Rural Scotland ‘sidelined’ in Scottish Budget

Press Release

Scottish Land & Estates, the rural business organisation, has said the Scottish Budget does little to ‘move the dial’ on supporting rural communities for the long-term.

Stephen Young, Director of Policy at Scottish Land & Estates, said:

“The Scottish Budget offered an opportunity for the Scottish government to put down a marker on how it values rural Scotland in the wake of recent decisions at Westminster - but it does little to move the dial for the long-term. 

"Instead, the Finance Secretary has inflicted a real terms 3.1% cut to the rural budget, where every other department in the Scottish Government received an uplift. This highlights the Scottish Government’s priorities - despite all that rural Scotland is expected to deliver.

“We called for a multi-annual agricultural funding settlement to be announced to provide certainty for farming businesses and whilst it is positive that there has been no reduction in Pillar 1 payments, we still have little certainty beyond 2026.

“We await further information on the £23 million announced for agricultural transformation and how this will be directed. Whilst this is essentially the return of funding previously removed from the portfolio, it is positive that the industry will have access to this cash but it needs the input of all stakeholders to ensure it can be targeted effectively for those on the ground.

“£11.5 million is allocated for land reform - a significant sum that we would question when only £18 million is assigned for nature restoration which is an emergency that Scotland needs to urgently address.

“It does appear that the Scottish Government has budgeted for a large uplift in funding for new homes – but no detail is provided on how much of that cash will make its way to supporting the delivery of housing in rural areas. Building new homes is essential for tackling rural depopulation and we need to see action from the Scottish Government as the draft Housing Bill fails to tackle the main issue – increasing housing supply.

“Overall, the block grant available to the Scottish Government has increased significantly but it does not appear to have been passed on in any way to rural Scotland.

“Rural businesses are on the frontline when the government talks about climate change and food security but progress can only be achieved when it is underpinned by sufficient and meaningful funding.”