Chamber and committees

The Strategy for Seafood was developed in discussion with key stakeholders across the seafood sector. This was primarily via meetings with producer organisations, regional fisheries groups, representatives of the processing industry and a number of further organisations with an interest. This engagement highlighted a number of ongoing issues which the sector was experiencing. This included access to sustainable funding support; approaches to marine spatial planning; support with technical trade issues; simplified access to support; labour shortages; coordinated marketing support; and coherent and collaborative marine management.

The Strategy was also informed via wider industry engagement relating to seafood trade that was ongoing during its development. This included a questionnaire issued to key industry stakeholders in 2021 which sought to understand barriers to seafood trade and any support required.

The Marine Directorate has several formal stakeholder engagement forums where there are opportunities to discuss the performance of the Marine Directorate with fishermen, their representatives and fisheries businesses. These include the Fisheries Management and Conservation Group (FMAC), and Regional Inshore Fisheries Management Groups RIFG. Additionally, there are many ad hoc meetings with stakeholders and regular engagement through direct correspondence with relevant officials where the Marine Directorate’s activities and performance can be discussed.

Marine Directorate Compliance Operations portfolio publish inspection data with the latest data being published shortly. (Reporting statistics from marine and fisheries compliance - gov.scot) We will continue to develop the data we publish.

The Women in Scottish Fisheries report provides a thorough overview of the importance of women across the industry and specifies that creating an attractive, safe and supportive environment for women, might direct us towards achieving a more equitable, and sustainable industry overall.

This remains a live topic that the Scottish Government is keen to explore in the future and we encourage industry to take the lead to bring about change wherever possible. We recognise that some actions may need to be initiated by government and we want to explore options for collaborative working and for actions to be developed in partnership with the fishing industry.

There is an overall lack of data and evidence on women in fisheries for a number of reasons, and we agree that steps are needed to improve this. However, many of these gaps will need to be filled in collaboration with the industry and the wider research communities. Given other pressing priorities, further research into how women in fisheries were affected specifically by the COVID-19 pandemic has not been taken forward.

GPs should visit their registered patients as clinically required.

There are a wide range of existing legal protections that may be relevant in the context of unlawful activities by protestors. For example, criminal offences of acting in a disorderly manner, malicious mischief, threatening or abusive behaviour and breach of the peace may be relevant depending on the specific facts and circumstances arising. Application of any relevant laws is within the context of the general right to lawful protest. It is for Police Scotland to investigate any relevant conduct and for Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service to decide whether to prosecute in any given case.

Prevention of theft is a matter for Network Rail and railway operators working in collaboration with the British Transport Police. The Member may wish to note that safety and security of the rail network is a reserved matter under Schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 1998. Scottish Government officials liaise with Network Rail and British Transport Police to ensure that they are working to minimise the impact of theft on passengers and freight users.

The Scottish Government has agreed with NHS Highland that due to exceptional circumstances there, a mixed model of vaccine delivery can be put in place. This will be a hybrid model for vaccine delivery in which NHS Highland will also continue to provide some vaccination programmes.

Since 2020 the Scottish Government has provided over £150 million to support the introduction of zero emission buses, which will bring the number servicing Scotland’s communities from less than 20 to more than 800. This includes our most recent round of Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB), which will bring 252 new, zero-emission buses and coaches into service between 2024-25 and 2025-26. This funding will electrify several bus depots, allowing operators to introduce more zero emission vehicles into their fleets in the future. Some of these depots will be made available for use by other fleets of heavy road vehicles. This pan-Scotland charging network will provide confidence in the availability of infrastructure to other road users, encouraging more operators to make the switch to zero-emissions. Government will continue to explore with the sector how private sector finance can be leveraged to increase the pace and scale of transition.

In relation to Producer Organisations (POs), Scottish Government officials had sought to co-operate with the UK Government in a review of POs. The previous UK government administration had committed to a review of POs (and the retained EU regulations that enabled them) however this did not come about. Given, the pan UK nature of POs (which are governed by guidance developed by the four UK administrations), there are benefits to a joint review. Scottish Government officials will explore the potential for a joint-review with the new UK Government administration in the first instance.

In relation to Quota Management Groups, the Scottish Government is conducting a review of these organisations (which are a Scottish Government initiative and only have remit in Scotland). This review will be published in the coming months.