The decision on whether Scotland will receive further leeway to couple support now lies with the EU Agricultural Commissioner, according to UK Farm Minister Owen Paterson.
He told the Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs Committee yesterday he wrote to Commissioner Dacian Ciolos last week on the issue but had not received a reply.
Pressed by MSPs he repeatedly said that it was essential to ensure additional coupling or any other Common Agricultural Policy did not fall foul of a future inspection by the EU Court of Auditors.
“There is a danger that if they (EU auditors) judge a policy has been breached, then Scotland will face a disallowance, and that is a big risk.”
He said after England made the move to area-based support at the last CAP reform they were penalised £600 million in disallowances.
Arguing the case for coupling, Angus MacDonald MSP believed the UK minister had led Scotland into a trap because he did not believe in linking support to production.
After admitting his starting point had been one with zero linkage, Mr Paterson said he had moved as part of a negotiating process which had ended up delivering devolved decision-making for Scotland and that the final package had met almost all the demands from this country.
He urged the Scottish Government to keep their version of the CAP as simple as possible and to push on so farmers could make early decisions on future cropping and stocking.
Jim Hume MSP backed the minister on this issue. “Scotland is now falling behind the rest of the UK on CAP implementation. The deadline for announcing details of the new Scottish payments system is fast approaching and the clock is ticking,” he said
Graeme Dey MSP expressed concern that Scotland was losing out on cash given to the UK to level up support payments, and asked Mr Paterson if he would revisit the decision.
But Mr Paterson claimed the convergence uplift payments were only one part of the overall UK pot, with Scotland benefiting from other elements.
Visiting NFU Scotland later, Mr Paterson was pressed on achieving more leeway for Scottish spring barley growers who will require to reduce theiracreage of this crop to avoid being penalised under the so called three-crop rule.
The union highlighted the problem it faces in dealing with the 2.8m hectares designated as rough grazing regions (RGR) where there is a massive disparity in what this land produces and how it is farmed.
Union president Nigel Miller said: “Time for decisions on CAP delivery in Scotland is pressing, but avoiding extreme redistribution of funds within the RGR remains an absolute priority for the NFUS and Scottish industry.
“Many of the problems on CAP delivery in Scotland are compounded by our limited budget. The commitment to review CAP budget distribution within the UK opens up the opportunity to address Europe’s vision for budget convergence.
“We impressed on the minister the need for a clearly defined timetable to be put in place to allow this review process to move forward.”