Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill Equality Impact Assessment

Screening

The Scottish Government’s Vision for Agriculture, published in March 2022, outlines our long term vision to transform how we support farming and food production in Scotland to become a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture.

After the UK withdrawal from the EU on 31 January 2020, our priority for agriculture and rural development was to provide stability and security for producers, land managers, and business. In 2020, the Agriculture (Retained EU Law and Data) (Scotland) Act was enacted to allow the Scottish Ministers to ensure that the former EU CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) payments and schemes would continue for a period of stability and simplicity after EU-exit.

In August 2022, the Scottish Government ran a public consultation titled ‘Delivering our Vision for Scottish Agriculture: Proposals for a new Agriculture Bill’. This consultation set out proposals to deliver the Scottish Government’s Vision for Agriculture. The Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill will aim to provide Scotland with a framework to deliver high quality food production, climate mitigation and adaptation, nature protection and restoration, and wider rural development.

At the end of 2023, further changes made by the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 came into force. The former retained EU law is now known as ‘assimilated law’.

The new Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill aims to provide the legal framework to enable delivery of numerous Scottish Government outcomes including, but not exhaustively:

• the Vision for Agriculture;
• the National Performance Framework outcomes;
• Programme for Government and Bute House draft shared policy programme priorities;
• emissions and nature restoration targets;
• building on minimum regulatory standards;
• Just Transition which supports agriculture, land integration and land use change in a way that follows the Just Transition principles;
• value for money;
• broad alignment to EU CAP objectives;
• Good Food Nation Act; and
• Local Food for Everyone
• Scotland’s Forestry Strategy 2019-2029

The primary purpose of this Bill is to (i) provide the Scottish Ministers with the necessary powers to manage and in due course replace the current assimilated law Common Agricultural Policy framework for agriculture and land use support; and (ii) provide Scottish Ministers with the powers to deliver the Scottish Government’s Vision for Agriculture. It also provides the Scottish Ministers with powers to make provision for continuing professional development (CPD) for farmers, crofters, land managers and other persons, and to continue support for wider rural development.

Payments Framework

The broadly framed enabling powers set out in the Bill allow for support payments for a range of specified purposes, including in response to exceptional or unforeseen circumstances in the sector. The powers also allow for changes to support in response to changing need, should the Scottish Ministers choose to do so.

Food and Drink

The enabling powers in the Bill will provide for financial support to food and drink businesses for a range of specified purposes, including in response to exceptional or unforeseen circumstances in the sector.

Climate and Nature

Through the support framework, the Bill enables the Scottish Government to deliver towards the outcomes of climate mitigation, adaptation and nature restoration, and ensure farming in Scotland can continue to produce our food more sustainably, and that the land is managed more sustainably. This will support delivery of outcomes and strategies, including the Climate Change Plan, Scottish National Adaptation Plan and Biodiversity Strategy.

Payments Administration & Data

It is essential that there is strong oversight of public money, and the Scottish Ministers are able by regulations to make provision for checking, enforcing, monitoring payments and evaluating progress to achieving the objectives of the Vision.

Support for Rural Communities and Rural Networking

The broadly framed enabling powers set out in the Bill allow for support to rural communities and for rural networking. They also allow for changes to that approach in response to changing need, should Ministers choose to do so.

Animal Health, Welfare and Genetic Resources

The Bill sets out broadly framed enabling powers that Scottish Ministers may to provide support for the protection, promotion and improvement of animal health, welfare and genetics in order to assist delivery the aims of the Vision for Agriculture.

Plant Genetic Resources

The power in the bill allows Scottish Ministers the power to provide support for plant genetic resources. Plant Genetic Resources are a public good and should benefit all by providing allowing greater potential for conventional breeding of viable plants for the future.

Access

The powers in the bill enable us to provide support to assist with the provision of public access over land. Where support is given, it will be based on the needs of that particular area with a view to ensuring improved public access and the ability of the public to exercise the right of responsible access as set out in the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003.

Forestry

The powers provided by this Bill will ensure that, as far as possible, forestry grant payments will continue to support the establishment, management and improvement of woodlands and support for the wider sector on matters including plant health and rural development. This will allow for the continued delivery of the objectives set out the Climate Change Plan and Scotland’s Forestry Strategy.

Knowledge, innovation, education and training

The Bill includes new powers in respect of training and personal development relating to agricultural, forestry, land management or related sectors. This is in addition to provision of other forms of learning and sharing information, including provision of advice. It also includes new powers relating to innovation and other research and development activities which may improve or support rural communities, rural land or land use. There is also power to support these activities through the development, use and maintenance digital tools and resources.

In addition, the Bill provides the Scottish Ministers with powers to make provision for continuing professional development (CPD) for farmers, crofters, land managers and other persons.

Existing evidence

The Scottish Government does not record data on the characteristics in the Equality Act 2010 for the agriculture sector, but does record ages and gender of owner/occupiers of agricultural holdings with the most recent data available being from the 2023 Scottish Agricultural Census.

We only collect information on the owner/occupier's sex and age from the agricultural census. We also under the agricultural census collect data on employee gender only. The population Census Search | Scotland’s Census - Search by topic (scotlandscensus.gov.uk) can provide further data on gender, race, disabilities etc, but the data does not allow detailed breakdown as it is limited to high-level general sectoral data.

The policies do not directly impact on the characteristics in the Equality Act 2010, but data is not collected as standard through agricultural censuses or surveys on it. Should it be required in the future then consideration can would be given on whether this data can be collected in the future to measure if the policies are having any impact.

In 2023 the majority of working occupiers were aged 45 years or over. Over the last 20 years the proportion of working occupiers aged 55 and over has risen from 49 per cent to 66 per cent. Between 2017 and 2021, an average of 63 per cent of working occupiers were aged 55 and over, in 2023 this was comparable at 66 per cent of working occupiers. In 2023, only 15 per cent of the total working occupiers were 44 or under.

Historically, more men have been associated with being an agricultural holding occupier. Between 2017 and 2021, an average of 39 per cent of working occupiers were women. In 2023 working occupiers followed a similar trend with 65 per cent being male and 35 per cent being female.

These estimates may not include some family members who also provide labour. In 2023 the Agricultural Census changed from asking about occupier and spouse to occupier and occupier 2 which included close family members including formalised relationships (married couples and civil partnerships), cohabiting couples and close family relationships (father, mother, daughter, son and sibling). While results may be similar overtime there will be greater representation of different types of partnership from 2023.

A breakdown of the number of male and female occupiers by age category and working time in 2023 can be found below in Table 1.

Source: Results from the Scottish Agricultural Census: June 2023 published tables