 I remind members of the Covid-related measures that are in place and that face coverings should be worn when moving it around the chamber and across the Holyrood campus. The next item of business is portfolio questions. In order to get as many people in as possible, I would prefer short and succinct questions and answers to match. I call question number one, Richard Leonard. To ask the Scottish Government what specific targets it will apply to the island's bond. One of the key measures in the islands act is to ensure that we engage and involve people and businesses from our island communities and other stakeholders, including local authorities, in consultation on the development of new policies like the island's bond. That process is currently under way and I expect that matters like targets as well as other indicators and desirable outcomes that we might all want to see from this policy are being discussed. Should there be a strong appetite to have targets included in how we deliver this commitment, we will give that full consideration. I accept that the consultation on the practicalities of providing 100 island's bonds of up to £50,000 did just close on Monday of this week. Does the cabinet secretary accept notwithstanding that some progress has been made in recent days, that if it dropped its plan to centralise air traffic control in the islands, the Scottish Government would keep more than 100 families on the islands and it would cost considerably less and that the bonds will risk inflating island house prices, driving them up even further beyond the reach of young locals, so having the opposite effect to the one intended, why is the Government giving with one hand and taking away with the other? That is just not the case at all and I would suggest that if the member has particular issues there around Hyal that he raised that with the transport minister, Graham Day. That is why we are undertaking the process that we are with the island's bond. We are consulting to make sure that this is a measure that we get right when it is introduced. That of course cannot tackle depopulation and isolation. That is why there are a whole host of other matters that are being considered. For example, the production of an action plan that we committed to in relation to rural and island housing, which should go some way to address some of the concerns that Mr Leonard has raised. That is not something that we are doing in isolation. We also have a population task force that has been established to consider across Government what we are doing to tackle a lot of those issues here, so that we give that a full and considered response and can tackle a lot of those problems. Liam McArthur? In communities more resilient is the best way of attracting and retaining population in our islands. Rather than bribing individuals to remain or move to islands, will the cabinet secretary commit to ring ffencing the funding for this gimmick to support broadband and transport lengths instead, which allow people to live, work and study in our islands? Cabinet secretary, I really have to repeat the language that is being used by Liam McArthur in relation to this. This is a really positive step that we have committed to in our manifesto as one tool to try and tackle depopulation and to try to protect our fragile communities. It is not a bribe, it is not a gimmick, but it is meant to work alongside some of the earlier initiatives that I mentioned in my previous response to Mr Leonard. It is about looking at the job opportunities, it is about looking at the housing, as well as a number of strands of funds that we have through the islands programme as well to tackle a lot of the problems that we see in our islands. I try to get out about as much as possible I could over the summer directly to speak to people who live in our island communities to understand more about the issues there. Again, that is one initiative that we hope will help to tackle some of the problems that we see. We are determined and absolutely committed to listening to communities as we develop our proposals. To ask the Scottish Government what consideration the rural affairs secretary has given to ensure that the fish farms have the support that they need to meet environmental standards in light of reports that SIPA has rated 1 in 10 as unsatisfactory. Mr Hoy, there has been some misunderstanding there. Your question 5 on the paper but your question had appeared as a supplementary, so we will come back to you in due course. To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has taken to improve the rural economy in Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale constituency. The Scottish Government is investing in a range of activities across Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale to create jobs and support businesses and communities. Through our regeneration capital grant fund, we have invested almost £2 million into various locally developed projects, each as part of wider place-based approaches to deliver regeneration and economic growth. Our enterprise agencies are providing support to businesses across the area to promote and create jobs. Since April last year, South of Scotland Enterprise has provided grant funding of £2.1 million to sustain businesses and communities in this constituency, such as the Pavilion cinema in Galashales and the Peebles community trust. The constituency will also benefit from our support for the Borderlands deal for which we are investing £85 million and the Edinburgh and South East Scotland deal for which we are investing £300 million to support a