Chamber and committees

As a member of Parliament representing the vast and wonderful rural constituency of Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, a new member of the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee, a granddaughter of a dairy farmer—and, indeed, a former housewife—it is imperative that I stand here today to speak in this debate and support the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill at stage 1. My constituents saw no just transition away from the mining industry, which, along with the agricultural sector, was the life-blood of many generations in rural Ayrshire. It is vital that we support our rural communities through their transition away from EU agricultural funding and that we support them in the transition towards land use that is mindful of the existential climate and nature emergencies—emergencies that we must ensure are at the heart of policy creation and direction.

The Scottish Government’s vision for Scotland is for it to become a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture. The new support powers that are outlined in the agriculture and rural communities framework bill must enable delivery of the Scottish Government’s vision for agriculture and provide flexibility to deliver future outcomes beyond the current vision. I would welcome additional clarity on how those powers will work in practice.

Yes, I agree with the member on that and I was just coming to that point.

In order to secure that just transition and vision, Scotland must have a support system and a rural support plan in place to deliver high-quality food production, climate mitigation and adaptation, nature restoration and thriving rural and island communities. Scotland’s vision for agriculture, as set out, is positive; it puts farmers, crofters and land managers at its core and values their effort to help feed the nation and steward our countryside.

So far, the Scottish Government is demonstrating that it understands that the sector needs flexibility now and into the future so that it can respond to the pressures and challenges that we will face in an ever-changing and volatile world. A framework bill will allow for adaptive support for farmers, crofters and land managers in the near, medium and long-term future. I know that the cabinet secretary recognises the need to ensure that there is real co-design in developing the detail of the Scottish Government’s agricultural policy, with the people who are directly affected by it being able to participate in its formation and adaptation. As the Scottish Government continues to co-develop the measures for the four-tier support framework, I implore ministers to remain committed to supporting active farming and food production with direct payments now, and to have a phased approach to integrating any new conditionality. I ask them to please ensure that we have no cliff edges for our rural economies and that stakeholders and the Parliament are consulted along the way, which will allow for adequate scrutiny.

All that I have just set out has been repeated to the committee by stakeholders across the rural landscape during our consultation on and detailed consideration of the draft bill. The biggest plea that we heard repeatedly was the need for certainty, and although I appreciate the Government’s commitment to multiyear funding, I also recognise, as have others, the impossible situation of having yearly funding tranches coming from the UK Government with no information on what will happen to that funding beyond next year. The uncertainty since Brexit is wholly unfair to rural Scotland. Collectively, the committee recognises the need for future agricultural funding to be set out on a long-term, multiyear basis, as per the former EU support payments, and we call on the UK Government to engage with the devolved nations to that end. The Scottish agriculture sector requires future funding certainty due to the long-term nature of investment decisions and the long lead-in times that are required. We heard repeatedly that farmers and crofters are reluctant to invest, as they have been completely uncertain since Brexit about what the future will hold.

I have been passionate about regenerative agriculture for many years—maybe I will sit down sometime with Edward Mountain and go through what I feel regenerative farming is. Indeed, one of my first speeches in the Parliament was about the trailblazing work of dairy farmers in Ayrshire who have developed and implemented regenerative practices and shared those innovations with their fellow farmers at on-farm, peer-to-peer continuing professional development events. I learned that the costs of new machinery and a wholesale change in methods was costly in the short term, but was being done for long-term sustainability. I urge the Government to consider how it best supports the sector to embrace regenerative agriculture through effective CPD as well as through funding for innovation and the transition that is required. I ask the cabinet secretary to confirm that that will be included in the detail of the rural support plan.

We must look at the bill in the context of the wider legislative and reform landscape in which it will operate—as others such as Rhoda Grant have mentioned—and consider issues such as land and estate management, land reform and environmental and biodiversity matters. It is absolutely necessary that we consider the interplay and overlap between such reforms to ensure that there is a consistent and aligned approach across all policy development that is affecting the rural sector. We cannot operate in silos. I ask the cabinet secretary to outline in her closing remarks how the bill will interact with our aims for a wellbeing economy; how it will help our rural communities to embrace and support the principles of community wealth building via local and small producers, which we have heard about time and again in the debate, including supporting shorter local supply chains; and where food resilience and security will fit into its priorities.

I represent a vast rural area that is facing significant demographic and depopulation issues, and it is only when we put those challenges at the heart of decision making that we will be truly supporting our rural communities.

Okay. My final—[Interruption.]—Please come in, Daniel. I am sorry.

Thank you. This is my final question. You have already touched on the availability of vets at tracks. The GBGB tracks have a vet on site, and you have mentioned the informal arrangements at the Thornton independent track. Have you had to avail yourselves of vet services when your dogs have been racing? You say that most injuries are muscle strains, but catastrophic injuries could happen to dogs. If vets were on hand, those dogs could be treated much more quickly. Could you say a bit more about vets being on hand at tracks and whether you have had to use them?

Thanks very much for those answers. I ask for just a wee bit more clarification on what you mean by improvements to the track surface. Am I to understand that tracks are moving away from loose, gravelly surfaces to more compacted ones? We hear about many issues relating to animals going into a bend on an oval track, which is where injuries can occur. Will you say a little about the proposals for straight tracks? How could those work in practice?

