Seòmar agus comataidhean

Sir Dieter Helm might be interested to know that the Tweed Forum is doing a consultation on management of the Tweed catchment. The committee should possibly look at that.

I apologise for going back to some questions that might already have been asked, but I am interested in market-based mechanisms and the intervention of the Scottish Government through the £50 million of funding from the Scottish National Investment Bank that incentivises the use of natural assets.

What is your opinion on the risks that might be associated with carbon trading? In addition, although I think that you have answered this already, should we put our natural assets at the forefront as the priority, rather than the other way around?

We should also ask about issues relating to the Chinese licence being withdrawn and whether the Covid outbreak at the pig abattoir in Brechin affected the Scottish Government’s decision to bring forward the intervention.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you, convener. The aim of the group is to promote the world of gardening and horticulture, to facilitate an understanding between its representatives and members of the Scottish Parliament and to give the sector an important independent voice for the first time.

We know that the relationship that people have with the environment is strong. Witnessing the devastation of rare tree species caused by storm Arwen has caused much distress, which demonstrates how important plants, nature and green spaces are to us human beings.

It is also important to recognise the value of the Scottish garden retail sector to the Scottish economy. It has a total impact on gross domestic product of £277 million annually, and it supports 6,700 jobs. The need to grasp the opportunity that Covid has thrown at us and to strengthen the link between growing and eating is vital. Green spaces can also have a positive affect on mental wellbeing and health. The 26th United Nations climate change conference of the parties—COP26—amplified the need for green spaces like never before, particularly with regard to the importance of resilient supply chains in the horticultural industry.

The Good Food Nation (Scotland) Bill is before the Parliament, and many individuals are concerned about food and healthy living. According to a national representative YouGov survey commissioned by the Horticultural Trades Association in 2019, 31 per cent of British adults with a garden—approximately 14 million people—grew their own fruit and vegetables. That speaks volumes.

That leads me on to the importance of climate change. The gardening and horticultural sector is essential in fulfilling the Scottish Government’s environment plan and the wider ambitions around climate change. It is important to bring stakeholders around the table to discuss it. We have attracted members to the CPG from the National Trust for Scotland, Greenspace Scotland, the Scottish Allotments and Gardens Society and Scotland’s Gardens Scheme.

I understand that we have many cross-party groups at the moment. However, I believe it is important that we represent this very important sector. I urge the committee to support me, whether you think that roses or ranunculus are better, and whether pansies or petunias are your preference.

Are the witnesses confident that rural communities have a voice and are clear about the objectives and targets—particularly those that relate to climate change—that the Scottish Government sets and you deliver as public agencies? What do you do to engage with and consult rural communities?

Is it a bit like a planning process that local communities can feed back into? You said that there is a public register. Do you keep track of how many complaints there are? Scanning the feeling about forestry plantations at the moment, I noted that a resident from Lochmaben said:

“wildlife is being decimated because of commercial planting”

and that forestry is destroying upland ground.

There is quite strong public feeling. Are you content with the engagement, considering that there are such headlines?

On that point, I note that in a report to board members in February, Mr A’Hearn said that there might be a risk of not protecting the Scottish environment, especially from key threats. Do you have a revised overspend, and a timescale for dealing with the impact of the cyberattack, particularly with regard to the environment?

Will you clarify whether you can receive, verify and determine any application for industrial pollution and waste management permits?

Mr Renton, do you believe that Marine Scotland is not doing enough to stop illegal trawling?

Michel Kaiser, the chief scientist at Heriot-Watt University, has said that it is time to find places where dredging scallops does the least damage to the environment. I have to wonder at the simplicity of that statement, given that we are talking about protecting jobs and livelihoods.