 I call Tess White. My comments during First Minister's questions were over the line and I would like to withdraw them and apologise to both the chamber and the First Minister. I am grateful that Ms White has reflected on her behaviour and that you have apologised to the chamber for those remarks. You will be in no doubt at all, Ms White, that great offence was caused and I would like to be absolutely certain that that is an unambiguous apology that you withdraw the remarks and that you apologise wholeheartedly. Can you please stand and confirm that that is indeed the case? I confirm, Presiding Officer. I would just like to say further that the fact that on this occasion no further action will be taken does not in any way detract from the seriousness with which I view this incident. Members must be in no doubt at all that I expect that their conduct at all times will be worthy of that of a member of the Scottish Parliament. I remind members that social distancing measures are in place in the chamber and around the Holyrood campus. I ask that members take care to observe those measures, including while entering and exiting the chamber. Please only use the aisles and walkways to access your seat or when moving around the chamber. The next item of business is portfolio questions. The portfolio is rural affairs and islands. If members want to ask a supplementary question, they should press the request-to-speak button or press R in the chat function if they are joining us remotely during the course of the relevant question. I call question number one, Jamie Hocker-Johnson. To ask the Scottish Government what monitoring it has undertaken of island economies following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions. We have been monitoring economic conditions across Scotland throughout the pandemic and will continue to do so as and when restrictions ease. Our new 10-year national strategy for economic transformation will set out the steps that we will take to deliver a green economic recovery and support new green jobs, businesses and industries for the future for all of Scotland. Mr Hocker-Johnson, I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. Recovery from the Covid restrictions across island communities has been mixed and some islands have been able to benefit from the process of opening up while others, such as some of those that are affected by the summer ferry crisis, have not. I raised that issue with the cabinet secretary yesterday and did not get an answer. Can I ask her what, in her role in cross-government co-ordination of island's policy, she has done to address the on-going issues? Will she support the transport secretary coming to this chamber to make a statement as a matter of urgency? In relation to the particular points that the member raised, and as he did raise yesterday in the debate, I hope that he has raised those with the Minister for Transport, Graeme Dey, in relation to ferries. We absolutely realise how critical these are lifeline services and that is why the Minister for Transport has made looking and addressing those issues his absolute priority. I hope that the member will raise that with the relevant minister. Will the cabinet secretary agree that coming out of a pandemic is the worst possible moment for many island businesses then to have to cope with staff shortages caused by the Brexit deal? Will she agree with many such island businesses that emergency Covid work visas for EU citizens would at least alleviate some of the mess that Brexit has created for them? Absolutely. Scotland has to be able to attract talented workers from across Europe without excessive immigration barriers. Under the new points-based system, the main visa routes are for high earners with almost no route at all for those below that threshold who are so desperately needed right across a number of different sectors. That, along with the UK Government's decision to delay the implementation of the majority of the regulated qualifications framework 3 to 5 roles and those that are eligible for the shortage occupation list, really risks continued labour shortages and especially in areas such as our islands. The scale of the situation that faces island businesses is a direct consequence of the UK Government's approach to Brexit and it is refusal to listen to the repeated warnings of the Scottish Government and sector stakeholders. Just last week and again this week we have seen calls from across the food and drink industry as well as the NFUS calling for urgent action to address these problems, which I have also followed up on in my own correspondence to the UK Government. This is a crisis situation of their making through the reckless Brexit that they pursued and they now need to fix it. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to support more sustainable farming. The economic and environmental sustainability of Scottish agriculture is absolutely paramount. I recently announced that agriculture reform implementation oversight board and a consultation building on the recommendations from the farmer-led groups. In order to deliver early action on implementing measures, the board will develop a preliminary package of funded measures for agreement by COP26 and that will be based on the work of the farmer-led groups with an early focus on livestock emissions. I look forward to working together on this vital change programme to give farming and food production the long-term sustainable future that we are all committed to delivering. Fyber production for the textiles industry such as nettles offers farmers an opportunity to support a sustainable supply chain while strengthening their own businesses. Will the cabinet secretary look at supporting the development of regional textile brands based on sustainability credentials to incentivise that fibre production? I thank the member for raising that point. If he has been approached on this issue, he would be more than happy to meet people who are taking this forward and to see what we can do to develop and support that. As we look to be more sustainable and create a circular economy, I think that all those sorts of initiatives are absolutely vital. If the member wants to contact me about that, I would be more than happy to look into it. I am proud of the green Scottish Government agreement in many areas. Are the targets to expand organic