Lochhead joins CAP attack on Spelman

The phasing out of direct income support for farmers, as advocated earlier this week by UK Rural Affairs Secretary Caroline Spelman, could "devastate" Scottish agriculture and have a detrimental knock-on impact on the rural economy, her Scottish opposite number, Richard Lochhead, warned last night.

He was responding to comments at the Oxford Farming Conference on Wednesday by Spelman who indicated the UK government would be seeking to negotiate a timetable for getting rid of direct support in forthcoming negotiations on the reform of Europe's Common Agricultural Policy.

As reported in The Scotsman yesterday, Spelman's stance was roundly condemned at the conference on Thursday by EU agricultural commissioner Dacian Ciolos, who insisted the retention of direct income support was an essential element of the CAP which was recognised by almost every country in the EU.

Lochhead last night called on the UK government to fundamentally revise its position and take heed of the vision for the CAP set out by Ciolos in his Oxford speech.

"The UK government's stance - as spelled out by Caroline Spelman - shows that their position is not only at odds with most of Europe, but has the potential to be devastating to Scotland's agriculture industry," said Lochhead.

"We had hoped that the UK coalition government might have taken a different and more positive position on CAP reform than their predecessors, but depressingly that has not turned out to be the case."

Spelman's claim to have shifted the UK government to a new, more credible position on CAP was in danger of being seen as empty as she was following exactly the same line as her Labour predecessor, Hilary Benn, said Lochhead.

"The UK government's approach fails completely to take account of the unique and often challenging characteristics of Scottish farming," he claimed. "It is clear that the UK government is becoming more and more isolated.

"The government can't push for food production to be central to their vision at the same time as trying to remove the very support that underpins the infrastructure needed for food production.

He said it was encouraging that the work on CAP reform carried out by the Pack Inquiry at the request of the Scottish Government was already influencing European Commission thinking

"The commissioner's vision for the CAP ticks many of the right boxes as far as Scotland is concerned and hopefully will help bring the UK government round to our way of thinking," Lochhead added.

"It is good to see that Europe accepts that continuing public support is key to the future of Scottish farming - and is also crucial for farmers in many other parts of Europe."

NFU Scotland chief executive James Withers also welcomed the commissioner's comments.

"The commissioner's views on the future shape of the CAP will receive a far more favourable response from Scottish farmers than the vision presented by Caroline Spelman," said Withers.

"His vision is of evolution, building on what the CAP currently delivers for the industry and consumers and puts food production at its heart."

Withers welcomed the fact there was "clear water" between the European view and the UK government's view but expressed concern that the UK was running the risk of being marginalised in future EU negotiations.

"Spelman needs to discard the old, out-dated Treasury line, grasp the opportunities that CAP presents and work with other member states towards securing a deal that will genuinely deliver benefits to our industry and consumers," said Withers.