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 09:30 - 10:00 | Registration and refreshments |
| 10:00 - 10:05 | Welcome and introductions
Mike Blair, Partner, Gillespie Macandrew
- “Call that an Improvement!”
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| SESSION ONE: Legislation and case law update |
| 10:05 - 10:30 | Case law update
Neil MacDougall, Advocate, Westwater Advocates
- The latest cases and what they mean for us as practitioners
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| 10:30 - 11:15 | The Improvements Amnesty and Code of Practice
Hamish Lean, Partner, Shepherd & Wedderburn
Mike Reid, Head of Energy, Galbraith
- The Improvements Amnesty under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 began on 13 June 2017 and lasts three years.
- If a farm tenancy terminates, the tenants cannot afford to miss this opportunity to correct past oversights. It also allows business balance sheets to correctly show the value of improvements.
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| 11:15 - 11:25 | Questions and discussion |
| 11:25 - 11:40 | Refreshments and networking |
| SESSION TWO: Commercial and industry updates and guidance |
| 11:40 - 12:10 | The commercial background to our clients' rural businesses
Neil Cameron, Agribusiness Consultant, Bidwells
- Is the market in farm produce on the slide? Is the value of farmland falling?
- How about the forestry and timber markets?
- Could Brexit damage our rural clients’ businesses?
- What should they be doing about it?
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| 12:00 - 12:40 | The Scottish Land Commission - where is it heading?
Andrew Thin, Chair, Scottish Land Commission
- The creation of the SLC in early 2017, not least with the Tenant Farming Commissioner, promises an increased focus on rural as well as urban Scotland.
- What are their plans? How will these potentially affect our clients’ businesses and properties?
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| 12:40 - 13:10 | Tax and all that - a refresher on the changing taxation background affecting rural businesses
Lisa Macpherson-Fletcher, Senior Manager, Chartered Tax Adviser, Saffery Champness
- Have you seen your clients’ farm accounts? Do you understand enough about what they mean?
- How will Inheritance Tax and changes to taxation on income affect the advice you should be giving and your clients’ business structures?
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| 13:10 - 13:25 | Questions and discussion |
| 13:25 - 14:15 | Lunch and networking |
| SESSION THREE: The latest in tenancies and conveyancing |
| 14:15 - 14:45 | Handing on the tenancy
Jim Drysdale, Partner, Ledingham Chalmers
- There are still several thousand traditional tenants, all on average getting older. What opportunities do the LR(S)A 2016 changes bring?
- How should they hand over to the younger generation? Should they even do so? What if the farm should go to the niece or nephew?
- Guidance on how to approach this increasingly complex subject
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| 14:45 - 15:15 | Conveying rural land - an update
Rona Macdonald, Associate, Turcan Connell
- Land in the countryside, be it forest, farm, hill or just a bothy is different from a house in housing scheme. What are the differences we need to look out for and put in the missives?
- How is the Land Registration under the 2012 Act affecting practice?
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| 15:15 - 15:30 | Questions and discussion |
| 15:30 - 15:45 | Refreshments and networking |
| SESSION FOUR: The environment and brief briefings to discuss |
| 15:45 - 16:15 | The environment - an update on compliance, designations and what they mean for our clients
Jamie Whittle, Partner, R & R Urquhart LLP
- Can your client clean out that burn without a permit? What about managing beavers- or anything else?
- When is taking soil from one farm to another waste disposal? Will the designations, SSSIs, Scenic Areas etc. all vanish with Brexit?
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| 16:15 - 16:45 | What have we not covered so far?
Mike Blair, Partner, Gillespie Macandrew
- Brief briefings on renewables, diversification, forward sale contracts, sporting rates, employment and contract farming
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| 16:45 - 17:00 | Questions and discussion |
| 17:00 | Closing remarks from the Chair |
