Continuing Professional Development (CPD) system in Tier 4 of the Agricultural Reform Programme: Island Communities Impact Assessment

4. Step Three – Consultation

In August 2022 the Scottish Government opened a public consultation, Delivering our Vision for Scottish Agriculture: Proposals for a new Agriculture Bill. It ran for 14 weeks. There were 392 valid responses to the consultation, of which 255 were from individuals and 167 organisations. The consultation played a key role in gathering further evidence in relation to the impact of the proposals on the Islands.

In addition to the written consultation, there was substantial stakeholder engagement across Scotland, including Skye and Orkney. There were nine in-person events held throughout Scotland (Inverness, Skye, Aberdeen, Oban, Scottish Borders, Stirling, Dumfries and Galloway, Ayrshire and Orkney) as well as five online events to ensure that views from across Scotland were heard. Internal and external Scottish Government Agriculture and Rural Affairs stakeholder groups were consulted.

The consultation asked the question: “Are you aware of examples of how the proposals in this consultation might impact, positively or negatively, on island communities in a way that is different from the impact on mainland areas?”

Responses noted issues around poorer transport links making the implementation of some proposals more difficult; poor connectivity as affecting industry and education; the need to recognise the soils in the fragile areas and the more fragile ecosystems. The engagement did not highlight any potential negative impacts on certain groups in the Islands. It was anticipated that the Islands had the same opportunities to benefit from skills and knowledge as those on the mainland.

There was also consultation by the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee of the Scottish Parliament, into the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill between September 2023 to June 2024. This included evidence sessions on the Bill and amendments to the Bill.

Responses from stakeholders to the consultation made a number of points about the CPD system. While they largely made points about what a CPD system should look like, they also noted some issues for crofters rather than its specific impact on the Islands. However, these comments are still relevant to individuals on the Islands who would be using the CPD system.

They noted the importance of accessibility to all persons using the system. They raised the point that there was a lot of anxiety about taking on training and learning activities and that not only did the farmer need support but so did the other members of his / her family and community. It was noted that advisors needed to have appropriate training. There was a need to know what would be counted as CPD.

Oral evidence collected by the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee on the Bill noted the importance of CPD and the character of the system that should be introduced. It also noted some of the considerations that should be taken into account in developing the CPD system.

Evidence noted that it was fundamental that farmers and crofters were upskilled so that they could rise to the challenges that were being presented; there were knowledge and skills gaps; accessibility was important as there was a need to think carefully about the entry-level conditions and the disproportionate costs of entry for smallholders and crofters; there was a need to look at the delivery mechanisms of CPD as farmers and crofters were time poor; there was a need to think about farmer / crofter time including travel time, as well as well as how worthwhile was the training, and cultural issues such as the age of the farmers / crofters and their desire to undertake further training; CPD should be useful to the farmers and crofters.

The responses also noted particular activities that could be helpful to farmers and crofters. Crofter network gatherings where the crofters undertook the teaching were considered to be effective. Groups of crofters had been brought together successfully to train and support one another.

During the consideration of amendments on CPD in Stage 2 of the Bill, the Scottish Government introduced amendments to extend the different groups that could be brought within the scope of the CPD system to ensure their inclusion. In discussions on the proposed amendments, it noted its intention to co-design the CPD system involving a wide range of stakeholders. This would help to consider and address matters such as the formats of CPD activities, scale and scope, and who might undertake CPD and in what circumstances. It noted that it would be important to consider affordability and availability of CPD activity as well as the need to monitor, evaluate and review what worked and what could be improved in a meaningful way. It also noted its aim to formally consult on the CPD regulations.

In Stage 3 of the Bill, amendments that were brought forward and accepted included ones that related to the inclusion of exemptions from undertaking CPD for persons in particular circumstances; recognition of the importance of peer-to-peer learning; the need for the Scottish Ministers to consult before making regulations relating to the CPD system and for monitoring and evaluation of the system.

There was also continued discussion on the need for affordability and accessibility of activities. This included the cost to users. Importantly, this led to the inclusion of a requirement that CPD activities are to be undertaken only where it is appropriate and proportionate to do so.

