Seòmar agus comataidhean

Thank you. Back to you, convener.

I suppose that the challenge is that we need to get all of it right at the same time and think about how we future proof the bill.

In evidence to the committee, Professor Robbie highlighted the power of property rights and the risk of unintended consequences if certain items were given property status without our thinking through what the impact could be.

You have just talked about thinking ahead to the future, but there is nothing in the bill about how the legislation will be future proofed. How is that going to happen? It is not addressed in the policy memorandum. Will the Scottish Government commit to undertaking an audit of the potential impact of the bill across Government and non-Government activities?

That goes back to my question about whether the Government will consider undertaking an audit of the potential impact of the bill across Government and non-Government activities. Perhaps you will reflect on that.

Several witnesses from the technology sector have given evidence to the committee, and their view was that the concept and the definition were not easily recognised by those working in the field. The committee was given several suggestions in that regard, such as producing guidance or statutory guidance, or adding further clarification in the explanatory notes on the bill.

How does the Scottish Government intend to bridge that gap?

I suppose that we have to think about the bill from those two different perspectives. We have to consider how the bill will operate and how tech will change over time.

This morning, I was reading through the supplementary evidence from Greg McLardie following his evidence to the committee last week. He referred to Professor Robbie’s evidence and talked about a potential financial risk to the Scottish Government in relation to carbon credits, the woodland carbon code and the peatland code.

There are high-level issues, but witnesses have also given detailed evidence about their concerns. I was hoping that the minister would pick that up. We cannot make everything perfect, but, given that witnesses are raising concerns at this point, we need to tease out the issues in respect of what is in the guidance or the policy memorandum. Do you agree?

It is challenging, but what colleagues have put on the record today is important, because it logs that there is an appetite for change and that there are both opportunities and major challenges. Before we get to stage 3, there is an opportunity for the Scottish Government to engage with us constructively so that we can reflect on the comments that have been made and make sure that, as this piece of legislation goes through, we do not miss another opportunity, because change is needed now.

Amendment 17, by agreement, withdrawn.

Amendment 31 not moved.

You say that the amendment would, in effect, result in overlap and repetition, but, with regard to its purpose, do you not accept that all of the issues that I have been talking about, and some of the other issues that colleagues have mentioned this morning, need to be brought into the previous marine plan that you say exists but that lots of stakeholders are not satisfied with?

This has been quite a constructive debate, because there is ambition to make things happen. The cabinet secretary said a few times that an amendment would involve duplicating powers that ministers already have. That illustrates that people want to see action. It is not enough just to have a power; it is about how it is used, monitored and reflected on. There has been a constructive discussion, but there is a need for more action.

It is critical to link the national marine plan and regional marine plans and to give them a local focus that involves communities, not only to bring people around the table but to lead to action that will improve their lives and our environment.

The fact that we are in a nature and climate emergency means that things are changing. I get that research is being done and that things do not change immediately, but we need to start doing survey work and planning ahead now. There will be tipping points involving things such as the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation that we need to start reflecting on now. We need joined-up thinking and action—there are opportunities as well as challenges.

The responses from both cabinet secretaries have been relatively constructive and positive. If members do not move amendments today because of what we have been told by the cabinet secretaries, that means that there is a clear appetite for further discussion before stage 3, so that we do not accidentally miss out on addressing the very good points that stakeholders have made to us. If our amendments, as currently crafted, do not take the ideal approach—if, for example, they introduce inadvertent duplication or are not perfect—I would like us to get them right before stage 3.

If there are not to be further amendments on an issue, there needs to be an explanation—now or very soon—from the Scottish Government about what is happening. These matters cannot be kicked into touch. It is not just about the pressure from stakeholders; there is a real need to see practical action, so that we deliver where there is a degree of agreement around the table. That is critical. If there is a consultation on the way, we need to know what that means. That is key.

