 The first item of business this afternoon is portfolio questions. I'll try to get as many people in as possible, so succinct questions and answers please. First of all, it's environment, climate change and land reform and I have grouped questions one and four together. Question number one, Jenny Marra. To ask the Scottish Government what funding it provides to support programmes that aim to improve air quality. Roseanna Cunningham. The Scottish Government provides £2.5 million of funding annually for three local authority funding schemes. They support air quality monitoring and modelling, implementation of air quality action plan measures and roadside emissions testing and enforcement of idling legislation. The 2017 programme for government announced the establishment of a new air quality fund to provide additional support to local authorities for transport-related air quality measures in 2018-19, when the first year of operation £400,000 was awarded. Jenny Marra. I thank the cabinet secretary for her answer. Dundee has one bus operator with more than 100 buses that failed to meet the Euro 6 standard. Yet Dundee is expected to have a low emission zone in place by 2020. Given some of our most polluted streets are on main bus routes, can the minister tell us how much money was awarded to Dundee bus operators on two of the Scottish bus emissions abatement retrofit programme to bring their fleets up to the Euro 6 standard and whether a third phase is planned? Roseanna Cunningham. As I understand it, the 2018-19 applications are still currently being assessed by Transport Scotland. There really isn't any further information that I can give in terms of detail in respect of that. I know that one bus company has applied. I am not sure whether it is the one that Jenny Marra is referring to. Obviously, we will have to keep those schemes in mind as we move forward because the intention is that all four major local authorities will have low emission zones by the end of 2020. Jeremy Balfour. To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to tackle air pollution in Edinburgh. The City of Edinburgh Council has produced an action plan containing a number of measures to improve air quality. The Scottish Government is working closely with the council as it implements the measures contained in the plan and is providing practical and financial assistance to monitor air quality and support delivery of measures. As announced in the 2017-18 programme for government, the council will establish a low emission zone in Edinburgh by 2020. Jeremy Balfour. The cabinet secretary will be aware that, in 2015, British Lung Foundation survey of lung patients 49 per cent of respondents said that they bought a diesel car because it was better for the environment. 48 per cent bought it because it was cheaper to run. Can the cabinet secretary tell me what plans the Scottish Government has to invest in schemes that will help private car owners to make cleaner decisions rather than simply charging them to go to work? The Government has, as the member will be aware, done a great deal of work to ensure that, for example, there is a really good network of electric vehicle charging points that will encourage the uptake of electric vehicles and to ensure that we begin to see a reduction in the number of those vehicles that contribute to poor air quality in Scotland. I should say, however, that notwithstanding the real issues that are around air quality, the fact is that the average levels of man-made PM 2.5, which is due mainly to road traffic, has reduced by 22 per cent across Scotland between 2010 and 2016. Although there is a very great deal still to do, there is, in fact, a great deal that has already been done. In its stage 1 report, the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee recognised that low emission zones could result in the most polluting vehicles being pushed into neighbouring areas, causing increased congestion and air pollution. What analysis has been carried out to identify areas of potential displacement and what support will be provided to affected local authorities? The member will be aware that the introduction and management of low emission zones is a matter for the individual local authorities who are progressing them. I would anticipate that the information that local authorities will be concerned to ensure does not create bigger problems for themselves, but that will be a matter for their management. If the member has a particular low emission zone in question, I would strongly advise him to ensure that he is in contact with that local authority to question what their proposals and what their intentions are. I know that that could well be a very specific problem, for example with Edinburgh, because of the situation in Edinburgh, but I am absolutely certain that Edinburgh Council is already considering that as well as the other issues that it will have to take on board before it introduces a low emission zone. 2. Emma Harper To ask the Scottish Government how it defines trail hunting in relation to its proposals for legislative changes to fox hunting practices. Mary Gougeon The Scottish Government has not yet set out to define trail hunting in legal terms, but it might be best helpful if I outline the description of trail hunting that was provided by Lord Bonomy in his review of the protection of wild