Local MP Meets with NFUS
Monday, 2 December 2013
Banff & Buchan MP Eilidh Whiteford met with regional officials from the NFUS at Thainstone to discuss current issues. The meeting was part of a series of regular dialogue between elected representatives and NFUS members.
Speaking after the meeting at Thainstone, Eilidh said:
“This was a constructive meeting at which a wide range of issues of concern to local NFUS members were raised.
“I was keen to get feedback from NFUS members following my debate in the House of Commons last Tuesday on the CAP convergence uplift, and I urged them to continue to press the UK Government for a fair settlement.
"By 2019 Scotland will have the lowest per hectare rates of Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 funding anywhere in the EU, which is a rotten deal by any standards - the convergence uplift is supposed to mitigate Scotland's low payment rate, and it's vital it's used for its intended purpose.
"Members also raised key issues relating to the inter-linked challenges facing the livestock and processing sectors, and it's clear to me that addressing these will require the kind of strategic investment that rural development funding is designed to deliver. That's why it's so disappointing that Scotland is being so badly short-changed compared our neighbours and competitors in other parts of the UK and EU."
“I was keen to get feedback from NFUS members following my debate in the House of Commons last Tuesday on the CAP convergence uplift, and I urged them to continue to press the UK Government for a fair settlement.
"By 2019 Scotland will have the lowest per hectare rates of Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 funding anywhere in the EU, which is a rotten deal by any standards - the convergence uplift is supposed to mitigate Scotland's low payment rate, and it's vital it's used for its intended purpose.
"Members also raised key issues relating to the inter-linked challenges facing the livestock and processing sectors, and it's clear to me that addressing these will require the kind of strategic investment that rural development funding is designed to deliver. That's why it's so disappointing that Scotland is being so badly short-changed compared our neighbours and competitors in other parts of the UK and EU."
