Devolved nations need ‘trusted’ body to resolve farm funding disputes, says Plaid

In an exclusive article for Farmers Guardian’s Brexit hub, Mr Lake wrote: “At present, there is no appropriate body to oversee the policies in the four nations of the UK, and neither is there a dispute mechanism which is trusted by the four administrations and the four industries.

“As well as deciding future funding allocations, an oversight body could adjudicate whether the respective policies of the four nations abide by the UK’s international commitments, or are in danger of distorting the internal market.

“I can also see a sort of dispute resolution mechanism role for it in disagreements emanating from the not too unlikely event additional support is afforded to farmers in one nation, but not another, when both groups are impacted by the same exceptional market circumstances or severe weather events.”

Clout

Mr Lake suggested the Agriculture Bill should be used to set up the new body to give it legal clout.

His call comes in the wake of a row between the UK and Scottish Governments over convergence cash.

The seven-year battle began after the EU returned £160 million to the UK because Scottish farm payments had been too low, but UK Ministers handed the money out to all the home nations – not just Scotland.

You can read the full article HERE.