Scottish Beef Efficiency Scheme data: EIR release

Information requested

• Total number of beef producers who initially applied for the scheme, including those who subsequently withdrew their applications (ie. total number of businesses who applied to ScotGov at the start of the scheme).
• Total number of beef producers/individual businesses who completed the 5 year scheme in full.
• Total number of calves which were applied for during the scheme from businesses who completed the full 5 years.

From Scottish Government records, it looks like a figure for 16.6 million Euros in total was paid to producers - this would be around £13.7 million in today’s money. If this figure is inaccurate please let me know.

Response

Total number of beef producers who applied for the Scheme were 2,537.

Total number of businesses who completed the 5 years and based on start dates were as follows: 2016 starts – 1,297. 2017 starts – 108.

I sought clarification from you regarding your last bullet point as this scheme was not headage based on calf numbers, but was area based, calculated on the number of qualifying reference animals that had a calf in the reference year. You confirmed that the combined total number of cows on all holdings which applied for the scheme which were used to base a claim in the reference year would be helpful. The Scheme opened to applications in 2016. The majority of participants started in 2016, with a smaller population made up of new entrants able to use 2016 reference data to start in 2017. The total number of reference animals were 163,751.

The total amount of money paid to producers was in GBP and the total paid was £12.471m.

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