food and farming, which will restore the environment and support rural economies? Does the cabinet secretary see those targets as helping to drive the demand for organic food in our schools and other public kitchens, and does that provide perhaps more certainty to farmers that they can convert to organic food and farming knowing that there is a stable market there? Absolutely. That is why we committed in our manifesto and in our recent co-operation agreement to at least doubling the amount of land that is farmed organically by the end of this parliamentary session, because previously we have seen the amount of land that has been farmed organically going in the wrong direction to where it needs to go. That is why I am absolutely committed to working with the sector to see what we can do to improve that. However, the member also rightly raises some really important initiatives that are making a huge difference, such as the food for life scheme, which has run for a number of years, and a number of local authorities are part of. We really want to see what we can do to harness the public procurement power that we have in the public sector, to encourage the food for life scheme to see that expand into those other areas and to encourage organic production, because we can see from the food for life programme the many benefits that have come from that. It improves our health, it improves our local economies, so we really want to see how we can develop and build on that. I am grateful to ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any progress that has been made on the use of mobile abattoirs. The feasibility study, which was commissioned by the Scottish Government and published in March last year, provides details of what would be required to operate mobile abattoirs in Scotland, including the regulatory framework, and it offers a cost benefit analysis of possible operational models. However, the report also highlights the difficulty in achieving a sustained economic return from a mobile abattoir in Scotland. Any next steps would be for a commercial operator who wishes to take this forward, and the Scottish Government, in conjunction with Food Standard Scotland, would of course be willing to discuss in more detail with any organisation who is considering operating mobile abattoirs in Scotland. I thank the Cabinet Secretary for her answer. In recent evidence to the UK Parliament, the DEFRA Select Committee, the DEFRA Minister Lord Benyon committed the UK Government to supporting new initiatives such as mobile abattoirs to help support local demand. The very report that the Cabinet Secretary mentioned, recognition was made that there are areas of Scotland where animals have to be moved over 100 miles before they reach an abattoir. Given the NFU Scotland highlighted as far back as January 2019 that there is a steady and worrying loss of small abattoirs over the last few years, when will the Scottish Government match the UK Government's commitment and when will it happen? As I outlined in my opening response there, that is why we want to undertake a study into that to see if that would be feasible, and that is why we have committed to working with any operators who would be keen to take that forward and to see if that could be something that we could make work in Scotland. I absolutely understand the point that the member has raised. Ideally, we want to see food processed as close to the point of primary production as possible, and we are keen to work with anyone who is willing to take that forward. A couple of supplementaries, I hope that the questions and answers are both brief, firstly, to Jenny Minto. To ask the Cabinet Secretary what support the Scottish Government is providing to Scotland's quality pig producer sector. Well, I was really pleased to have announced this week on Monday that we opened the Scottish Government's Pig Producers hardship support scheme for applications, and that scheme will provide up to £715,000 of financial support to pig producers who were affected by the temporary closure of the abattoir in Breakin earlier this year. Now, we've worked closely with the sector to make sure that that fund provides affected farmers with financial support for the losses incurred that was through no fault of their own. The scheme is open for applications until the 26 of September, so I would really encourage people to make their applications as soon as possible. We on these benches agree that mobile abattoirs are important. However, the SNP Government must support livestock farming to ensure its sustainability. Will the cabinet secretary confirm or deny that her civil servants suggested that Scottish livestock farmers should slaughter thousands of cattle and tell the chamber why the suckler beef climate change group has been ignored since March? As the member will know because I refuted that statement yesterday during the food and drink industry debate that we had, I said that it was nonsense then and it's still nonsense today. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the future of farm support payments. On 25 August, as one of our 100 days commitments, I announced the establishment of the Agriculture Reform Implementation Oversight Board, which will contribute to the Scottish Government's work to implement policy reform, incorporating the relevant recommendations of the farmer-led groups to cut emissions across agriculture, support the production of sustainable, high-quality food and design a new support system and approach. A national test programme will include early progress on reducing livestock emissions and the package should be implemented by spring 2022 with the recruitment of farmers and crofters expected to begin this autumn. I thank the cabinet secretary for her reply, but farmers have little certainty about future payments and the Scottish Government has been called out by Chris Stark, the CEO of the Committee on Climate Change, about the overdue national agriculture policy. Does the cabinet secretary really think that new committees to replace old committees and another consultation document are the answer? More deliberation, more dilly-dallying is a disaster for the sector. Why won't this Government make decisions now? We think that it is vitally important to include the people who these decisions will affect in our decision making. I said that this is an implementation