Agricultural Policy

Farm Payment Consultation

The reform of the Common Agricultural Policy has implications for us all. Many issues are technical, and most capable of resolution with appropriate negotiation. One issue is controversial, and Alyn needs a steer from his constituents in Scotland. That issue is whether we should have a maximum limit on how big a Single Farm Payment (SFP) should be, and what we should do with the money "saved" if one is introduced.

Alyn opposes capping at the moment on the basis that if we get the support structures right, then a big Single Farm Payment means that the recipient is doing a lot of farming, producing a lot of food and employing a lot of people.

However, there are a lot of people opposed to this view, and we need to think about Plan B, and indeed C and D. The European Commission has proposed a maximum limit on Single Farm Payments of EUR 300,000, and a formula of reduction up to that point. That proposal will be the subject of hard negotiations, and Alyn needs more of a mandate on what he can do, as simply opposing capping will shut us out of the discussions, and guarantee that if it does happen it will happen in a way that does not work for us.

Alyn invites your views, on this as on other issues. The views will be published at the end of the consultation, but individual responses will be kept strictly private. Alyn is registered under the Data Protection Act and will not share private data.

The consultation will run from 17 October until 16 December.

* = required field