mammals act. He described it as the hunting of a scent laid manually in such a way as best to simulate traditional-mounted hunting activity. The trail is laid along the line of fox might take when moving across the countryside. Trail hunters use animal-based scent, primarily fox urine, a scent with which the hounds are familiar and with which it is intended they should remain familiar. Emma Harper I think the minister for that reply. Would the minister be open to looking at drag hunting as an alternative that uses a pre-lead non-animal chemical scent such as aniseed oil, which would allow the cultural heritage and social aspects of these countryside activities to continue? Mary Gougeon I thank the member for that question because I announced the Government's intentions to prevent trail hunting becoming an established practice in Scotland in January so as to protect animal welfare. Since we have seen the introduction of that in England and Wales, we have seen that trail hunting can sometimes lead to hounds killing a fox, whether that is by accident or whether that is intentional. As we develop those proposals and move forward, if the evidence shows that drag hunting does not pose a risk to animal welfare, I would envisage that that is a practice that we may well see fit to continue in Scotland. Colin Smyth It is clear that we need to end current loopholes in the world mammals act and avoid any new ones such as trail hunting appearing in Scotland. Does the minister not accept that the Government's plans for a licensing scheme would allow the use of more than two dogs risk creating entirely new loopholes for hunters to dodge the ban? Will the minister accept that you cannot licence cruelty and scrap proposals for a licensing scheme? Mary Gougeon I understand the member's concern, but I reiterate what I said during my statement in January. The whole reasoning behind the proposals that I talked about were so that we could close any loopholes there and not create new ones. I have openly said that I want to work with members across the chamber when it comes to developing that legislation as we move forward. I talked about licensing, the potential for licensing and what that scheme looks like. We do not know yet because we have not developed those proposals. I want to work with Colin Smyth and others across the chamber so that, when we bring forward the legislation, we do it right and we do not have those loopholes. Finlay Carson To ask the Scottish Government what process is in place for it to identify its preferred option for delivering effective environmental governance following Brexit, including functions equivalent to those carried out by the European Commission and European Court. Roseanna Cunningham The Scottish Government published a consultation paper on 16 February on future environmental principles and governance in Scotland. We are currently engaging with stakeholders and the consultation will close on 11 May. We will publish an analysis of the consultation responses and develop proposals to bring before Parliament. As the consultation paper makes clear, any proposals for the future must reflect ministers' accountability to the Scottish Parliament and the role of the courts. Finlay Carson The expert report highlighted the risk and identified potential options and solutions. The Government has not provided its view on its preferred option for addressing the environmental governance gap, and it has recently launched on consultation on environmental principles and governance. On what basis will it do so following the close of the consultation? Roseanna Cunningham First of all, we will do it on the basis of what the consultation itself reveals. We made a very particular decision in respect of how we designed this consultation, which was not to proceed on the basis of a Government-preferred scheme that we were consulting on, but rather to invite real consultation on where people genuinely thought the governance gaps are. I note that Wales has followed the same route as we have. We have taken that view as being able to deliver the most appropriate designed response to the governance gaps, which may or may not occur depending on what may or may not happen in the House of Commons over the next few days. Joan McAlpine I welcome the cabinet secretary's comments on the consultation and look forward to hearing the analysis. Does not the chaos that we are seeing at Westminster mean that it will be very difficult for us to identify what the governance gaps are? Roseanna Cunningham As I referred to briefly at the end of my previous response, it is very hard to make plans in the face of the uncertainty in Westminster. However, it is vital to ensure that there remains in place effective and appropriate governance to monitor and enforce environmental standards in Scotland for obvious reasons. Everybody would be expecting me to say that my choice would be to remain fully within the EU governance systems. We are trying to prepare for whatever the future brings. At the moment, we do not know what governance system might or might not apply, even if there was to be a deal that we also do not know. Liz Smith To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to possible exemptions for a deposit return scheme. Roseanna Cunningham Work is on going to finalise the preferred design for a Scottish deposit return scheme in