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Displaying 1736 contributions
Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
Meeting date: 21 February 2024
Mairi Gougeon
The route map goes up until about 2027, when we expect some schemes to get there. Depending on where we are in the development of a certain scheme, there could come a point at which it might make sense to continue beyond a specific point that we have mentioned. Of course, I cannot predetermine any decisions that might be taken further down the line or what could come up during the process, but it is important that we have the ability to continue those schemes until such time as we have made the transition. Ultimately, that is why those powers are in the bill.
Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
Meeting date: 21 February 2024
Mairi Gougeon
Yes, the bill would allow us to create new schemes. As we set out, 2026 is when we would be looking to have in place the enhanced tier of the framework, which is going to be new and different from what we have at the moment.
In the route map, we have set out that some schemes are going to continue, but they could well change. One of those is AECS, and we have LFASS as well. Some of the other supports will continue through that period until we transition to the new parts of the framework, and we have set out broadly when we expect the new tiers to come into effect within that.
I hope that I articulated that well. Is there anything that you want to add, Andrew?
Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
Meeting date: 21 February 2024
Mairi Gougeon
We have to make people aware of it. If we want to be a world leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture and deliver on our vision, we have to explain what that means to people and what that might look like. For me, it is about the measures that we will introduce and expect people to undertake. Everything will have to tie back to that and will involve looking at where we ultimately aim to be. It is about providing support for people—it is a manual in that sense—that we can refer them to and say, “This is what we are considering, and this is the basket of measures included in that definition.” That is how the code is meant to be used.
Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
Meeting date: 21 February 2024
Mairi Gougeon
We have set out the basic standards that we expect people to meet in relation to good agricultural and environmental conditions and extra conditions in relation to the whole-farm plan and starting to build the foundations and baselining for individual businesses. More information will be published in the update to the route map relating to the whole-farm plan that is coming. That will set out what we expect, so that people can access that support.
What you have said about involving people and their needing to know what is in the code of practice is exactly right. That is why we want to consult on it and ensure that what we set out in the code is right.
I go back to the points that we touched on earlier. The code is not prescriptive, because we have to enable the future tiers of our framework. We have set out as our objective that, ultimately, we want to be a world leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture. We have also set that out in our vision. A host of flexible measures can be part of that, but the co-development in that work will be critical in ensuring that we get it right.
Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
Meeting date: 21 February 2024
Mairi Gougeon
I disagree in the sense that I do not think that there is a particularly light touch in the bill. It mentions the reviews that we would have to undertake of the code and the consultation. However, if the committee has particular views on that, we will, of course, consider them in the stage 1 report. We are happy to take away from this conversation any particular views that the committee has. However, I would not want there to be a misinterpretation of the basis of the approach and what the code of practice would mean.
Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
Meeting date: 21 February 2024
Mairi Gougeon
Again, it is not possible for me to set out at this stage what that might look like. Also, we have undertaken—
Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
Meeting date: 21 February 2024
Mairi Gougeon
Within the overall quantum of what we have in the portfolio funding, I would expect us to fund the CPD.
I am sorry, but can I just clarify that that was the question?
Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
Meeting date: 21 February 2024
Mairi Gougeon
Again, I absolutely appreciate that point. I emphasise that we have tried to communicate as much as possible. I am sometimes concerned that people are not aware of the information that we have already published. More information is coming all the time. As I have said, we are due next month to publish the update to our route map, which will provide more information on the conditions that we set out last year, the whole-farm plan and the suckler beef support scheme, as well as other aspects. More of that clarity and direction is coming, and it will be coming in accordance with the timeline that we have published.
Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
Meeting date: 21 February 2024
Mairi Gougeon
I come back to the point that I made to Rhoda Grant. Monitoring and evaluation will be vital, because we must ensure that we deliver against the outcomes, not least our emissions targets, but also in relation to nature restoration. We will undertake work to identify the best way of doing that.
Of course, it is a complex process, because we are dealing with things that are difficult to measure. For example, someone who undertakes measures on their farm or croft might not see the benefits—say, the biodiversity benefit—for another 10 or so years down the line. In addition, someone who has taken action to achieve a specific outcome might not get the results that they expected as a result of a weather event or some other incident. Ultimately, the issue is how we take all that into consideration. Measuring progress will be quite a complex process, but it will be fundamental to what we do as we go forward.
I do not know whether John Kerr has anything to add.
Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
Meeting date: 21 February 2024
Mairi Gougeon
Andy Crawley, do you want to come in on that one?