DEFRA cuts: Scottish farmers will be affected

NFU Scotland said the spending cuts announced on 20 October would affect Scottish farmers – but bigger decisions on spending were unresolved.

Scott Walker, NFU Scotland’s policy director, said the Scottish Government will soon decide how to spend its block grant allocated from the UK government, which has been reduced.

He pointed out that the largest amount of funding comes from EU money, which would not be affected by the latest announcement.

But he admitted that the reductions in DEFRA’s budget, although not unexpected, would “undoubtedly affect farmers in Scotland”.

Mr Walker said: “We will have to wait and see how DEFRA decides to make its 8% annual savings, although the Richard Macdonald Farming Regulation Task Force report should highlight ways in which DEFRA can do things better and at lower cost.

“It is always worth remembering that the largest block of spending to agriculture comes from EU money and is therefore not affected by the announcement today, or by cuts that the Scottish Government will have to implement.”