The NFU Scotland is celebrating as one of its campaigns has moved a step closer to fruition.

In the run-up to the Scottish Parliamentary elections in May, the union started a campaign for a new appeals system for farmers who suffer financial penalties as a result of mistakes on government paperwork.

The campaign moved closer to realisation on Monday, though, when the Scottish Government announced that it will begin a review into the current system.

The union says the current appeals system does not distinguish between the vast majority of mistakes which are the result of innocent error and the small minority of cases which involved deliberate misinformation, with fines running into tens of thousands of pounds.

According to the NFU, the current system ‘lacks common sense and has not introduced the independence it was designed for’.

The union has already lodged cases with the Land Court, and will face the Scottish Government in a case that has affected more than 200 farmers, which it says is a ‘classic example of farmers being disproportionately penalised for an innocent error’.

NFUS president Jim McLaren said: “This is a welcome move and meets the commitment in the SNP manifesto to look again at the appeals process.

“What we really need is a culture change within government on this issue. Someone who has accidentally ticked the wrong box on an application form should not find themselves thrown out of a scheme.

“Obviously, when it comes to any business receiving public money, there should be clear rules. But the current system is too often devoid of common sense and, in my mind, it cannot be called independent when Ministers can ignore or over-rule the findings of the external panel members and when Department officials are part of that panel.

“I hope this is a step towards the kind of appeals system we have been lacking for years and which will earn the confidence of farmers. We shouldn’t have to take government to court to fight for common sense.”

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