Moray MP Douglas Ross has urged the SNP government to provide funding to local councils in coastal areas to ensure there are enough environmental officers to certify fish catches post-Brexit.
It emerged today the Scottish Government has failed to recruit enough staff to manage changes to the system for checking produce before it is exported to the EU.
From January, every catch will need to have an environmental health certificate signed off by environmental health officers, who are employed by local councils.
UK Environment Secretary George Eustice told MPs today that about 100 posts in Scotland remain unfilled and his department was working with the Scottish Government to try and fill the gap.
The UK Treasury has provided about £100million to Holyrood over the last three years specifically for preparations for Brexit.
Scottish Conservative MP for Moray Douglas Ross said:
“Local authorities must urgently be given funding by the SNP Government to ensure that preparations for our fishing industry are firmly in place.
“These revelations today suggest that the SNP’s political objection to Brexit is holding back Scotland’s preparations for the end of the transition period.
“The UK Government are willing to assist with this, but it begs serious questions about why the SNP Scottish Government haven’t used the funding provided to recruit these crucial roles.
“Fishermen and processors in the north-east will be wondering why on earth this work hasn’t been done – given we have known these changes are coming for some time. Fishermen I’ve spoken with in Moray are optimistic about the future of their industry but this news is concerning. The lack of preparation the SNP have done, particularly when they have had funding to support this for some time, could have significant consequences for local fishermen.
“But voters in our coastal communities already know that the SNP aren’t interested in seizing the opportunities afforded by leaving the EU.
“The SNP want to drag them back into the Common Fisheries Policy, which completely failed to deliver for the last forty years and was hugely damaging for Scottish fleets.”
