Scots farming leaders marched on Westminster yesterday urging politicians from all parties to back calls for Scottish farmers to receive a fairer share of vital Common Agricultural Policy (Cap) funds.
Earlier this month a row erupted between Scots farm minister Richard Lochhead and the UK Government over the distribution of Cap funds between Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales.
Mr Lochhead accused Westminster of “pocketing” nearly £190million from Scottish farmers and crofters. He said the funding had been secured to top up Scotland’s per hectare direct support payments which are the lowest in Europe.
Following on from this, NFU Scotland’s vice-presidents Allan Bowie and Rob Livesey, with the union’s director of policy Jonnie Hall, met with politicians from all parties yesterday to explain the situation. “A key aspect of the recent reforms of the Cap is a more equitable distribution of direct support between both member states and regions,” said Mr Bowie.
UK Environment Secretary Owen Paterson’s budget allocation went against this, said Mr Bowie, and his failure to deliver on European convergence plans – bringing all per hectare payments to £164 by 2019 – was a missed opportunity.
NFUS said it has written confirmation from Mr Paterson that a mid-term review of the allocation of UK Cap funds will take place in 2017. A Defra spokesperson said: “Scottish farmers will continue to receive the highest payments per farm in the UK, and one of the highest overall in the EU. The 1.6% decrease to the UK’s Cap budget will be shared equally across Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales.”