Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill
The Bill allows the Scottish Government to provide assistance to farming and rural communities.
The Bill is at Stage 2
Contents
Overview
If the Bill is passed as introduced, Scottish Ministers will be required to prepare a five year Rural Support Plan. This plan will include details of farming, forestry, and rural development support. The Bill gives Scottish Ministers the power to form a new support framework and provide financial and other assistance. The framework would be brought into law by secondary legislation.
This Bill also makes changes to the Agriculture (Retained EU Law and Data) (Scotland) Act 2020. It allows Scottish Ministers to change, extend or end Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) legislation as it applies in Scotland.
The Bill would also allow the Scottish Government to introduce training requirements for farmers and other workers. The regulation of animal identification is also updated.
You can read more about what this Bill does in the Explanatory Notes (297KB, pdf) posted 28 September 2023
Why the Bill was created
The Scottish Government introduced the Bill to support farming, forestry, and rural communities.
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is a European scheme. It provides financial support for rural development and farming. These are sometimes known as ‘subsidies’, or agriculture payments. Following the UK’s exit from the EU, the Scottish Government will decide how to provide support and make payments. This Bill gives Scottish Ministers the powers to develop a new support framework.
The Scottish Government plans to use this new framework to deliver its Vision for Agriculture. That document outlines the Scottish Government's wider agriculture policy aims.
You can read more about why the Bill has been created in the Policy Memorandum (296KB, pdf) posted 28 September 2023