. SMEs make a significant contribution to the delivery of public services in Scotland and to the supply of good and works to the Scottish public sector. They are often ideally placed to provide innovative solutions to public sector requirements and to deliver value for money. The public procurement market place also offers considerable opportunities for SMEs to generate business, either individually or as part of a consortium. Access to public sector contracts can play a key part in supporting a SME''s longer term sustainable growth.

Our cross-sector Procurement Policy Handbook, published in December 2008, includes guidance on working with suppliers. The Handbook requires that tender costs be kept to a minimum and that barriers to participation by small firms, the self-employed and third sector should be removed. All Scottish public bodies are expected to take the following steps to implement these requirements.

1. Adopt the Suppliers'' Charter “ which commits public bodies to improving

 the way they work with businesses.

2. Use the Public Contracts Scotland advertising portal public bodies should:

publish their buyer profile on the portal “ to help suppliers find out quickly and cheaply whether a public body is a potential customer;

advertise as many contract opportunities as possible and publish contract award notices “ to give suppliers free access to contract opportunities across the Scottish public sector, and

3. Review contract award procedures “ to ensure that they place the minimum possible burden on suppliers.

4. Use outcome based tender specifications wherever possible “ to allow businesses to propose innovative and alternative solutions to public sector business needs.

5. Include in their terms and conditions a requirement that contractors pay any sub-contractors within 30 days of receipt of a valid invoice “ to ensure that sub-contractors, as well as contractors, receive prompt payment.

6. Monitor spend with SMEs “ use data from the Scottish Procurement Information Hub to monitor spend with SMEs. Monitoring spend by way of a Best Practice Indicator will enable public bodies to demonstrate the success of the other activities.

Responsibility for crofting community development will transfer from the Crofters Commission to Highlands and Islands Enterprise on 1 April 2009 and a baseline transfer of £175,000 will be made from the crofting assistance budget to the budget for Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Following consideration of the responses on the recent consultation exercise on Sustainable Seas for All a Consultation on Scotland''s first Marine Bill and related delivery arrangements, we plan to establish new integrated marine management arrangements for Scotland “ under Marine Scotland as part of the core Scottish Government, as of 1 April.

This will enable coherent management of the seas with integration of policy alongside delivery functions, as well as contributing to the Scottish Government''s aim to simplify the public bodies landscape. Our proposals signal our commitment to a step change in marine management arrangements for Scotland.

Marine Scotland''s role will be, in partnership with others, to deliver our marine vision of clean, healthy, safe, productive, biologically diverse marine and coastal environments within the overall Government''s purpose of sustainable economic growth. This will include, for example, working closely with bodies such as the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and Scottish Natural Heritage. It will manage Scotland''s seas for prosperity and environmental sustainability both by leading and working with others and in carrying out its own functions of evidence-based policy development and marine planning, streamlined marine licensing and consenting, sound science and effective compliance monitoring and enforcement.

We plan to establish a Marine Strategy Board, to be led by Marine Scotland and involving key partners with marine management interests, to deliver strategic management of Scotland''s seas.

Marine Scotland will have direct responsibility for core marine functions, which include both the existing functions of the Marine Directorate, Fisheries Research Services (Marine and Freshwater Fisheries) and Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency, and also planned new functions of marine planning, improved nature conservation measures and better integrated licensing, consents and monitoring arrangements. There is strong support for the establishment of such a body with the largest group to comment on status supporting its establishment within government. It will build on the success of the organisation involved and will enable a strategic approach to marine management.

In light of the importance of the new body''s science function we will, as part of the new governance arrangements, also be establishing a Scientific Advisory Board to assure its scientific objectivity and credibility. We will also be developing appropriate appeals mechanisms with an independent element.

We believe it is important to establish Marine Scotland quickly so that it can begin the process of integrating and streamlining currently separate functions and processes and so that it will be well placed to deliver new functions and responsibilities, following agreement on new marine legislation, effectively and efficiently. Decisions now about its role, status and establishment will also remove uncertainties for the staff involved, partner organisations and stakeholders and help us to gain the benefits of better integrated, more streamlined arrangements more quickly.

I am not aware of any evidence which proves a causal link between the use of pesticides and the decline in bee populations. That decline has been fairly recent, whereas insecticides have been used for many years with a fairly static usage pattern.

We receive scientific advice on topics relating to crop health from the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) and from Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA). Non-chemical control measures under investigation to reduce the impact of pests and diseases include rotations, time of sowing, use of genetic resistance including the use of variety mixtures, more durable host defence, and crop characteristics which enable plants to tolerate or escape the disease

We must recognise that invertebrates make up around 98 per cent of Scotland''s animal species, and within that broad category are many species which can either be beneficial or harmful to farming. However, all pesticides used in the UK are strictly regulated and, before being approved for use, are scientifically assessed for their potential risk to the environment. This includes a risk assessment to invertebrates. The independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides provides scientific advice to the Scottish Government on all aspects of pesticides, including their effects on invertebrates.

We have not met the Soil Association to discuss this matter. It is not yet known whether currently-available pesticides will become unavailable in future. Decisions will only be taken as individual products are assessed for re-authorisation when their current authorisations expire. That process will take some years.

I am pleased to announce that Scotland will be granted executive devolution of marine planning and nature conservation out to 200 nautical miles. This follows the First Minister successfully pressing for the resurrection of the Joint Ministerial Committee as a formal mechanism for taking forward issues involving the UK Government and devolved administrations. Agreement has been reached on a framework for marine planning and nature conservation.

This will involve a coherent system of marine planning involving all parts of the UK. Scotland will participate in the development of a UK Marine Policy statement, which will provide a framework for the sustainable development of the UK Marine area. The Marine Policy Statement will guide marine planning and there will be a mechanism for Scottish ministers to decline to adopt a Marine Policy Statement. Additional marine planning and nature conservation powers including the powers to designate Marine Protected Zones will be executively devolved to Scottish ministers beyond 12nm to 200nm bringing these responsibilities into line with existing fisheries responsibilities. Scottish marine plans after agreement by the UK Government will be binding on UK bodies and departments exercising reserved functions. This provides the basis for a coherent system of marine management for the seas around Scotland joining up with the UK Government to provide an integrated framework to achieve a good outcome for Scotland''s seas.

The European Commission has already announced proposals for simplifying the Marketing Standards Regulations for fruit and vegetables. The Scottish Government fully supports this simplification. We will continue to work with officials in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on further development of the regulations.

The Scottish Government have been working with officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to monitor and contribute to developments on the reform of the Marketing Standards for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables, which were first raised in the context of the 2007 reform of the EU Fruit and Vegetable regime.