Our ambition is to create the system that allows tier 1, tier 2, tier 3 and tier 4, which will take us to a point where Scotland becomes a world leader in regenerative agriculture.

I said that it is not in my thinking.

If you have options that you think should be included in that list, please put them to us.

What we are delivering is exactly what we are debating today, which is the enhanced greening proposals. You say that there is a void, but we have made substantial changes, including the requirements for the whole-farm plan, the calving interval and the peatlands changes. If you are the farmer who is going to be delivering all of that on the ground, it will feel a little bit different to what it might feel like to someone who is sitting on the committee.

I go back to the point that I made right at the start. We are asking our farming community to come with us on this journey. We are making it as simple as we possibly can and giving them as much support as we possibly can, and we will keep on delivering the changes that we are asking them to make as time progresses, in conjunction with the conversations that we are having with the sector.

At this moment in time, that is what I am discussing, yes.

No. What we are debating today is the requirement to bring more people into greening on the 5 per cent of land that is currently subject to EFA and then deliver the increase to 7 per cent in 2027.

It is purely a compromise, on the basis that 5 per cent was doing a decent job and 7 per cent will improve things even more. Depending on the objectives, 10 per cent would go even further towards meeting them. We thought that the 7 per cent figure was a stable and suitable compromise to reach at this stage.

The point that Paul Neison has just made relates to exactly that. Extensive engagement has taken place right across the country. Our rural payments and inspections division colleagues have worked at all the shows across the country, asking people to engage with the process, so that they understand what is coming. The Government has been very clear. I have said many times in the committee and other public forums that people need to get themselves into the mindset that those changes are coming and to start being aware of what those changes are.

The rural payments and inspections division and other Scottish Government teams have been available. Extensive consultation has taken place and people have had extensive ability to find out the information. We are making the process as simple as possible but, ultimately, the farmers must engage. They have to decide that they will get that information, because it is part of what they will have to do.

You have to look at that in the context of the whole programme. We are developing policies that we are delivering, stage by stage, in order to bring the community with us. That is what we are doing today. We are delivering policies as we go forward, and in that context we know what we are doing up to 2027. Farmers know that things will develop as we go forward up to 2030.

I do, indeed, have an opening statement.

Good morning, and thank you for inviting me to give evidence on the Crofting and Scottish Land Court Bill. As you know, the bill has two main parts. I will begin with a short opening statement on part 1, on crofting. I will give a further short statement on the merger of the Scottish Land Court and the Lands Tribunal for Scotland later in the meeting.

The crofting provisions in the bill are the culmination of more than three years of stakeholder engagement. To date, there have been 20 crofting bill group meetings, and those will continue through the upcoming stages. The proposals that have been considered came from a variety of sources. They include issues that were previously identified by a crofting bill team between 2016 and 2019, many of which were drawn from the crofting law sump, issues that the Law Society of Scotland singled out for crofting law reform in 2019-20, and issues that were identified and raised by stakeholders over the three-year period. Over the summer of 2024, we carried out a consultation and officials ran 15 public events throughout the crofting counties, which were attended by 257 people. It is fair to say that the bill has not lacked stakeholder engagement.

It has been mentioned that the bill does not go far enough and that it does not address some of the bigger issues that exist, but the bill was never meant to deliver fundamental reform. Officials have made that point throughout the process. Crofting law is complex, and even when there is consensus that something needs to be changed, it is often difficult to reach a consensus on what the remedy should be. Developing proposals and identifying workable solutions requires time.

However, the bill is more than just a technical bill—it is also an enabling bill. It will give crofters more options for how they use their land, it will allow approximately 700 people to apply to become crofters, it will streamline the enforcement of duties and the family assignation process, and it will prevent those who are in breach of the duties from profiteering and removing land from crofting tenure. Landlords and subtenants will be able to report breaches of duty to the Crofting Commission, and crofters will be able to apply to the commission for boundary and registration changes.

Rather than being viewed in isolation, the reforms should be viewed alongside the work that is being done by the Crofting Commission. As the commission pointed out in its evidence, it is important to note the interplay between the legislation and the commission’s policy plan. The legislation provides the necessary framework and the plan provides the detail of how the commission will administer and regulate. The commission has advised that it has the legislative tools and the resources to carry out its functions, and the changes in the bill will further support the commission in its work in processing regulatory applications and tackling breaches of duty.

The bill prepares the ground for what comes next. It will help to lay a stronger, healthier foundation for crofting, whereby we aim to have increased residency levels and more people actively using their crofts and common grazings. We will then be in a better place to take stock and consider what is needed for the future.

I am happy to take questions.