Costs relating to Future Farm Investment Scheme: EIR release

Information requested

The benefits behind organising the above scheme in Scottish farming at this time and would appreciate information as to how much it cost to set up, promote and run the above 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.

The benefits behind the scheme

The Future Farming Investment Scheme was introduced to support farmers and crofters to invest in equipment and infrastructure that improves business efficiency, environmental performance and climate outcomes. The scheme provides flexible capital support for a wide range of agricultural investments that contribute to improved resource efficiency, reduced emissions and more sustainable land management.

The scheme was also introduced to make use of returned agricultural funding within the financial year and to offer agricultural businesses timely support for essential on farm investment. Stakeholders had expressed a strong interest in more accessible and flexible capital support, and the scheme was designed to respond to that need.

The scheme enables farmers and crofters to invest in the improvements that are most appropriate for their business, provided that the investment contributes to at least one of the scheme’s core objectives:

• improving business efficiency and sustainability
• protecting, restoring or enhancing the environment
• reducing greenhouse gas emissions
• mitigating the effects of climate change.

Costs of setting up, promoting and running the scheme

FFIS was delivered entirely within existing Scottish Government staffing resources. No additional staff were appointed or recruited and no additional staffing costs were incurred.

The scheme was prioritised and delivered by existing staff capacity for a defined period, in line with normal business practice.

About FOI

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