Seòmar agus comataidhean

Thank you, convener. The next time the cabinet secretary comes, I think that we will need three hours to get through all these very important issues—with a break, of course.

I understand that the Government is also furthering, in parallel with the Griggs review recommendations, many of the recommendations that were made by the previous session’s Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee. A key recommendation from the REC Committee in its 2018 report was that

“the Scottish Government should, as a matter of priority, initiate a spatial planning exercise with a view to developing strategic guidance specifying those areas across Scotland that are suitable or unsuitable for siting of salmon farms. This work should”,

among other things,

“incorporate an assessment of the potential impact of salmon farms on”

marine protected areas and priority marine features

“and the species which inhabit them.”

I understand that various forms of spatial planning are already under way or are being planned, and the PFG notes the importance of spatial planning as a means of guiding development. Can the cabinet secretary advise whether those processes will include an assessment of the impact of salmon farm pollution on MPAs and PMFs, as the REC Committee recommended? I am also curious as to whether any work is being done to assess the current use of each area, including creeling and the use of the coast by locals and tourists, and the loss of use that a salmon farm could cause?

Do you have a sense of what the uptake has been?

So, we are potentially bringing forward areas that are genuine no-take zones, such as Lamlash Bay in Arran.

It is great to hear about the addressing depopulation action plan. Can you update us on other policy measures to encourage repopulation? For example, I know that there is work on repopulation zones, and there are also visa pilot schemes. It would be good to hear any information that you have about what is going on in the islands on that.

My question is about funding. The committee is well aware that we spend more than £500 million on agriculture support payments each year and that we need that money to work for the climate, for nature and for food production. The PFG sets out a commitment to shift

“50% of direct payments to climate action and funding for on-farm nature restoration and enhancement”,

although I trust that, in time, that percentage will increase.

I am delighted that the PFG commits to exploring

“capping and/or tapering base-level payments to release additional funding to meet the goals of our agricultural vision”.

Does the cabinet secretary have specific policy measures or objectives in mind that would benefit from that additional funding?

Is part of the thinking behind tapering off the payments and putting that money aside for potential measures that some of those opportunities will emerge as we start to understand what farmers will need to make the shift to a more sustainable and regenerative farming that responds to the climate and nature?

I agree. The move towards regenerative agriculture brings all of that together, and it is great to hear that work is being done in that regard.

What is the timeframe for the survey that you mentioned?

I come back to the issue of spatial squeeze. We have heard about the importance of our waters and about all the things that we are trying to accomplish in that regard. Highly protected marine areas will be an important tool for strategically protecting key areas of our inshore waters. The Bute house agreement specifies that HPMAs will cover at least 20 per cent our seas, including parts of our inshore waters. Users of the inshore space will want to know what that means for them. I have met inshore fishers and other folk about that, and it seems as though people are quite worried, because they do not know what the change really means, what the timescale is and how they can be involved. Could the cabinet secretary outline the next steps for HPMA designation and confirm whether there will be genuine no-take zones that are closed to all fishing, aquaculture and other extractive or depositional commercial activities?

Good morning and welcome to the 22nd meeting in 2022 of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee. We have received apologies from Annie Wells and Mark Griffin. I ask all members and witnesses to ensure that their mobile phones are on silent and that all other notifications are turned off during the meeting.

Agenda item 1 is a decision on taking business in private. Do members agree to take in private item 3, which is consideration of the evidence that we will hear on the affordable housing programme during our pre-budget scrutiny, and item 4, which is consideration of our approach on the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill’s legislative consent memorandum?

Members indicated agreement.

Those are very useful points.

I move to a question around place, which I will direct to Ken Gibb and Ailsa Raeburn. As we have started to hear, many communities in the Highlands and Islands have suffered historical underfunding and forced depopulation, which left them fragile and with declining populations. It is crucial that we support those communities and create ones where people feel ownership.

With that point in mind, and with the emphasis on the importance of place in the Scottish Government’s “Housing to 2040” policy document, is there anything that the Scottish Government and its partners need to do to ensure that new affordable homes are developed in sustainable places where people want to live and—I would say—developed in a sustainable way?