Extracts from Scottish Parliament debate on Suicide Prevention - Sep 12

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to encourage a new generation of farmers into the agricultural industry. (S5O-02339)

The Scottish Government has done a lot to encourage new entrants. Key initiatives have been specific start-up support, which created more than 250 new businesses, most of which are for young people; support for another 600 business development projects for new entrants; the delivery of a farm advisory service that provides a network of new-entrant groups throughout the country and offers a free mentoring programme; the putting in place of the farming opportunities for new entrants—FONE—programme; and the development of a partnership with Lantra and the Royal Highland Education Trust to help to raise awareness of, and increase knowledge about, farming in schools.

The cabinet secretary will be aware of the dismay among many farmers at the closure of the new entrants scheme two years early, which has caused particular concern to people who were in the process of submitting applications to it. Will there be a replacement for the scheme? If so, when will it be replaced and when will we hear the details?

We are proud that the support for new entrants in Scotland has injected £22 million into new businesses over the past four years and has helped a huge number of young people. I have to say that there is no such programme in England. There has been no support whatever in England for new entrants. 

We still support new entrants in Scotland in a number of ways. Direct support through the national reserve will continue, the farm advisory service remains ideally placed to provide support, and an independent European Union research study stated that our FONE initiative, which involves public bodies making available land for new entrants—around 60 such plots have been, or are to be made, available—was inspirational.

We continue to do more. In our paper “Stability and Simplicity: proposals for rural funding transition period”, we clearly state that we hope that all parties will wish to do more post-Brexit, provided that the funding is available. Given this morning’s announcement on the Agriculture Bill, it is clear that there is no guarantee whatsoever about future funding levels for agriculture or for rural Scotland or Britain.

Will the cabinet secretary consider in future crofting legislation any new measures that might limit speculation in croft tenancies, a trend which has had the effect of deterring many new entrants to crofting in some areas?

I am aware of Dr Allan’s close and constant interest in this important topic. Croft tenancies used to pass between family members. It is true that tenancies are now, as the member indicates, sometimes sold by crofters, with consequences for the availability of suitable crofts for new entrants. I am currently exploring what we might do in this regard to support more people to secure a croft.

We will consider what might be usefully included in the forthcoming crofting bill. I know that Dr Allan takes a close interest in all these matters and I would be happy to meet him and indeed any other MSPs with an interest in crofting to discuss any specific proposals or ideas that they may have to assist new entrants in the crofting counties.

With the average age of Scottish farmers at 58, attracting new entrants to farming is vital for the long-term sustainability of the industry. How is the Scottish Government making use of public land to attract people to farming and how many farmers have benefited as a result?

As part of our commitment to developing opportunities for new entrants, the chance was offered to nine new entrants to lease part-time starter units on Scotland’s national forest estate. We want to go further in respect of our national forest estate.

The FONE group is developing a new entrants programme that includes maximising the amount of public land that is used to help farmers of the future. That could be land owned by the Scottish Government, agencies of the Scottish Government, local authorities or indeed non-departmental Government bodies. To date, it has helped to provide 59 new land opportunities across the national forest estate, with 37 being awarded to new entrants. Scottish Water, Highland Council and East Lothian Council are providing a further four new opportunities, which either have been finalised or are being progressed through marketing processes.

Working together across the board in the Scottish public realm, we are achieving a considerable amount, but we want to do much more. I hope that if we can get the funding and the powers secured in any Brexit deal, we will be able to do more still.

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met the United Kingdom Government to discuss the impact of Brexit on farming and food production in Scotland. (S5O-02340)

I last met the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to discuss these matters on 5 July 2018, along with the Welsh Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs and the Permanent Secretary of the Northern Ireland Executive. I also spoke with the secretary of state, Mr Gove, last week to discuss the UK Agriculture Bill.

Can the cabinet secretary assure us that he has had appropriate input to the Agriculture Bill and that its provisions do not attempt to grab powers over farming and food production that rightly sit with this Parliament?

