Seòmar agus comataidhean

I am giving an absolute commitment to the industry that I am working as hard as I possibly can and will continue to do so to ensure that we deliver the schemes that it wants. As far as I am concerned, the 2030 date is set—that needs to be the position that we are in, and I want to have that backstop. Therefore, no, I am not minded to re-lay the SSI. I would like you to agree to the motion today to allow us to get on with the work of delivering the processes that we need to deliver.

We have taken the view that we are setting the backstop so that, if unseen circumstances come along, we have some comfort and can ensure that the payments are made until 2030.

I could come back to the committee every week, and you could call me back to the committee every week, but I would rather get on and do the work that allows us to deliver the schemes that we want to deliver.

Okay, and I will respond very nicely in kind, Ms Hamilton.

I take on board a lot of your points about people getting access to payments, and I absolutely share those concerns. They are valid concerns that I would very much like us to address.

However, we are at the point at which I would very much like to get this SSI passed to allow us to carry out the kind of work that you are talking about. I want to spend my time dealing with that instead of coming back again to deal with these regulations, and I am therefore asking the committee to pass the SSI to give us the mechanism and provide surety that, until 2030, that mechanism is in place to allow us to make the payments that we want to make.

I take on board all your points, because I absolutely agree with you. There are things that I would really like to change. However, we cannot do that until we have a mechanism in place. Therefore, I very kindly ask the committee to pass the SSI and allow us to get on with that work.

I am inclined to disagree. I am not going to pause it and I am not going to change the date. I am asking the committee to pass the SSI. All the commitments that I have given in this and the previous evidence session stand. I will work as hard as I can to ensure that the policies that we bring forward work for stakeholders and the people whom we are going to ask to implement them.

I do not chair ARIOB. That would be a question for the cabinet secretary.

As for your question about improving the co-design process, we already have a very well co-designed organisation. You are right that I have mentioned ARIOB on a number of occasions, and I have referred to the NFUS, too, so let me broaden that out. Our officials are in regular dialogue with farmers right across the country. I am going to Argyll and Bute very shortly—I do not know what the dates are—and I was on the islands over the summer to meet farmers and crofters. I will be travelling to the islands again later this year or early next year to speak to crofters.

That on-going dialogue might not be seen or visible—we might not be taking photographs of it—but it is happening on a regular basis. All that I can give you is the assurance that nobody is more determined to make sure that this works than I am, and I will do my damnedest to ensure that we get a system about which the farming community will say, “Yep, we can buy into that. That works for us.”

Those conversations are already happening.

Yes, we could do that.

There would be no legal mechanism in that respect if the SSI is not passed.

Yes.