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Showing 60 of 2,354,908 contributions. Latest 30 days: 0. Coverage: 12 May 1999 — 25 Mar 2026.

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Good morning, minister. I am not sure whether I can ask this question. I am conscious of the great public interest in the egg aspect of the regulations, but the avian influenza aspect is quite interesting, too. Am I allowed to ask you whether you have any assessment of what t...

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

I get that. I was just wondering whether we were following or tracking what was happening across Europe or whatever. In the past, we have seen these things coming up—or, indeed, down, given that the flu has now been found within the Arctic circle. That is fine. I just thought...

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

I have a couple of wee comments. The letter that the minister sent to the committee said that the Scottish Government will help to support those who use traps with more information on courses et cetera. I do not believe that that information has been sent out. I do not know wh...

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

I have just one more point that I had flagged up. The minister’s letter of 25 October mentioned ground-nesting bird surveys. One of the big issues is how we monitor whether the ban will have an effect on such birds. Could we potentially pick that up in a further letter and ask...

Tim Eagle (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Good morning. I have a few questions. The first is a point of clarification. If a cow slips and goes over the calving interval and then has a calf, there will not be a payment for that calf but, if the cow has a calf in future within the 410 days, there will be a payment. Is t...

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Okay, that is fine—it is possible to do that. With autumn calving, slips are much more likely in percentage terms. At that time, it is much less likely that the calving interval that you propose will be met. That is a worry, is it not, because we want distribution of stock co...

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

My question was on that point. I was looking at the evidence, and it is a very difficult issue, is it not? I get Rhoda Grant’s point that farming varies quite significantly across Scotland. If we are talking about the north-east corner of Scotland, we can argue that there are ...

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

I think that I know where you are coming from on that. You are trying to make it as efficient as possible to meet the target. The question is how it works in practice in the industry. Is there a risk of misrecording? Could farmers start registering calves that then die so tha...

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Do you mean the first question that I asked?

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

That was on heifer calves. That is fine, because they get the payment. In the second year, if a calf is born within 410 days, it attracts the payment. If that cow then slipped—if it did not have a calf that year but had one the following year—that would then not get the paymen...

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Yes. I just wanted to check that the cow could come back in. If someone had a pedigree cow with great genetics, they could keep that on and, ultimately, it would get the payment again. Rhoda Grant’s point is significant. We have full-time farmers who can drive efficiency and ...

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

I will throw in one more thing. I think that you said that you will look to the future and monitor the scheme, and I guess that you would want to, because I presume that we would all want to see our island and crofting communities, as well as our traditional agricultural commu...

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

On the future of voluntary coupled support, am I correct that that will run up to 2028?

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

What are your thoughts on what will happen post that date? You are introducing the scheme now, but we are only three or four years off that date. What would that support look like in future? Will the scheme carry on? What will any scheme for voluntary coupled support look like?

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

I asked you that question because we do not yet have the rural support plan. We have the agenda that the Government would like to go on, but we do not yet have the detail. We, and our farmers in particular, are questioning what is coming. They are wondering, “What avenue do I ...

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Okay—thank you.

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Thank you, convener—was I coming in at this point?

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Yes—sorry, minister. That had just gone out of my head. My computer crashed, which is sending me funny. I apologise to the convener and the minister—I forgot to declare my entry in the register of members’ interests. I am a farmer, although I do not have cattle. I should have...

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Okay—I see what you mean. That is fine; thank you. 09:45

Tim Eagle (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Good morning. What consultation was done on the order? What was the response from QMS?

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Was there no feedback at all from QMS?

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

So, QMS is not worried about this.

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Elspeth Macdonald has pretty much answered this, but does anyone else have thoughts on the impact of the changes on other marine users?

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

That very question had occurred to me, too. I was a bit worried about the SSI’s potential broadness, but my understanding is exactly as you have said. At the moment, the regulations allow such measures only within the avian context, but if the disease moves into mammals, the S...

Tim Eagle (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

I am sorry, convener, but I will be slightly awkward. I have no issues with the seed fees instrument but, out of interest, do we happen to know the equivalent costs in other countries? There were no consultation responses, so I am just curious.

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

I just wondered whether the increase is fair. It is an increase of 6-point-something per cent, and I am always cautious of cost.

