Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 26 August 2020
I thank all the stakeholders and individuals who contributed in any way to the bill. Whether they agreed with me or with other members, I thank them for participating in the process. I hope that all can see that we have listened and considered carefully all suggestions for changes and improvements to the bill’s measures.
I think that it is fair for me to point out that we have responded to Parliament, and to the views that were expressed to the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee in particular.
We have responded by agreeing a sunset clause, after discussion with Mr Rumbles and after taking into account all the views expressed by the committee. We have changed our tack, listened and acted. We have changed our position on the statutory instrument process, as we have on issues relating to the good food nation policy. Even though that is not directly relevant to the bill, we nonetheless listened and responded, and we have acted today, as I said at stage 2 that we would seek to do.
Lastly, we responded to the Conservative amendment requiring us to report by 2024. We will be reporting long before then—it is impossible to leave things until 2024, if we want to implement change.
The fact is—I am being quite frank in saying this—that the CAP legislation and rules are highly complex. Any change is an extraordinarily complex matter; it is not really consistent with high-level debate and a list of things that are worthy and desirable in and of themselves. Change is far more complicated than that and we must pay attention to the detail to get it right. Much of that work is done in committee, as it was this morning when the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee discussed a legislative consent motion, for example.
The challenge is to work through the changes that farmers and crofters want, particularly in the short term. My assessment is that there is a special desire for reform and improvement on the penalties and inspections regime. I say that as someone who, like the REC Committee convener, has been around for quite a while and has represented farmers and crofters, some of whom have suffered extraordinarily high penalties—tens of thousands of pounds—for possibly relatively small administrative errors. That is quite shocking, and a real concern to those involved. I was passionately determined to get that right and now I have the opportunity to do that. Why? We have created through the bill the lever to do that.
The challenge is to work through what farmers and crofters want. Another thing that they want is certainty about continued income, as they are in essence running businesses. More than half of farmers and crofters in Scotland are dependent on that income for their livelihood, so it is essential that they get their money. I am delighted that they will get it three months ahead of those in England. That great achievement is thanks to the rural payments and inspections division staff, who have worked during Covid and done so well for the farming community. I pass on my sincere thanks to them.
I am determined to ensure that our hill farmers continue to receive the support to which they are entitled, not just for producing food, but as the custodians of the landscape at the heart of rural Scotland.
My discussions with farmers and crofters, such as the Lochaber group, which Donald Cameron, I think, brought along not so long ago, showed that they are far more concerned about the continuity of basic financial support than they are about having a purpose clause. Not a single farmer or crofter in this country has ever mentioned a purpose clause to me.
Members rose.