SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT CONTINUES TO LET DOWN FARMERS

ScotGov calamitous delivery of support payments fails to improve
Despite promises of progress, Scottish Government’s calamitous delivery of support payments to farmers and crofters continues.
In the past week, fewer than 900 Scottish farmers and crofters received part payment of much-needed support available under the new CAP schemes. That means that less than a quarter of the £393 million pot of basic support and greening payments has been delivered to grass roots farmers.
With a gaping hole of almost £300 million missing out of the Scottish rural economy, the ongoing failure by Scottish Government and its flawed computer programme to deliver support is placing the whole sector under intolerable strain.
There remains around 10,000 farmers and crofters in Scotland who have yet to receive a single penny of their basic support and – at the current rate of delivery – it could be May before some businesses receive these lifeline payments. Those farmers subject to inspection or with complicated applications – including crofters who utilise common grazings – must sadly prepare themselves for being at the back of Scottish Government’s queue.
NFU Scotland President Allan Bowie said: “A few short weeks ago, at our AGM, Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead apologised for the delays and promised progress. In the intervening period, the rate of clearance for claims has failed to pick up and the delivery of support to ease the growing cash flow crisis in the rural sector remains far too slow.
“We fully appreciate that Scottish Government office staff are currently working flat out but the industry deserves a clear statement on why the number of applications being cleared each week is disappointing, and what further measures Scottish Government are taking to address this.
“We are now 20 months on from Richard Lochhead’s initial statement on CAP implementation in Scotland and have seen £178 million of tax-payers money invested in a computer delivery system.
“It is only right and proper that a clear timetable is given on when farmers and crofters can expect support payments and when schemes vital to our hill and livestock sector – LFASS, beef calf payments and ewe hogg payments – can be expected.
“When you add the value of all schemes together, the gaping hole in the Scottish rural economy that would normally be filled by June approaches almost £400 million, with no clear steer on when all support streams will arrive.
“We recently urged Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs committee to push our Cabinet Secretary and his key staff for an accurate timetable on all support schemes to allow essential business planning to take place. They declined that request but given that the rate of payment of basic support remains ponderous – and March delivery of vital LFASS payments to Scotland’s vulnerable hill farmers is in jeopardy – we urge them to revisit that decision.
“As things stand, more than half Scotland’s farmers and crofters still have no idea of when any support payments will be delivered and that is something that we, and the Scottish Parliament, should find totally unacceptable.”