Sturgeon apologises to farmers over EU ‘failures’
Sturgeon says sorry but fails to placate union on latest delays
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was at the Royal Highland Show yesterday where she apologised to farmers for late payments under the EU’S Common Agricultural Policy
Scottish farmers yesterday said they are fed up with Scottish Government apologies for late CAP payments as they demanded action to ensure they receive their money on time.
Speaking after Nicola Sturgeon apologised for the latest payment delays caused by the Scottish Government’s troubled IT system, NFU Scotland president Andrew Mccornick said farmers did not want “to hear ‘sorry’ again”. Mr Mccornick also expressed dismay that the Scottish Government had failed to let farmers know about the latest delays, which only came to light after Ms Sturgeon was challenged on the issue at Holyrood.
Ms Sturgeon was accused of operating a “culture of secrecy” after she failed to give a direct answer when Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson asked her if the Scottish Government had sought an extension to the payment processing deadline from the European Commission.
The fact that the Scottish Government had applied to extend the deadline from 30 June to 15 October was revealed by European Commission sources after Ms Sturgeon was tackled on the issue.
Yesterday the Scottish Conservatives accused Ms Sturgeon of treating the parliament with contempt and said that rural affairs minister Fergus Ewing should consider his position.
Failure to meet the deadline could lead to the Scottish Government being fined tens of millions of pounds by Europe. It is understood that the Scottish Government has processed 73 per cent of payments, but to meet the deadline needs to get to 95 per cent over the next week.
On a visit to the Royal Highland Show, the First Minister apologised for the delays, saying: “We have already apologised and we do so again today to farmers for the failures that have been experienced in the system and I guarantee that we will continue to give this matter our full focus and attention to ensure that farmers get the service that they deserve.”
Mr Mccornick said: “We’ve asked for Scottish Government to have a clear and open dialogue with the industry on payments.
“Farmers and crofters should have been the first to know that once again there is to be a delay in payments. This does nothing to restore trust or build confidence.
“We have had many apologies about the system. We don’t want to hear sorry again. We want action that will ensure payments arrive in a timely manner. Failure to deliver farm support puts the whole of Scotland’s rural economy in jeopardy.”
The election results could present an opportunity to avoid the damaging “double whammy” of a Brexit which prioritises controls on immigration over access to the single market and other economic considerations, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told a rural seminar at the Highland Show yesterday.
However, speaking a year to the day after the EU referendum, she qualified her hopes, saying that despite recent “warm words” from UK government representatives, there was, as of yet, no hard evidence of such a change in approach.
Ms Sturgeon said that the UK had started negotiations on Brexit without a clear plan of what it wanted to achieve.
“And if they blunder on like that pursuing a hard Brexit, I think the risks increase rather than decrease,” she said.
“But if they take the opportunity to bring more voices into negotiating and prioritise the economy over restrictions on the freedom of movement then that opens the door to a more sensible approach.”
Ms Sturgeon added that the “least worst” outcome for Scotland would be continued membership of the single market along with access to tariff-free trade on food and farm products.