Hansard

Mairi Gougeon SNP Chamber

25 Mar 2026

Portfolio Question Time · Community Right to Buy Review

I thank Mercedes Villalba for her interest in the topic. As has been highlighted in the review report, delivering on some of its recommendations would need primary legislation. Ultimately, that will be for the next Government to decide on and take forward. However, where we ca...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Chamber

25 Mar 2026

Portfolio Question Time · Community Right to Buy Review

I thank Fulton MacGregor for those kind comments. Some of my favourite memories are from those early days when we came to the Parliament together and served on the Justice Committee. He did not do as badly on that run as he thought, but I am glad to hear that he suffered after...

The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands (Mairi Gougeon) SNP Chamber

25 Mar 2026

Portfolio Question Time · Community Right to Buy Review

The Scottish Government accepts the review and its recommendations for improvements to community rights to buy, and I am grateful to all who took the time to respond to the consultation that we undertook on it. The Government is exploring its options on legislation to take for...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Chamber

25 Mar 2026

Portfolio Question Time · Food Security and Resilience

Brian Whittle has raised that issue with me on a number of occasions, and I think that we and members across the Parliament are keen to deliver on it. The Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 and the very first good food nation plan are key to delivering on that. They recognis...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Chamber

25 Mar 2026

Portfolio Question Time · Food Security and Resilience

I am in absolute agreement with Patrick Harvie on that point, and of course I will be leaving that message, worded in the strongest terms. However, for me, what needs to be done is more about building on the work that we have already done. As I highlighted in a previous respon...

The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands (Mairi Gougeon) SNP Chamber

25 Mar 2026

Portfolio Question Time · Food Security and Resilience

As the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy said on 19 March, we have considered that UK Government report, which highlights that our national security is under threat from global ecosystem degradation and collapse. The Scottish Government is working to protect our ...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Chamber

25 Mar 2026

Portfolio Question Time · Food and Drink Processing Scheme Scotland

As other members have done, Michelle Thomson has raised a number of important points. We established a food security unit precisely to address the key challenges that members have identified. That unit was initially set up on the back of the work of the food sector resilience ...

The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands (Mairi Gougeon) SNP Chamber

25 Mar 2026

Portfolio Question Time · Food and Drink Processing Scheme Scotland

As part of our £9 million capital support package for the food and drink processing sector, a new food and drink processing scheme will provide grants on a competitive basis to boost production, improve supply chain efficiency and deliver economic benefits for food and drink b...

The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands (Mairi Gougeon) SNP Chamber

25 Mar 2026

Remote, Rural and Island Communities (Sustainability)

I am grateful to Jamie Halcro Johnston for securing the debate. Given the breadth of the areas that are covered in the motion, any one of my colleagues could have been here to respond. However, I am delighted to have the opportunity to do so, because this SNP Government cares ...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

17 Mar 2026

Subordinate Legislation

That is not strictly true, but I will reciprocate. Thank you, convener, and the rest of the committee. I have predominantly appeared in front of the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee, but the work that this committee has undertaken, particularly on land reform, has been exte...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

17 Mar 2026

Subordinate Legislation

I have no further comments.Motion moved,That the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee recommends that the Marine Licensing (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Order 2026 draft be approved.—Mairi GougeonMotion agreed to.

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

17 Mar 2026

Subordinate Legislation

Yes, but it had no further comments to make about it.

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

17 Mar 2026

Subordinate Legislation

No, and the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation did not raise any issues with us, and I think that it was approached for comment about the SSI.

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

17 Mar 2026

Subordinate Legislation

Regardless of where the fishing takes place.

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

17 Mar 2026

Subordinate Legislation

It is not a gap, because the fishing activity is already governed by other licences and regulations.

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

17 Mar 2026

Subordinate Legislation

Again, this SSI on marine licensing does not apply to and is not relevant to fisheries. It is important to note that, where exemptions exist for key sectors, it is only because those sectors are already governed by other pieces of legislation. For fisheries, we provide licence...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

17 Mar 2026

Subordinate Legislation

I got there in the end.

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

17 Mar 2026

Subordinate Legislation

Yes, it is.

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

17 Mar 2026

Subordinate Legislation

If they were Scottish persons and we were providing the marine licence for them in that area, it would fall to us, as the licensing authority, to monitor that activity, whatever it looks like, and potentially enforce the instrument.

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

17 Mar 2026

Subordinate Legislation

It is important to point out that we still have to get to grips with what the activity in the high seas might look like. The SSI is about putting in place a framework so that we can screen such activity against the EIA requirements. We will gather more information on the exten...

The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands (Mairi Gougeon) SNP Committee

17 Mar 2026

Subordinate Legislation

I would, convener. Good morning to the committee.The Scottish Government is committed to meeting the obligations under the biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction agreement. As the committee will be aware through the legislative consent process for the United Kingdom’s Biodi...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

It was really just to say that this will be my last time appearing before the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee, although it will not be my final appearance before a parliamentary committee. I want to thank you, convener, and the members around the table. I cannot say that i...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

We have not set a threshold, and we are not considering doing so, because there are many different causes that can lead to mortality events. For me, the key focus is on how we are addressing those issues, whether action is being taken to prevent them from happening in the firs...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

I am sorry—do you mean that 10 per cent would be an acceptable level of mortality?

