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How does that feed into ensuring that there is a critical mass of numbers?

I would like the committee to invite the UK Government minister to come and address that question. However, are you as an organisation—I am asking the NFU here, given that the ARIOB will not be—speaking to the UK Government about getting an assurance about those payments?

Good morning to the panel. The ARIOB’s remit is to support policy reform and to

“cut emissions across agriculture ... support the production of sustainable, high quality food ... address the twin crises of climate and nature/loss of biodiversity”.

The minutes of your meetings highlight that you are discussing

“shaping conditionality ... data collection ... standardisation and baselining ... the capacity of advisory services ... payment methodologies for future agricultural support”.

You are doing all of that in a timescale that you think is too slow. Have you got too much on your plate?

I will come back to you, Vicki, but I will ask the whole panel a question. Given the explanation that Martin Kennedy has just given, and given that there is a wide range of stakeholders on the ARIOB, is there general consensus on where you are and how you will go forward?

Are those differences on policy detail causing part of the delay?

I will come to you, Vicki, I promise, but I just want to explore this point for a wee second.

If the LFA support is altered in a way that does not support producing calves, those calves are then sold down the country. That, in itself, helps the quality of the soil further down the country. Are you saying that it is not just about keeping people where they are, and that the support builds into the whole thing of how we maintain the carbon in all soils, not just in the hill soil?

So, we are looking at a critical mass plus—

I have a supplementary question for Vicki Swales. It seems to me that that is where some of the tension is coming from. Farmers want to produce food and to do that sustainably, but other parts of the ARIOB are concerned about biodiversity and climate change. Where do you sit?

[Inaudible.]

Thank you, convener—you took me by surprise there.

There are key areas of uncertainty around future policy. Tim, you touched on the subject of data, and there is an issue around where the research gaps are. Martin, you seemed to be disagreeing with Vicki Swales when she was talking about the LFA side of things. What are the differences there as regards what the ARIOB should be doing? What areas of research is the ARIOB using to help to develop the policy?

I will start with you, Martin, as I have cited your comments on LFA. I will come to you after that, Vicki.