Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 28 March 2012
28 Mar 2012 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Agricultural Holdings (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
I am pleased to speak in this stage 1 debate. Although I am not a member of the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee, my Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee is working on the Land Registration etc (Scotland) Bill, and I have an interest in the agricultural sector, as I originally hail from a farming family from the Isle of Lewis, although that feels like a lifetime ago.
I am particularly pleased that the SNP Government is committed to supporting Scotland’s tenant farmers and to having a vibrant tenant farming sector in Scottish agriculture. Those of us who have followed the Scottish Government’s plans from day 1 in 2007 are heartened by the success to date of the measures to encourage new entrants into farming. In 2007, the SNP Administration was the first Administration to introduce a dedicated new-entrant scheme, which so far has resulted in 63 new entrants securing funding totalling more than £1.1 million. The funding can include interest-rate relief of up to £40,000, plus an establishment grant of up to £30,000, which is the maximum support that is allowable under European Union rules. The work of the tenant farming forum and the recommendations in its report “Assisting New Entrants into Scottish Farming” must also be acknowledged and appreciated.
I was extremely encouraged by the announcement last week that the Scottish Agricultural College is to deliver a new programme of activities, funded by the Scottish Government, to address concerns about the lack of new entrants to farming. I believe that the Scottish Government is aware of the calls for the development of a broader range of opportunities and the creation of new opportunities for the next generation of farmers. The Scottish Agricultural College will help to deliver the skills that are required to ensure that new entrants have the capability and confidence to develop and build successful businesses. That will enable new entrants to grasp the opportunities that are created by related initiatives that are run by other sector stakeholders.
Attracting and assisting new entrants to agriculture are seen as key components in ensuring that Scottish agriculture continues to be a dynamic and competitive industry. That is acknowledged by a number of organisations, including the NFUS, Forestry Commission Scotland, Scottish Land & Estates and the Crown Estate.
The Scottish Agricultural College’s senior business consultant Douglas Bell, who will manage the new programme, has said:
“It is important that potential new entrants are aware of possible opportunities, including industry initiatives and that they have the knowledge and skills to take advantage of them. They need encouragement and an awareness of their supply chain as well as the skills to identify and capitalise on business opportunities.”
The new programme will be available to new entrants from April this year and, this autumn, the potential new entrants will be invited to a starter workshop, which will be delivered in four locations in Scotland. That collaborative workshop will offer an overview of support measures and knowledge of the issues that are involved in getting started.
Next year, there are to be a series of guidance notes and a dedicated website for new entrants. Throughout the project, a number of case studies will be developed to illustrate the range of entrant opportunities, show how barriers were overcome and identify key success factors. We wish the SAC well with it. It is
“a project which will help to contribute to the long term viability of rural communities ... It offers an opportunity for a new generation of farmers ... to play their full part in achieving sustainable growth through food production and the environmental management of agricultural land”.
I congratulate the Scottish Government on introducing the initiative.
I am pleased to note that members of the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee have highlighted the urgency of the situation and the need to reverse the current trend of falling numbers of agricultural tenancies, which requires long-term policy making. I note that the committee highlighted issues that Scottish Land & Estates raised regarding possible negative consequences of provisions in the Land Registration (Scotland) Bill—which is currently going through the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee—on landlords and tenants who enter limited-duration tenancies of longer than 20 years, and I note the cabinet secretary’s response. The Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee will take note of that—in particular, the request from the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee that there be regular communication between officials.
15:21
I am particularly pleased that the SNP Government is committed to supporting Scotland’s tenant farmers and to having a vibrant tenant farming sector in Scottish agriculture. Those of us who have followed the Scottish Government’s plans from day 1 in 2007 are heartened by the success to date of the measures to encourage new entrants into farming. In 2007, the SNP Administration was the first Administration to introduce a dedicated new-entrant scheme, which so far has resulted in 63 new entrants securing funding totalling more than £1.1 million. The funding can include interest-rate relief of up to £40,000, plus an establishment grant of up to £30,000, which is the maximum support that is allowable under European Union rules. The work of the tenant farming forum and the recommendations in its report “Assisting New Entrants into Scottish Farming” must also be acknowledged and appreciated.
I was extremely encouraged by the announcement last week that the Scottish Agricultural College is to deliver a new programme of activities, funded by the Scottish Government, to address concerns about the lack of new entrants to farming. I believe that the Scottish Government is aware of the calls for the development of a broader range of opportunities and the creation of new opportunities for the next generation of farmers. The Scottish Agricultural College will help to deliver the skills that are required to ensure that new entrants have the capability and confidence to develop and build successful businesses. That will enable new entrants to grasp the opportunities that are created by related initiatives that are run by other sector stakeholders.
Attracting and assisting new entrants to agriculture are seen as key components in ensuring that Scottish agriculture continues to be a dynamic and competitive industry. That is acknowledged by a number of organisations, including the NFUS, Forestry Commission Scotland, Scottish Land & Estates and the Crown Estate.
The Scottish Agricultural College’s senior business consultant Douglas Bell, who will manage the new programme, has said:
“It is important that potential new entrants are aware of possible opportunities, including industry initiatives and that they have the knowledge and skills to take advantage of them. They need encouragement and an awareness of their supply chain as well as the skills to identify and capitalise on business opportunities.”