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

In using that scenario, you are not comparing like with like. It is about driving down mortality to the lowest possible levels. That is where the focus of our work has been. Ultimately, that aims to identify whether there are persistent issues that we need to address. However,...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

We touched on that when I previously appeared in front of the committee. I will simply reiterate the response that I made then: we want to drive down mortality to the lowest possible levels. Are any of those levels acceptable? No. I want to see them driven down to the absolute...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

I think that we are looking for simple solutions to complex problems that it has taken us years to grapple with and address. We are talking about an ever-changing environment and regulatory landscape. You are right to suggest that there has not been progress in some cases. We ...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

I think that I understand the point that you are trying to get to. The model would never provide all of that, because it was not designed to do that. It was designed to come up with a definition to discover, first, whether Scotland has a problem that we need to address. The mo...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

It cannot. As I said, when it comes to international comparisons, we are not comparing like with like. We have different regulatory systems with different responsibilities, and we are dealing with and working in completely different environments.The first question is about the...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

I wish that it could be.

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

I would just say that nothing is ever that straightforward—

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

I am, of course, happy to engage, but it is about prioritising and the committee’s ask in relation to that. I have set out the list of commitments that we were looking to implement and the prioritisation of that work. Doing such work would only detract from other important pie...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

I have not captured that information, so I do not know what the extent of the issue would be. I am just trying to counter the point that you raised. Given everything that we have outlined today and the discussions that we have had, I hope that people will continue to support o...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

When I am talking about our community benefit package, I am talking specifically about the communities that host aquaculture and, for example, the funding that flows from Crown Estate Scotland to local authorities for coastal community benefit. It is about the wider benefit th...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

Yes.

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

It will be delivered next year. The rest of the engagement work will take place throughout this year.

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

First, I point to the increase of 1.5 per cent in rents that has been implemented this year. That goes to Crown Estate Scotland and then, ultimately, to coastal local authorities, so it is about that coastal community benefit. That point—that perspective—is, of course, a bit m...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

It has been an iterative process, and we have been looking to make improvements as it has been developing. An evaluation of the consenting work was published last year. It highlighted that there were some benefits to the approach, but there were also 10 recommendations on the ...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

You have touched on a number of points there, and we have made a number of different investments to try to get more of that information. Ultimately, we want to ensure that development happens in the right places. We are seeing a trend of people wanting to move further offshore...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

Ultimately, the regulatory processes that we have in place, including the sea lice risk assessment framework, are about ensuring that we guide development to the right places.We have touched on the environmental management plans. They are not being imposed on new developments ...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

That is what we hope to do with the consenting task group work. Through the pilots, there have been a number of projects that have worked through the consenting process. We need to have that discussion to see how we can streamline the process and have the engagement with indus...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

Again, you would not need a regional marine plan to be in place to enable that to happen. What I was talking about—

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

I would not want it to come across that there is almost an absence of any sort of framework for such developments at the moment, because the framework is very much in place. We have been clarifying that over the past year. On offshore development, for example, we have clarifie...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

Work is on-going in relation to the Clyde. My colleague Gillian Martin has been leading on the marine planning process, but what has been set out is that we need to wait until we have a new national marine plan in place before looking to the further development of regional mar...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

You touched on the development of the new national marine plan. The next phase of that has been delayed because we have been considering the outcome of the consultation on the planning position statement. As part of the national marine planning process, the question has been a...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

I do not think that that is necessarily a fair assessment. We have been developing that work through the processes that we have set out. We are looking to implement the new framework, but there have been appeals. People are perfectly entitled to make such appeals. We are waiti...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

We have talked at length about the sea lice risk assessment framework. Our key focus is on ensuring that we guide development to the right places, and the risk assessment framework has been doing that, notwithstanding the appeals that are on-going for the existing sites. As I ...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

Again, we will need to wait for the outcome of the appeals. We worked with SEPA, the industry and Fisheries Management Scotland to develop a framework that we believed would address the interactions. We are still looking to implement that, but we have to wait for the outcome o...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

It has been subject to development over years to ensure that it addresses the risks and challenges and that it can adapt over time. That is the model that is being appealed at the moment. It has been a significant undertaking and we hope that it can be implemented. The focus o...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

There are several points in that. One step in what has been a significant piece of development work is the sea lice risk assessment framework that we are looking to implement. As I have said and as Jill Barber has outlined, that has been about guiding the developments to the r...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

There is broader work being done in relation to wild salmon. We were focusing on the key priority areas that came out of the salmon interactions working group, which was about establishing the sea lice risk assessment framework as well as focusing on penalties, escapes and tec...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

Yes, absolutely. I can touch on a number of pieces of work, and I might bring in Jill Barber to provide more detail.We have touched on the sea lice risk assessment framework. We are waiting for the outcomes of the appeals before we can fully implement the new framework, althou...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

In relation to that specific incident, I would have to ask my officials whether there is more information.

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

In that specific instance, the escape was reported—the problem related to the publishing of the information, which was highlighted to us. I want to reassure the committee that we had picked up the issue. We know how to prevent that from happening in the future and what to look...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

I will make a few points in response to that. Escapes must be reported, and the FHI would then investigate and consider whether any containment measures or other actions were needed as a result. Obviously, we do not want there to be any escapes. I know that some of the inciden...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

That specific work relates to what I touched on regarding escapes. That work had been our priority for the coming year. We did not expect to have resource available earlier last year, which is why that work commenced earlier. We started it as soon as that resource became avail...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

We are looking to have the digital platform for the environmental performance assessment scheme up and running next year, and it will pull together all the information. In the meantime, information on the environmental monitoring surveys is still published on the Scotland’s aq...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

As Jill Barber outlined, monitoring of existing sites is still taking place through the EMP process. As has been said, EMPs were meant to be an interim measure while the new sea lice framework was implemented. SEPA is undertaking monitoring at the new sites, too. Our key focus...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

Quite a lot of work is going on in that regard. In my previous response to the committee, I said that we were trying to prioritise that work. The issue of escapes was identified as a priority, and we said that we would work on it this year. However, we started that work earlie...

Mairi Gougeon SNP Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

Do you mean in relation to sea lice specifically?