Scottish Government Uses £33Million Farming Cash To Plug A Huge Budget Black Hole

28th August 2023

Scottish Government deputy first minister Shona Robison confessed in a meeting with NFU Scotland that the £33m ring-fenced cash may not even be returned to farmers next year, and that the SNP executive may dip further into agriculture funds to fix a £1bn budget black hole.

It was "deferred" from during the government's Emergency Budget Review in 2022 with then-finance secretary John Swinney promising the cash would be returned in future years. It led to NFU Scotland campaigning for this cash to be repaid in 2024-25 but this is unlikely to happen.

Read the full story HERE