99 per cent of Scottish farmers paid 2018 BPS loan

Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing said the payments were continuing to be made on a weekly basis and he would ‘encourage anyone who has yet to accept a loan offer to consider it carefully and respond as quickly as possible’.

Plan ahead

He said: “Directly supporting the rural economy, these payments have been made earlier than ever before, at a greater level than in previous years, and ahead of any other administration across the UK, demonstrating my absolute commitment to get payments out to eligible farmers as soon as possible.”

Jenny Brunton, NFU Scotland policy manager said the loan scheme had ‘significantly eased’ cash flow concerns for Scottish farmers and crofters and had helped the industry plan ahead for the winter months.

She said: “The loan scheme, something NFU Scotland called for previously, was announced this year following an action point raised at an industry summit we organised as part of our #NFUSHowDoYouPlan campaign which ran for 12 weeks throughout the summer.

“The last 18 months have caused significant difficulties to many and the promptness of these payments has been a welcome relief.”