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Tim Eagle (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

I hope that you can hear me. Apologies that I cannot be there this morning quite yet. Minister, I welcome this; it is brilliant. I take your point that it is not a massive issue in Scotland at the moment, but, back in November 2024, I think it was, we introduced the same appr...

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

That is fine, minister.

Tim Eagle (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

I hope that you can hear me all right. I am sorry that I cannot be with you in person this morning. I had better be quick, because of the convener’s time limits. I want to touch on data and monitoring. When I am out and about in some of these coastal communities, I get the fe...

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Thank you, convener, and hello, everybody. I am sorry that I cannot be there in person today. It is a fascinating discussion. David Anderson has just touched on exactly the issue that I was going to raise; I asked this question in the earlier session. When I was out over the s...

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Can I quickly jump in?

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Sorry, convener—you are right that time is precious. There are two sides to this, are there not? One side is about what we are looking for in terms of the areas that we are protecting, while the other side is about what the consequences are from the displacement of fishing, s...

Tim Eagle (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Minister, there are a few things in what you have just said, and I do not think that we got any answers, to be frank. This has been your programme and your route map since 2023—you have been working on it for ages. I have spoken to several members of the agriculture reform imp...

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Okay. It is not in your thinking just now. What do you mean by that statement? Let us talk about the list of options that were going to be available, which would have been a bit like the old LMOs—the land management options. There was an understanding among various stakehol...

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Which stakeholder is saying that you cannot have an enhanced list of options under tier 2? Why have you put in only another four options, instead of providing the originally proposed much wider list?

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

But which stakeholder is it? My understanding is that most stakeholders originally thought that there would be a much greater list of options.

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

We have been talking about this for years, minister, and there are four options a few months before we are going to put this into place.

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Do you agree that an expanded list of options under tier 2 would do the following two things? First, it would allow farmers, crofters, smallholders and everybody across Scotland to maximise benefits to the environment and biodiversity by pooling what really works on their farm...

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

You have it. It is on your website. You have an expanded list that, I think, ARIOB members proposed to you.

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

I get your point. I think, and past ARIOB minutes show, that stakeholders expected an expanded list of options under tier 2. Apart from the additional four, we have not got that.

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

I will talk about the increase in EFA coverage up to 7 per cent. Next year, 5 per cent of arable areas must be maintained as EFAs—for which there are four new options—and, from 2027, that will go up to 7 per cent. NFUS has raised significant concerns about that. It thinks that...

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

The figure is not based on any rigorous science or advice. Is it purely a compromise figure?

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

In fairness to NFUS, it is generally farmers, crofters and smallholders who are delivering on the ground, and there is a risk to the viability of their farms in relation to how the requirements fit in with livestock production and so on. Nobody is questioning the need for env...

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Is it not quite crude to look at farms in that way? Not only do we have enhanced greening under tier 2, but many farms are also in the Scottish rural development programme, the agri-environment climate scheme and so on, and some farms are organic. Every farm will be doing its ...

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

I have a question about how the system will work on the ground, in practice. You carry out inspections every year. To what extent will you relax the rigour with which you apply any penalties as farmers and crofters adapt over the next couple of years? Are you prepared to be a ...

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

I have a few more questions, minister. I have a fundamental concern. The Government has been talking about this with stakeholders for years and I still feel that it is a bit of smoke and mirrors. We are going around in circles and not getting the options out there. My understa...

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

The Scottish National Party Government has this sort of rule whereby you follow the European Union legislation that comes into place. Is that holding us back with regard to how we will move forward with our agricultural policy?

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

But we are keeping in step with the EU at every turn, are we not?

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

So, you are 100 per cent confident that you can target your agricultural policy specifically at the needs of Scottish farmers, crofters and smallholders without risk by following EU legislation and rules.

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

It has, because the Scottish Government has a policy of following EU rules and legislation.

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

I have not been here that long, and you can correct me if I am wrong, but I have a final question about respecting Parliament. You set out these proposals to farmers months ago. I know that because a letter came through my door—which reminds me that I should declare a register...

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

If we were to vote against it today, that could be a problem.

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

You have just made the assumption that you will get the regulations through.

