The payments of £6 per head, part of a wider package of emergency measures to help the Scottish livestock industry recover from the severe crisis resulting from the foot and mouth outbreak in England, cannot legally be made before the Commission publishes the scheme. The Scottish Government said that on Monday of this week the Commission wrote seeking further details before publication, which were provided last night by the Scottish Government via UK Government representatives in Brussels.

Lochhead said: “Due to a delay in Brussels, we anticipate that the emergency payments will now be with sheep farmers by the end of this month.

“The timescale is very much in the hands of the European Commission but we are now confident that we are over the hurdles and will soon be in a position to deliver these vital payments.

“I am disappointed that there has been a hold up at the Commission. Our sheep farmers have been very badly hit by a crisis not of their making - because of the outbreak of food and mouth in the south of England.

“We had hoped to make the payments by mid November and are ready to do so now. We acted quickly and followed all the correct procedures to secure the essential consent from Brussels.

“The Commission's justification is that it has to satisfy itself about state aid rules. But the Scottish Government is determined to see these payments correctly made as quickly as possible which we hope, if the Commission is now satisfied, will be by the end of November. We will continue to do all in our power to secure this.”

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