Ahead of a meeting with farming industry leaders due to take place on Thursday, Scotland’s Rural Affairs Secretary Fergus Ewing has reiterated that the Scottish government is “Exploring all options” to work out the best deal for its citizens in the wake of the Brexit vote.

Though the chancellor last week guaranteed up to £6 billion a year in funding up to 2020 for projects formerly supported by the EU, devolved governments have criticised the commitment for falling well short of the levels of spending they say are needed.  

The meeting with farm leaders will aim to explore a number of issues facing the sector ahead of Ewing’s statement to Parliament in September. However, the Rural Affairs Secretary made much of the prospect of hearing farm leaders’ views on Scotland’s place in Europe. The meeting comes a week after Mr Ewing called on the UK Government to extend their EU funding guarantee to cover an outstanding £360 million that he said is vital to the Rural Economy.

Commenting ahead of the meeting on Wednesday, he said, “The EU provides significant benefits to Scotland’s rural communities. It provides a critical support mechanism for the agricultural industry, while also offering access to a single market of over 500 million people for the food we produce. The EU also provides social protections for everyone who works in the agricultural industry and freedom of movement that enables farm businesses to employ the workers they need from anywhere in the EU. That is why the Scottish Government is exploring all options to protect our place in Europe.”

Mr Ewing continued, “I know that the industry is particularly concerned about what Brexit means for future CAP payments and wider industry support. I share their concerns. The UK Government has not done nearly enough to provide the clarity and certainty the farming sector needs. I again call on them to extend the funding guarantee to include the outstanding £360 million that is vital to Scotland’s rural economy.

“The meeting is another opportunity for me to again hear the thoughts of industry on key interests which we share and challenges that we collectively face and how we could address these in moving the industry forward.”