The Scottish Government stated that it intended to create a CPD system that supported and empowered the individual to perform at their best without being unfair or unduly burdensome. It also noted that matters of affordability and accessibility would be considered as part and parcel of a BRIA and other impact assessments linked to the introduction of secondary legislation where appropriate.

An informal consultation “An Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS) in Scotland: a paper for informal discussion” was held between November 2023 and the end of February 2024. The paper was not formally published but was circulated among the stakeholder organisations that had an interest on the AKIS, including its accessibility, and the CPD systems. On the latter, it asked questions on the activities that should be made available as CPD, the support to encourage the update of CPD, including the role of FAS in doing this, and the amount of CPD to be undertaken.

A specific question was asked about the provision of knowledge support for crofters. This asked “Given the diverse range of sources that crofters already consult for advice, how can we ensure that they get easy access to the best advice and innovation support?”.

The responses noted that knowledge support for crofters was important. It needed to apply to a wide range of crofting businesses from very small operations to substantial holdings which had been developed from the amalgamation of crofters. There was a need for advice to be made specific, reflect best practice and be relevant and accessible.

There needed to be recognition that crofters worked in different ways to other sectors. They were more used to working in local collaborative communities that attracted targeted, regionalised advice. They were, however, considered to be more dependent on public supported advice. Their lack of economies of scale could deny them access to some specialist information that other, bigger, businesses were able to procure from the private sector and academia. While there were resources available for crofters, much of it was scaled down to suit the size of crofts rather than to reflect best crofting practice. There was already considered to be crofting specific advice (eg in Farm Advisory Service) and signposting could be undertaken to encourage uptake.

Due to their more diversified nature than other types of farming businesses, it was considered that crofters demanded a broader range of advice and support from public sector providers than some specialist farming sectors. There was a need to have more industry events for knowledge transfer and innovation for crofting businesses. Due to the unique nature of crofting businesses, it could be hard to make industry meetings relevant to crofters.

There were issues noted around remoteness, distance and time to travel to events, connectivity challenges which could restrict access to services (e.g. lack of or unreliable internet connection), and a lack of specialised local events.

The provision of advice and activities were considered to have an impact on being able to undertake CPD. Activities contributing to CPD needed to be easily accessible, cost effective (especially free of charge) and relevant to crofters.

The points covered included ones that had already been made by stakeholders during the passage of the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill. Indeed, the Bill scrutiny was being undertaken at the same time as the informal consultation.

A discussion paper for stakeholder organisations which set out some key proposals and consideration of their impacts on stakeholder organisations in spring 2026 including discussion on the impact of the proposals on one of the crofting membership organisations and its crofting members. It noted that there were many crofters who were pioneering sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices, or reviving practices and knowledge held for generations. The part-time nature of crofting, together with the fact that people sometimes had a number of occupations and the structure of the crofting workforce all had a bearing on how, when and where CPD could be undertaken. In addition, accessibility to in-person training, financially and geographically, were considered to be the biggest hurdles to undertake for the sector. There was a need to consider the specific needs of crofting: that it was different from more intensive farming practices, but also different from hill farming; it also varied depending on geographical location within the crofting counties. The crofting context provided an opportunity to link knowledge exchange to culture and tradition – knowledge about how crofters have farmed previously is still alive, and tapping into this knowledge and retrieving it. Learning through collaboration and peer-to-peer was also important.

The policy for the CPD system reflects the stakeholder feedback received on all of these consultations.

As part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to co-develop the support in the Agricultural Reform Programme, there will be consultation on the CPD system. In the autumn of 2026 the Scottish Government is consulting on a CPD system as part of Tier 4 of the Agricultural Reform Programme. The consultation asks a series of questions about proposals for a system, including approaches that could be undertaken and policies. Scottish Ministers have not taken any decisions on the introduction of the CPD system, its approach and policies. The consultation will provide further evidence to inform any decisions that they make on such a system in due course. This consultation will provide opportunities for people on the Islands to contribute their views on impacts that are specific to the Islands.

We consider that the consultation is robust and meaningful to comply with the Section 7 duty under the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018.