What action it (a) has taken and (b) plans to prevent farmland being flooded in winter 2014-15.

The Scottish Government is working to reduce flood risk across the whole of Scotland through the implementation of the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009. We are committed to building up flood resilience in rural communities and the farming sector, and we continue to provide funding through the local government settlement for local authorities to invest in flood protection schemes. We have also invested significantly in improving Scotland’s flood warning service, which is resulting in better flood forecasting and warning information being made available to the public throughout Scotland. We are also supporting the public and others to take practical actions through our additional funding for the Scottish Flood Forum.
The interaction between agriculture, river dredging and flooding is complex, and the Scottish Government is keen to ensure the most sustainable balance between agricultural production, environmental protection and flood risk management.
Following representations from NFUS, among others, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has reviewed the issue of maintaining agricultural flood embankments, and is seeking to raise awareness among farmers of the regulatory and licensing requirements that pertain to repair work carried out by land managers. This should give the farming community greater confidence in carrying out necessary repairs to flood defences.