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Foot-and-mouth compensation call Dismay over foot-and-mouth summit
(about 3 hours later)
Scottish farmers are looking for a foot-and-mouth compensation package of more than £50m. Scots farmers seeking a £50m foot-and-mouth compensation package have been left disappointed after a summit in London.
Jim McLaren, president of NFU Scotland, said sheep farmers in the west and north especially were struggling. Farmers have threatened protests after the UK Government refused to concede to demands for financial assistance.
"In reality, without that money these guys simply will not be there next year," he said. Farming representatives were told that no cash was on offer to compensate them for the impact of the outbreak.
Following a row between ministers in Edinburgh and London, farmers are meeting MPs and Environment Secretary Hilary Benn at Westminster later. James Withers of the National Farmers Union Scotland (NFUS) said the meeting was "shocking to say the least".
The news comes as restrictions imposed during the foot-and-mouth scare are due to be lifted from midnight.
Following a row between ministers in Edinburgh and London, officials of the National Farmers Union Scotland met MPs and Environment Secretary Hilary Benn at Westminster.
Hilary Benn is telling Scots farmers who have got their animals stuck where they are, whose animals are overcrowded, and who haven't any money left that their problems aren't big enough James WithersNFUS deputy chief executive
Restrictions on the movement and sale of livestock were put in place in August following the discovery of foot-and-mouth disease in Surrey.Restrictions on the movement and sale of livestock were put in place in August following the discovery of foot-and-mouth disease in Surrey.
Mr McLaren told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme Scottish farmers had to be compensated for the "financial catastrophe that has befallen them through absolutely no fault of their own". James Withers, NFUS deputy chief executive, said Mr Benn effectively told the delegation that the problem facing farmers north of the border was "not big enough" to merit compensation.
"It's pretty bleak for a lot of farmers," he said. He said: "The meeting was shocking to say the least. Hilary Benn effectively said that the problems were not big enough to merit his action.
"These guys still have very limited cash flow and haven't had much of a harvest or the value for stock they would normally be receiving." "He effectively washed his hands of what is happening.
'Totally unsatisfactory' Financial losses
He added that some sheep farmers were now extending their overdrafts for the second time in 10 weeks and facing the prospect that further extensions may be refused. "He is telling Scots farmers who have got their animals stuck where they are, whose animals are overcrowded, and who haven't any money left that their problems aren't big enough."
"Our job is to secure financial support in recognition for farmers in Scotland," Mr McLaren said. The NFUS previously said some farmers were facing huge financial losses because of the restrictions imposed after the recent outbreaks in England.
Conservative MP David Mundell, who represents Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale, said: "Defra's failure to take responsibility for this outbreak, which came from their laboratory drains, and the uncertainty over the level of funds they were committing to compensation for the Scottish farming industry have been (and indeed if they were going to be any at all) totally unsatisfactory. Liberal Democrat Scottish spokesman Alistair Carmichael said it was an "immensely disappointing" meeting.
"The purpose of the meeting is to allow a full and frank discussion on these issues and hopefully enable Hilary Benn to finally grasp the severity of the crisis for Scottish farmers." He added: "The Defra position is politically and intellectually incoherent.
English compensation "Hilary Benn accepted that there was no difference in principle between what we were wanting tonight and what farmers were compensated for in 2001.
Tuesday's meeting comes in the wake of a ministerial row after First Minister Alex Salmond claimed an £8.1m funding package for Scots farmers had been withdrawn by Westminster. 'Exceptional circumstances'
The UK Government has denied the SNP's claim that a compensation deal was withheld when an autumn election was ruled out. "The only difference he could point to was the size of the outbreak, but that's not a difference in principle."
Mr Benn announced a £12.5m rescue package to support farmers in England who were hit by the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak. The SNP's Western Isles MP Angus MacNeil, who was also present, said he would be calling for continued cross-party support to get the UK Government to change its mind on the compensation issue.
That included £8.5m in one-off payments to hill farmers, £1m for full compensation for culled stock, and £2m to help promote British meat. NFUS president Jim McLaren said: "We are now into the eleventh week of turmoil following the foot-and-mouth outbreak in Surrey.
Mr Benn said farmers had experienced an "exceptionally difficult summer". "The UK Government must be accountable for the welfare and financial crisis on Scottish livestock farms.
The Scottish Government has introduced a sheep welfare scheme
"This disease came from a government-controlled facility and there is a Treasury contingency fund set aside for such exceptional circumstances."
In a statement issued after the meeting, Mr Benn said: "I fully recognise the serious problems faced by farmers in Scotland and elsewhere as a result of the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.
"These difficulties were cleared spelled out by Jim McLaren and his colleagues in our discussions.
"It is for each administration to cover the cost of the support that we have chosen to give to farmers to assist them with the welfare and economic problems they are facing."
He added: "As I told the House of Commons last week, none of us yet knows the full cost of dealing with this outbreak but it is, of course, open to the Scottish Executive to raise this issue with the Treasury."