Hansard

Finlay Carson (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con) Con Chamber

25 Mar 2026

Portfolio Question Time · Heating Oil Costs (Agriculture Sector and Rural Industries)

Members will be aware that it is snowing in some parts of Scotland, so heating is incredibly important. Has the Government assessed the scale of hardship among off-grid households, including many in my Galloway and West Dumfries constituency, who do not qualify for means-teste...

Finlay Carson Con Chamber

25 Mar 2026

Remote, Rural and Island Communities (Sustainability)

Rural Scotland does not need more recognition of the problem; it needs action. We need policies that reflect rural realities, investment that matches rural needs and a Government that understands that fairness means ensuring that no part of Scotland is left behind. Resilience ...

Finlay Carson (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con) Con Chamber

25 Mar 2026

Remote, Rural and Island Communities (Sustainability)

I pay tribute to my colleagues who will not return next session, particularly Oliver Mundell, who has spoken out so well for Dumfriesshire, John Mason and my dear friend Beatrice Wishart, whom I will miss dearly. We need to reflect on the hard work that she did with the cross-...

Finlay Carson (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con) Con Chamber

24 Mar 2026

Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill

To go back to the member’s previous point, other regions in Scotland need to recognise that, in rural communities and local authority areas such as Dumfries and Galloway, officers are promoting the idea of a visitor levy because they want the cash. They are not carrying out un...

Finlay Carson (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con) Con Chamber

24 Mar 2026

Climate Change Plan

Rural communities across Galloway and rural Scotland are facing a surge of unwanted onshore wind farm and renewable proposals, industrialising our rural landscape. The SNP Government continues to leave them without clarity, protection or a voice. They want to know when the Sco...

Finlay Carson (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con) Con Chamber

24 Mar 2026

Sport and Activity as a Force for Good

I thank my friend and colleague Brian Whittle for bringing the debate to the chamber. The motion highlights something that most of us know instinctively, which is that sport and physical activity are about not only fitness, but also connection, confidence and community cohesio...

Finlay Carson (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con) Con Chamber

19 Mar 2026

Standing Order Rule Changes (Elected Conveners)

Does Martin Whitfield appreciate that, although we all expect the best from our parliamentarians, the proposed model might allow for majority-holding parties to veto candidates until they come up with one that they want? If such a rule had been in place for this session, we mi...

Finlay Carson (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con) Con Chamber

18 Mar 2026

Greyhound Racing (Offences) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I recognise the commitment of any member who brings forward a member’s bill, and the significant time and resources that that takes. However, without any disrespect to Mark Ruskell, with whom I have worked on many occasions over the past 10 years, it has to be recognised that ...

Finlay Carson (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con) Con Chamber

12 Mar 2026

Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

On a point of order, Presiding Officer, I would have voted yes.

Finlay Carson Con Chamber

12 Mar 2026

Portfolio Question Time · Rural Schools

Given that Scottish Government-funded population research shows that the loss of even a single essential service, such as a school or a nursery, can trigger a domino effect on housing demand, transport viability and wider community cohesion, and given that six nurseries in my ...

2. Finlay Carson (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con) Con Chamber

12 Mar 2026

Portfolio Question Time · Rural Schools

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to protect and strengthen schools in rural areas. (S6O-05636)

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Petitions

That concludes our business in public. Before we move into private, and given that this will be our last committee meeting in public, I want to put on record my thanks to all the committee’s members, both those who have been here for the full five years and others who have dip...

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Petitions

Thank you. Is the committee agreed on the approach that has been proposed?Members.

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Petitions

Okay. Thank you. As there are no more questions, I thank the witnesses very much for joining us.We now move on to formal consideration of our next steps with regard to the petition, and I refer members to paragraph 10 of the clerk’s note, which invites us to consider closing t...

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Petitions

It is far from satisfactory if we are, effectively, treading water and if we are having to put in interim measures because of the Government’s failure to set out that rural support. We are going to have five years of less than adequate—or perhaps I should say less than perfect...

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Petitions

That is far from ideal. You will, in effect, be treading water, because you will have no rural support plan in place, or no indications of what rural support is likely to be before 2030.

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Petitions

We heard Emma Harper welcoming the £20,000 funding. However, that money is for something specific; it is not an increase in funding, so it cannot be dressed up as that.What is really concerning is that, when I look at the goose policy delivery plan and the section on key proje...

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Petitions

I think that the roof is going to stay on. For those tuning in, we have all been looking at the roof in a very worried way, because the wind is very strong.We will move on to a question from Ariane Burgess.

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Petitions

That is helpful.

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Petitions

The petition exists because of the impact of geese on crofting and agriculture and because of wider concerns about the loss of native grassland or species because the seed base or whatever is not there. Does the A* status make it more difficult to achieve the petition’s outcomes?

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Petitions

You touched on the potentially different management approach needed as a result of avian flu. Since the last update, have there been changes in national or international obligations that have affected how populations can be managed?

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Petitions

Greylag geese appear to have the largest population and are the geese that are most often focused on in relation to agricultural damage. Can you give us an idea of why there is a change in the numbers of those that are resident and those that migrate? Are weather conditions or...

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Petitions

The next item on the agenda is consideration of PE1490, lodged by the Scottish Crofting Federation, which calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to address the problems created by increasing populations of wild geese. The committee last considered the...

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

Thank you, cabinet secretary. From my personal point of view, over the almost 10 years that I have known you, you have always enabled civil and respectful debate without, on any occasion that I can remember, that discussion turning hostile. That is a credit to you, given some ...

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

I believe that the cabinet secretary would like to make some closing remarks.

