Will the Cabinet Secretary clarify why the latest version of the Sustainable Farming Scheme is set to see non-active commonland right owners become eligible to receive public money?
Answered by Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs | Answered on 05/03/2025
We have amended our proposals for common land to include an opportunity to support individual rights holders in recognition of their contribution to delivering Sustainable Land Management objectives. Some rights holders choose not to exercise their common land rights temporarily due to issues such as animal disease or as part of a wider environmental scheme. We are continuing to work with stakeholders to consider aspects such as the conditions for the payment on areas of common land.