line with the commitment contained in the 2018-19 programme for government. In doing so, we are giving careful consideration to the views expressed by the more than 3,000 individuals and organisations across the country who did respond to the public consultation on proposals. We recognise the need for any scheme to properly take into account the interests of retailers, while also reflecting the needs of members of the public across the country who will require convenient access to return points if the scheme is to be a success. Liz Smith The cabinet secretary for her answer. I know that she is very well aware of some of the concerns around that and some of the discussion amongst the business community about whether there will be any forms of exemptions. Could I ask her whether she is actively discussing what those exemptions might be? Roseanna Cunningham There is an active discussion about all aspects of a proposed deposit return scheme. There are some exemption proposals being put forward by some organisations. The member is right to say that those conversations with those organisations have been going on now for some considerable time, stretching back indeed for some years. I think that there is a degree of weariness that I would ask members to have about them when they are thinking and listening to some of what is said. I know that the request, for example, that exemptions should be applied to shops with floorspaces under 280 square metres, which is one of the asks that we are receiving, would effectively exempt all but 17 per cent of the premises in Scotland. That would create some very significant issues in terms of accessibility and potential success of any scheme. It is not simply as straightforward as some members would like to imagine. It would potentially leave huge geographic areas without a return point. Those are the kinds of things that we have to balance, we have to think about, we have to take on board and we are doing so. Claudia Beamish Does the cabinet secretary agree with me that this is about small urban as well as rural retailers and not necessarily about exemptions, a point that she has already touched on? It might be about support for good arrangements, such as both she and I saw last summer on our visits to Norway. Will that be considered by the new advisory group? Roseanna Cunningham The new advisory group has not formally met yet, so I would expect that all of that will be part of their consideration. I fully anticipate that all potential solutions to the problems and the challenges that introducing a new scheme will bring will be part and parcel of the conversation. I need to remind everybody in the chamber that we are not, in a sense, out here on our own in this. There are a huge number of other countries across the whole of Europe who have deposit return schemes of one kind or another, actively and successfully working, and we should be able to do exactly the same as that. Question 6 was not lodged. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to alleviate fly tipping. Roseanna Cunningham Local authorities are primarily responsible for clearing fly tipping and litter, which of course fly tipping is illegal, dangerous and unnecessary. Valuable resources, which could be recycled or wasted, publicly funded organisations and landowners bear the cost of the cleanup. To tackle that, we support the reporting of fly tipping using fly mapper and dumb dumpers and the wider work of Zeroway Scotland, SEPA and the Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime on Prevention and Sharing Expertise. We have provided SEPA and local authorities with the powers to find people who are caught at fly tipping with a minimum fixed penalty of £200 up to a maximum fine of £40,000 if prosecuted. Marta Fraser I thank the cabinet secretary for that comprehensive response. Fly tipping seems to be a growing problem. For example, in Perthink and Ross, recorded incidents have doubled in the last four years. The current law in this area means that it is the owner of the land who is responsible for the cost of cleaning up fly tipping, which goes against the polluter pays principle. Is it not time to revisit this law so that the owners of land are not held liable for the irresponsible actions of other people? Roseanna Cunning I think that I would need to see a great deal more detailed analysis of what happens in respect of fly tipping to be certain that changing the law would help the situation. It is a considerable problem, and it is unfortunately a problem that I suspect is growing. However, at the end of the day, the responsibility will lie with the individuals who are doing the fly tipping, ideally if we could identify who those were. We would be able to do so in the absence of that. It is indeed the land owner who is currently responsible. David Torrance Can the cabinet secretary outline how it encourages a preventive approach to reducing litter? There is a national litter strategy towards a litter free Scotland where it sets out a strategic approach to prevent littering. It focuses on a range of approaches, but key to this is the underpinning message about the waste of time and money to clear litter and the environmental harm of littering to our communities, countryside and marine environment. We continue to look to new ways to reduce littering, and that is why today I have announced our intention to introduce a new offence of littering from vehicles that will help to target the blight of roadside litter that we see in Scotland. