Chamber and committees

Regrettably, the cross-party consensus that existed both here and at Westminster in 2019 has evaporated. We thought that the UK Government was going to act in lock step with us on emissions, but it has failed to do so and has even rowed back on key policies. Does that not show the limits of devolution? Given the existential threat that we are facing, how can the cabinet secretary support all of us here to push for the changes that we need to see right across all these islands and globally?

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the housing minister has had with ministerial colleagues regarding any potential impact on rural community housing of its decision not to allow the use of fossil and biofuel heating systems in new-build construction. (S6O-03310)

It is clear that dealing with the impact of flooding and adverse weather is challenging. It is affecting lambing and crop sowing and growth, and it is taking its toll on animals and people, including those in my constituency of Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley. What advice and support can the minister offer to farmers and crofters, who are enduring one of the most difficult springs that we have experienced? Given how important land management and flooding are, will he undertake to come back to the chamber to inform members of the outputs from the meeting that he mentioned in his answer to Willie Rennie?

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.

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?

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.

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?