On the eve of the Royal Highland Show, the Passing of the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill marked the culmination of over a year of painstaking work from the Scottish Government, MSPs and stakeholders alike. With near unanimous support, the Bill’s passing suggests that we are perhaps entering a new era of consensual politics where we can just about get things right. However, the reality is that the for this landmark piece of legislation, there really wasn’t an awful lot to vote on – such is the nature of framework legislation. The proof, as they say, will very much be in the pudding. Eleanor Kay, our Senior Policy Adviser on Agriculture and I have been working flat out to ensure that as much clarity was provided on the face of the Bill for farmers as possible. To some extent, we achieved this, with key amendments passing that will ensure farmers are supported for the vital contributions they make not just to the production of high quality food, but for people, jobs and nature too. With the Bill now passed, the real work begins in adding the details – the meat to the bones of this framework Bill. The last week has been incredibly busy for the SLE team and included: - work on the Agriculture Bill;
- our Rural Housing Policy Adviser, Anna Gardiner, giving Evidence in the Local Government, Planning and Housing Committee on the upcoming Housing Bill;
- the publication of our key document on our priorities for rural Scotland ahead of the General Election;
- and of course our presence at this year’s Royal Highland Show.
As we enter the final week of term before Holyrood breaks for summer recess, attention will, of course, turn to the general election once more as campaigning reaches the final weeks. We’re excited to be hosting our Rural Hustings event in Perth to hear what parties have to offer our rural communities, and we look forward to engaging with all parties on the proposals we have set out in our priorities paper. Looking to the week ahead in the Scottish Parliament, two key items of business will include the conclusion of the Circular Economy Bill, in which we are pleased to see that Murdo Fraser MSP, as well as the Scottish Government, have lodged amendments which would help tackle fly-tipping by removing liability for clearing illegally dumped waste from innocent landowners; and a Scottish Government Statement on tackling climate change on which SLE will be issuing a briefing to MSPs. Beatrice Wishart, the MSP for the Shetland Isles will also be placing the spotlight on digital connectivity in rural areas in her Members Business Debate later on in the week - a debate on an incredibly important issue that we look forward to following closely. |
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