Thank you, convener. I thank everybody for finding the time to provide me with the opportunity to give evidence on the LCM that was lodged by the Scottish Government in relation to the UK Direct Payments to Farmers (Legislative Continuity) Bill.
I will be crystal clear: without the UK Direct Payments to Farmers (Legislative Continuity) Bill, we will not be able to make payments to farmers and crofters through the direct payment schemes for the 2020 claim year. I will explain why.
The compressed timetable to which we are collectively working is a direct result of the need to pass the legislation in advance of the UK withdrawing from the European Union on 31 January and the UK Government’s timescales for achieving that withdrawal. Although the Scottish Government believes that the best option for the UK as a whole and for Scotland is to remain in the EU, as voted for by the people of Scotland, we accept the need to make preparations for the exceptional circumstances that arise as a result of withdrawal from the EU under the terms of the withdrawal agreement negotiated by the UK Government. Given that, the Scottish Government recognises how critical the direct payment schemes are to Scottish farmers and crofters and how critical it is to make all necessary preparations to ensure that support payments to farmers and crofters in Scotland can continue to be legislated for and made.
The legislative continuity bill is needed as a direct result of the withdrawal agreement, which provides, in article 137, that the EU direct payments regulation will not apply in the UK for the 2020 claim year. We therefore need primary legislation in place to ensure that there is a legal basis for the direct payment schemes in 2020.
I raised that issue with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in July last year and have pursued a resolution since then. With respect, it is a problem that the UK Government has created, that has been identified to it, and that it needed to fix. Notice of that was given by me in writing last July.
The Direct Payments to Farmers (Legislative Continuity) Bill finally intends to solve the problem, albeit late in the day. I therefore lodged the LCM that we are discussing today. In that memorandum, I set out to reflect the exceptional circumstances that we find ourselves in. I also intend to lodge a legislative consent motion that seeks the Scottish Parliament’s formal legislative consent to the bill.
Without the bill, we would not be able to make any payments under the direct payment scheme for the 2020 claim year. That would cause severe financial hardship to Scotland’s farmers and crofters and to the wider agricultural sector, and none of us can thole or accept that. Such a situation could, in turn, result in many businesses folding and lead to land abandonment. For that reason, the Scottish Government recommends that the Scottish Parliament approve the motion.
The bill will be implemented using secondary legislation that is made under it. The Scottish ministers will make a Scottish statutory instrument under the powers in the bill, and it is anticipated that the UK Government will make a number of SIs that will extend to Scotland. Although time limits will be exceedingly tight, those instruments will be subject to the affirmative procedure, so the committee will have a chance to provide a degree of scrutiny.
I hope that that gives the committee an understanding of why, in these exceptional circumstances, the Scottish Government is recommending that the Parliament give legislative consent to the Direct Payments to Farmers (Legislative Continuity) Bill. David Maclennan, Alan Fraser and I are happy to take any questions that committee members have.