BUSY AGENDA FOR MEETING WITH CABINET SECRETARY
18th September 2020
On Wednesday 16th September, NSA Scotland Chairman Jen Craig, accompanied by NSA Scotland Vice Chair Maimie Paterson, NSA Scotland Coordinator Grace Reid and NSA Chief Executive Phil Stocker met by teleconference with Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary Fergus Ewing and Scottish Government Senior Officials.
Jen comments: “Mr Ewing was extremely appreciative of the hard work farming has done over the Covid-19 period and was reassured to see that livestock prices, sheep in particular, had been holding up well. It was very clear that farm support will need to remain with the statement that these monies were not to be seen as subsidies, but money earned. Scottish Government will be looking towards farmers and stakeholders to guide policy making in the upcoming years to encourage best practice and relevance post Brexit and 2024.”
Phil reports: “On the agenda for this meeting were Brexit and trade talks, contingency plans in the event of market difficulties, progress with wider non-EU trade discussions, the Internal Markets Bill, the future of LFAS funding, and Lynx and rewilding. I'd like to thank everyone for a very positive meeting and we were appreciative of Mr Ewings supportive comments about ongoing support for the LFA sector, and a strong reaffirmation that there would not be approval for a release of Lynx while he is in office."