range of projects and programmes across those regions that are designed to stimulate economic growth. I thank the cabinet secretary for her answers and I welcome the support of the various businesses across my constituency. However, connectivity is essential for people living in my constituencies of our business, pleasure and essential medical treatment, for example. I welcome any funding that the Government has put recently to rural buses, but in the forthcoming cabinet deliberations on the budget, can I ask the cabinet secretary to use a considerable skill and charm to push the case for extra funding for rural bus services in the water areas of my constituency? We recognise the distinct challenges that there are in delivering viable bus services in rural areas. That is why we are continuing to provide financial support, including providing up to £210 million to maintain services while patronages are reduced. We also set out in the programme for government that we would introduce a community bus fund to support local transport authorities, to improve public transport in those areas, and we are supporting pilots of digital solutions through mobility as a service investment fund. In relation to the particular question there, too, I am happy to raise that with the minister for transport, Graham Day. My constituency and Ms Graham's constituency have experienced very heavy rain and flooding in the past 24 hours. Hoig is now under a major incident and the situation in Newcastleton is of particular concern. Giving the water is very close to homes and a number of people are being advised to evacuate. With the debacle over the sepa cyber attack, climate change and the increased risk of flooding and the risk to rural livelihoods in the economy, can the cabinet secretary tell me what the Scottish Government has done since the last flood at Storm Dennis, which I know she was involved in? First of all, I just want to say to the member that I am really sorry to hear about the events that are happening in her constituency right now. As she mentions, I visited Newcastleton after the last flooding incident that they had, which I know was devastating for the community. In terms of the activity that has taken place since then, I would be happy to look into that and come back to the member with further information and, of course, to see what support, if any, we can offer those communities if they are further struggling with these events. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support sectors in the rural economy to tackle rural poverty. We are absolutely committed to doing all we can to tackle poverty in Scotland, and that includes in our rural and island communities and alongside specific measures in the programme for government to strengthen our rural economy and address rural poverty. Our new 10-year national strategy for economic transformation will set out the steps that we will take to deliver our economic recovery and support new green jobs, businesses and industries for the future that will deliver sustainable and inclusive economic prosperity for all of Scotland's people and places. However, as the member will be aware, we only have limited powers and resources available to us, and rural Scotland is particularly vulnerable and fragile to the harmful impact of Brexit, as well as issues such as heights and the cost of fuel, as well as the cost of food. We know that what the Westminster Government does in policy terms does have a huge effect on rural poverty. I thank the minister for the answer, and the minister will be aware that the rate of fuel poverty in rural areas is 5 per cent higher than in urban areas, and that levels of fuel poverty for more rural households are higher than for all other locations and has been increasing. I am sure that the minister will agree with me that ensuring that people have enough money to heat their homes through winter must be an absolute priority. What action does the Government intend to take to reduce levels of rural fuel poverty this winter and to support those in rural areas to meet the costs of their rising energy bills? We recognise that there is a unique challenge there that households in Scotland's islands and remote communities face in terms of trying to keep their homes warm and to do that for an affordable price. When developing the Fuel Poverty Act legislation, we undertook an islands community impact assessment to fully consider the implications for our islands household, and the feedback that we received from that contributed to our decision to incorporate adjustments to the UK minimum income standard element of the new fuel poverty definition to take account of the generally higher costs of living that are found in Scotland's remote and island communities. Through our energy efficiency schemes, we already spend more per head on energy efficiency in remote and rural and island areas where we know that installation costs, as well as labour costs, are higher. Our warmer homes Scotland scheme has introduced additional renewable and enabling measures, including grain source heat pumps, micro wind, micro hydro and micro CHP systems, that will be of particular benefit to households living off the gas grid, which is the case for most island-based communities. As we prepare our fuel poverty strategy, we are committed to continuing to take full account of the special circumstances that are faced by those living in our rural and island communities. The benefits of digital inclusion are well documented and are proven not only to reduce social exclusion, loneliness and depression, but also to produce