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

I suspect, minister, that your answer to this will be yes, but I want to express the seriousness of the issue. It is about monitoring the impact of the scheme, particularly on those small producers that may be just over the 10-cow limit. I expect that you will monitor the impa...

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

I have one final question. I was trying to find my notes, but I cannot find them. Back in March—I think it was—we had a round table with various members of the agricultural industry, including some members of ARIOB. There were some positive remarks, but there were some pretty...

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

But are you listening?

Tim Eagle (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

I think that I understand what you are trying to say, cabinet secretary. Even in my short time in Parliament, I have heard various ministers and cabinet secretaries say that an SSI is a strong starting point, but I agree with what the convener just said: the risk is that, once...

Tim Eagle Con Committee

Subordinate Legislation

It is up to the convener, but I would be happy to hear more as this progresses, given the concerns. Just out of interest, do you have any meetings arranged with stakeholders to discuss how they feel there should be change moving forward? 09:00

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Committee

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee 30 October 2024

30 Oct 2024 · S6 · Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Item of business

Subordinate Legislation

Free-Range Egg Marketing Standards (Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 [Draft]

Eagle, Tim Con Highlands and Islands Watch on SPTV

Good morning, minister. I am not sure whether I can ask this question. I am conscious of the great public interest in the egg aspect of the regulations, but the avian influenza aspect is quite interesting, too. Am I allowed to ask you whether you have any assessment of what this season might bring? After all, last winter was not so bad, was it?

In the same item of business

The Convener Con

Our next item of business is consideration of an affirmative Scottish statutory instrument—the Free-Range Egg Marketing Standards (Amendment) (Scotland) Regu...

The Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity (Jim Fairlie) SNP

Thank you, convener. I also welcome Tim Eagle to the committee. I look forward to working with him over the coming period. Thank you for inviting me to spea...

The Convener Con

Thank you, minister. I have a question. You said that when the Scottish and UK Governments issued a joint consultation on removal of the derogation, 70 per ...

Jim Fairlie SNP

The vast majority of respondents and producers were in favour of the derogation, but a small minority of respondents thought that the proposed change could b...

The Convener Con

That takes us neatly to a question from Emma Harper.

Emma Harper (South Scotland) (SNP) SNP

Good morning, minister and officials. From a quick Google search, I see that the UK consumes around 31 million eggs per day, or 350 eggs per second. That is...

Jim Fairlie SNP

If a housing order were to be introduced, the Government would absolutely put out the message that there was such an order on free-range hens, because of the...

The Convener Con

An important point is that the reason why 30 per cent of respondents across the UK were not happy with the proposal was that free-range eggs might be markete...

Jim Fairlie SNP

Housing orders will be brought in only in the event of an outbreak of avian flu—that is the first thing that we need to get on the record. A 16-week derogati...

The Convener Con

This is from the consumer side of things. In order to avoid public confusion about the effects of the regulations, the public and the media will, according t...

Jim Fairlie SNP

If a housing order is introduced, there will, in the first instance, be a full public announcement by the Scottish chief veterinary officer. That is the firs...

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab) Lab

I was not going to come in with a question, but it strikes me that some of the folk who might not have been totally happy with the move are those who already...

Jim Fairlie SNP

They were not that I am aware of, but let me take that to its logical conclusion: if I were the guy with the free-range hens, I would not want my birds to be...

Tim Eagle Con

Good morning, minister. I am not sure whether I can ask this question. I am conscious of the great public interest in the egg aspect of the regulations, but...

Jim Fairlie SNP

My instinct was to say that, unfortunately, I did not think that we could give you an answer to that—and, indeed, that is exactly what the answer is. We have...

Tim Eagle Con

I get that. I was just wondering whether we were following or tracking what was happening across Europe or whatever. In the past, we have seen these things c...

Jim Fairlie SNP

Our chief veterinary officer is very diligent about all such things. She is constantly tracking what is happening across all sectors—not just what is happeni...

The Convener Con

As there are no more questions, we move to agenda item 4, which is formal consideration of the motion to approve the instrument. I invite the minister to mov...

The Convener Con

Finally, is the committee content to delegate authority to me to sign off our report on the instrument? Members indicated agreement.

The Convener Con

Thank you, minister, for attending this morning. That completes our consideration of the instrument. 09:17 Meeting continued in private until 09:34.