I wish I could, but I cannot provide those reassurances. I have repeatedly asked for discussion of the bill at the regular ministerial meetings between the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and devolved Administrations, but there has been zero discussion of the content and merely discussion about the timetable.

I acknowledge that there have rightly been many hours of discussion at official level, but we did not see the full version of the bill until the very end of August. I am sure that Parliament will share my concern about that and what it may mean for other important Brexit-related bills.

Far from allaying concerns about a power grab by the UK Government, the bill makes those concerns worse. In a number of areas, DEFRA is making the outrageous assertion that various areas of law are reserved when our position is that that is plainly not the case. This could result in serious constraints on Scotland’s future choice of policies and schemes.

I welcome the fact that the Scottish Government recently consulted on support for agriculture and the rural economy during the Brexit transition period. Will the cabinet secretary tell us when the Scottish Government will set out in detail the long-term vision for agricultural support after Brexit, which the industry is desperate to hear?

I thank Mr Smyth for his recognition of the fact that we have introduced serious proposals in our paper, “Stability and Simplicity”, and that that is a consultation to which there has been a substantial response. We will obviously need to study that response carefully, and I intend to report back to Parliament in due course. We also expect shortly to receive the report from the National Council of Rural Advisers, and it is correct that I have previously undertaken to make a report at some stage to Parliament on those matters.

I want to do all that sooner rather than later, although I am bound to say that we are debating this on the very day when, of all bodies, the National Audit Office—the UK’s official audit office—has highlighted several respects in which a no-deal Brexit could cause absolute mayhem with regard to the lack of vets who are able to carry out inspections and the chemical industry’s inability to deal with checks, other than on a manual basis. Those matters are very serious and we hope that the Brexit boorach can be sorted out sooner rather than later.

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the United Kingdom Government regarding maintaining Scotland’s protected food names and geographical indications following Brexit. (S5O-02341)

Geographical Indications are vital to the Scottish food and drink sector with £1.37 billion of whisky and £282 million of salmon sold to Europe in 2017 alone. That needs to be protected. The UK white paper in July confirmed that the UK Government will be establishing its own GI scheme after exit, but there are no details. 

The UK Government has failed to agree to the proposals in the draft withdrawal agreement for continued protection of European GIs in the UK. It seems to wish to use the scheme as a bargaining chip and is assuming that the EU will continue to protect UK GIs even if we do not reciprocate. This is no time to play games with the interests of our key businesses; PGIs are essential for a range of high-quality Scottish food and drink produce.

I thank the cabinet secretary for that information, which ties in with the report that Michel Barnier has said that the UK Government has not yet agreed to protect geographical indications. I am really concerned about this issue; Scottish food and drink exports are at an all all-time high and this is not a time to compromise the provenance of Scottish food and drink. Does the cabinet secretary agree that the UK Government must now make every effort to ensure that Scotland is protected in this regard and must open full discussions with the Scottish Government about how we move forward. 

I agree that it is extremely alarming that the European Union says that this matter has not been resolved. In the scheme of things, it is not complex to resolve and it should surely have been resolved. The reciprocal recognition of GIs has been hard earned by our beef, lamb, salmon and Arbroath smokies and in Europe by champagne and many products that have GIs. How complicated is the matter to resolve? The fact that it has not been illustrates just how parlous the Brexit boorach has become. I will meet Mr Gove on Monday next week and I shall most certainly press home this matter, which Linda Fabiani has rightly raised and which is essential for the continuing success of our food and drink sector.

The cabinet secretary will be well aware that GIs are vitally important in the Highlands and Islands. An example is Stornoway black pudding, which has been protected by GIs, and I thank Rhoda Grant for her great campaign. I have undergone extensive market testing of Stornoway black pudding; it is a first-class product with no adverse effect on my waistline.