higher employability and increase earnings and therefore reduce poverty. A report produced by the third sector in Dumfries and Galloway has revealed that more than 20,000 people are in fact missing out on being able to access key services now in offer on digital platforms for improving employability. What can the minister do to ensure that my constituents do not lose out and how can she mitigate the impact of the broken commitment to roll out superfast broadband, my constituency, which will now not be completed in 2025, four years after it was originally pledged by the Scottish Government? In relation to the digital connectivity there and of course the opportunities that come with that to better connect us all, which improve employment opportunities as well as opening up opportunities for remote healthcare. All of that is absolutely vital and that is why there have been a number of pieces of work that have been under way to try and tackle that digital divide that sometimes cannot exist. We have to make sure that if we want to sustain our rural communities we want people to live and work in those areas, which should in this age now, now that we have proven that it can happen and we can work remotely in a hybrid fashion, that should be open and accessible to everyone and we need to address the challenges where they exist. However, as I say, there are a number of pieces of work under way to tackle this. I would be happy to update the member and give him further information as to work that is currently under way. Does the cabinet secretary share my concern that one of the biggest contributors to poverty in rural and island communities for years to come will be the economic and social harm caused by the loss of freedom of movement and trade following Brexit? What does she make of many of the UK parties, including Labour, who appear to have enabled that Brexit? Yes, absolutely. EU exit has led to challenges including labour and skills shortages, which of course has had an impact on food supplies, costs and household incomes. It is the one single issue that is raised with me at pretty much every single stakeholder meeting that I have attended in the previous months. The impact of Brexit on the UK economy will be worse than that caused by the pandemic. That is according to the chairman of the UK fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, who stated yesterday that, in the long term, it is the case that Brexit has a bigger impact than the pandemic. The OBR reported that leaving the EU would reduce UK GDP by around 4 per cent, whereas the effect of the pandemic will reduce GDP output by a further 2 per cent. Despite agreeing to meaningful engagement on migration 2, the UK Government has dismissed our proposals for addressing the acute labour shortage crisis, and it should re-engage in good faith with the EU to find pragmatic solutions to the blockages such as those that are confronting businesses. Labourist supporters of Brexit are deeply complicit in the difficult financial circumstances that many of our communities find themselves in. Thank you for asking the Scottish Government how it can support Scottish food and drink producers in light of reports of empty supermarket shelves. We have committed support of £10 million between 2020 to 2022 towards the food and drink sector's recovery plan, which contains 50 actions to help businesses across Scotland to recover from Covid-19 and the disruptions of Brexit. We are also in regular dialogue with the industry through our food sector resilience group meetings to understand how best we can further support the sector. However, the most important solutions to combat the supply chain issues that we are facing lie with the UK Government. We have already discussed the labour shortages, and we will continue to press them to take urgent action to address those issues and significant issues that businesses are facing. Willie Coffey I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. I know of many fabulous, locally produced airshare products that do not seem to feature at all on the shelves of our biggest supermarkets. I can think of Deloc Cheese, Baloch Mell Brie, Musgeil and Couchead Milk, many brands of airshare tattoos from Dauhow Farm and others, and of course, the world-famous Kilmarnock Pie, which only sainsburys, I believe, has the good sense to stock on their shelves. Can I ask the cabinet secretary if she would encourage the supermarket operators to procure more food locally so that we are less reliant on transporting food over great distances and also to encourage those supermarkets to put more local products, like the ones that I have described, on to their shelves so that local food producers can play their full part in feeding the nation? The member raises a hugely important point there. The Scottish Government has had really positive engagement with grocery retailers and Scotland Food and Drink over the last 18 months, really to do exactly what the member is talking about there and explore how best retailers can provide support for our hard-working Scottish food and drink producers and get more Scottish produce on their shelves. The importance of ensuring quality local produce is available to Scottish consumers has never been greater than what it is now. I encourage retailers to continue the work that they are doing in the area and explore all the opportunities for sourcing as much of our fantastic Scottish produce as possible, including the many great products available in the airshare, which Willie Coffey has delightfully taken us through this afternoon. Pig farmers have been