The new programme will be available to new entrants from April this year and, this autumn, the potential new entrants will be invited to a starter workshop, which will be delivered in four locations in Scotland. That collaborative workshop will offer an overview of support measures and knowledge of the issues that are involved in getting started.
Next year, there are to be a series of guidance notes and a dedicated website for new entrants. Throughout the project, a number of case studies will be developed to illustrate the range of entrant opportunities, show how barriers were overcome and identify key success factors. We wish the SAC well with it. It is
“a project which will help to contribute to the long term viability of rural communities ... It offers an opportunity for a new generation of farmers ... to play their full part in achieving sustainable growth through food production and the environmental management of agricultural land”.
I congratulate the Scottish Government on introducing the initiative.
I am pleased to note that members of the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee have highlighted the urgency of the situation and the need to reverse the current trend of falling numbers of agricultural tenancies, which requires long-term policy making. I note that the committee highlighted issues that Scottish Land & Estates raised regarding possible negative consequences of provisions in the Land Registration (Scotland) Bill—which is currently going through the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee—on landlords and tenants who enter limited-duration tenancies of longer than 20 years, and I note the cabinet secretary’s response. The Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee will take note of that—in particular, the request from the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee that there be regular communication between officials.
15:21
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Tricia Marwick)
NPA
The next item of business is a debate on motion S4M-02495, in the name of Richard Lochhead, on the Agricultural Holdings (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill. I call ...
The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment (Richard Lochhead)
SNP
Thank you, Presiding Officer.This Government has two key policy objectives for tenant farming in Scotland: first, to ensure that tenant farmers have legislat...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
I call Rob Gibson to speak on behalf of the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee.14:44
Rob Gibson (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP)
SNP
There is an old Highland joke about a croft being a small piece of land surrounded entirely by large amounts of legislation. Given the amount of legislation ...
Alex Fergusson (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con)
Con
Will the member take an intervention?
Rob Gibson
SNP
I will take a brief one. I have a lot to say.
Alex Fergusson
Con
Given that the tax regime is the same throughout the United Kingdom and that farm business tenancies south of the border are similar to limited duration tena...
Rob Gibson
SNP
I think that there has been enough speculation, but I suppose that, even in the member’s devo plus proposals, there might be a decision to take forward these...
Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Lab
I am pleased to be speaking in this afternoon’s debate. As an MSP who is not on the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee, I thank the comm...
John Lamont (Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con)
Con
The Scottish Conservatives are pleased to support the bill’s general principles. A vibrant tenanted sector is vital to Scottish farming. As a Parliament, we ...
Annabelle Ewing (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP)
SNP
John Lamont will obviously have read the committee’s wonderful report, which he was involved in producing. Paragraph 37, which refers to the oral evidence th...
John Lamont
Con
That was very helpful, but it does not necessarily mean that I have to agree with that view. I agree with the cabinet secretary’s view that there could be un...
Annabelle Ewing (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP)
SNP
Although I have the privilege of being the deputy convener of the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee, I speak not on behalf of the commi...
David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
Lab
It might seem to be a great leap of imagination to compare this consensual stage 1 debate on the Agricultural Holdings (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill with the r...
Graeme Dey (Angus South) (SNP)
SNP
One issue that came through loud and clear in the committee’s inquires on the bill was that of land agents and their practices. In his evidence, NFUS chief e...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (John Scott)
Con
You must close now, please.
Graeme Dey
SNP
The TFF is looking to arbitration as a way in which to resolve that issue. I suggest that that is the way forward.15:17
Angus MacDonald (Falkirk East) (SNP)
SNP
I am pleased to speak in this stage 1 debate. Although I am not a member of the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee, my Economy, Energy a...
Jim Hume (South Scotland) (LD)
LD
I declare a farming interest.The provisions in the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Bill are overdue. It is important that trust between tenants and landlord...
Dennis Robertson (Aberdeenshire West) (SNP)
SNP
As many members have already discussed the “near relatives” provision in the bill, I will not go down that route. Instead, I want to focus not on the legisla...
David Stewart
Lab
Does the member share my view that tenants are concerned about Lord Gill’s decision in the Court of Session, which effectively says that the Scottish Parliam...
Dennis Robertson
SNP
We are moving forward and the bill and amendments to it will try to address what happened in 2003.We certainly need to consider the arbitration provisions in...
Margaret McDougall (West Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
The bill aims to create a better environment for the letting of farmland to the tenant farming sector of the agricultural industry and to encourage new entra...
Mark McDonald (North East Scotland) (SNP)
SNP
Presiding Officer, as a former member of the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee—although, to be frank, if you had blinked, you would hav...
David Stewart
Lab
The Court of Session overturned the Scottish Land Court in relation to the role of single farm payments and argued that they are a factor in open-market rent...
Mark McDonald
SNP
A number of factors prevent new entrants from coming into the sector—I certainly do not think that there is just a single contributory factor in that regard....
Alex Fergusson (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con)
Con
This has been a welcome debate on the general principles of the Agricultural Holdings (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill.I am happy to welcome the three changes to ...
Claudia Beamish (South Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
I am pleased to speak in this debate, which is so significant for Scotland’s vibrant agriculture sector. I thank the cabinet secretary for setting the contex...
Alex Fergusson
Con
Why does the member feel that disharmony would be a good thing in an area—that is, the TFF—where harmony exists?
Claudia Beamish
Lab
That is certainly not what I am saying. Whenever consensus is possible, it is an excellent idea. However, a range of perspectives must be taken into account,...