COMMITTEE
11.06.14: UK and Scotland fisheries
UK minister George Eustice faced questions from the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee on fisheries issues.
Eustice, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for farming, food and marine environment, was invited by the committee to discuss common fisheries policy and reforms currently being implemented at a UK level.
The Conservative MP, along with John Robbs, Defra’s director of marine and fisheries, was asked about Scottish representation during negotiations.
Although Robbs said he could not think of any occasion that a Scottish official had not been present during negotiations among member states on mackerel fishing, Eustice was asked why no Scottish minister or cabinet secretary had been allowed to negotiate on the UK’s behalf, even though more than two thirds of mackerel landed in the UK is in Scotland.
Dave Thomson, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, said: “I believe that on occasions no UK politician has been available to attend and a Scottish minister has been there, but the opportunity to allow the Scottish minister to take the UK minister’s place has not been taken up and an official has taken the UK minister’s seat.”
Eustice said: “I represent the UK when I do such negotiations. It is important that I am fair to every part of the UK when I do that.
“Richard Lochhead attends virtually all the council meetings when fisheries are discussed. Before we go into the council, we have a detailed discussion about the exact approach that we will take. We frequently amend our negotiating position in response to concerns that Scotland raises. We work incredibly closely, but a UK minister should lead a UK negotiation.”
Eustice was also asked about comments made by new Conservative MEP Ian Duncan, on where the European Fisheries Fund should be spent. He was quoted as saying: “The funds should go to those places which are struggling. The Scottish industry is not struggling.”
He said: “There are always challenges in the fishing industry, not just in Scotland but elsewhere.
“We recognise that Scotland has tended to use all of its allocation, which is why we have increased Scotland’s allocation from 40 per cent to 46 per cent of the UK allocation, which is a major increase and we have added flexibility so that if other parts of the UK are underutilising their allocations, we will transfer those funds to Scotland because we do not want them to go unused.”
He added: “We recognise that there is a role for those funds. We see that they have an important role to play in investment in more selective net gear to make the discard ban work.”
General questions
12.06.14: Hydrogen vehicles
Transport Minister Keith Brown was asked about government support for clean public transport.
North East Tory MSP Alex Johnstone asked how the Scottish Government planned to extend support for adoption of environmentally-friendly transport, such as hydrogen fuelled or electric buses.
Brown said the Government was investing in the EU’s hydrogen transport project which would be refuelling Europe’s largest fleet of buses in Aberdeen later this year.
And he said the Scottish Green Bus Fund, round five of which had a budget of £4.75m, was helping the bus industry to invest in the latest emissions-reducing technology.
He added: “There have been five rounds of the Scottish Green Bus Fund, which has not only helped to introduce low-carbon buses in Scotland but has enabled manufacturers who have won contracts—one of which, Alexander Dennis Limited, in Falkirk, is indigenous—to develop the technology to help them to win orders abroad worth upwards of £700 million. That is substantially to the benefit of the whole of Scotland.
“We are considering further measures. I mentioned the hydrogen project for buses in Aberdeen—we are considering whether the technology can be used for ferry services, too. We have a good record of supporting the bus industry. Whether we are talking about the Bus Service Operators Grant, the concessionary travel scheme or investments in hydrogen buses, low-carbon buses and one or two fully electric buses, such as the one in Stranraer, we have a record to be proud of. Of course, we will try to do more in the future.”
General questions
12.06.14: Scottish farm produce and the UK market
Lewis Macdonald asked Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead about the potential damaging effect of independence on marketing Scottish goods.
He asked what proportion of Scottish farm produce was sold elsewhere in the UK and said he wanted Lochhead to “simply confirm that in the event of a Yes vote it will no longer be possible to market any of those foods anywhere as produce of Britain, to British farm standards.”
Lochhead, who said that in 2012 Scotland exported approximately £655m-worth of crop, animal and hunting-related products to the rest of the UK, said: “Post independence, Scotland will continue to be a major exporter of fantastic food and drink produce.
“Independent France exports £3.8 billion of food and beverages to England, the independent Netherlands exports £3.7 billion of food and beverages to England, Germany exports £3 billion, the Irish Republic exports £2.7 billion, and independent Spain exports £2.2 billion.
“An independent Scotland will continue to export our fantastic food and drink produce to England and the rest of the world.”
He added: “Lewis Macdonald should stop talking down the food and drink sector in this country.”