hit hard by Brexit with their processing factories previously staffed by many eastern European butchers who have understandably now returned home. We are now importing pork to meet public demand, although our domestic pork producers are struggling to get their pork to market. What more support can the Scottish Government give this important industry? We continue to engage with industry on the pressures that they are encountering, in particular as a result of labour shortages caused by Brexit and on what we can do to alleviate that situation. This morning, I announced a private storage aid scheme for pig meat to aid with the backlog of pigs on farm, and that sits alongside the £715,000 that we provided the sector to help earlier this summer from costs and issues arising from the pandemic and the levy holiday that QMS is providing for producers, which the Scottish Government supports amounts to approximately an additional £40,000 in support. I would just highlight to the member too that, in addition to all that, we will be providing some additional support to assist in increased abattoir throughput, and I will bring forward more details of that in due course. To ask the Scottish Government what consideration the rural affairs secretary has given to ensure that fish farms have the support that they need to meet environmental standards in light of reports that SEPA has rated 1 in 10 as unsatisfactory. Cabinet secretary, I believe that the information that the member is referring to is stolen information, and I cannot therefore comment on its contents. However, in answer to the question, the Scottish Government provides financial assistance to the sector funding projects that aim to reduce the environmental impacts of fish farming. Now past projects have included the development of non-medicinal treatment technologies such as the thermal icer and trialling of freshwater treatments for gill disease. We established the sustainable aquaculture innovation centre to support the sustainability of Scottish aquaculture and to improve understanding of environmental interactions and the sector's environmental performance. As an example of that, SAIC recently announced a project that aims to more accurately model salmon farms' environmental impact. It has launched a project to develop DNA-based environmental monitoring. Other key initiatives include the Farm Fish Health Framework, which brings together regulators, salmon and tripe producers, Scottish Government and the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre to collaboratively address key health and welfare issues that have influenced changes to sea lice policy and regulation. The salmon farm industry is worth millions to the Scottish economy and accounts for over 12,000 Scottish jobs, including in my region. To support the industry, will the minister therefore accelerate the implementation of the SEPA environmental framework for car licenses, which will show the progress that the industry has made? I understand how vital the aquaculture sector is to our remote and rural communities in particular. We have also set out as part of the co-operation with the Scottish Green Party a number of actions that we are looking to take there. As much as we support the sector, it has got to develop in an environmentally sustainable way. We have undertaken a number of commitments and actions in relation to that. I would be happy to get in touch with the member to outline all that, but he will probably be aware of some of the actions that we have initiated already. We have given a response to the salmon interactions working group, which contains a number of actions within that too. We have also undertaken an external regulatory review, which will contribute to the sector as a whole and make it more environmentally sustainable too. The salmon farming industry has made investments that have benefited communities across the Highlands and Islands. Homes and businesses on the Noidark Peninsula and Lochnevis have benefited from superfast broadband, thanks to the collaboration between Scottish Seafarms and a rural broadband company. Does the cabinet secretary agree with me that the aquaculture industry has a positive role to play in sustaining the social and economic fatality of many rural and island communities? Cabinet secretary? Yes, I recognise that. As I have illustrated in my previous response to Craig Hoy, I recognise how important the industry is to our remote and rural communities, and I think that it has a really positive role to play in sustaining the social and economic fatality of communities. I talked about the contribution that it makes, but its aquaculture and wider supply chain generated £885 million gross value added in 2018 and supported 11,700 jobs. Many of those are well-paid and highly skilled roles in some of our most fragile and rural communities. I welcome the support that is provided to communities by the fish farming industry and commend their commitment to do even more through the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation Sustainability Charter. I was delighted to have the opportunity in the summer to see some of that work for myself when I visited Collins to see in action the positive impact that the sector can have on local communities through affordable housing investment, which is vitally important for economic growth and is helping to sustain this remote community. