Fergus Ewing will face the first big test of his new rural brief today as he meets farmers who feel “badly let down” by the SNP.
The Inverness and Nairn MSP, who was promoted into the job last week, will try to salvage the Scottish Government’s relationship with the agriculture community following the subsidy payments fiasco.
Scotland’s rural economy has been starved of hundreds of millions of pounds following the IT debacle which led to major delays in delivering the EU cash.
Richard Lochhead, who recently resigned as rural affairs secretary, faced a fiery reception earlier this year when he met angry farmers during a protest outside Holyrood.
And, on the day Mr Ewing took on his new role, a damning Audit Scotland criticised the government over its failure to deliver the Common Agriculture payments on time and warned ministers could face a £125million Brussels fine.
Last night, the Scottish Conservatives’ shadow rural affairs secretary Peter Chapman said Mr Ewing must use his meeting with the National Farmers Union Scotland (NFUS) to “provide assurances that this fiasco will not be repeated”.
He said: “Fergus Ewing has to hit the ground running with his new brief.
“Not only does he have to make sure these CAP payments arrive as soon as possible for the sake of the farmers and the taxpayer, who’ll have to foot the £125million worth of fines, but he needs to provide assurances that this fiasco will not be repeated next year too.
“The SNP has let down farmers badly over the past year – this meeting should be the first step in repairing that damage.”
The Scottish Government has already loaned money to those who faced delays in receiving their CAP payments – although it faced criticism over the fact some farmers could be charged interest on the money.
Rural Economy Secretary Mr Ewing said he had “prioritised” the meeting with the NFUS and that 80% of farmers had received the first instalment of their CAP claim.
He added: “Our focus right now, as it has been throughout this programme, remains 100% on getting payments out to farmers and crofters ahead of the EU’s deadline of June 30, keeping a tight rein on activity, costs and risks to secure the best value we can for the taxpayer.”