Seòmar agus comataidhean

I would be interested to hear the committee’s thoughts on that. Byelaws are an important mechanism for trying to manage risks relating to irresponsible behaviour, or to address issues of public safety, but we also know of successful campaigns in areas where byelaws have not been used. A good example is the “Lek it be” campaign that is being run in the Cairngorms. It seeks to manage the really difficult issue that I referred to earlier, of allowing free access while trying to protect what is a hugely important species—the capercaillie—for us in Scotland. That work, which has been carried out with ecologists and other groups, has been shown to be successful.

It is also right that the national parks have the mechanism to introduce byelaws when they think that they are necessary. Enforcement is only ever a last resort, but it is an important mechanism that the parks have; indeed, there has recently been a review of the byelaws in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs national park, after an increase in incidents at the loch resulting from greater numbers of people being outdoors. We have heard about the tragic incidents there. It is important that the national park is able to take measures to address such issues when it can, in the interests of public safety, while enabling people’s enjoyment of and access to the outdoors. I think that we have struck the right balance in enabling those things but—again—I am more than happy to hear the committee’s thoughts and views on the matter.

Again, I suppose, as with anything, where there are challenges, there are also opportunities. We see that with the work that we are doing with climate change on the islands. They will be at the forefront of the climate change impacts that we see, but I think that they have the capabilities to deal with that. I see the same with the circular economy.

As part of the work on the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill, there has been an island communities impact assessment, which shows that benefits are expected for businesses on the islands. We are trying to support that work already, including through the islands programme and the funding that we offer through it. Earlier this year, I visited Shetland to announce which projects we were providing funding for. A particular one is a project that will look at the circular economy there and how we can improve it.

Again, there is no getting around the fact that there probably will be issues, but it is important that our islands feature in the work, as we go forward. Part of the bill is about a circular economy strategy, so I know that there will be engagement with island local authorities. It is critical that they are part of the process, because they can devise many of the solutions in what we are trying to achieve.

I know that the assessment has been undertaken. I presume that it has been published, but I can double check that for you.

No problem.

Just for clarity, peatlands fall within my portfolio, too.

It is not as straightforward as it can appear in relation to applications in that category in particular: in a couple of the examples, the land ended up not falling into those categories.

Whenever there are challenges or issues we want to try to get to the bottom of them. That is where the community land leadership group can help us to look at some of the issues. For example, we know that right now the cost of living pressures and the inflationary costs that people are seeing can be a barrier to progressing transfers or acquisitions. That is why the funding and support that we provide through the Scottish land fund is critical.

George Burgess might have further information to add to that.

I am not in a position to outline that, purely because it is being led by the Minister for Community Wealth and Public Finance, but I would be happy to follow that up with colleagues and provide that written advice to the committee.

To pick up on your first point, I do not know whether Granton falls in your constituency or in Ash Regan’s, but I undertook a visit there in May. It was great to see what people can do through the Scottish land fund in an urban area and how important land transfers can be for community groups.

On the market insights report, we welcome the work that the Land Commission undertook. Its findings were based on desk-based analysis as well as interviews with a number of land agents and valuers. The report highlights the fact that the number of transactions in the year concerned was low. It found that the price of timber had largely impacted land values before, but it was interesting to see the impact of the changes to the woodland carbon code, which were seen to have had a cooling effect on the land market. It is valuable for us to consider such insights and how interventions that we make, such as the changes to the woodland carbon code, have an impact.

There is an awful lot going on at the moment in relation to decarbonisation; the carbon neutral islands project is a key part of that. In January this year we published an update on where we were in the project, which has obviously moved on since then.

We are working across six islands. The carbon audits have been undertaken and the climate change action plans were published at the start of the summer this year. The next stage in the process is in relation to investment strategies and how we build on the actions that are set out in the reports. I would be happy to keep the committee updated on that work because, of course, it will feed into other parts of Government.

As I said, the islands will be at the forefront in facing the impacts of climate change, but I also think that they hold a lot of the solutions to climate change. There will, within that process, be critical learning that can be shared.

However, when I look to the other parts of my portfolio, those will also have an impact on islands—how they adapt to climate change and how we can help them to adapt to climate change. We were talking about peatlands; change might also happen in relation to forestry and agriculture reform, on which, as you know, we will introduce a bill. All those things will have an impact, so we must ensure that we are, as ever, working with our islands to identify solutions as we look to implement changes.

It is important to remember that so much has changed and so much has happened since “The National Islands Plan” was published. We are reviewing the plan at the moment. There are a number of consultation events in that review to ensure that the 13 strategic objectives that we set out are still relevant, and to find out whether there are other areas that we need to look at or focus more on. That review will be crucial in identifying other areas to consider.