Extra staff drafted in to speed up CAP payments
Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead has pledged to allocate additional staff and for Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) applications to be processed seven days a week.
In response to the slower than expected progress, the Mr Lochhead confirmed that first instalments have been paid to more than 5,000 farmers and crofters – almost 30 per cent of the 18,000 or so eligible claims – with more authorised payments expected to arrive in banks in the coming days.
He said: “The Scottish Government has already made more than 5,000 payments – which is almost 30 per cent of the 18,000 or so eligible claims – with more initiated to arrive in the coming days. The first instalments we have paid are worth approximately 80 per cent of the value of Basic and Greening – much higher than the 70 per cent originally promised.
“I share the industry’s disappointment and frustration that we are not making faster progress, and I recognise the need to take further action to speed up payments. That is why I have instructed the deployment of additional staff to area offices and for applications to be processed seven days a week, and I will now ensure the Scottish Parliament and industry are updated more regularly on progress.
“I fully recognise the importance to farmers of receiving these payments as early as possible within the EU’s payment window of 1st December to June 30th and the Scottish Government is delivering, albeit at a slower pace than we’d all hoped.
“My officials have informed me the extreme complexity of the new CAP means claims are taking longer to process and EU regulations prevent us from issuing payments until all of the necessary checks have been completed.”