Ewing urges Westminster for clarity on key issues

Call for UK Government to provide ‘much-needed certainty’

Rural economy and connectivity secretary Fergus Ewing has demanded urgent action from the UK Government on a string of “crucial” food, farming and fisheries issues.

One of the issues was a concordat governing the quota allocation for key fish stocks.

According to Mr Ewing, the UK Government has introduced an “additional unnecessary and unhelpful step” in the process, insisting on a consultation.

In a series of letters to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Treasury, he called for “immediate clarity and certainty” on this and other matters.

And he said he wanted confirmation that the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme for farmers would continue as normal.

He said he also wanted an assurance that applications under the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme from January this year would be honoured by the Treasury, even if the contracts may not all have been issued and confirmed before the Chancellor’s autumn statement.

Mr Ewing demanded clarity on when and how Defra intends to take forward the recommendations of the Red Meat Levy Forum, as well as on whether the Treasury has agreed to the Scottish Government’s call to extend its EU funding guarantee to cover an outstanding £360 million of vital Pillar 2 and European Maritime and Fisheries Fund support.

Finally, he said he wanted to settle “long-standing issues” linked to the Seafish levy and Scottish Convergence funds.

Mr Ewing said: “My number one priority is to protect the economic future of our rural economy and communities that are particularly vulnerable to the uncertainty caused by the result of the EU referendum.

“There are a range of domestic farming and food-related decisions that, since the EU referendum, are sitting with UK ministers which if made, I believe, could provide much-needed certainty and clarity to our rural communities,” the rural economy and connectivity secretary added.

Rural economy and connectivity secretary Fergus Ewing wants urgent action from the UK Government on a range of food, farming and fisheries issues.