LFA FUNDING BOOST TO SCOTLAND’S HILL FARMING SECTOR

Scottish Government takes on NFU Scotland proposals

Scottish Government’s decision to adopt NFU Scotland’s proposals for improvements to the delivery of the Less Favoured Areas Support Scheme (LFASS) will secure a significant uplift in funding to all those receiving LFA payments from the 2011 scheme.

By better focussing the whole scheme on active farmers, between £5 million and £10 million of funds are freed up by the Union model. As a result, the Scottish Government has announced that beef and sheep producers farming category A and B land in the Standard area of LFASS will see a 38 percent uplift in their payment. Those livestock farmers with category C and D land will see rates increase by five percent.

These rate increases are in addition to the Scottish Government decision, taken in June 2009, to boost LFASS payment rates in the Fragile and Very Fragile areas of the scheme by 38 percent – 19 percent in 2010 and 19 percent for next year’s scheme.

The LFASS modifications will now ensure LFASS payments, from the 2011 scheme, are targeted at those actively farming in LFA areas, wherever they are in Scotland.

NFU Scotland President, Jim McLaren said:

“NFU Scotland firmly believes that an LFASS scheme that recognises the vital role played by active livestock production is fundamental to the health of Scotland’s hills and uplands. With today’s announcement, and the announcement made last June, it is clear that the Scottish Government shares that belief.

“In the last few weeks, we submitted proposals to the Scottish Government on how we thought delivery of the funding available through LFASS could be changed to better recognise the contribution made by those producing stock across the whole of Scotland’s LFA area.

“The Scottish Government looked at our work and recognised that the introduction of variable minimum stocking densities for LFASS 2011 would free up funding within the existing LFASS budget. We are delighted that it has chosen to use that funding to secure significant increases in the payment rates paid to active producers in the LFASS Standard area and deliver a real shot in the arm to livestock production across a huge chunk of Scotland’s hills and uplands.

“This announcement of an increase in LFASS payments for land in the Standard area, alongside those increases already agreed for the Fragile and Very Fragile areas, will make a massive contribution to the real costs of looking after livestock in these parts. The availability of further support for capital projects on sheep farms, such as the installation or upgrading of sheep handling facilities, is also going to help our producers make the kind of investments needed if they are to have a more viable future in the livestock sector.”

PFI LEGACY WILL BE WITH US FOR YEARS SAYS MATHER

Jim Mather, Argyll & Bute MSP, has commented on figures that have been revealed by his colleague Kenneth Gibson, MSP, about the huge burden that Private Finance Initiative (PFI) funding for capital projects will place on the Scottish people over the next thirty years. Over the same period when the Scottish economy will suffer a reduction of £25 billion as public spending is reduced from Westminster in response to Labour's mismanagement thee this is a dramatic and telling exposure of their disastrous tenure of Scotland's public sector. At this time, of course, they were in partnership with the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

Mr Mather said,

"The figures extracted by Kenneth Gibson indicate that £6.7 billion will leave our NHS over the next 30 years as a result of financing agreements made under PFI contracts. This £6.7 billion of repayments under Labour's "buy now pay later" policy covers 27 identified capital projects with an estimated value of £1.28 billion and comes after close to £1 billion of repayments have already been made.

Individual examples of the folly of this policy are easily identified. Figures produced by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre and based on information from the Treasury indicate that Labour's last NHS PPP deal, signed on 1st May 2007 agreed repayments of £1.7 billion for the new acute services hospital at Larbert -a facility with an estimated capital cost of £293 million. It has been revealed that repayments for three hospitals built under Labour (Edinburgh, Wishaw and Hairmyres) repayments to be made over the next five years, will exceed the capital costs of the hospitals although payments will continue thereafter for a further 20 years.

The folly of PFI/PPP has been cruelly exposed at a time when public finances are under severe pressure from other directions. Every penny paid out in financing these "off the book" exercises is a penny less for the provision of healthcare over the next 30 years. The NHS and the people of Scotland will be paying the price of this reckless policy, foisted upon them by the coalition of Labour with Liberal Democrats, for years to come. The most alarming examples are set in the Central belt but the overall effect on future health financing will be felt throughout Scotland.

Scottish Labour politicians so blindly and enthusiastically criticising the Holyrood Government in their attempts to find economies within the NHS might reflect upon their role in the present situation. LibDems in their new position as junior partners at Westminster might see the irony of their condition in Scotland although past form suggests that might not take place overnight."

BBC ALBA’S LIVE SHINTY COVERAGE CONTINUES WITH MARINE HARVEST PREMIER 6’s

This season’s live coverage of shinty on BBC ALBA continues this Saturday, 3 July with coverage of the Marine Harvest Premier 6’s competition from An Aird, Fort William.

The newly formatted Marine Harvest Premier 6’s, will see the 10 team in the premier division battle it out in a 6-a-side tournament taking place throughout the day.

BBC ALBA will be bringing viewers the best of the day’s action live from 3.30pm with exclusive coverage of each semi final followed by the Women’s North South Challenge match and culminating in the final of the men’s tournament. BBC ALBA is available on Sky channel 168 and on Freesat channel 110.

During the show, the BBC ALBA Spòrs team will also catch up with Glengarry Junior Shinty team, who are going from strength to strength, as they learn some new skills from shinty development officer and top Kingussie marksman Ronald Ross.

Hugh Dan MacLennan, sports broadcaster and former shinty player, will be commentating on the match live for BBC ALBA along with Gaelic Spòrs anchor Calum Macaulay. Shinty Scotland Manager Drew McNeill will also provide trackside analysis throughout the matches.

Alan Esslemont, Head of Content at BBC ALBA, said: “Last Saturday’s final provided excellent television viewing offering an alternative to the world cup and tennis and was a great start to our live shinty package on offer, with exciting half time features. Live action from the final of this weekend’s newly formatted and exciting tournament should prove popular with shinty and sports fans across the country.”

The tournament commences at 11.30am and in addition to the main 6-a-side tournament and the Women’s North South Challenge, there will be a local schools tournament and the final of the Highland Primary Schools Shinty World Cup between Newtonmore and Beauly.

BBC ALBA’s exclusive package of four live shinty games throughout this season will also provide coverage of the two remaining finals:

· Balliemore Cup Final – Saturday 17 July
· Sutherland Cup Final – Saturday 31 July

Coverage of the shinty cup finals will be provided by mneTV for BBC ALBA.