Chamber and committees

The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Land Reform last met the FONE group on 14 March 2024 and I met the FONE group on 12 September 2024.

In addition, both the Cabinet Secretary and I regularly meet with the FONE chair and members on a number of occasions, including the following dates in 2024: 5 April 2024, 18 April 2024, 20 June 2024, 28 August 2024 and 7 November 2024.

Yes. All FONE group members have the responsibility to report opportunities for new entrants. This includes the Scottish Land Matching Service (SLMS), which actively engages with public and private estates to explore what land opportunities they have available. 35 matches have been formalised through the SLMS and they are actively working with 263 individuals on further joint-ventures, including those on private and publicly owned land.

In December 2024, the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity wrote to every Scottish Council leader and Chief Executive asking for their support to consider what land opportunities they can offer agricultural new entrants with the view to engage with each of them directly further.

Yes. FONE has provided considerable and ongoing governance support to each of these Scottish Government funded programmes. FONE group members discuss the SLMS’ progress against its objectives and highlight opportunities for succession that are relevant to the service. It scrutinises progress made against the Scottish Government’s initiative to relaunch the Next Generation Practical Training Fund and takes a similar approach regarding the Land-Based Pre-Apprenticeship Programme. The FONE group is actively considering what further new entrant and next generation support the Scottish Government could consider in the future.

The FONE is a collaborative group dedicated to supporting agricultural new entrants and the next generation of Scottish farmers and crofters. Each of the members looks to ensure that their organisation is giving due consideration to new entrant opportunities and further support they can provide.

The group’s success can be evidenced by the 8,272 hectares of land that have been made available to new entrants since 2016. This represents a combined effort from public bodies to maximise new entrant opportunities on public land.

To date, 369 hectares of publicly owned land have been made available for 2024-25. The FONE has done this by one of its core functions, which is to get public bodies around the table to explore what opportunities they can offer agricultural new entrants, use FONE members to publicise the opportunities where they can and where they wish they can utilise the FONE scoring matrix.

Each financial year, £10,000 is budgeted for the chair’s remuneration. No further funding is provided to the FONE group directly.

Yes. The FONE group meets on a quarterly basis and members are routinely provided the opportunity to share what promotional material, including guidance, support, case studies and signposting for new entrants and the next generation is being offered. Additionally, agricultural opportunities are regularly signposted on the individual stakeholders’ websites, such as:

New Entrants resources for farmers from Farm Advisory Service

Inspirational Stories | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service

Farmers sign up | Scottish Land Matching Service

Permanent FONE Group Membership

Yes. The FONE group’s membership comprises a diverse group of stakeholders with an interest in new entrants to agriculture and next generation policy development. The group has met three times so far in 2024-25 to share information on progress, challenges and opportunities across a range of support mechanisms.