Rural Payments and Services

Commenting on the publication of the first tranche of UK Government ‘Technical Notices’ to prepare for leaving the EU without a withdrawal agreement, Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing said:

“Farmers and food producers want to know if they will still be able to sell their products in the event of the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal in March 2019.

So while these technical notices from the UK Government lay bare the risks facing Scottish farmers and the wider rural economy, they fail to provide much needed clarity over the long term.

“These technical notices simply reiterate previous UK Government statements about the Withdrawal
Act, a transition period and short term funding guarantees, but they provide little reassurance that the UK Government has robust plans in place to provide longer term support for agriculture and address the economic challenges Brexit will present for rural businesses.

“During the referendum, promises were made to farmers that they would continue to receive at least the same level of funding as they currently do in the event of Brexit.

These papers fail to confirm that this will indeed happen, and in fact give no detail on what is actually meant by the UK Government commitment to maintain the same level of farm support until the end of this Parliament.

This will be of no comfort to the farmers and rural businesses facing the real risk of a no deal Brexit nightmare, who need to be able to plan well into the future.

“Rural businesses wants to know if their goods will still be available for export and whether they will continue to receive payments under long-term programmes.

What is clear from these papers is that the UK Government should rule out a disastrous ‘no deal’ scenario and focus instead on securing the best possible outcome for the rural economy – notably staying in the Single Market and Customs Union.”

Information on preparing for Brexit if the UK leaves the EU with no deal is available in the 'technical notices'.