Sporting rates relief restored for deer forests

Partial U-turn after rural pressure

The Scottish Government has partially reversed its controversial decision to strip shoots and deer forests of business rates relief. But organisations warn the job is unfinished, with low ground shoots still facing an uncertain future.

The climbdown follows a month of sustained pressure from the rural sector after finance secretary Shona Robison MSP buried the original change in a 154-page Budget document, with no prior consultation with the sector. More than 1,300 people signed BASC’s open letter urging her to think again.

.

Deer forests regain relief

Brought in through secondary legislation on 13 February, the reversal means deer forests can once again claim relief where shooting rights are exercised for a combination of environmental management and land protection purposes – not just one. That change, while seemingly minor, fixes a flaw in the Government’s earlier proposal, which would have penalised deer forests managing land for multiple purposes at once.

Another important change welcomed by the sector is the granting of relief to estates and farms that ensure their deer enter the food chain as venison. Deer forests on which no shooting rights are exercised in practice also now qualify for relief, joining crofts and agricultural landholdings, which already had that reassurance.

The amount of relief available in each case depends on the rateable value of the property – a figure assigned by assessors that broadly reflects the scale of the operation. Smaller properties pay nothing at all, with the benefit tapering away for larger ones.

.

Low ground shoots left out

But the new exemptions cover deer forests only. Low ground shoots, where gamebirds rather than deer are the primary quarry, remain excluded entirely, leaving those businesses facing the same rates increases that prompted the original outcry. Family farms and owner-occupied land where shooting forms part of a wider operation also fall outside the revised scope, as does any shoot where the quarry is something other than deer.

.

Organisations respond

BASC Scotland director Peter Clark welcomed the move but was unequivocal that it falls short. “The strength of feeling demonstrated through our campaign and open letter made clear that this policy was causing serious alarm across rural Scotland,” he said.

“However, this adjustment does not go far enough. Many small shoots and sporting businesses remain exposed to increased costs and continued uncertainty.”

The Scottish Gamekeepers Association, which had lobbied agriculture minister Jim Fairlie directly, called the outcome for deer forests “sensible” but has already written to public finance minister Ivan McKee about low ground shoots, which remain outside the amended exemptions unless deer harvested there enter the food chain.

Meanwhile, Scottish Land & Estates is pushing for the food production exemption to extend to other game meats, not venison alone, while Tom Turnbull, chairman of the Association of Deer Management Groups, welcomed the change for deer managers but warned that how assessors interpret the new wording in practice would be “vital”.