Chamber and committees

The principal agricultural environmental schemes in Scotland are the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) and the Environmental Co-operation Action Fund (ECAF) under the Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP), supported through ‘Pillar 2’ of the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

We are currently seeking EU approval to introduce changes to the detailed prescriptions for management options under the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme which will improve the accuracy of payment rate calculations and/or improve the clarity or effectiveness of management requirements. We also intend to introduce minor changes to improve the accuracy of targeting maps for certain management options. We intend to implement these changes in time for the 2017 application round. During 2017, we intend to review the scoring criteria against which applications are assessed, to ensure these are as effective as possible in identifying good quality applications.

The Environmental Co-operation Action Fund was launched in 2015. We are currently reviewing the design of the Environmental Co-operation Action Fund and any improvements will be implemented in time for the 2017 Environmental Co-operation Action Fund application round.

‘Pillar 1’ Greening was introduced in 2015. The basic framework for Greening is set out in the EU Regulation, but certain detailed rules were subject to national discretion. The Scottish Government has not announced any plans to review the national decisions regarding the implementation of Greening in Scotland, although we are engaging with stakeholders to discuss their views on the effectiveness of Greening.

Our vision for the future is an agriculture industry in Scotland that is innovative, profitable, sustainable and supporting economic growth. We will work closely with industry to develop the next steps to help realise that vision, and this will help inform our deliberations on what future support measures, for the period after the UK leaves the EU, may be appropriate for the industry. The Scottish Government will negotiate with the UK Government to ensure that future support for agriculture and rural development is allocated on a fair and equitable basis across the UK.

The Scottish Government announced the introduction of compulsory soil testing in June 2015 and we have been working on the detail with a range of scientific, environmental and industry stakeholders. We are considering options for compulsory soil testing to be part of the package of measures to reduce emissions from agriculture in the Climate Change Plan, the third report on policies and proposals, which will be published in draft in January next year.

The Knowledge Transfer Innovation Fund (KTIF), is also taking forward a number of projects, for example, the Soil Association Scotland's 'Future Farming Scotland' and 'Farming with Nature' initiatives (as well as a future project 'Farming for the Future'), and Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society's (SAOS) Precision Farming project which enable co-ops to provide farmers with open and transparent data and analytical services, with the benefit of collective investment and risk sharing.

The Farm Advisory Service (FAS) will be taking forward and is responsible for the delivery of the Soil Nutrient Network in relation to soil management.

Through the recently relaunched Scotland's Soils Website (http://soils.environment.gov.scot/) soils data is made publicly available, supporting informed decisions about the management of Scotland's soils and the benefits they provide.

The Scottish Government does not provide direct support to farmers to help with their fallen stock. Unfortunately dealing with fallen stock is a consequence of keeping livestock, and the disposal costs are therefore one part of the production costs for livestock businesses.

However, in the past, Scottish Government have taken a number of measures to assist farmers with mitigating the costs of collection and disposal and we continue to work with them to keep the situation under review.

The Scottish Government is taking a wide range of actions to ensure children and as importantly their families have the knowledge and skills necessary for healthy living across the life course. This begins with the Government’s Improving Maternal and Infant Nutrition: A framework for Action and such advice continues for young families with programmes such as Eat Better Feel Better our social marketing campaign. For Schools Health and Wellbeing is one of the eight curricular areas in the Curriculum for Excellence. In addition to PE children and young people should experience daily opportunities for sport and physical activity. This is supported by the Active Schools programme which provides opportunities for children and young people to participate in sport and physical activity before, during and after school which is further supported through the Government’ support of Community Sport Hubs to date 155 are in place, 50% based in schools with 45 more to come by 2020.

For this outcome to be effective the Government is tackling the obesogenic environment through such work as Supporting Healthy Choices Framework to ensure all are able to be more active, eat less and eat better.

Agriculture is amongst the most diverse, dynamic and rewarding sectors in Scotland. Through, in particular, our funding of Lantra we promote the sector as a positive career choice by raising the awareness and understanding of the range of rewarding careers available. This includes engaging with school pupils, careers influencers, distributing promotional material alongside Royal Highland Education Trust, Crofting Connections and other key partners. Also, my statement of 5 October 2016 to Parliament confirmed further funding of £20,000 to the Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs to encourage working in the sector.

In addition a fundamental purpose of the education system is to provide children and young people with a range of learning experiences which meet their individual needs and aspirations and prepare them for learning, life and work. The Developing the Young workforce programme builds on the key aims of Curriculum for Excellence to ensure that children and young people have this wide range of learning experiences by encouraging education and employers to work in partnerships.

The Scottish Government has given the following funding to the Soil Association Scotland’s Crofting Connections project to help teach young people about crofting past, present and future through Curriculum for Excellence:

2012-13 £52,000

2013-14 £30,000

2014-15 £30,000

2015-16 £10,000

2016-17 £79,980

Total £201,980

The Scottish Government has also given the Royal Highland Education Trust the following funding to carry out its Food and Farming Event Programme to run a series of hands-on, interactive, engaging sessions for school children focusing on food and farming:

2012-13 £58,284

2013-14 £51,846

2014-15 £52,446

2015-16 £44,700

2016-17 £79,034

Total £286,310

In addition, the Scottish Government is investing £423,000 per annum in Lantra (the Sector Skills Council for Scotland’s land-based, aquaculture and environmental conservation industries). Lantra’s work includes promoting the sector as a positive career choice and approximately 22% of this funding helps to teach school pupils about agriculture and the wider rural sector:

2012-13 £423,000 (£93,060)

2013-14 £423,000 (£93,060)

2014-15 £423,000 (£93,060)

2015-16 £423,000 (£93,060)

2016-17 £423,000 (£93,060)

Total £2,115,000 (£465,300)

The Scottish Government is committed to achieving safer road travel on our roads through a vision of challenging casualty reduction targets, as set out in ‘Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2020’. Road casualty figures for 2015 released last week are at their lowest level since records began, with a 42% reduction in fatalities since the 2004-08 baseline. However one accident is one too many and we will not be complacent.