Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 26 August 2020
I know, Presiding Officer, and the good thing is that I will do it in less time than that.
First, I remind Parliament of my entry in the register of interests. I thank Willie Rennie for being so polite to the committee about the hard work that was put in, especially by the people behind the committee, such as the clerks who support us and enable the work to go ahead.
Farmers in Scotland just need direction. I have always found that, if we give them the direction, farmers find the solution. All that they want to do is produce quality food and produce. They want the highest possible standards. I agree with Mr Finnie: I have yet to meet a farmer who wants to reduce animal welfare; they all want to keep it up.
They never need a prompt to go to work. Most of them were somewhat surprised on 21 May this year, when the First Minister told them that they could go back to work. They had been working non-stop, 24 hours a day, to get their crops sown and keep Scotland fed.
We now have a bill on the table, which, to my mind, could have been a lot better. It could have held the Government to more scrutiny. It could have stopped funds being siphoned out of rural budgets and into other areas.
However, I am pleased that the Government supported amendment 19. It is good news that there will be a policy on the table by 31 December 2024. We need to move forward, and I give the Parliament an assurance that I will make sure that that policy is on the table and that Scotland’s farmers are supported as they need to be.