Chamber and committees

To give a full answer to the question i.e. to provide information spanning five years, broken down as requested has necessitated further bespoke interrogation of the IT system and will take some time to complete. The requested information will be made available to the requestor as soon as we are able to do so.

Farmers and crofters who thought the Scottish Government’s, rural payments and inspections division’s assessment of the provisional payment region allocated to any of their land parcels could ask for a review to be carried out. Officials were always will to reconsider the our decision based upon any further written evidence provided by the farmer/crofter, such as details of when grassland was improved or the type of vegetation present. The review process does not include a physical inspection of the land in question. It is a desk based exercise which takes into full account the evidence provided by the farmer/crofter.

As explained in the response to S4W-29412, farmers and crofters who thought the Scottish Government’s, rural payments and Inspections division’s assessment of the provisional payment region allocated to any of their land parcels could ask for a review to be carried out. Officials were always will to reconsider the our decision based upon any further written evidence provided by the farmer/crofter, such as details of when grassland was improved or the type of vegetation present. The review process does not include a physical inspection of the land in question. It is a desk based exercise which takes into full account the evidence provided by the farmer/crofter.

Staff are continuing to work as hard as possible to process applications as quickly as possible, and we are continuing efforts to speed up progress, such as taking on extra staff. Payments are expected to be made within the current EU regulatory window.

In Scotland, the common agricultural policy (CAP) comprises around 20 different schemes across Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 of the CAP. Some of these schemes are administered collectively on a single IT system while others have their own stand alone systems. The Scottish Government has acknowledged problems with the new rural payments and services IT system which affects, in particular, payments under the basic payment and greening schemes. Other IT systems are maintained and upgraded routinely as and when issues arise.

The European Union would not impose financial penalties unless CAP Pillar 1 payments are not made by 30 June 2016. CAP Pillar 2 schemes do not have fixed payment windows and therefore the concept of financial penalties in respect of Pillar 2 does not exist.

All Crofting Agricultural Grant applications, regardless of the type of proposal, are made to the applicants local area office in the first instance and there is therefore no need to notify the area offices of the purpose for an application at a later stage.

Throughout the programme, we have used the government gateway review process which involves independent assessment on the progress of the programme. The Scottish Government is committed to learning lessons from this IT programme however our current focus is on delivering payments.

A total of 36 additional members of staff have been recruited to area offices to deal with payment issues. We have also recruited 35 additional professional staff members.

There are currently two UK-wide payment schemes for those infected with hepatitis C by NHS blood and blood products which the Scottish Government contributes directly to – the Skipton Fund provides lump sum and annual payments on the basis of chronic infection and disease progression. The Caxton Foundation provides discretionary payments to infected people and dependents, primarily on the basis of financial need. Over the last ten years, the Scottish Government has contributed over £32 million to these funds for those who were infected in Scotland and their dependents.

There are also three similar UK-wide payment schemes which pre-date devolution for those infected with HIV by NHS treatment – the MFET, Macfarlane Trust and Eileen Trust. These are currently managed and funded by the UK Department of Health. We intend to take over responsibility for those who were infected with HIV in Scotland.

Following the publication of the Penrose Inquiry report on 25 March 2015, a Scottish financial review group was formed in June 2015, involving those infected and their families. The group reviewed the existing UK-wide financial support arrangements. It reported to Scottish Ministers in December 2015. In response to the group's recommendations, on 18 March 2016 the Scottish Government announced a package of improved financial support arrangements that will be available in the future for those affected in Scotland. I refer the member to the answer to written parliamentary question S4W-30593 on 18 March 2016, which confirms that the key financial recommendations of the review group have been accepted.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.