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to consult on the outstanding special marine protected areas. Mary Goucheon The Scottish Government is currently in the process of preparing consultations in two areas, both of which could be covered by this question. Firstly, there is a supplementary consultation on the strategic environmental assessment for the classification of special areas of protection for seabirds, and secondly, there is a consultation on the designation of four additional nature conservation marine protected areas for mobile species. Both of those consultations will be launched shortly after the Easter recess, but we also at the moment have a consultation on two new historic marine protected areas, one at Bresley Sound and the other at Scapa Flow, and this consultation is open and will run until 17 April. Pauline McNeill For her answer, I would like the minister to clarify that that would include a consultation on massive deep water marine protected areas, and she will know that rock haul basin will single-handedly double the size of the marine protection network. Can the minister also assure me that the consultation will be well under way? We can see the conclusions that might take place before the end of this parliamentary session. Mary Gougeon That would certainly be the intention with the consultations being launched in the Easter recess, and that is the thing. We want to make sure that we have as wide an engagement as possible. I will probably have to catch the member again when it comes to the first point of that question. We do have proposals for a deep sea reserve. I do not know if that is what the first point was in relation to, but I would happily catch up with the member and write to her with more details on that. I am going to move on now to questions on the rural economy, if people could change their seating quickly. Claudia Beamish To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made since January 10, 2019, with setting up the farming and food production policy group. Fergus Ewing The remit and membership of the farming and food production group is under active consideration, and details will be confirmed in due course. As indicated during the subsequent 6 March parliamentary debate, the Scottish ministers are committed to establishing the group in a way that reflects the wishes of Parliament, and membership will include representation of farmers, environmental organisations and consumers. Claudia Beamish I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer, and would the cabinet secretary commit today to a timeframe for progressing this group in more detail, as well as the group's deliberations and outputs? Will he collaboratively, with MSPs across the chamber, given the parliamentary appetite for such a group, work with all who are interested? Fergus Ewing I do not want to commit to a specific timetable. I assure the member and all members across the chamber that active consideration is being given to the composition of this group. It is a very important piece of work that Parliament wishes us to do. Of course, I am always happy to take into account the views of members across the parliamentary chamber, but I have a remit from Parliament, and I intend to fulfil that remit. To do so, Claudia Beamish, as soon as I possibly can, but I tend to find that imposing deadlines upon oneself is perhaps not a prudent ministerial practice. I have short supplementaries, please, from Gillian Martin and then Donald Cameron. Can the cabinet secretary outline what the Scottish Government is doing to ensure that farmers and food producers are playing their part to help to reduce emissions, given the many analyses suggesting that significant action is needed to tackle emissions from agriculture? Fergus Ewing Yes, I am happy to answer that question. We want Scotland to be a world-class producer of high-quality food. We believe that we are producing that food sustainably, profitably and efficiently. The agricultural chapter of the climate change plan sets out our approach and we are working with the industry. Our institutes are a renowned scientific community that contributes so much in this area. We have reinforced our intentions with three commitments in the 2018-19 programme for government. We have delivered on our young farmer climate change champions. We are on target to deliver on the commitments regarding nitrogen modelling tools and farming for a better climate. Donald Cameron Can I refer to farming in my register of interests? The cabinet secretary will be aware from recent Scottish Farm business income estimates that, while average farm income has risen, too many farms are still making average losses of £7,400. What support in terms of food production can the Scottish Government provide to farms now to help them to diversify in order to become more financially sustainable? Fergus Ewing I think that Mr Cameron is right to make that point. Indeed, I met him with some farmers from Lochaber just a few weeks ago. I am acutely aware that many farmers, particularly in hill farm areas in the highlands and in the islands, face acute financial pressures in many al-fast areas. That is why we have worked very hard to deliver loan payments