Tenant farmer bill ‘must do more’

Proposed agricultural legislation fails to address the “many challenges” facing tenant farmers, the Scottish Government was told yesterday.

Ministers have put forward a bill which makes changes to the law for tenant farmers.

However, Rob Gibson, convener of Holyrood’s rural affairs committee, said: “The fundamental question behind this bill still remains: how can we improve the lot of tenants and balance the rights of agricultural landlords and the rights of agricultural tenants?”

The Agricultural Holdings (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill sets out to broaden the definition of a “near relative” who can take on a tenancy to include grandchildren of the farmer, as under current law only a spouse, civil partner or child can do this.