Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 26 August 2020
I am pleased that we are at the stage of the final speeches for the bill at last. As a member of the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee, it seems to me as though we have been considering the bill for many months—and we have, but we have to accept that much of the delay has been due to the pandemic disrupting the work of the Scottish Parliament.
The need for the bill is entirely a result of the UK’s decision to leave the EU, which was not supported by the people of Scotland at the time of the referendum and is still not supported now, given how much more we know about the disastrous effects that it will have on our economy, especially with Covid-19 and the economic crash on top of that.
During the debate and in the amendments to the bill, it has been interesting to see how the Tories have abandoned food production as the main activity of farming. The Scottish Government must prepare to take the necessary powers to continue to support our farmers and crofters. Interestingly, we have legislated for Brexit faster than the UK Government has done but, unfortunately, that has been at the expense of the inshore fisheries bill and the good food nation bill. Without that primary legislation, the Scottish ministers would not be able to simplify or improve retained EU law. The Scottish Government chose—rightly, in my view—not to take powers through the UK bill and not to recommend legislative consent, as there are concerns that it could impose unwanted policies and rules on Scottish farmers in areas of devolved competence. Agriculture is devolved and legislation for devolved policy is a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
The current EU CAP schemes run from 2014 until only 2020. The bill gives the Scottish ministers the power to vary payment ceilings and financial provision in CAP schemes once they become domestic law. It allows for the continued operation of current CAP schemes and policies for a transition period up to 2024 if needed and allows those measures to be progressively improved and simplified. The bill is urgent because not only do we need it to be passed, we also need the secondary legislation that will fall under it to be in place by the end of the year so that we can continue to make payments to farmers. That means that time is critical.
Throughout the passage of the bill, NFU Scotland has supported the Scottish Government’s approach, in that the bill is focused on frameworks as opposed to policy. The NFUS agrees with the Scottish Government that the primary purpose of the bill is to enable a stability and simplicity approach, rather than enacting a future agricultural policy for Scotland.
The bill will also ensure that the Scottish Government has the ability to replicate changes that are made elsewhere in the UK, if that is what is best for Scotland. Those include avoidance of barriers to the movement and sale of goods within the UK after EU exit, and the adoption of UK-wide frameworks, which are beneficial in areas of pesticide regulation and animal health and welfare, as long as they are not imposed without our consent.
In closing, I congratulate the cabinet secretary on the very prompt distribution of farm payments, given the problems that we had with farm payments in the recent past. This bill is needed, and it is needed now. It is urgent, and I am pleased and relieved that it will pass this evening.
18:15