in the basic payment scheme in starting in October last year, two months ahead of most of the rest of the UK. The al-fast scheme in March and most of the al-fast loan payments have been made. My main job is to get that financial support out the door into the hands of farmers and crofters. We have, in practical terms, succeeded in that. I am acutely aware that, with the pressures of Brexit and the fear of the unknown about what that may lead, that that is a very important piece of work. I can assure Mr Cameron and other members that that has my daily attention with weekly conference calls, including this morning, with officials to make sure that Team Scotland is on the case, and I believe that we have been and are. Ruth Maguire To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact that leaving the EU will have on the food and drink industry. Mary Gougeon If the UK leaves the EU without a deal on 12 April, Scotland would experience substantial disruptive impact across the food and drink sector and those who supply this absolutely vital sector. The highest risks in the immediate term are as a consequence of significant disruption to the flow of goods across the channel. That would be in particular in relation to our seafood sector, which accounts for 58 per cent of our overall food exports. They would be likely to be affected, given the just-in-time and perishable nature of this trade. It is also worthwhile to note that, as James Withers of Scotland Food and Drink has stated, it would also be expected to cost us in the region of £2 billion to our food and drink sector, a cost that we can ill-afford. Ruth Maguire I thank the minister for that answer. Can the minister advise if the Scottish Government initiative to support businesses affected by Brexit is open to food and drink companies, and how might companies in my Cunningham South constituency access this funding? Mary Gougeon I thank the member for that question and I can confirm that food and drink businesses can apply for that. The initiative that we have to support businesses is being promoted through our enterprise agencies who have produced a self-assessment toolkit. A checklist with access to events and expert advice can be found at www.prepareforbrexit.scot. The Brexit support grant provides 100 per cent funding, a minimum of £2,000 to a maximum of £4,000 to help that registered SMEs manage a wide range of Brexit impacts. Information about the scheme has been placed in Spice, and I really would encourage all members around the chamber to make relevant businesses and their constituencies aware of the grant, as well as the Brexit self-assessment toolkit. Sablement chef from Rhoda Grant A significant amount of Scottish lamb is exported to the EU, and I wonder what the minister is going to do to support sheep farmers in Scotland, if there is a no-deal Brexit or if we end up in a backstop situation. Mary Gougeon I thank Rhoda Grant for raising that question, because we identified sheep meat as one of the areas that would be probably worst affected, especially by a no-deal Brexit. Together with the cabinet secretary, we have attended the Scottish Government resilience committees. On top of that, we have the food sector resilience group meetings as well, which has been a fortnightly meeting with all sectors right across the industry to try and establish exactly what all the issues are and what contingency measures we can put in place to try and help. To prevent against that worst-case scenario that we could be within. The point to bear in mind is that we do not have all of that within our control in Scotland, but it is trying to mitigate against the worst impacts as far as possible and really working as closely with industry as we can to prevent against some of those worst impacts. Tom Arthur To ask the Scottish Government what impact a Brexit could have on the agriculture sector in Renfisher and East Renfisher. Leaving the EU will significantly impact on agriculture across Scotland, including Mr Arthur's constituency, particularly in a no-deal scenario. The Scottish Government recently published a list of 67 known negative impacts of Brexit across the rural economy, many affecting farming and food production. Analysis shows that defaulting to WTO terms could be severe for some sectors. For example, the farm gate price for sheep meat could fall by up to 30 per cent. However, the loss of people is potentially the most significant issue. Food Standards Scotland estimates that around 75 per cent of vets currently working in our abattoirs are non-UK, EU nationals. If we were to lose the skilled workforce, we would have serious difficulties in providing meat for domestic consumers as well as for export. Tom Arthur I thank the cabinet secretary for that detailed and sobering answer. Given that the UK Government has failed to guarantee future funding for farm support beyond the end of the current UK Parliament scheduled for 2022, can the cabinet secretary advise what he is doing to ensure farmers and food producers get their payment entitlements this year to help address the stress being caused by on-going Brexit uncertainty? Who would put money on the UK Parliament lasting until the end of 2022? The guarantee may expire somewhat sooner than that, but we are doing what we can. We have operated two successful loan schemes for basic payments 218 and ELFAS 