David Maddox: The kitchen cabinet secretary

A freedom of information request was published on the Scottish Government website last week which went largely unnoticed probably because there was so little in it.
The subject was an old favourite for journalists - ministerial gifts.
Only five are listed and only one of those was even vaguely interesting - a cook book by Scottish celebrity chef Nick Nairn which was pocketed by Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead in June last year.
Most gifts are even given to staff or kept by the government on display or stuck in a library or storage, however, clearly Mr Lochhead enjoys his food and plans to take on a few tips from the cooking master.
Mr Nairn has been a great supporter of SNP ministerial initiatives such as breakfast clubs.
But, hopefully, with his new book Mr Lochhead has got past the bit about cooking toast (see the Lochhead, left, and Nairn, right, picture above) and on to some more complicated cuisine.

David Maddox: Fishy business by the Scottish Government

Just ahead of the crunch vote on the Climate Change Bill (Scotland) it might be worth taking a quick nosy at the Scottish Government's current credentials on saving the world from ecological disaster.

Some of you may have seen the amazing and apocalyptic (if you are a fish) film End of the Line, which has made waves around the world. The thought-provoking documentary is film based on the book by the Daily Telegraph’s Environmental Editor Charles Clover, revealing the impact of over-fishing the oceans, in the sense that they will be empty pretty soon unless something is done.

Obviously, Scottish Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead, who has made his name by cosying up to Scotland's fishing lobby, has not seen the film or doesn't believe it. That can only explain the Scottish Government's recently launched Eat More Fish Campaign.

The campaign may be one of the reasons why the Greens are less than convinced about the SNP's commitment to climate change targets.

As Green MSP Robin Harper put it to me: "This is a clear case of the Government collaborating with industry in the face of well-founded scientific criticism. Without a change in tack from the SNP and other governments worldwide there will simply be no more fish to eat."

Anyway if you like to eat fish here's a picture of Mr Lochhead from the campaign showing us just how its best done:

David Maddox: Lochhead loses the spirit of Speyside

Pity the poor Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead (pictured right). There he was enjoying one of the biggest junkets of the year as a judge at the Spirit of Speyside contest sniffing and tasting 40 single malts and he is forced to clear off to take part in some pesky votes.

One thing is for certain, though, his constituents in Moray will not thank him for his sacrifice.
I admit to some jealousy with this, as a judge of the same contest from last year, I had to give up my place because Thursday is Holyrood's busiest day.

However, there were a couple of reasons why he should take part in these votes. The first was on the Forestry Commission which is part of his departmental responsibilities and which the SNP won by one vote.

The second, though, was called in his honour. As mentioned in this blog before Labour took the advice of my colleague Hamish Macdonell's column to test Mr Lochhead's loyalties - constituents vs government career.

The vote was essentially on whether MSPs regretted the failure to include the Elgin bypass in its strategic transport plans for the next 20 years. Since the SNP promise to do exactly that was formally dropped by his constituency neighbour Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson, the MSP for Banff and Buchan, he has continued to campaign for its inclusion.

So was he going to continue to back his constituents and resign after voting against the government of which he is a minister? Not on your life. Ministerial career first. No regrets for Lochhead.

David Maddox: The trap is set

Labour have sent me a copy of their motion for the transport debate on Thursday. As mentioned in my Inside Holyrood column on Monday, this is aimed at primarily embarrassing the Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead (pictured right).
In his capacity as the MSP for Moray, Mr Lochhead is a longstanding campaigner for the Elgin bypass, which his party promised in opposition would be built. But his neighbour, Banff and Buchan MSP Stewart Stevenson, the Transport Minister, rather let the side down by not including the bypass in the list of projects for the next 20 years.
Mr Lochhead has remained as a minister, but is now apparently campaigning against his own government's transport policy. The motion in the name of Des McNulty, Labour's transport spokesman, is designed to force him to choose between being a minister and betraying his constituents or opposing the government and having to resign as a minister. A similar trap has been laid for Children's Minister Adam Ingram over the Maybole bypass.
Only time will tell if it works.
Here is the motion:

Des McNulty Labour, (Clydebank and Milngavie) (pictured left): That the Parliament notes that the Strategic Transport Projects Review lacks detail on timescales and does not commit the Scottish Government to deliver a programme of expenditure for the vast majority of the projects identified; and accordingly notes the concern of communities along the length of the A82, A77, A9 and A96 that no indication has been given as to when their needs for road improvements will be addressed; and in particular notes the disappointment of people in Elgin, Inverness and Maybole who were led to believe by the SNP prior to the 2007 election that their by-pass schemes would be given priority by an SNP Government, reminds Ministers of the principle of collective responsibility and the need to ensure that communities are not misled about the Scottish Government’s intentions.