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to address illegal trawling. The Marine Scotland directorate of the Scottish Government uses its air, sea and land assets including a 24-7 monitoring centre to respond to reports of illegal fishing and associated activity. Through monitoring and inspection at sea and in ports, any evidence gathered that suggests illegal activity will, depending on the severity, be subject to one of a number of enforcement options, ranging from fixed penalties to criminal proceedings by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. Our approach to sea fisheries compliance is already world-class, but we want to enhance our capabilities and demonstrate our role as a leading fishing nation. As reflected in our fisheries management strategy, the introduction of remote electronic monitoring to key fishing fleet segments will play an important role in that. The Scottish Government will shortly consult on the mandatory roll-out of REM to the scallop and pelagic sectors in 2022, along with consideration of further roll-out to other fleet segments using a proportionate and risk-based approach. The cabinet secretary will be aware that Loch Geirlich has suffered several times from illegal dredgers and trawlers and that, following the destruction caused by two dredgers in 2018, the chamber voted to deliver robust, tamper-proof vessel tracking on all Scottish fishing vessels. Three years later, not all of those have been fitted with any additional equipment. Regarding the incidents last week, the first was reported to Marine Scotland officers in the morning, but they had no officer available to visit and the protected area was breached again that very evening. There are also reports that the £2,000 fine for abusing no-take or zoned are inadequate and too easily dismissed as the business expends. As those current measures are not posing a sufficient deterrent, is the Scottish Government considering additional measures to prevent illegal fishing, particularly in our marine protected areas? I thank the member for raising that point. I would say that, in relation to reported activities, I think that it is really unfortunate in that circumstance that an officer was not able to attend to look at that, but that is because I outlined the assets that we have available to us. We have three vessels, we have two air assets, but of course they have a vast area to cover. That is why I would have to look into the circumstances of that, and I am happy to do that and get back to the member with further information. I do not really want to comment too much on that so far, but I would say that, with the resources that we do have, we want to ensure that we are doing the monitoring that we need to do and that I have no doubt that Marine Scotland would be following up on every report that they get of illegal activity. I really want to give the member assurance on that, and, as I say, I will get back to her on further information in relation to the specific incident that she has mentioned. To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the rural economy in light of the reported increased workforce pressures. The UK Government positioned to drive forward a hard EU exit that has led to challenges in Scotland's workforce, resulting in labour and skill shortages across a number of sectors. That happened at a time when the country was facing impacts on our society, economy and labour market because of the Covid-19 pandemic. My ministerial colleagues and I have made repeated representations to the UK Government to make emergency changes to the UK immigration system, to combat skills and labour shortages, as well as fundamental changes to the way that immigration works. We need an immigration system that is fit for Scotland's needs and which gives Scottish ministers a formal role in determining what works for Scotland. We are actively supporting the rural economy. Our Covid recovery strategy sets out actions to ensure that existing economic, social and regional inequalities are not worsened. We are investing in additional £500 million over this Parliament to support new jobs and skills. We have committed support of £10 million over 2020 to 2022, specifically towards supporting Scotland's food and drink sector recovery plan. She agrees with me that the unfettered access afforded by the UK Tory Government to Australia and New Zealand in recent trade deals will merely add to workforce pressures identified, placing further constraints on the rural sector and with potentially devastating consequences for our farming communities and the supply chains that also service Scotland's urban areas. Absolutly. I couldn't agree more with the member. I attended the NFUS autumn conference this morning where exactly the concerns that have been outlined there were reiterated there too, and there is serious concern about the trade deals that have been made without any consultation or involvement of the Scottish Government, let alone the Scottish industry that it affects. Scottish ministers have repeatedly highlighted our concerns about the impacts of those UK free trade agreements that have been agreed in principle with Australia and now with New Zealand on Scottish agriculture. The concerns that we in industry have repeatedly expressed have been continually ignored. Our view is that those deals will lead to a sustained increase in imports of Australian and New Zealand agrifood, produced to lesser standards and environmental commitments than what we expect our farmers and producers to work to hear. All for a negligible benefit. The Australian trade deal is expected to benefit GDP to 0.02 per cent, and New Zealand 0.0. We have serious concerns about that, but we will continue to stand up for our industry as we always do in the face of those challenges.