Rural payments in 2021/2022: EIR release

Information requested

Any delayed payment’s recorded from each of these schemes:

Basic Payment Scheme
The Young Farmer Payment
Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme
Scottish Upland Sheep Support Scheme

The total number of payments issued from each of these schemes:

Basic Payment Scheme
The Young Farmer Payment
Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme
Scottish Upland Sheep Support Scheme

Response

As the information you have requested is 'environmental information' for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

I enclose the information you requested in the table below. This details scheme year 2021 payments issued or still outstanding after 30 June 2022. Rural Payments and Inspections Division (RPID) have a commitment to issue 95.24% of expenditure by 30 June so delayed payments have been identified as any payments still to issue after this date.

2021 Scheme Year Figures at 30 June 2022
	Total number of businesses still to pay		Total number of businesses paid
Basic Payment Scheme	47		17491
Young Farmer Payment	8		692
Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme	17		6458
Scottish Upland sheep Support Scheme	10		1112

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.