Continuing Professional Development (CPD) system in Tier 4 of the Agricultural Reform Programme – Partial Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment – August 2026

Section 2: Engagement and information gathering

Engagement approach

The overall aim of the engagement approach is to work co-creatively with the agriculture sector to develop the CPD system. This means continually working with stakeholders throughout the entire development of the policy. This approach is one that is being undertaken by the Agricultural Reform Programme as a whole.

To date there has been extensive engagement with businesses and stakeholders, and this will continue throughout the development and implementation processes, as well as monitoring and evaluation.

Internal SG engagement / engagement with wider Public Sector

Within Government

Responsibility for the Agricultural Reform Programme, which includes the development of the CPD system, is within the Agriculture and Rural Economy directorate. We have discussed the development of the AKIS, which includes the CPD system with relevant officials. During in informal consultation on the AKIS, presentations were provided to a number of Boards including the Agriculture Reform Programme Delivery Board which represents all Scheme, Inspection, Finance and Area Office team interests. We also discussed CPD with ARIOB (Agricultural Reform Implementation and Oversight Board) in January 2026.

Engagement with business will continue as the CPD system is developed and implemented.

UK / Devolved Administrations

The importance of CPD in agriculture has been recognised within the Devolved Administrations and across Great Britain. In Wales a CPD system has been introduced through the Welsh Government’s Farming Connect service. The Republic of Ireland has recognised importance of CPD for farmers in developing its skills provision, and for achieving its outcomes, and has developed and introduced a CPD system. There is also CPD activities for farmers in Northern Ireland, sponsored by the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs. The Farming Profitability Review: An Independent Review (Batters Review) (December 2025) also recognised the importance of CPD.

Regular meetings are held with The Institute of Agriculture and Horticulture (TIAH), sponsored by Defra, to undertake and promote CPD for the agriculture sector.

Within the wider public sector

The wider public sector is helping to contribute to the development of the CPD system, and in particular, the activities that contribute to CPD. In particular NatureScot and Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) have a role. They have been involved in the range of consultation activities including the development of the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill. During the informal consultation on the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System meetings were held with them to seek their views. These two agencies are also included as stakeholders in the Farm Advisory Service which provides knowledge to farmers and crofters, and their contribution enables a range of knowledge activities to be developed for farmers and crofters. It is anticipated that the Farm Advisory Service would be able to provide some activities for the CPD system. We will continue to engage with these agencies, and the Scottish enterprise agencies.

International

The Vision for Agriculture sets out that where practicable, stay aligned with new EU measures and policy developments. In developing the CPD system, we have looked to align the CPD system with CAP requirements.

We commissioned a SEFARI research fellowship to understand current and emerging thinking on the EU development of the AKIS (Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System) in the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) and how this might help to develop the Scottish AKIS and its alignment to Europe.

The fellowship involved a literature review and focus group discussions with representatives of 10 European countries (14 workshop participants, representing Austria, Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia), Finland, France, Italy, Norway. Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands, and the Republic of Ireland).

The report set out seven options for Scotland’s AKIS which were largely related to how it should be co-ordinated and bring its different players together. It also noted the need to increase support for peer-to-peer learning, and associated skills development. These recommendations would help us to ensure that the CPD system is fully integrated into the AKIS, especially its co-ordination. It would also provide a better understanding of how CPD can contribute to the AKIS and vice versa.

Public consultation

There has been extensive informal public consultation into the development of the CPD system. This has established the need and importance of having a CPD system, and the general principles of the system. The consultation on the CPD system further develops all this consultation – set out below - and for the first time provides detail of the system. During this consultation period there will be meetings with stakeholders and focus groups that will help to gain a further understanding of the impacts of the CPD system.

The following are the key consultation activities have been undertaken to date:

• Delivering our Vision for Scottish Agriculture: Proposals for a new Agriculture Bill
• The consultation by the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee, Scottish Parliament, into the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill as well as the evidence sessions on the Bill and amendments to the Bill
• An informal consultation - “An Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS) in Scotland: a paper for informal discussion” (not formally published but circulated among stakeholder organisations)
• A discussion paper for stakeholder organisations which set out some key proposals and consideration of their impacts on stakeholder organisations.

Delivering our Vision for Scottish Agriculture: Proposals for a new Agriculture Bill

The Delivering our Vision for Scottish Agriculture: Proposals for a new Agriculture Bill undertook a public consultation between 29 August 2022 and 5 December 2022. The consultation was wide scoping but focused on:

• the future payment framework,
• the delivery of key outcomes (such as climate change adaptation and mitigation; nature protection and restoration; high quality food production; and wider rural development),
• skills, knowledge transfer and innovation,
• the administration, control and transparency of payment framework data.

The consultation centred around ensuring the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill has the legal framework to deliver:

• the Scottish Government’s 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; and
• broad alignment to EU CAP objectives.

By close of the consultation a total of 392 valid responses had been received to the consultation (225 from individuals and 167 from organisations). In-person and online engagement events were held and were attended by approximately 600 people from all over Scotland.

An independent analysis of the responses to the consultation was published on 22 June 2023, along with responses where permission to publish had been granted.

