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Our third item of business is consideration of a notification from the Scottish ministers for consent to the regulations. I refer members to committee paper 3. Under the protocol between the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government, the consent notification has been categorised as type 1, which means that the Scottish Parliament’s agreement is sought before the Scottish Government gives consent to the UK Government making secondary legislation in devolved competence.

Since members have no comments on the consent notification, is the committee content that the provisions that are set out in the notification should be included in the proposed UK SI?

Members indicated agreement.

Our main item of business today is the second in a series of evidence sessions on the impact of the climate and nature emergencies. Today, we will focus on innovation and new approaches to environmental challenges in the rural economy.

I welcome our first panel of witnesses and thank them for their patience. They will discuss the terrestrial environment. We have Michael Clarke, Scotland chair of the Nature Friendly Farming Network; David Finlay, owner of the Ethical Dairy; Dee Ward, chairman of the Wildlife Estates Scotland initiative; and Andrew Bauer, head of food and footprint. Mr Bauer is replacing Rebecca Audsley.

The evidence session will take a slightly different form. I invite Michael Clarke to make a brief opening statement setting out some of the background to his innovative projects, followed by David Finlay, Dee Ward and then Andrew Bauer.

Thank you. That is really useful. A lot of the policies that we have discussed are about local procurement, local food production and reducing food miles. The Good Food Nation (Scotland) Bill, which is coming up, is pretty empty, but there is scope for it to deliver some of the expectations of stakeholders. Do we need more funding at local level to drive local policies? Should more funding be devolved to local authorities and public bodies to address the priorities in the Highlands, Dumfries and Galloway or the Scottish Borders, for example? Do we need to change the method of funding to ensure that our aspirations for reducing food miles are addressed? That question goes first to Andrew Bauer.

I have laid hedges and whatever in the past. We are talking about an emergency here but, sadly, while the majority of farmers are great custodians, some are still set on ripping out hedges to make it easier for big machinery to get in to cut grass or whatever. We see that daily.

Is now the time for the Government to take action and introduce legislation to stop that happening? The financial penalties for removing hedges do not appear to make any difference. This will be controversial, and I repeat that only a small minority of farmers are continuing the practice, but, given the biodiversity and climate change emergency, is there an argument that legislation should be rapidly introduced to stop the destruction of habitats, whether those are hedges, ponds or whatever?

You can carry on from where you were, Michael. What is your position on legislation to ensure that habitats are not removed?

Good morning, and welcome to the 12th meeting in session 6 of the Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee. I remind members who are using electronic devices to switch them to silent mode.

Our first item of business is consideration of draft regulations. I refer members to committee papers 1 and 2. I welcome to the committee Lorna Slater, the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity, along with her officials Clarinda Burrell, Rachel Coutts and James Nott, who join us remotely. I am sure that this will not be the only time that we shall meet the minister. I invite her to make an opening statement.

That was nice and short.

As the convener, I get the privilege of asking the last question. A consultation on the replacement for the common agricultural policy launched in August and is expected to be published in spring 2022. Jonnie Hall of NFU Scotland has said that it is

“a defining moment for the future of Scottish agriculture.”

Business as usual cannot be an option. We need something to ensure that farmers and crofters, regardless of size or type, will play their role in food production and their part in the climate change and biodiversity emergencies.

We have just heard Jim Fairlie give eye-watering figures on the value of the food and drink industry and say that we are just touching the edges when it comes to funding. I will put my question to everyone in turn. Can you give me your hopes, aspirations and fears for the future agricultural support to replace the CAP?

We will certainty consider that invitation. It would be nice to get out and about again, as the committee intends to do.

We now have the opportunity to ask questions until about 11 o’clock. I will ask some very broad questions. How are your projects or schemes contributing to solutions that address the climate and nature emergencies that we face right now? How scalable are your projects or initiatives? What would be needed to mainstream your identified solutions? What barriers stand in the way?

Michael, could you address the same point?

I will ask David Finlay the same question. I picked up on your point about baselining probably not being the way to go because the funding could go to people who have not done the right thing in the past, and those who have paid particular attention to the role that biodiversity plays in agriculture might not be recognised. How should we tackle the continuing—if on a very small scale—removal of dykes, hedges and so on? What should be our approach in the short term, given that we are in a biodiversity emergency?