SNP Ministers have stepped up their row with the Westminster government over £160 million of EU farm payments to farmers and crofters which they say have gone missing.
Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing has called on the UK Government to deliver the funds, which were earmarked for Scotland by the EU as part of a convergence scheme with other countries.
But the Scottish Government says they were not passed on and has been fighting a long battle to claw the money back.
Last Year the then environment secretary Michael Gove said that the money had already been spent on other budgets, but Boris Johnson told Parliament that the money would be paid.
Last month, the Prime Minister said he had "pledged to restore the money to Scottish farming" in response to a question from Kilmarnock Mp Alan Brown.
But a letter to Mr Ewing from UK Rural Affairs Secretary Theresa Villiers has now reneged on that commitment, saying that it would be a matter for the Treasury to decide on.
READ MORE: NFU focuses on Scotland's farm-funding shortfall
Commenting, Mr Ewing said: “Boris Johnson has told Parliament that this money is coming to Scotland – and he must now be held to that promise instead of trying to renege on it.
“The letter from Theresa Villiers simply says that this is an issue to be determined by the Treasury, repeating earlier UK Government comments that suggest this cash should be for all parts of the UK.
“The money was awarded by the EU specifically for Scottish famers and crofters and it must go to them."
The convergence cash was triggered due to the low rate of Common Agricultural Policy payments given to Scottish hill farmers.
READ MORE: Michael Gove denies stealing from Scottish farmers amid EU subsidy concerns
Aimed at distributing the subsidies more fairly based on average euros per hectare, the UK only qualified for the payments through Scotland, as England, Wales and Northern Ireland were all above the threshold.
Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing
By May 2018, the UK Government had allocated around £30 million of the uplift payments to Scotland, with the rest being distributed around the UK, leading to allegations the money has been "stolen" from Scotland's farmers, which the UK Government denies.
Last year, the UK Government announced an independent review of how EU farm subsides are distributed across the UK from Brexit until 2022 but it is not looking into the disputed cash.
READ MORE: SNP claim UK Government has £160 million of EU payments "owed" to Scottish farmers
Mr Ewing added: “This issue goes straight to the heart of the question about the new Prime Minister’s trustworthiness and integrity.
“And if he is prepared to backslide on what he says in the House of Commons then it suggests he simply cannot be trusted.
“The Prime Minister should clear this up once and for all by restating his commitment and ensuring this money makes its way to Scottish farmers and crofters as it was always supposed to.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel