The Week Ahead in Scottish Politics
It has been little over one week since news broke of the end of the Bute House Agreement. Taking in to account what has happened since then, I don't think it is unreasonable to torture the cliché: "A week is a long time in politics".
As Humza Yousaf resigns as leader of his party, it appears that John Swinney will stand unopposed to replace him as leader of the SNP and Scotland's next First Minister, after his most likely rival for the job, Kate Forbes, declared her support for his candidacy after midweek talks between the two MSPs.
But don't let the top political story give you the impression that our parliament doesn't still have a job to get on with. Legislation is coming down the road at speed, and the week ahead will be as busy as ever in terms of rural affairs.
In this - my first edition of 'The Week Ahead in Scottish Politics' - I will be providing a short run down of political events in the week ahead of relevance to the rural sector in Scotland.
Committees
The Rural Affairs Committee is set to debate and vote on amendments to the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill on Wednesday. 200 amendments were lodged, around thirty of which SLE were pleased to have suggested. We will be discussing the permutations of these amendments and the Bill itself in more detail soon.
The Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee will be dealing with Stage 2 amendments to the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill on Tuesday morning, with 218 amendments to be heard over the course of several sittings of the committee. Again, we will be discussing this Bill in more detail in due course.
Main Chamber
In the Holyrood Chamber, Veteran MSP Christine Grahame will be leading a debate and vote on her Welfare of Dogs (Scotland) Bill, which seeks to strengthen legislation around the protection of dogs, on Tuesday afternoon, whilst Wednesday afternoon will see MSPs putting questions to ministers on Rural Affairs, Land Reform, and Islands.
Wednesday's Rural Portfolio Questions will include:
Richard Leonard MSP
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the Forestry Grant Scheme is fit for purpose.
Craig Hoy MSP
To ask the Scottish Government what Forestry and Land Scotland is doing to deliver economic benefit from the land that it manages, including through supporting mountain bike tourism.
Graham Simpson MSP
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what steps it is taking to protect the welfare of wild bees.
Kate Forbes MSP
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on how small Highland and island communities will benefit from its Land Reform (Scotland) Bill.
Neil Bibby MSP
To ask the Scottish Government what cross-government action it is taking to support Scotland’s islands and their economies.
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