The Scottish Government will have the freedom to decide how it wants to support farmers outside the EU, according to Defra Minister Michael Gove.

Speaking at the Scottish parliament this week, the cabinet minister stated that Scotland and other devolved regions would have autonomy to allocate future spending directed at farmers after Brexit.

He added that when it comes to notifying the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on how farmers are supported overall, that would be for the UK government to decide.

“But with that, we recognise it is for devolved administrations how the amount allocated (by the UK government) is then spent,” said Gove.

Scotland has not signed up to the UK agriculture bill

The Scottish Government has continually questioned the freedom for Scotland to devise its own farming support rules.

As a result, Scotland has not signed up to the UK agriculture bill. It is understood that the current levels of coupled payments would fall within WTO limits, particularly if no similar schemes were set up in England.

Gove wouldn’t answer questions on the outcome of the review currently looking at how convergence money allocated to the UK in the last CAP budget is administered in 2021 and 2022.

During a meeting with members of the Scottish parliament, he said that as the review panel is independent of government, he was not in a position to pre-empt any of the decisions taken.

The UK government has developed a scheme to support incomes, potentially involving a payment per breeding ewe

However, he did point out that Scotland already receives a greater share of UK CAP funding (around 16%) than the alternative of the Barnett formula, which is more commonly used to allocate government spending (under it Scotland would receive approximately 12%).

Given the threat to the sheep sector from a no-deal Brexit, the UK government has developed a scheme to support incomes, potentially involving a payment per breeding ewe. However, he said that if the Scottish Government (or another devolved region) wanted to do something slightly different, it is something he would consider.

“We also stand ready if there are requests for additional funding.”