Business

A number of businesses and business representatives from agriculture and crofting contributed to the Delivering our Vision for Scottish Agriculture: Proposals for a new Agriculture Bill consultation.

Specifically on the areas of skills and knowledge transfer, the vast majority of responders (92%) agreed that support should continue to be provided in the area of skills, knowledge transfer, and innovation, while 3% disagreed.

Many respondents noted that this support was crucial in order for there to be thriving agricultural, crofting and agricultural sectors in the future. Support was viewed as vital to attract new entrants into the sectors and encourage new delivery methods, innovative solutions, and activities to be explored through acquiring new skills, and also from learning from other areas.

There were also calls for a greater emphasis on continuous improvement. It was argued that the current support was insufficient and therefore should be extended or modified. There was a sense that agricultural training and support was often behind in the agricultural supply chain and that Scottish Government did not understand the complexity of the sector enough to deliver that support. Respondents identified a number of perceived gaps in delivery, in terms of subject matter for which there should be provision.

Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill

Responses to the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee consultation on the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill from stakeholders made a number of points about the CPD system. This included what CPD should and should not be and what a CPD system should look like. 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.

Most of the responses to the consultation did not refer to issues of CPD in terms of what it would mean for businesses. However, they were aware of the costs of the CPD to a business, the difficulty of undertaking CPD at particular times of the year, and that farmers were time poor. They noted that there was a need for the CPD to be proportionate.

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. Evidence noted that the demand for CPD varied across agriculture; new entrants were seen to be looking for training and short courses by comparison to other groups; a “lot of employers” did not have the funds to put young employees through the training that they required; there was a need to have regard to barriers to entry for women and new entrants; while there were grants for women in agriculture, these should also be extended to men, and there should be a young person agriculture grant; peer to peer learning and training was important for farmers and crofters learning from one another. It was noted that Dyslexia Scotland had estimated that around 25 per cent of Scotland’s farmers suffer from dyslexia to one degree or another and that this needed to be factored into the design of CPD.

During the consideration of amendments on CPD in Stage 2, the Scottish Government introduced amendments to extend the different groups that could be brought within the scope of the CPD system and therefore ensure their inclusion. In discussion of 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, including in terms of cost to users.

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.

Informal consultation on the AKIS

The informal consultation on the AKIS (November 2023-February 2024) asked a number of questions about promoting diversity and general renewal within the AKIS, encouraging new entrants and succession, what new groups might benefit from engagement through the AKIS, as well as demonstrating competence through apprenticeships. In respect of CPD, it asked about the activities that should be made available in the CPD system as well as the support needed to encourage the uptake of CPD.

The evidence gathered from key stakeholders – all organisations - noted that there was a need for a fair and equitable introduction of CPD; there needed to be accessibility for all; there needed to be recognition of the high levels of dyslexia in Scottish agriculture; different people learned better in different ways; that the most appropriate learning methods would vary greatly from farmer to farmer and from subject to subject; crofters of all ages and regardless of their time in crofting should have the same opportunities to share knowledge and benefit from training opportunities; there should be a wide range of delivery mechanisms available; peer-to-peer learning, particularly discussions with other farmers were seen to be the most helpful way to gather information or upskill

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 consideration was being undertaken at the same time as the informal consultation.

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

Discussion paper on CPD for stakeholder organisations

The discussion paper asked about a number of key points for discussion with organisations in the agriculture sector about the proposed CPD system. These focused on what were the impacts of the proposals on the organisations. Specifically, we wanted organisations to start to think about what initiatives they currently provide that could help contribute towards CPD and how and what support they could provide to their members and others in the agriculture sector, and to hear about and understand the potential impacts of the key points on organisations and the wider agriculture sector.

The points included ones that had already been made in earlier consultations. Re-emphasised was the need for the system to be flexible and to have practical impact on the businesses undertaking it; there was a need to consider preferred learning styles, geography, IT capability, having a CPD recording system that was easy to use; there was a range of provision of activities that could help to provide CPD; CPD could provide opportunities for organisations, but there also needed to be considered the impact on organisations, on their capacity to deliver additional activities and any additional administrative impacts; the full extent of impacts would not be known until the approach to CPD was set out.

Formal consultation on CPD system

This consultation will also ask questions on the impact of the CPD system on businesses.

Business / Third Sector engagement

As noted above, there has been extensive consultation – formal and informal - into the development of the CPD system. This has been undertaken as part of the wider public consultation activities. Businesses and third sector organisations responded to the consultation. The informal consultation on the AKIS focused on organisations – including third sector ones – rather than individual businesses, though some had large numbers of businesses as members, and included their viewpoints in their evidence.

The consultation on the CPD system will ensure that businesses and third sector organisations have an opportunity to contribute their views on specific impacts to these areas. We recognise that there are a wide range of businesses in agriculture and crofting that will be affected by the CPD system and that it is important that they are fully consulted. Officials will engage with key stakeholder organisations to ensure that the views of individual businesses have the chance to share their views – even if they do not want to submit a response to the formal consultation.

Other stakeholders

All the headings above have included all the stakeholders that are expected to be involved in the development, undertaking and any monitoring and evaluation of the CPD.