Douglas Ross has welcomed £200m of funding pledged by the First Minister to support Scottish Farmers

Douglas Ross, Scottish Conservative candidate for Moray at the Scottish election in May, has welcomed £200m of funding pledged by the First Minister to support Scottish Farmers who have been waiting for CAP payments which are normally paid in December.

Commenting Douglas said:

"This whole system has been an unmitigated mess and the SNP have to accept the blame when their IT system costing £180m prevents farmers being paid money they expected.

"Ministers have been quick to dismiss their critics and blame others, even the National Farmers Union, but they should have spent more time finding a solution rather than defending the indefensible.

"As local MSP and Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead has let down many of his constituents who are waiting for these vital payments and I hope he will agree to the Scottish Conservatives request to a full inquiry into this fiasco.

"While I welcome the announcement made by the First Minister you have to question why it took the SNP so long to act. This issue has been raised at First Ministers Questions by Ruth Davidson on more than one occasion, the Scottish NFU, politicians and farmers have all been vocal about the problems with the system but the Scottish Government did little more than issue excuses.

"While the SNP procrastinated farmers had to seek increased overdrafts or loans or even cancel planned works which had a knock-on effect in many communities. Problems with the system were highlighted a long time ago but the SNP failed to act and in the end have been forced into this action.

"It should never have reached this stage. Farmers have been badly let down and we have to ensure it never happens again. The impact of the failure to pass on these payments will be felt across the industry for some time."

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed the Scottish Government will use up to £200 million of national funds to provide cash support while Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) claims are being processed.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said:

“We are less than half way through the payment window allowed by Europe, and the majority of Scottish producers – more than 10,000 – have already received a subsidy payment.

However, payments are not being made as quickly as we would like.

“I very much recognise the cash flow issues facing Scottish agriculture, which underpins our £14 billion food and drink industry. That is why the Scottish Government has earmarked up to £200 million of national funds so that any farmer or crofter who has not received an instalment by the end of March receive a nationally-funded payment from the Scottish Government in April.”

Mr Lochhead added:

"In Scotland, we are implementing decisions taken with the industry to tailor the policy to deliver better outcomes for Scottish agriculture. I have always been clear that adding this extra complexity would prove extremely challenging to implement, but it is taking longer to make payments than we had hoped.

"Europe's deadline for making direct payments is June 30, and the majority of Scottish farmers and crofters have now received a first instalment worth about 80 per cent of their basic and greening claim.

"We are continuing efforts to speed up progress, such as taking on extra staff, but given the current difficulties facing Scottish agriculture the Scottish Government will use national funds to ensure farmers and crofters will receive support, totalling hundreds of millions of pounds, in the coming weeks."