Commenting on the Scottish Government’s new 'web portal' to cut red tape for farmers, Liberal Democrat Shadow Rural Affairs Secretary Mike Rumbles said:

“Scotland's farmers are overburdened with red tape, so any move to reduce bureaucracy is welcome. This new 'web portal' must be only the start, however. In their manifesto the SNP promised a 'one in, one out' policy for new regulations, but in government they have decided this is 'too simplistic' and have burdened farmers with a raft of new red tape.

“The SNP boast that under this long-awaited initiative there should be almost 2,000 fewer inspections to farms in the first year. To get this in perspective, however, we must remember that there are over 51,000 land-holdings in Scotland. I also notice that in coming up with this “ground-breaking initiative”, the Government contacted "approximately 2,000 customers through telephone questionnaires, in depth interviews, and face to face focus groups." Given this punitive and unlooked-for extra burden of government contact, let's hope these consultees will be the lucky ones enjoying one fewer farm visit this year.

"This is a difficult time for farmers who are facing extortionately high feed, fuel and fertiliser costs. I hope the SNP will build on this first step with some radical and ambitious steps to deliver lighter and effective regulation."