Okay. Thank you.

I thank George and Daniel for joining us this morning. I am sorry that I am joining you remotely.

I have some questions on welfare. A key welfare concern that has been raised with the committee is about the risk of injury and fatalities when dogs are racing. How often are the dogs that you train injured during racing, what kind of injuries do they sustain and what are the risk factors?

At stage 2, there was much discussion about the importance of ensuring that the bill’s provisions do what they set out to do. That is only natural, given that it is a landmark bill for animal welfare and wildlife protection.

The bill extends the powers of Scottish SPCA inspectors to investigate wildlife crimes, bans the use of snares and glue traps, and puts in place new regulation on wildlife trapping, grouse shooting and muirburn. Throughout its passage through the Parliament, concerns have been raised about the effect of the new provisions and how they will be used—in particular, concerns in relation to the impact of the muirburn provisions on mitigating wildfires and the extension of powers to Scottish SPCA officers. I therefore echo Emma Harper’s comment, when she spoke to amendment 76, that regular monitoring is essential to assess the bill’s effectiveness.

My amendment 110 adds a statutory requirement to review and report on the operation and effectiveness of the provisions in the bill within five years of its receiving royal assent. It sets out that the review must in particular consider the parts of the bill that relate to glue traps, snares, Scottish SPCA inspectors and muirburn. It also sets out that the Scottish ministers must prepare and publish a report of the review and lay that report before Parliament.

I believe that that review will facilitate the Scottish Government’s commitment to an open and transparent approach to legislation. I also think that it will help to allay some of the concerns that have been expressed by members of the Parliament today. I would welcome the minister’s comments on this important amendment to review and report on the operation of the bill.

I move amendment 110.

I thank Rhoda Grant for her comments, and I am pleased to hear that the minister agrees with my reasons for lodging amendment 110 and that he will support it. I urge colleagues to do the same. I will press amendment 110.

Amendment 110 agreed to.

After section 28

Amendment 36 moved—[Jim Fairlie]—and agreed to.

Long title

Amendment 37 moved—[Jim Fairlie].

I also thank my colleague Karen Adam for bringing this important debate to the chamber and extend my heartfelt gratitude to all our young carers throughout Scotland, including those from South Ayrshire and East Ayrshire in my Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley constituency. Some of them are in the gallery today. I thank all of them.

I first met the young people from South Ayrshire young carers back in June, when I attended a screening of their brilliant short film entitled “The Weekend” at South Ayrshire county buildings. I have always been in awe of the resilience, determination and love shown by our young carers, but nothing prepared me for how blown away I was to be by the film itself and by the young people when they took the time to explain to me how the film came about and gave me an insight into their daily lives. I came away totally humbled and determined to help to amplify their voices in the Parliament.

I am delighted by the success that their young carer awareness-raising film has garnered. Initially, the film was intended only for local use, but it is now raising awareness of young carers throughout Scotland and the United Kingdom. I was very impressed to learn that the film was entirely co-produced, with the young carers starring in, writing, producing and directing it. I give a big thanks to the local social enterprise film company The Iris and South Ayrshire Council for recognising the value of co-production. It empowers in a way that simply telling a story cannot.

The film is a poignant and thought-provoking illustration of the life of young carers through their own eyes. It tells the story of three young people as they navigate their lives and caring roles over a single weekend. It is important that the film contains a story about parental substance use, which the young people have been praised for including. I hope that that will help to challenge persistent stigma and encourage children and young people in such a situation to come forward for support as young carers.

The film has since received several accolades, including winning the Scottish public service award for diversity and inclusion and winning the Scotland and north-east England regional final of the Great British care awards in the unpaid carer category. The young people will head to the UK finals later this month and I am sure that members will join me in wishing them the best of luck. They are also finalists in the YouthLink Scotland awards for equality and diversity later this year.

It is important that the film is now included in continuous professional development learning modules for Education Scotland and Carers Trust Scotland. That has really helped to raise the profile of young carers locally and nationally. Through their work with schools, the film supports young people to self-identify as young carers, to ensure that they get support to achieve equity with their peers, and gives those who are not carers an insight into the lives and everyday experiences of young carers. It challenges assumptions and improves peer understanding, which is absolutely vital. The authenticity from co-production and the pioneering content have produced a resource that is changing the lives of children and families throughout the country.

I will see whether I can get the film shared with MSPs because, as the legislators of the land, it is important that we hear directly from young people. It is exciting that the young people are now working with primary-age children to make a film that is suitable for their age and stage. The young people involved in “The Weekend” are involved as peer mentors in that new project. I think that that is amazing.

On national support for young carers, the young people told me about how important it is to have protected funding for young carers at a local level and for young carer training to be made mandatory for education and social work, alongside the statutory child protection training. They need to be seen, to be heard and to be supported. We need to actively demonstrate that we care for the carers and that we all have a responsibility to ensure that those young people are supported in their caring roles and that they are supported just to be kids. That means recognising what supports need to be put in place to truly provide the equity that gives them real equality and a fair future.