Some of the amendments will be moved today, but others will not be. There is an appetite for change and for more action. Change is under way, but we need to ensure that it is communicated effectively to our communities and to key stakeholders, so that we do not just kick all this into touch and say that the most recent marine legislation sorted everything so we do not need to do anything. The fact that we have amendments shows that people feel that we need action.

There are a lot of amendments in the group, and colleagues will be relieved to know that I am not going to refer to them all.

I think that everyone here is trying to strengthen to the bill and respond to the various stakeholders who have spoken to us about the improvements that they think need to be made. I thank the Marine Conservation Society, the Scottish Creel Fishermen’s Federation, Scottish Environment LINK and the Sustainable Inshore Fisheries Trust for helping me to craft my amendments in the group.

Given that a huge portion of our environmental sector is focused on our marine, coastal and fishing environments, the amendments are incredibly important not just for our seas and our marine ecosystem but for the people who rely on those for their livelihoods.

My amendment 17 would provide that

“The Scottish Ministers must, within 12 months of Royal Assent, publish a national marine strategy”.

Many stakeholders in the marine sector have been asking for that. The strategy would need to set out clear indicators or methods for measuring progress. My amendment would ensure that ministers, in preparing or reviewing the strategy, were obliged to consult relevant stakeholders and take account of “new environmental challenges”; that is something that Scottish Environment LINK mentioned.

Amendments 93, 328 and 95 would all strengthen our focus on adaptation as well as mitigation. Amendment 93 would update section 68(3) of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 so that ministers must state the ecosystem recovery objectives for any new nature conservation marine protected area. That would ensure that designation criteria are properly aligned with future nature recovery targets under part 1 of the bill.

Amendment 95 would require ministers to review the guidance annually so that it could be updated in line with new scientific evidence and best practice, which is vital to raising awareness and delivering best practice whereby lessons can be learned, shared and implemented.

I thank the Scottish Creel Fishermen’s Federation and SIFT for helping to craft my amendments 156 and 265 on inshore fishing. Amendment 156 would give ministers the power to bring in low-impact fishing priority areas, in line with their commitments to support a just transition to a more sustainable industry, and I have worked closely with the Scottish Creel Fishermen’s Federation on it. It is a modest proposal that would require any such areas to be subject to extensive consultation; it could be done only to help meet any targets that are set under the bill, to fulfil the national marine plan or to help achieve ministers’ legal duty to deliver good environmental status.

Having said that—and, again, this has the support of the Scottish Creel Fishermen’s Federation—I encourage members to also support amendments 96 to 101, in the name of Maurice Golden, which are systemic and in the same space. Those amendments draw on the positive experience with the inshore fisheries and conservation authorities that operate successfully in English waters. What is proposed would fit within a potential hierarchy in the 2010 act of 11 regional marine plans sitting below one national marine plan.

My amendment 265 would give ministers the powers to protect the parts of our sea lochs that are most important as marine carbon stores. Those make a significant contribution to Scotland’s climate mitigation efforts, burying more carbon than the whole North Sea and storing more per hectare than peatland. However, there is significant concern that carbon that is sequestered in those sediments would, if it was disturbed, re-enter the water column, and would then be at risk of returning to the atmosphere.

Scottish ministers have drafted the “Scottish Blue Carbon Action Plan”, which rightly supports more research, and there are indeed many areas where that research is needed. The areas referred to are only rarely fished, so their closure would have a minimal impact on the trawl sector, which is the primary cause of disturbance to our inshore marine muddy sediments. However, their protection would have a significant impact on the amount of carbon that Scotland can sequester.

I also support amendment 294, in the name of Ross Greer, on enforcement, because taking stronger action is important.

In conclusion, the amendments in the group are important because they would improve our environment for coastal communities as well as for those who are working in the fishing industry, which would, in turn, enable us to create a more sustainable future for Scotland.

I have spoken to Government ministers, and I am conscious that they have a variety of views on these issues. I am trying to get positive results here, so I am keen to listen to what ministers have to say. Like other colleagues, I want to be constructive and ensure that we get the best possible legislation in order to have the best possible impact.

I move amendment 17.

Will the cabinet secretary give way?