The Scotland Rural Development Programme will not now be considered in Brussels till next year, ministers said. 

Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment Richard Lochhead said the postponement was “a huge disappointment”.

"[It’s] extremely frustrating, even if we are talking about a four week delay to a seven year programme,” he said. “Despite our best endeavours, technical difficulties in Brussels mean that the Scotland Rural Development Programme will not be considered until January.

"This means a formal approval in February - over a year after the SRDP should have started. I have written to Commissioner Fischer-Boel in the strongest terms, to express my concern about this latest delay and to seek her support to push the Scotland programme forward as a matter of urgency.

"I understand that this delay may cause considerable anxiety in the farming community around Less Favoured Areas Support Scheme (LFASS) payments, and for those awaiting support for planting woodland and short rotation coppice this winter.”

The government had been assured that the European Commission would do all it could to progress the LFASS issue in advance of programme approval, he said, and officials on both sides would be taking that forward over the coming days.