and oversight board. I will be co-chairing that with the president of NFUS Scotland, Martin Kennedy, exactly to drive forward the work of the farmer-led groups, which was a manifesto commitment of ours. That is what we have committed to, and that is exactly what this board will deliver. That is why I have set out the actions that I have today, because we want this board to get to work and to deliver. We covered a lot of the ground in the debate yesterday, but I am keen to take the two supplementaries. I welcome the long overdue establishment of the implementation board and the proposals from the farmer-led groups that I hope they implement, but, given the Government's dithering over the past few years and the fact that the minister of the cabinet secretary has just said that a lot of those proposals will not be introduced until 2022, is she absolutely confident that we will meet her targets for reductions in emissions in agriculture that are set out in the climate change plan over the next few years? I will of course be doing everything within my power to make sure that that happens, and that is not to say that a lot of the measures would be delivered next year. That is a specific piece of work that we have tried to set out a timeline for, but, again, I want to see the implementation oversight board get to work in delivering early on the recommendations of the farmer-led groups. It is only right that we involve farmers, crofters and land managers in that discussion as we move forward and as we look to establish a new payment scheme for post-2024. It is also important to remember that we have set out stability and simplicity to ensure that farmers could rely on the payments and knew what was coming over the course of the next few years, but we also know that we need to get going when it looks to tackling our emissions reductions. I know that the sector is keen to get going and I absolutely want to work with it on that. Just like to ask the cabinet secretary, how does she feel that the policy that she will be developing will differ from that of the UK Government's? Probably the first point that I would like to make in relation to that is to point out that the UK Government's spending review overall provides insufficient budget to replace EU funding levels lost to Scotland. There is still little clarity on the replacement of EU programmes, particularly on structural funds, and we only get a single-year guarantee compared to the seven-year EU budget guarantee. There are also key concerns about the internal market bill, which of course represents a clear assault on devolved spending powers. Between now and 2024-25, Scotland will lose out on up to £170 million of funding, and the current one-year settlement does not provide the assurances that we need. DEFRA announced a move away from direct payments and supporting food production to focus on what they call public goods, and that is certainly not the direction that we are intending to take. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to support the new entrance into agriculture sector. While reports such as farming for 1.5 underline the stark challenges facing Scottish agriculture, they also highlight the continuing role for skilled and innovative young new entrant farmers and crofters. We agree with that view, and so continue to support new entrants through a number of measures, including the farming opportunities for new entrants programme and the land matching service, which we fund NFUS to deliver. The national reserve can also provide new farmers and crofters with an allocation of payment entitlements under the basic payment scheme, as well as the young farmers basic payment top-up. In line with our own manifesto commitment, I will also announce how we intend to support new and young entrants through a specific fund during this parliamentary term. I thank the cabinet secretary for the answer. The importance of new entrants and young farmers cannot be overstated, nor can the importance of attracting applicants from all walks of life. With that in mind, can I ask the cabinet secretary what actions the Scottish Government is taking to support beam applicants into the agriculture sector? The member raises a vitally important point, and I think that it is absolutely right that we try to encourage diversity where possible. I would be more than happy to meet the member to discuss actions that we can take in that regard. What is the Scottish Government doing to encourage more young people to get the skills and education needed to become farmers, crofters and take up other land-based career opportunities in the Highlands and Islands in order to tackle depopulation? The Scottish Government recently announced the establishment of a commission for land-based learning, which is also part of our 100-day commitments. We intend to consider the learning pipeline from early years to adults with a view to increasing opportunities for more people and particularly more women to gain qualifications and employment in the land-based and aquaculture sectors. Agriculture is one of the key sectors that is included in that review. The review will support the Scottish Government's ambitions of delivering a just transition to net zero and a climate resilience Scotland by ensuring that our learning system equips people with the skills and knowledge needed to work in Scotland's land-based and aquaculture sectors. To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions the rural affairs secretary has had with the UK Government regarding the UK seasonal workers scheme. Food production is critical to the success of our economy and the edible horticulture sector has to be equipped with the necessary tools in order to continue to flourish. Unfortunately, the seasonal workers scheme is not working for employers or for seasonal workers. Scottish ministers have listened to the sector and on 16 March the minister for rural affairs and minister for Europe and international development wrote to the UK immigration minister urging him to make the necessary improvements to the route to make it fit for purpose. Despite migration impacting on devolved areas, the UK immigration minister has refused to recognise the interests of this Parliament and the role of the Scottish Government, failing to respond positively to 19 requests for meetings from the Scottish Government minister with