3.At the time the Bill for the Act went through Parliament, support for farmers, the rural economy, rural communities and for the marketing etc. of agricultural products was provided in and under the former EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) rules for the multi-annual financial framework (MFF) for 2014 to 2020.
4.The CAP is the EU policy to provide financial support to farmers in Member States. It is managed and funded at European level from the resources of the EU budget. The majority of CAP funds are allocated to direct payments, which is based on the amount of land the recipient owns. Its declared objectives are: (i) to support farmers and improve agricultural productivity, ensuring a stable supply of affordable food, (ii) to safeguard European Union farmers to make a reasonable living, (iii) to help tackle climate change and the sustainable management of natural resources, (iv) to maintain rural areas and landscapes across the EU, and (v) to keep the rural economy alive by promoting jobs in farming, agri-foods industries and associated sectors.
5.EU CAP rules are often described as falling into one of two ‘pillars’. Direct payments to farmers and market measures/support fall under Pillar 1 (P1), and rural development schemes fall under Pillar 2 (P2). This reflects the fact that direct payments were wholly funded by the EU while rural payments were co-funded by the EU and the Member State.
6.The EU CAP rules are negotiated between the Member States and the EU Commission by way of successive multi-annual frameworks. Each framework sets out in legislation the objectives to be achieved through farm and rural development payment programmes.
7.The Scottish Government currently operates the MFF 2014/2020 framework rules, which after modification by UK and Scottish Governments have legal effect as retained/assimilated EU law. The current domestic CAP rules are a mix of EU basic acts and EU delegated and implementing legislation. Section 1 of the Agriculture (Retained EU Law and Data) (Scotland) Act 2020(1) defines the main CAP legislation, including the five basic acts(2) which together form the basis of the CAP.
8.The former EU CAP rules generally set out both the objectives to be achieved, and the detailed rules by which that will be done. For example, the Rural Development Regulation requires each Member State to prepare a rural development programme for approval by the Commission for the purpose of co-funding from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (“
9.The Scottish Rural Development Programme(3) was first adopted after approval by the Commission for the purposes of MFF 2014/2020, and is now being operated to at least an extent on a hybrid basis with a mix of EU and domestic funding (broadly, EU law proper follows EU funding).
10.The EU rolled over their 2014/2020 MFF rules during a short transition period but has now adopted new rules and objectives for the 2023/2027 MFF. As set out in the policy memorandum, the Scottish Government intention is to align with the outcomes to be achieved by the 2023 to 2027 EU rules and that may involve replicating all or part of new EU measures.
The Direct Payments Regulation, the Rural Development Regulation, the Horizontal Regulation, the Common Provisions Regulation, and the CMO Regulation. The Act amends the Agriculture (Retained EU Law and Data (Scotland) Act as explained in detail below.