£327 Million in Scot Gov Payments to Protect Farmers Against ‘No-Deal’

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South of Scotland SNP MSP Joan McAlpine has welcomed news that the Scottish Government have made payments of over £327 million to farmers and crofters to help them plan for the impacts of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit.

 

The news comes as the MSP asked deputy First Minister John Swinney what action the Scottish Government was taking to protect the interests of Farmers and Crofters against a ‘no-deal’ scenario.

 

Responding, Deputy First Minister John Swinney announced that the Scottish Government has already made payments totalling over £327 million to 13,400 farmers and crofters as part of a basic payment scheme designed to provide earlier cash-flow and certainty of payment date instead of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments.

 

These advance loans are the single biggest mitigation action that the Scottish Government can provide to support farmers and crofters.

 

The payments, which were made last Friday (Oct 4th), are the first such payments to be made in the UK.

 

Commenting, Ms. McAlpine said:

 

“I am pleased that the Scottish Government are taking such decisive action to protect the interests of Scotland’s farmers and crofters with a ‘no-deal’ Brexit looming.

 

“Rural parts of Scotland like Dumfries and Galloway will be disproportionately affected, with our farmers losing their Common Agricultural Policy payments and devastating tariffs on exports like sheep and beef.

 

“The Scottish Government continue to demonstrate that our farmers are an invaluable part of our society and economy, while the Tories continue to make a mess of things at Westminster.”