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

Yes. To avoid the risk that every committee member sums up what we have heard over the past two years, we will draw that line of questioning to a conclusion.I now turn to Edward Mountain.

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

We move to questions from Rhoda Grant.

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

But do you believe that that framework is now robust enough to protect wild salmon?

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

Cabinet secretary, do you believe that the framework is finally robust enough to protect wild salmon stocks?

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

It depends what your question is, but it might be more appropriate after the next set of questions.I am very aware that there are many stakeholders in the public gallery who are interested in the interaction between farmed salmon and Scotland’s wild salmon population. That iss...

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

That is helpful.I have another question before we move on to spatial planning. Sorry—I am jumping all over the place. Emma Roddick wanted to ask a question before I jumped in. I apologise, Emma.

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

I have a question on enhanced seabed monitoring. What was described to us as environmental DNA testing will improve the quality standards for planned investigations and so on. That process will kick in from now over the next decade. Information on seabed monitoring and environ...

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

We will continue our questions as part of our aquaculture inquiry.

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

I will suspend the meeting for five minutes for a comfort break.10:30Meeting suspended.10:37On resuming—

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

The committee requested a Government-led research programme, particularly on environmental modelling, and the fish health inspectorate referred to the Scottish Government’s “Areas of Research Interest” document, which was intended to co-ordinate research on issues such as anim...

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

We will now move on to the next section of questions, which are on science and innovation.

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

I will bring in Alasdair Allan.

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

Emma Roddick, did you have a supplementary question?

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

You need to make it clear that that is your personal opinion.

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

I will stop you there. I do not think that that was the view of the committee. That might be your personal view, but that was not what the committee reported.

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

I am very conscious that we have addressed perhaps a fifth of the questions, yet we are halfway through the session. However, I appreciate that mortality is a key topic. Carrying on with the theme that was just touched on, we will move to questions from Emma Harper on fish hea...

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

I will bring in Beatrice Wishart.

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

Stakeholders including Animal Equality UK have highlighted record-high mortality rates in 2025. What is your basis for the conclusion that persistent elevated mortality is not systemic? Does that not risk downplaying the issues that the sector and stakeholders continue to raise?

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

I will run through some of our recommendations and compare them with what was delivered.The committee recommended that the fish health inspectorate should have powers to halt or limit production at high mortality sites, but the Government has suggested that no legislative cont...

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

The committee recommended mandated mortality reporting. We have heard that the Government is not providing that to the level that we would like. However, your update to the committee of 5 March, which provided the mortality data set explainer, says that“Understanding the reaso...

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

It is not just about changing behaviour. If we find farms that regularly have high mortality rates, they need to be closed down.

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

I will come back in first. I take on board the Government’s advanced analytical understanding of mortality. However, that is where the approach falls short and is not adequate or sufficient against the committee’s recommendations, because it avoids any regulatory or proactive ...

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

Yes. We can model it, but no mortality thresholds that would trigger Government intervention were identified.

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

That is the issue. We know that individual farms collect a lot more data than they are mandated to publish, as part of their good animal husbandry, animal welfare and general management of sites. However, if the publication of that data was mandatory, it would give more confid...

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

Thank you, cabinet secretary. We have allocated approximately two hours for this session. As expected, we have quite a few questions to get through, so succinct questions and answers would be helpful.I will kick off by asking about mandatory mortality reporting, which is an is...

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

Thank you, Mr Mountain. I invite the cabinet secretary to make a brief opening statement.09:15

The Convener Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Salmon Farming in Scotland

Our next agenda item is the conclusion of our work on assessing the progress that has been made since our follow-up inquiry on salmon farming by taking evidence on the subject from the Scottish Government.I welcome to the meeting Mairi Gougeon, the Cabinet Secretary for Rural ...

The Convener (Finlay Carson) Con Committee

11 Mar 2026

Decision on Taking Business in Private

Good morning and welcome to the 10th meeting in 2026 of the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee. Before we begin, I ask everyone to ensure that all electronic devices are switched to silent.Our first agenda item is a decision on whether to consider our annual and legacy report...

Finlay Carson Con Chamber

10 Mar 2026

Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I will take this opportunity to present a quote that sums things up for me. It is from Michael Marra’s former colleague Johann Lamont. She tweeted:“I did not always think this way but I have concluded that, if my freedom of choice at the end of my life is at the expense of tho...

Finlay Carson (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con) Con Chamber

10 Mar 2026

Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I had no intention of speaking in this debate. However, the idea that coercion does not exist is very naive. I will give an example. I will remember, to the day that I die, sitting along with my mother and a consultant, as she was waiting to get her treatment for cancer. The c...

Finlay Carson Con Chamber

05 Mar 2026

Draft Climate Change Plan

I could not agree more. Sadly, however, very little policy has come before the Parliament other than legislation that ensures continuity of the common agricultural policy. We believe that that creates a huge amount of uncertainty around how the farming sector will deliver the ...

Finlay Carson (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con) Con Chamber

05 Mar 2026

Draft Climate Change Plan

I am pleased to speak on behalf of the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee to set out the findings of our scrutiny of the agriculture and land use chapters of the draft climate change plan.The committee began its scrutiny of the plan by taking evidence at meetings in early Jan...

The Convener Con Committee

04 Mar 2026

Subordinate Legislation

That concludes our business in public and we move into private session.11:14Meeting continued in private until 11:29.

The Convener Con Committee

04 Mar 2026

Subordinate Legislation

Thank you. We can certainly do that.Does the committee agree to make no recommendations on the instruments?Members indicated agreement.

The Convener Con Committee

04 Mar 2026

Subordinate Legislation

Thank you. We can certainly ask for clarification.