Meeting of the Parliament 18 March 2025
I always like to show that the Scottish Government is dragging its feet—and certainly, on things such as agricultural policy, it has been. I agree that, if we are looking towards the future in an uncertain world, gene editing is a good option for us, and the Government should be actively looking at it. Countries around the world are looking at it. It is a much safer method, and we should be doing it. I hope that we all want to see a thriving, successful food and drink sector.
In the uncertain world that we live in, we must be ready to fight for our producers. The risks of tariffs have never been so high, and diplomacy is acutely important at this time. My Scottish Conservative colleagues and I stand with the food and drink industry. In 2024, we promised to increase the UK-wide farming budget by £1 billion to allow farmers to spend more money on domestic food production. We would extend the seasonal worker visa scheme for agricultural labourers and support a review of the skilled workers visa for the fishing sector. We would look to strike the right balance between conservation and food security and support new entrants getting into farming and fishing to ensure our food security for generations. We would work for and with businesses, knowing the importance of supporting our valuable private sector.
There is much to shout about and to be proud about in supporting Scottish food and drink, but there is also much to be done to further support this vital Scottish industry, from its primary producers to global corporations. My thanks to all those who work in this vital sector across our Scottish communities, and here’s to a successful year ahead.
I move amendment S6M-16839.2, to leave out from “notes the new” to end and insert:
“recognises the need to rapidly deliver key infrastructure projects to aid the movement of goods and services, particularly in remote and rural communities; notes that further exploration of gene-editing technology should be undertaken in order to improve plant resilience and domestic food security; believes that the failed implementation of the Deposit Return Scheme, the further review of restrictions on marketing and sponsorship of alcoholic products, and the failure to fully pass on rates relief to all of Scotland’s hospitality operators has driven up costs and created uncertainty for food and drink businesses; welcomes the commitment by food and drink businesses to enhance self-regulation; notes the risk from tariffs, and calls on both of Scotland’s governments to do all that they can to protect businesses and consumers from their impact.”
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