Good morning, convener, and thank you for inviting me to discuss the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1991 (Variation of Schedule 5) Order 2019. I hope that the committee will agree that the order is a good-news story for tenant farmers in Scotland.
Schedule 5 to the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1991 sets out a list of improvements to agricultural holdings that may make tenants eligible for compensation when they leave a holding. The list was originally created for the Agriculture (Scotland) Act 1948—some time ago—and has not been updated since, which means that some items that are now readily accepted as being legitimate improvements are not listed therein. Informal arrangements might be in place between landlords and tenants to cover some of those items: they will depend on individual arrangements, so there is no uniformity in practice.
During the widespread consultation that was conducted by the agricultural holdings legislation review group in 2014, there were calls from the sector for the list to be updated to reflect modern farming practice and to eliminate doubt and confusion.
The underlying rationale for the current provisions on waygo is to encourage tenant farmers to invest in the agricultural holding and to keep it in good condition, knowing that they will be adequately compensated. Therefore, updating the schedule will benefit the tenant who makes an investment and the landlord whose property is thereby improved.
To ensure that any update was industry led, we placed a duty on the tenant farming commissioner to make recommendations to modernise the list. After consulting key stakeholders, he delivered his recommendations to me in December last year, and we are now seeking to implement those recommendations. That will mean that, for improvements that have been begun when the order comes into force in January next year, the updated schedule will apply. I hope that that will lead to greater certainty for both sides
I have been heartened by the positive press reaction since the order was laid.
I hope that the committee will approve the order. My officials and I are happy to answer questions.