Chamber and committees

Thank you, convener. Together with the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity, Jim Fairlie, I am happy to be with the committee this morning to discuss the priorities of the rural affairs, land reform and islands portfolio over the course of the coming year.

Scotland’s rural economy is a major source of growth for Scotland. It delivers an economic contribution worth £39 billion, which is 26 per cent of the Scottish total in gross value added in 2021. Yet, we know that communities across rural Scotland and our islands face a number of unique challenges, including the higher cost of living, so we are determined to make sure that those challenges are addressed across all of our policies.

We have set out in the programme for government just some of the key pieces of work that will be undertaken for the benefit of those who live in our rural and island communities. The new national islands plan, to be published in 2025, and the forthcoming rural delivery plan will set out how we will support those communities. The carbon neutral islands project is beginning to show how islands can take forward climate action that supports communities sustainably and supports resilience at the same time as reducing emissions.

I also look forward to taking the next steps on our good food nation journey, which include laying the national good food nation plan before Parliament. In terms of seafood, I will focus on securing quota and providing the regulatory frameworks to enable fisheries businesses to operate, alongside ensuring the long-term sustainability of fish stocks.

The agriculture reform programme will deliver on our vision for agriculture by continuing to support farmers and crofters to reduce emissions. It will also deliver biodiversity improvements through greater uptake of key baselining activities such as carbon and biodiversity audits and soil analysis.

Forestry is one of Scotland’s success stories, and we plan to build on that through the planting of 10,000 hectares of woodland this year. We also remain committed to protecting animal health and welfare and plant health. Working jointly with partners, we will ensure that we meet our statutory obligations and, crucially, safeguard trade, protect public health and maintain our highest possible standards.

It will, of course, be a busy year for the portfolio and, no doubt, for the committee, with our commitment to take forward three key pieces of legislation. The crofting bill will make crofting regulation less onerous for active crofters and the Crofting Commission, provide clarity in law and introduce some immediate positive outcomes for crofters and their communities. It will also allow the Crofting Commission to better regulate crofting.

The natural environment bill, which will be led by the acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy, Gillian Martin, will contain elements relating to national parks and deer management, which sit in my and Mr Fairlie’s portfolios. We will support the bill’s introduction.

I will also continue to take forward work on the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill, which was introduced to Parliament in March and is being scrutinised by the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee. The bill sets out ambitious proposals that will change for the better how land is owned and managed in our rural and island communities.

That is a brief overview of some of the work that will be undertaken across the portfolio. I am happy to take any questions that you, convener, and the committee members have.

I am happy to provide as much information as I can. I will hand over to Mr Fairlie, who can give more of an update on how the work on crofting is developing.

You mentioned the good food nation plan and other work. We have a deadline by which we have to introduce the plan. The committee will, no doubt, be aware that we undertook extensive consultation on the first draft of it. We received a significant response to that. We are working through that to update the draft that we have before we lay the plan in Parliament. We fully intend to lay it before the deadline, which is 30 June next year. The Parliament has 60 days from then in which to scrutinise it, and we have another three months from that point before we lay a draft final plan. I will keep the committee updated on that work as it progresses.

I will touch briefly on the natural environment bill. I hope that the committee appreciates that it is not for me to say when it will be introduced. I am not the lead minister on that bill although, as I touched on in my opening remarks, elements of it are relevant to my portfolio. There was a consultation on some of the measures in relation to that. We are working through the consultation responses as we develop the proposals that will form part of that legislation.

I hand over to Mr Fairlie.

The PFG sets out that the natural environment bill is about updating and modernising the national parks legislation, and deer management features as part of that. That is the current intention.

I do not anticipate that. It is about using the bill as the vehicle for any changes that we need to introduce via primary legislation.

Not as far as I am aware. I do not know whether Malcolm Pentland has any further information.

In dealing with the UK Government, we have had proposals for quite some time in relation to some of the labour issues that exist across Scotland, particularly in our rural communities. We had put forward plans for a rural communities visa pilot, which had been largely endorsed by a number of different political parties as well as the Migration Advisory Committee, which saw merit in that idea. I hope that, given the reset in our relations with the UK Government, we can start to look at some of our previous ideas, so that we can improve the situation.

I will not know much about that until after the meeting on Monday. However, again, I hope that this is the start of a new relationship with the UK Government in which we can hope to progress some of these matters.

Very hot off the press.

Do you mean the rural delivery plan?

Absolutely. I do not have any forestry colleagues with me today, so I am happy to follow up with more information on that.