218 directly putting £370 million into rural businesses. We have commenced basic payment balance payments in March. I am pleased to confirm today that payments made under the 2018 Scottish Suckler beef support scheme are being processed this week and will begin to reach bank accounts from 9 April next Tuesday. I expect that initial round of payments worth an estimated £33 million will be processed with work in hand to make the remainder of the payments between now and the end of the payment window in June. I can also confirm that we will begin to process ELFAS 218 scheme payments next week. That means that we will be closing the ELFAS loan scheme on 12 April next Friday. Anyone who still wishes to accept a loan offer should reply by that date. So far, we have paid out ELFAS 2018 loans worth £51.7 million to 8,379 claimants, which is in line with our experience of previous loan schemes. Question 4, Liam Kerr. I ask the Scottish Government when it last met NFU Scotland and what was discussed. Fergus Ewing. I met NFUS on 21 March and my colleague Roseanna Cunningham met NFUS on that date. We meet officials and office bearers regularly. Liam Kerr. Thank you, cabinet secretary, for that answer. Farmers in the north-east have been impacted by record levels of fly tipping. As Murdo Fraser highlighted earlier, the burden of cleanup falls on the farmer on pain of being fined. So what will the Scottish Government do to support farmers in this region respond to fly tipping? Given that just one in 600 cases in Aberdeenshire results in conviction, does he agree that the law needs strengthened? Fergus Ewing. Well, I believe that this matter is actually one that is dealt with by my colleague Roseanna Cunningham when it was raised in the immediately preceding portfolio questions. But that said, I entirely agree that this is an extremely serious matter. Fly tipping is a form of criminal activity. It is selfish. It has a huge impact on farmers. People that do it should be frankly ashamed of themselves. I hope that those who do it are caught. The difficulty, of course, as the member knows, is the evidential requirement. That is a difficult matter, particularly in rural Scotland, where there tends to be a lack of eyewitnesses to such behaviour. However, I have no hesitation in condemning that behaviour. I also know that the police, and I have recently had meetings with the police in relation to rural crime, take those matters very seriously, indeed and rightly so. supplementary Liam McArthur Fergus Ewing. Well, again, I think that this is a matter specifically within the portfolio responsibility of my colleague Roseanna Cunningham, but I am aware of these matters. I followed the recent publicity about the burgeoning numbers of grey-legged geese and the fact that this is a serious issue for Mr McArthur's farmers. Indeed, I did meet several of them in a visit in the not-too-distant past, and I respect the great work that Orchidian farmers do and the high quality of the produce that they provide Scotland with. Therefore, I have no hesitation in agreeing that we should encourage all parties, including SNH, to see if a solution can be found to this issue that is congenial to Mr McArthur's constituents. Bill Bowman The Scottish Government, what discussions it has had with fishermen in Angus regarding the impact of offshore wind developments on the fishing industry? The Scottish Government officials regularly discuss immediate and strategic issues relating to the impact of offshore wind developments with fishermen and their representative organisations, including those from Angus. That includes discussions on projects that are going through the consenting and post-consent construction process, as well as the sectoral marine plan for offshore wind where fisheries representatives sit and the cross sectoral steering groups for this work. My officials are currently undertaking a review of consenting instruments in order to ensure that adequate mitigation is in place to protect the fishing sector. Marine Scotland has actively sought views from the fishing industry and would welcome any further input from fishers and their representative organisations. Bill Bowman I thank the cabinet secretary for that response. Arbroath and Angus had thriving fishing industries prior to the implementation of the common fisheries policy, and I welcome the sea of opportunity that leaving the CFP will afford by constituents. So, after leaving the CFP, can the cabinet secretary tell me what assessment has been made of the impact that the increasing number of offshore wind structures will have on the increased number of fishing vessels? Fair fishing. I'm not quite sure what causal link there is between the two topics that the member raises, but sticking to the topic that was raised in the question that I thought was the appropriate process that we're engaged in here, I'm very happy to hear that. And to say that we take extremely seriously the protection of fisheries interests while we pursue our renewable energy ambitions successfully. I've taken a personal interest in this. I indeed, when I was energy minister, I ensured that the consents that were granted contained provisions to ensure that the fishing sector and the energy sector can work together. They are both great sectors of the Scottish economy. It's right that we do so. Where conflict arises, the cross-sectoral groups upon which Angus fishermen sit are a good way to resolve it, but the consultation that I'm engaged in at the moment is designed to ensure what further, if anything, can be done to ensure that fishing interests are not prejudiced. After all, the fishermen were there first. Question number six, Alistair Allan. