Seòmar agus comataidhean

Small farms and crofts are vital for delivering on the Vision for Agriculture and the plans and audits that make up the Whole Farm Plan will provide value to all businesses, regardless of scale.

In this first year, we only expect farmers and crofters to undertake two of the up to five relevant requirements. Further, to avoid duplication we welcome equivalences such as the QMS animal health and welfare plan that so many of our producers already have. Guidance was co-developed with industry on the range of free online tools that are available and the more direct support that is offered through our Preparing for Sustainable Farming scheme.

The plans and audits that make up the Whole Farm Plan are suitable for every farmer and crofter in Scotland, regardless of geographical location or size. They will encourage farmers and crofters to review their business practices and help identify areas for improvement in terms of resource efficiency. This may result in increased productivity and/or profitability. Additionally, if a business decides to implement changes to deliver these improvements, the plan and audits will give them the opportunity to assess the effectiveness of these improvements.

Supply chains are asking more of our producers and expecting produce with positive impact for nature and climate. It is right that we effectively support our farmers and crofters on this journey.

The requirements for the Whole Farm Plan apply to all claimants of BPS and do not specifically identify islands. However, extensive stakeholder engagement has been carried out to ensure that the Whole Farm Plan requirements are proportionate for crofting businesses and small farms. The Scottish Crofting Federation were content that the requirement for two plans in audits in 2025 was achievable by their members, particularly as there are no financial implications in 2025 if businesses do not achieve this.

Additionally, The Scottish Crofting Federation were part of The Whole Farm Plan Steering Group, which was established by the Cabinet Secretary.

I welcome this contribution from Katrina Coutts. We will continue to work with our partners in the industry to ensure their insight and expertise informs as to how we will best deliver our Vision.

I would note that our approach of co-development, of listening to the needs of our crofters in particular, is why we have prioritised their asks in our capital grant scheme and we have recently announced a derogation for small herds in the Suckler Beef Scheme.

Since its establishment in 2022, the Scottish Government has allocated Just Transition Fund support to the North East and Moray as follows:

• 2022 - 2023: £10 million
• 2023 - 2024: £50 million
• 2024 - 2025: £12.172 million
• 2025 - 2026: £15.9 million

With a view to assessing the value for public money and the impact of our investment to date, we commissioned an independent evaluation of the impact of the fund in its first two years of operation. The report, which will be published shortly, emphasised the enabling role of the Fund in delivering a just transition to net zero in region.

Its findings indicate the Fund has created and safeguarded at least 230 jobs, opened up more than 750 training places via skills-focused projects and, attracted over £30 million in private investment and £4.7m in public and third sector investment from £43 million of initial JTF investment.

These are the initial impacts of the Fund and we are confident that job numbers, investment leverage and other key outputs will increase as projects continue.

Since its inception in 2022, the Scottish Government has allocated Just Transition Fund support to the North East and Moray as follows:

• 2022 - 2023: £10 million
• 2023 - 2024: £50 million
• 2024 - 2025: £12.172 million
• 2025 - 2026: £15.9 million

STPR2 forms the Scottish Government’s long term plans for future transport investment. It must be recognised that it is not possible to take forward all 45 STPR2 recommendations at the same time.

Shipping safety and marine traffic management are matters largely reserved to the UK Government. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is responsible for shipping regulations and safety in UK waters, including tracking marine traffic in UK waters.

The Scottish Government has published a consultation on a draft Environment Strategy, building on the Vision and Outcomes document published in 2020, that will fulfil the requirements of section 47 of the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021.

The draft Environment Strategy brings together our approach for creating a Scotland whose environment is healthy and robust and benefits everyone in Scotland. It sets out a holistic framework for delivering Scotland’s role in protecting our environment by tackling nature loss, climate change and pollution. It focuses on approaches that will improve the health and wellbeing of Scotland’s communities, promote social justice and strengthen our economy, helping us to become a fairer, more prosperous and resilient nation. In this way, it is designed to support the delivery of all four of the government’s priorities.

The consultation is available on Citizen Space at https://consult.gov.scot/environment-forestry/draft-environment-strategy/ and we encourage responses from all parts of society and from our business community. The consultation will close on 29 September.

Applicants to the Marine Fund Scotland (MFS) are subject to scheme rules and eligibility criteria which include, where appropriate, assessment of any previous relevant offences and convictions. This is set out in detail in the MFS scheme guidance Marine and fisheries grants - gov.scot. The assessment of applications prior to funding award decisions includes liaison with Scottish Government Marine Directorate Compliance teams to consider any relevant fines and convictions.

Desk based compliance checks have been made on all grouse moor licences in respect of ensuring the area covered by the licence is appropriate and the relevant information has been provided by the applicant. Whilst no site visits have specifically been undertaken for compliance for grouse licensing so far, NatureScot staff have been on grouse moors and visited areas in which licences are in place in the course of other casework. NatureScot has produced staff guidance in relation to reporting wildlife crime encountered by its staff, so if any issues had been identified then this would have been progressed through notification to Police Scotland and the licensing teams.

NatureScot have information sharing protocols in place with Police Scotland regarding reported incidents of wildlife crime. They also work closely with other public agencies who have roles in inspection, regulation and enforcement, such as the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Rural Payments Inspection Division, whereby any issues picked up will be reported to NatureScot.

NatureScot also monitors annual return information as part of their compliance monitoring. Each licence holder is required to submit details on the number of grouse shot under licence and information on how the licence holder and those operating under it have complied with the Code of Practice on Grouse Moor Management. The provision of this annual return data is a condition of licence and a key part of NatureScot’s compliance monitoring process.

For compliance monitoring for 2025, NatureScot will carry out site visits where intelligence suggests it would help understand any compliance issues.

It is the statutory responsibility of all local authorities to manage and maintain their school estate and the Scottish Government engages regularly with the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland and Scottish Heads of Property Services networks, including to share the School Grounds in Scotland 2025 report.

The Scottish Government’s Learning Estate Strategy (LES), which was produced in collaboration with COSLA, makes clear that outdoor learning and the use of outdoor learning environments should be maximised. The LES also highlights that good consultation about learning environments, and direct engagement with learners and communities about their needs, should lead to better outcomes for everyone.