1st Special Report: The future of Scottish agriculture post-Brexit: Government Response to the Committee’s Ninth Report of the Session 2017–19

This is the government's response, published 18 October 2019.

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The Government's response accepts some of the Committee's recommendations, including the Bew Review's convergence funding approach, while saying that matters such as support for Less Favoured Area land are for the Scottish Government.

• On funding, the Government will provide "an additional £160 million to Scottish farmers as a one-off payment" and will work with the devolved administrations on a fair approach to future allocations.
• It agrees that funding allocation should rest on objective criteria, but agrees with the Bew Review that LFA is "an inappropriate measure for allocating funding", and says LFA support in Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Government.
• On the Seasonal Workers Pilot, it says the Pilot "is not designed to meet the full labour needs of the horticultural sector" but will test the immigration system. Other sectors such as daffodils "would be considered for any future seasonal workers scheme".
• On common frameworks, it plans to have the agricultural support framework in place "by the end of any Implementation Period or as soon as is practically possible" if policy could diverge.

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error