Scottish Government slammed for lack of vision

Holyrood has taken rural Scotland ‘for granted’, says Gove

The Scottish Government was yesterday accused of lacking vision for future agricultural policy after Brexit.

The comments were made at a fringe event, organised by NFU Scotland (NFUS), at the Scottish Conservatives annual conference in Aberdeen.

Highlands and Islands region MSP Edward Mountain, who is convener of Holyrood’s rural economy and connectivity committee, accused the government of spending too much time holding consultations, publishing reports and establishing taskforces and not enough time developing policy.

NFUS director of policy, Jonnie Hall, said Scotland was lagging behind the rest of the UK and farmers and crofters were in the dark about future policy plans.

He said: “In many senses there is no vision in Scottish Government in terms of where it wants to be (with future agricultural policy).

“We have not got a clue at the moment. We need that vision and that clear pathway.”

And Defra Secretary of State Michael Gove was also critical of the Scottish Government and its decision not to take powers in Westminster’s Agriculture Bill.

He said: “The only document that the Scottish Government has produced on the future of agriculture is a defence of the status quo for the next couple of years with no clear articulation of the way forward.

“It looks as though the Scottish Government has neglected and taken for granted rural Scotland.”

An SNP spokesperson said: “Michael Gove has a cheek – it is the Tories who are neglecting rural Scotland and who took £160 million in EU funding that was intended for Scottish farmers and crofters and distributed it across the rest of the UK instead.

“That is typical of a UK Government that cares nothing for rural Scotland, with Brexit destroying the decadesold funding arrangements for our agricultural communities and only flimsy promises put in their place.”

“We have not got a clue at the moment. We need that vision and that clear pathway. JONNIE HALL, NFUS

Picture: Kenny Elrick. Pictured at the Scottish Conservatives conference in Aberdeen are, from left: Jonnie Hall and Andrew McCornick of the NFUS and Conservatives Michael Gove and Edward Mountain.