News / Crofters should check bank accounts
CROFTERS in Shetland should check their bank accounts to see of their subsidies have been paid in without their knowledge, according to local farming adviser Graeme Fraser.
On Tuesday local MSP Tavish Scott tabled parliamentary questions to put pressure on the Scottish government to start paying out on the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (LFASS).
His move came after he was approached by several local crofters who are feeling the pinch after the cold start to the winter forced them to bring their sheep and cattle in from pasture earlier than usual this winter.
However the government has insisted that 90 per cent of LFASS payments will have been made by the end of this month, the cash reaching almost 9,000 holdings across the country.
Mr Fraser, who runs the SAC Farm Business Service in Lerwick, said he had been advised that the government was pushing payments out prior to sending out letters to ensure the cash reached producers as quickly as possible.
“People should check their bank accounts. It could be that they have received payments but they haven’t received a letter,” he said.
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