NFU Scotland has called for Scottish Government to work with the European Commission in a bid to deliver unpaid CAP support to Scotland’s farmers and crofters.
Speaking in Brussels on March 1st, NFUS Vice President Rob Livesey said that the flawed IT delivery system introduced by Scottish Government and delays in delivering support payments made completion of all payments before the June deadline unlikely and so the risk of Scotland being fined by EU auditors for implementation breaches is a probability.
Mr Livesey called on Scottish Government to have an open and frank dialogue with Europe about its problems and establish a position where Scottish Government can make part payment to all applicants at the earliest opportunity, kick starting the Scottish rural economy, with balance payments made after applications have been finally processed.
As things stand, only £100 million out of a basic CAP scheme pot of £400 million has been delivered into the Scottish economy and other vital schemes, such as Less Favoured Area payments are facing significant delays.
Mr Livesey was addressing an event entitled: ‘CAP implementation to date: lessons learned and looking ahead’ organised by the Rural Economy group of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR).
It was chaired by Scottish MEP Ian Duncan, and other panellists included a Member of the Cabinet for the European Commissioner for Agriculture and the Deputy Chair in the Special Committee on Agriculture & Head of Unit for EU Agricultural Policy in the Dutch Ministry.
Invited to speak at the event as an ‘on the ground’ farmer, Mr Livesey said: “For the sake of the whole Scottish rural economy – farmers, crofters and all those suppliers they do business with – this support needs to be paid out as soon as possible so that the wheels can start turning again.
“I urge the Scottish Government to again engage with the Commission on the difficulties it is encountering due to the flawed IT system it has installed. Previous approaches have failed but, at that time, no-one knew just how bad the delay in payments would be and Scottish Government expectation was that the majority of people would have been paid at the start of the year. That clearly has not happened and Scottish Government must raise the issue of part payments to all with the European Commission again.
“We look to the Commission to lift the threat of fines for audit breaches so payments can be made without a claim being fully processed. That would allow the Scottish Government to deliver an interim payment to all applicants based on their best estimate, and pay the balance once all the required checks are made.
“There is a genuine crisis within the rural sector at the moment; it’s not just about farmers but the many businesses along the supply chain who are struggling with outstanding debts. The Scottish Government needs to do whatever it can to take some pressure off Scottish farmers and farm businesses.
“It seems perverse that with current CAP reforms struggling to bed down, particularly in Scotland, the pace of change means that we are already having to think about what shape the CAP may take after 2019.
“Putting the in/out referendum in the UK to one side, tighter CAP budgets make it increasingly important that precious funds in the future continue to be targeted at those who take on the risk of meeting Europe’s requirements for food production and food security. It must also tackle the disproportionate penalty system, where the more active the claimant, the higher the risk of penalty for breaches that can often be minor or unintentional.”
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