Trust issues ‘must be settled’

The lack of trust between the UK and Scottish governments over the allocation of formerly devolved powers needs to be overcome in order to avoid undermining the interests of Scottish agriculture and rural areas.

That was the message given by Scottish Land and Estates (SLE) this week to Scottish Secretary David Mundell as the EU withdrawal bill was discussed.

And, calling for urgent action from both Holyrood and Westminster, SLE chairman david john stone said that the repatriation of powers from Europe needed to be handled in a sensitive and constructive manner:

“The Scottish Government appears not to trust the UK government’s assurances about the Withdrawal Bill,” he said. “The UK government needs to recognise how its own behaviour influences the view taken on these issues in Scotland and needs to build trust.

“At the same time, a degree of compromise may be needed by the Scottish Government.”

Johnstone added that there was a real risk that the overarching objective of securing the best deal for agriculture could be overshadowed by politics.

“There is likely to be merit in developing a Uk-wide policy framework for agriculture and rural development, in the same way that we work cross-border in other areas, such as plant health,” he said.

“However, any future policy needs to be developed jointly and cannot be imposed by Westminster.

“Any Uk-wide framework must also respect devolution and allow Scotland the ability to shape its own policy and support regimes.”