Compensation go-ahead for Wales

Payments will work out at £2 per sheep, based on the data provided in Single Application Forms lodged last May and subject to the form successfully completing administrative checks.

Announcing the details at the weekend, Rural Affairs Minister, Elin Jones, said that in addition to the compensation scheme, the Welsh Assembly Government had last year provided £3m for a light lamb welfare scheme, £1m to promote Welsh lamb and beef sales, as well as making £100,000 available in recognition of the support for Welsh farming families delivered by the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Fund.

But under state aid rules the European Commission had had to clear the proposed compensation scheme she announced in February – in particular that the scheme did not over-compensate.

The commission did, however, have reservations that the initial proposals put forward, based on payment per hectare, might result in over-compensation and following negotiation a revised scheme had now been agreed.

“I made it clear in February that the detail of the scheme would require clearance from the European Commission and that we could expect it to carefully scrutinise our proposed scheme,” said the Minister.

“The Assembly Government has now secured the commission’s clearance to a revised compensation scheme for LFA sheep producers. This will take the form of a £2 payment per sheep and is estimated to cost £9 million.”

She said this week’s release of the funding had arrived only a few weeks after payments to LFA farmers had started under the 2008 Tir Mynydd scheme.

Some £24.5m had already been paid, with the release of the £4m grazing enhancement also now getting underway.

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