15.This section sets out the objectives of Scottish agricultural policy for the purposes of the Act. These objectives set the overall direction for policy and will form the basis for determining, among other things, the strategic priorities of the Scottish Ministers’ provision of support in each 5-year rural support plan. The objectives are derived from the Scottish Government’s ‘Vision for Agriculture’(4) and are:
the adoption and use of sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices,
the production of high-quality food,
the promotion and support of agricultural practices that protect and improve animal health and welfare,
the facilitation of on-farm nature restoration, climate mitigation and adaptation, and
enabling rural communities to thrive.
16.The Scottish ministers may by regulation amend the objectives, subject to the affirmative procedure.
17.This section requires the Scottish Ministers to prepare, lay before the Scottish Parliament and publish a rural support plan (RSP) setting out their strategic priorities for support over the coming five years, along with details of each scheme that is in operation or is expected to come into operation during that period. It is expected that this 5-year cycle will broadly coincide with the parliamentary terms. Once the RSP is in force, the Scottish Ministers are required to have regard to it in the exercise of their functions under the Act.
18.The Scottish Ministers can amend the plan if their strategic priorities change during the period or it appears to them that any information given in the plan is inaccurate or incomplete. This is designed to enable the RSP to be changed in light of any significant events (such as an energy crisis or conflict) which have a major impact on the support required. In those circumstances they must again lay the plan before Parliament and publish it. However, subsection (8) confirms that an amended plan does not change the 5-year cycle.
19.Subsection (2) sets out the matters that the plan must cover, including—
what 5-year period the plan applies to (“the plan period”) as calculated by reference to subsection (7),
the Scottish Ministers’ strategic priorities,
an overview of the support that the Scottish Ministers expect to provide over the plan period. This will include what the Scottish Ministers think will be the available funding over the period and how that funding will be divided between different schemes. It will also include any measures that are intended to benefit small producers, tenant farmers and crofters and any other specific outcomes that the Scottish Ministers are seeking to achieve within the plan period (for example, encouraging the adoption of a particular practice).
20.Subsection (3) sets out other matters that the plan may include. These matters primarily focus on environmental objectives and how the Scottish Ministers consider the support expected to be provided under the plan will achieve them. It is not mandatory for the plan to include this material. The plan may also include such other information as the Scottish Ministers consider appropriate. The list of matters that may be included in a rural support plan may be adjusted by the Scottish Ministers making regulations under subsection (11).
21.This section lists a number of matters to which the Scottish Ministers must have regard to when preparing the plan. This includes:
the key objectives set out in section 1,
the proposals and policies contained in the climate change plan, produced under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, so far as those proposals and polices relate to agriculture, forestry and rural land,
various other statutory duties relating to agriculture, forestry, rural land use, biodiversity or the environment,
changes in the EU which may be relevant to the strategic priorities or approach to support for the plan period,
the desirability of operating in line with fair work principles(5),
the objectives set out in a plan produced under the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022,
the need for sustainable food systems and supply chains in delivering food security, and
the benefits of a diverse and resilient agricultural sector, specifying in particular cohorts more greatly impacted by higher input to output costs and constrained due to distance to market and geography, including small producers, tenant farmers, crofters and agricultural co-operative societies.
22.Section 4 deals with engagement and consultation when preparing or amending a rural support plan.
23.When preparing a rural support plan, the Scottish Ministers must consult the persons listed in subsection (2). These include:
such persons as they consider representative of the interests of farmers (including tenant farmers), crofters, land managers, and those who live and work in rural communities,
Food Standards Scotland,
Historic Environment Scotland,
Scottish Environment Protection Agency
Scottish National Heritage,
the Scottish Food Commission, and
such other persons that the Scottish Ministers may consider appropriate.
24.When amending the rural support plan, the Scottish Ministers must consult such persons as they consider likely to have an interest in, or be affected by, the amendments to the rural support plan (subsection (4)).
25.Subsection (5) provides that, when laying a rural support plan, or an amended rural support plan, before the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish Ministers must also lay a statement describing the consultation they have undertaken.
26.This section deals with monitoring, evaluating and reporting on the support provided during the period of the relevant rural support plan (“the plan period”)(6).
27.As soon as practicable after the end of each plan period, the Scottish Ministers must prepare a report (subsection (1)) covering the matters set out in subsection (2). These include:
the total amount of support or other relevant assistance(7) provided during the plan period,
a breakdown of the amount of support provided under each scheme as well as under provided otherwise than under a scheme and to third party schemes,
how non-financial support has been provided,
the distribution of support. This information may relate, for example, to the geographic areas which support has been provided to, or to the sectors which have been supported. It may also described how the distribution of who has received support has changed, for example, it can cover how powers under the Act have been used to prioritise the available support toward particular types of recipients in line with the strategic objectives of the plan, and
assessments of efficacy of strategic priorities, whether outcomes have been achieved, and any progress in respect of the objectives in section 1 of the Act. An assessment is also required of the impact (if any) of the Scottish Ministers using their powers under section 11 to cap or progressively reduce the amount of support that recipients receive. This information may be relevant in assessing the distribution (and redistribution) of support.
28.The report may also include any other information that the Scottish Ministers consider appropriate (subsection (3)).
29.In addition to the report required at the end of each plan period, subsection (4) enables the Scottish Ministers to also prepare interim reports about the amount of support provided during any period within the plan period and other reports about the support that has been provided. For example, it may be appropriate to provide annual reports in respect of some or all of the support or relevant assistance provided, particularly if the total amount of support is going to be different from that initially expected in the rural support plan for the plan period.
30.Any report prepared under this section must be laid before the Scottish Parliament and published (see subsection (5)).
https://www.gov.scot/publications/next-step-delivering-vision-scotland-leader-sustainable-regenerative-farming/Back [1]
The ‘fair work principles’ are not defined in the Act, but relate to the fair work policies and practices that are published by the Scottish Government.
The rural support plan must set out the “plan period” to which it relates (section 2(2)(a)) which is determined under section 2(7).
“Relevant assistance” is defined in subsection (4) and means financial assistance provided under or by virtue of another enactment (including assimilated law). This means payments made under the legacy CAP system are also to be reported on.