Politics

Farming support was protected in headline terms in the Scottish Budget presented by Finance Secretary John Swinney last week.

The Government has set out a raft of legally binding targets, including a 40 per cent reduction in on-farm nitrogen and phosphorus pollutants and a 16.5 per cent increase in woodland cover, to help boost the natural environment.

Ministers have been accused of allowing England to free ride on Scotland and Wales to meet climate targets for farming.

Ministers have been accused of allowing England to ‘free ride’ on Scotland and Wales to meet climate targets for farming.

Industry bodies have welcomed an announcement from Government that 45,000 seasonal workers will be allowed into the UK for the 2023 growing season.

Rural communities are celebrating after the Government backed down on a series of planning issues that countryside groups claim would have a catastrophic effect on rural areas.

Welsh farm groups have welcomed the news that direct payments to farmers in 2023 will remain the same as they have over the past three years.

The NFU is backing a group of poultry farmers who are taking their fight for avian influenza (AI) compensation to court.

A row is brewing over the future of rural housing in Wales as the Government introduces new rules that business groups say will stifle tourism and limit farm diversification.