responsibility for migration. I have also written to the UK Government this week to highlight the impacts of existing labour and skills shortages on the food and drink industry. I await a response to that. The past week, I have met Dundee cold stores and Highland game in my constituency, both crucial businesses in the food supply chain that rely on the ability to access sufficient labour, especially during the peak season. Food and Drink Federation Scotland warned that there are now rapidly approaching a crisis, and any few Scotland are calling for an improved permanent seasonal workers scheme. The cabinet secretary offered an assurance that the Scottish Government will continue to make representations to the UK Government to ensure that both agriculture and the wider food and drinks supply chain are able to recruit and retain the necessary staff, as well as access haulage, to get their products to market, both of which those sectors depend on. The member highlights an absolutely critical issue here. As he referenced in his question, members will have all seen the letter that was sent from the food and drink industry to both the UK and Scottish Governments last week, highlighting the crisis situation that they now face in terms of labour. I have responded to the industry in terms of our asks and, of course, we will continue to work with them to assist in any way that we can. Again, as I have just highlighted, I have also written to the UK Government this week to highlight the impact of existing labour and skills shortages on the food and drink industry. We also wrote to the UK Government in July to push for changes to UK migration policies and to highlight the impact of licensing delays for the HGV sector. Scottish ministers will continue to discuss those issues in our on-going engagement with the UK Government and other devolved Governments, and we will continue to press for urgent action. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its engagement with the seafood sector regarding any export challenges as a result of Brexit. We have engaged regularly with the sector to mitigate the impacts of EU exit on seafood exports and its associated challenges. For instance, the food sector resilience group has met regularly to address the on-going challenges that EU exit has caused the Scottish seafood sector. In addition to that, the Scottish seafood exports task force, which included UK Government representation, met regularly between February and July this year and published its final report on 26 August. Over the summer, I have also met seafood businesses first-hand visiting fish farms, fish markets and processing businesses to hear directly from those working in the industry. My officials have been in regular contact with a range of industry representatives about specific issues, such as the introduction of new export health certificates and to explore medium longer-term recommendations about how best to support the sector. Over recess, I visited Peterhead producers market and spoke with seafood industry leaders who are working hard to future-proof the industry from the unmitigated disaster inflicted by a damaging UK Government Brexit. Although the UK Government has clearly sold out Scotland's fishing communities, can the cabinet secretary outline what steps the Scottish Government is taking to mitigate the damage and to support seafood businesses to diversify in the face of those Brexit challenges? Our local food strategy consultation and the development of a sustainably Scottish brand will both support and grow Scottish seafood as a sustainable low-carbon food. Along with our work on a new seafood trade strategy, we have awarded £1.8 million to Seafood Scotland to revitalise the domestic market and help to develop new global markets. We have also provided over £800,000 for seafood businesses, including for storage facilities at a major seafood processor and for seafood businesses in the north-east, to develop seafood processing and training. In addition to that, £5.2 million was awarded to Peterhead Port Authority for harbour and market improvements. The seafood and other sectors in the northern islands have been battling Brexit disruption along with ferry freight capacity limitations. How does the Scottish Government plan to mitigate the twin challenges of Brexit and ferry freight capacity on the lifeline services to ensure that produce can get to market on time? I hope that I have been able to address the first part of the member's question in some of the responses that I have given today. We are working tirelessly with the industry to try and mitigate and do what we can to tackle the impacts of Brexit. Unfortunately, a lot of the levers for that are simply outwith our control. When it comes to the freight issue, I urge the member to raise the issue with the Minister for Transport, who I know has been dealing and looking at those issues. To ask the Scottish Government how it will protect the interests of farmers under the draft co-operation agreement with the Scottish Green Party. The Scottish Government and others across the chamber and across the country believe that Scotland should be a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture. We will ensure that we continue to support the sector to produce high-quality food while we take action to make the emission reductions that are required to contribute to Scotland's world-leading emissions targets, to support and deliver nature restoration and a just transition to net zero. I outline my approach to having farmers, crofters and land managers at the heart of developing new policy, which is why I launched the Agriculture Reform Implementation Oversight Board last week. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer, but does she understand the fear of farmers in my constituency that the Scottish Government now has members within it who have previously advocated a drastic reduction in livestock production and talked up the prospect of covering 40 per cent of Scotland in forestry? We had similar points raised during the food and drink debate yesterday. I would ask the member if he has read the co-operation agreement, where we have outlined our approach. Again, I have established the board to ensure that we can deliver the recommendations of the farmer-led groups and make sure that we have a sustainable future for Scottish farming.