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the action that is taking to tackle population decline in rural areas. Mary Gougeon. The Scottish Government recognises that people are Scotland's greatest asset and our economic action plan set out a commitment for a Come to Scotland campaign. Along with our partners, we're developing a package of measures to both attract people to and retain people in Scotland, and that includes our rural areas. However, Scotland needs further levers to be able to action change, and that includes having a tailored approach to migration that will attract and retain people with the skills that we need to ensure the future sustainability of our rural communities. Alistair Allan. I thank the minister for that response. A community organisation in the Isle of Harris recently raised with me their concerns about the sustainability of having over 50 per cent of homes in certain fragile communities given over to holiday houses. There is rightly a consensus that tourism is important to the island economy, but what assessment has the Scottish Government made of this issue and what measures can be taken to ensure that communities do not become unsustainable, depopulated or unaffordable for people to live in? Mary Gougeon. I completely understand the concerns that have been raised by Alistair Allan. Scottish planning policy sets out that the planning system should be encouraging rural development that supports prosperous and sustainable communities and businesses. The planning Scotland bill was amended at stage 2 to include provision that any change of use from a residential property to a use for short-term holiday letting would be a material change of use, which would then require planning permission. A further amendment to the section of the bill has been lodged in advance of stage 3. The Scottish Government is considering the effect of the amendments and will respond to that in due course. Very quickly, Edward Mountain. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I refer a member to my register of interests. Is the minister concerned that the reduction in agricultural tendencies will also reduce populations levels in rural Scotland? Mary Gougeon. I thank the member for that question. There are a number of reasons why we are seeing a declining population in rural areas. That is why I met migration minister Ben Macpherson recently to discuss this and to see what other measures we could be taking to try to sustain and build our populations in rural areas. Throughout visits that I have made in my role, a number of issues have been raised with me continually, particularly from young people and their ability to stay in rural areas. What we need is connectivity, infrastructure, jobs and housing. It is by looking at all those things in the round that we can hope to not only maintain the populations that we have in rural areas but attract people to live in those areas as well. Peter Chapman. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I need to remind the chamber of my register of interests as a farmer. To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce an agricultural bill. Fergus Ewing. In a recent parliamentary debate on future rural policy and support, I announced that we would introduce a rural support bill in this parliamentary session. That will enable us to amend retained EU law to deliver on the proposals for the period up to 2024, as set out in our stability and simplicity consultation. Consideration is currently being given to the timetable and I will, of course, advise Parliament of that once it has been agreed. Peter Chapman. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. An agricultural bill, as he knows, is essential for the Scottish Government to continue making support payments to our farmers post Brexit. Last year's farm business income figures showed that over 60 per cent of farms are making a loss with the average farm business making a loss of 7,400 without additional support. More worryingly, LFA sheep farmers— Could you come to the question, please, Mr Chapman? … are making a loss of 27,400. Those figures show how vital support payments are. Mr Chapman, could you come to the question? With that in mind, can the cabinet secretary tell me when an agricultural bill will come to this Parliament? Fergus Ewing. We will bring it forward as necessary and in due course, but let me stress one simple point. The bill will cause no difficulty, no impediment to the continued payment of monies due to farmers and crofters. That process is a top priority for me and commands a great deal of my time and rightly so. The money is due to farmers and crofters and the agricultural bill is simply a mechanism that allows us to continue to do that. I can give an absolute assurance today, as I have done repeatedly, that the bill is simply a lever that will allow us to do that. It will be brought forward in time to enable that to happen. With apologies to Claire Adamson that I did not reach question 8, that concludes portfolio questions.