I am perfectly prepared to accept Mr Stewart’s proposition, and I assume that he has consumed the excellent black pudding that can be purchased from the butchers in Stornoway, as I have done. We have a joint, shared, passionate, detailed, prolonged and protracted interest in the continuing success of Stornoway black pudding. Let us be ecumenical and include Cornish pasties, too. A series of food products across the UK have gained GIs because of their niche value. Having a GI helps companies to get a market, to export and to get a premium price. David Stewart makes a good point and I am happy to join him in the crusade and campaign for the continuing worldwide success of Stornoway black pudding.

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to help small food retailers and convenience stores to provide healthy food options to local communities. (S5O-02342)

The Scottish Government has provided £250,000 of funding to the Scottish Grocers Federation this year to support small independent grocers in introducing food-to-go stations in their stores. The fund provides grants of up to £7,500 to help individual retailers to innovate and respond to changing customer demands by developing a food-to-go offering, with a focus on fresh and healthy produce. There have been 62 successful applicants to the fund, of which eight are independent grocers from David Torrance’s Kirkcaldy constituency.

I welcome the fund and the awards to businesses in my constituency. One issue that small retailers face is staying competitive. Does the minister agree that the biggest threat to small shops and their customers is a hard Brexit, which would result in huge food price increases?

David Torrance is absolutely right to raise concerns about the impact of Brexit on small grocery and convenience stores. To be honest, Brexit could have a number of harmful impacts that we do not know about yet. There are an awful lot of unknown unknowns.

Several bodies, such as the British Retail Consortium and the Institute for Fiscal Studies, have predicted that a hard Brexit could cause food prices to rise by about 22 per cent. David Thomson, who is the chief executive of the Food and Drink Federation Scotland, warned recently that a no-deal Brexit would lead to a rise in food prices and a reduction in the choices that are available in our stores.

There is no doubt that, if we end up facing a hard Brexit and if we have no deal, that will be extremely damaging not just for consumers but for small independent convenience stores, which already operate in a highly competitive trading environment.

The minister will know that local government has a role in promoting healthy options. I am sure that she knows about the innovative schemes that Aberdeen City Council and North Lanarkshire Council put in place this summer to provide nutritious meals to schoolchildren outwith term time. Does she agree that such schemes are worthy of Government support, as they support producers and consumers of healthy food?

I am sure that the Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning would also take an interest in such schemes, but I welcome all such initiatives. A large part of our food and drink strategy is about encouraging the use of local produce and access to it locally. It is only right to look at places where that is happening and to look at what we as a Government can do. We are keen to support and look at such work to encourage and promote access to local produce in our communities and in places such as our schools.

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to help farmers and crofters cope with the impact of adverse weather. (S5O-02343)

The prolonged dry period compounded problems for farmers and crofters, who had already coped with the wet weather of 2017 and the subsequent late spring. The dry weather limited the growth of grass that is used for making silage or for livestock grazing purposes, so some farmers and crofters have had to use up feed and fodder stocks that were intended for the winter. It has also been reported that some farmers have had no choice but to sell their livestock early.

We have therefore worked with the agricultural weather advisory panel to take the following measures. We sought a derogation from greening crop diversification requirements in spring this year as farmers struggled to plant crops because of the poor weather. We are supporting a pilot that the Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society is running to help farmers and crofters to co-operate to take advantage of available grazing opportunities. Crucially, we are introducing a national basic payment loan scheme to provide access to much-needed funding to businesses that face additional costs and cash-flow shortages.

I very much welcome the action that has been taken to date. However, it is clear that some farmers and crofters will struggle to meet their obligations to satisfy greening rules under the common agricultural policy. What temporary help might be available from the European Commission for farmers who are in such a situation as a result of the adverse weather?

Mr MacDonald is correct. I am pleased to announce to the Parliament that the European Commission has accepted my request to increase the level of flexibility for Scottish farmers under greening rules regarding the use of catch and cover crops. The additional flexibility can allow farmers to continue to meet the greening obligations while increasing the availability of fodder in what has been an extremely testing year.