Asked by: Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat - Honiton and Sidmouth)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on support for the farming industry.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
We have been working hard to positively reset relations. Earlier this month, I joined the Scottish Government’s Employment and Investment Minister, at the opening of a dairy innovation centre. This was the first project to be delivered through the joint Borderlands Growth Deal, providing new collaboration opportunities to progress the dairy sector towards a more sustainable and profitable future.
The Secretary of State meets with the Deputy First Minister on a regular basis, and the Inter-Ministerial Group on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs convenes regularly to discuss important issues, including agriculture.
I look forward to meeting with Scottish farming stakeholders alongside Scottish Government and Defra Ministers at the Scotland Office’s upcoming Food and Farming roundtable.