From Policy to Practice: The Defining Challenge for Rural Scotland

By Mark Mitchell, Managing Partner

As we move through 2026, the role of Scotland’s rural economy has never been more firmly in focus.

Across political debate, legislative reform and economic strategy, there is clear and welcome recognition that rural Scotland is central to the nation’s future. From food production and energy to housing, tourism and natural capital, the contribution of land and rural businesses is both significant and far-reaching.

Yet while the ambition is evident, the defining challenge now lies in translating that ambition into practical, deliverable outcomes.

Clarity, Confidence and the Investment Environment

Recent political engagement has reinforced both consensus and uncertainty. There is broad agreement on the importance of rural Scotland, but less clarity on how best to unlock its full potential.

For landowners and rural businesses, this creates a familiar challenge. Investment decisions – whether in agriculture, housing, forestry or environmental projects – are long-term by nature. They rely on a stable and predictable policy environment, underpinned by clear communication and consistent direction.

Encouragingly, developments such as the Rural Support Plan offer a more structured framework for future agricultural support. Commitments to multi-year planning and avoiding abrupt change provide a degree of stability that has been lacking in recent years.

However, questions remain around pace, delivery and resource. With meaningful reform unlikely to take full effect until the end of the decade, and funding effectively reducing in real terms, there is a growing gap between policy ambition and the practical means to achieve it.

That gap is further reflected in the wider fiscal landscape. Recent budget decisions, while containing some positive measures, fall short of providing the long-term certainty needed to support investment. Incremental adjustments and short-term reliefs risk being seen as temporary fixes, rather than part of a coherent, long-term strategy.

Partnership as the Foundation for Progress

If there is a consistent lesson emerging from recent policy development, it is that progress is most effective where genuine collaboration exists.

The evolution of crofting legislation demonstrates what can be achieved through a collegiate approach, bringing together landowners, crofters and policymakers to create more balanced and workable outcomes. Similarly, constructive engagement on environmental legislation has led to meaningful refinements, improving both fairness and deliverability in areas such as deer management and moorland regulation.

However, these examples also highlight a delicate balance.

Scotland has long benefited from a largely voluntary and collaborative model of land management. While there is a clear role for regulation, there is a risk that an overreliance on intervention could undermine the partnerships that have delivered real progress over many years.

Achieving environmental outcomes at scale will depend not only on setting targets, but on maintaining trust, supporting land managers, and ensuring that incentives are aligned with ambition.

Policy in Practice: Understanding Real-World Impact

Alongside strategic reform, the cumulative impact of individual policy decisions is becoming increasingly apparent.

Changes to business rates, particularly around sporting activities, illustrate how policy can diverge from practical reality. Measures intended to address specific concerns risk placing disproportionate pressure on smaller farms and diversified landholdings – many of which undertake little or no commercial sporting activity but play an essential role in land management, biodiversity and food production.

More concerningly, such changes have often been introduced with limited consultation and without a full understanding of how rural businesses function. The result is a growing disconnect between policy intent and real-world impact.

There is also a clear contradiction. At a time when government is setting ambitious targets for climate action, biodiversity and sustainable land use, there is a risk of penalising those who are actively delivering these outcomes on the ground.

For many, this raises uncomfortable parallels with previous policy missteps, where well-intentioned measures, developed in isolation, have had unintended and far-reaching consequences for family-run businesses and rural communities.

Delivering for Rural Communities

At the same time, there are clear opportunities – particularly in addressing one of rural Scotland’s most pressing challenges: housing.

The proposed creation of a new national housing agency, with a dedicated focus on rural and island delivery, represents a positive step. With the right leadership, coordination and practical focus, it has the potential to unlock new development, overcome long-standing barriers and support sustainable communities.

There is no shortage of willingness among landowners to play a role in delivering rural housing. The challenge lies in aligning planning, infrastructure and policy frameworks in a way that enables delivery at pace and scale.

Done well, this presents an opportunity not only to increase housing supply, but to tackle rural depopulation and strengthen local economies.

A Defining Moment

Taken together, these issues point to a defining moment for rural Scotland.

There is no shortage of opportunity. The importance of land in delivering national priorities, from climate and nature to housing and economic growth, has never been clearer. Demand for well-managed land and sustainable rural investment is strong.

But realising that opportunity will depend on how effectively policy is translated into practice.

That means providing clarity where there is uncertainty. It means aligning ambition with the tools, investment and timescales required to deliver it. And above all, it means working in genuine partnership with those who live and work in rural Scotland.

Confidence is the thread that runs through all of this. Without it, investment stalls. Without investment, progress slows. And without progress, even the most ambitious policy risks falling short.

The opportunity for Scotland is clear. The task now is to match that ambition with delivery, creating the conditions for rural businesses to invest, adapt and thrive, and in doing so, secure lasting benefit for communities, the environment and the wider economy.