EU farm subsidy delay statementpublished at 14:03 British Summer Time 31 May 2016
Rural Affairs Secretary Fergus Ewing will now give a ministerial statement on the EU farm subsidy delays.
Summary
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Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing apologises for EU farm payments delays
Economy Secretary Keith Brown outlines government plans for Scottish economy
Opposition parties raise questions about the memorandum of understanding that Nicola Sturgeon signed with Chinese firms
EU farm subsidy delay statementpublished at 14:03 British Summer Time 31 May 2016
First up this afternoon is Time for Reflection...published at 14:01 British Summer Time 31 May 2016
We begin this afternoon with the first Time for Reflection of the parliamentary session.
It will be delivered by Reverend Neil Gardner who is minister at Edinburgh's Canongate Kirk.
Farmers union calls for Scottigh government to 'get to grips' with 'calamitous' CAP payments systempublished at 13:55 British Summer Time 31 May 2016
The Scottish government should "get to grips" with a "calamitous" attempt to reform agricultural payments, according to NFU Scotland.
The union said a "damning report" from the auditor general into the programme showed it may never be fit for purpose.
Image source, ThinkstockImage caption, Audit Scotland said farmers had faced "lengthy delays" to payments
Audit Scotland has highlighted "serious cost and operational issues".
The Scottish government said it was focused on paying crofters and farmers before the 30 June deadline.
Opposition party reaction to farm subsidy delayspublished at 13:54 British Summer Time 31 May 2016
The cost of the government programme was originally estimated to be £102m, but it now has a final budget of £178m and a reduced scope.
Scottish Labour have described the project as a "catastrophic IT failure", while the Conservatives said the government had "taken their eye off the ball" and failed rural communities.
The Scottish Greens have said the IT shambles was "inexcusable" given the importance of the industry to Scotland.
Conflict of interestpublished at 13:50 British Summer Time 31 May 2016
Auditor General Caroline Gardner's report also highlights a conflict of interest within the leadership team of the programme, revealed by a BBC investigation in March.
BBC Scotland found that a former delivery director of the project, Dominic Prabhu, had supplied dozens of contractors from his own company to work on the programme.
Image source, ThinkstockImage caption, Dozens of IT contractors working on the project were supplied by the programme's former delivery director
His company Spectromax Solutions saw its assets soar last year - from about £81,000 in 2014 to about £3.5m in 2015.
Dr Prabhu has denied there was a conflict of interest.
Auditor general says 'CAP Futures programme has been beset with difficulties from the start'published at 13:48 British Summer Time 31 May 2016
Quote Message"The CAP Futures programme has been beset with difficulties from the start. These problems, and the way they have been dealt with by the Scottish government, are a serious concern, particularly as the programme continues to face major obstacles and is unlikely to deliver value for money.
Caroline Gardner, Auditor General
Auditor general says it's vital the government ensures the IT system is fit for purposepublished at 13:45 British Summer Time 31 May 2016
Quote Message"The scale of the challenge ahead should not be underestimated. It's vital that the Scottish government take steps now to ensure the IT system is fit for purpose, and fully assess the potential financial impact if it's unable to meet the Commission's regulations within the programme's remaining budget."
Caroline Gardner, Auditor General for Scotland
Image source, bbcImage caption, Auditor General for Scotland Caroline Gardner
Audit Scotland highlights 'serious cost and operational issues'published at 13:44 British Summer Time 31 May 2016
Audit Scotland, external has highlighted "serious cost and operational issues" around the Scottish government's attempt to reform agricultural payments, in a report published earlier this month, external.
The Scottish government said it was focused on paying crofters and farmers before the 30 June deadline.
Image source, Audit ScotlandImage caption, Audit Scotland
If the system does not meet European Commission regulations by that date, the Scottish government could face a penalty of between £40m and £125m.
Under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), about £4.6bn in European and Scottish government funding will be paid out between 2015 and 2020.
The CAP Futures programme in Scotland was meant to make the rural payment process more efficient.
CAP payments delays discussed between EU and first ministerpublished at 13:42 British Summer Time 31 May 2016
Earlier this month a senior European official met Nicola Sturgeon to discuss delays to EU farming subsidy payments.
Phil Hogan, the EU's agriculture commissioner, said he wanted to help Scotland get the money to farmers as quickly as possible.
Image source, Scottish governmentImage caption, The Scottish government said the meeting between Mr Hogan (centre), Ms Sturgeon and Mr Ewing had been "very positive"
Only about 80% of Scottish farmers have so far received their Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments.
The Audit Scotland watchdog has said problems with a new Scottish government IT system were largely to blame.
Mr Hogan discussed the issues with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and her new rural economy secretary, Fergus Ewing, at Bute House in Edinburgh.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish government said: "It was a good discussion and the first minister and Mr Ewing found the meeting with the commissioner to be very positive."
What are the CAP payments and why are they delayed?published at 13:39 British Summer Time 31 May 2016
The EU hands responsibility for paying out the EU farming subsidy payments to national and regional governments, including Scotland - which is due to receive about £5.8bn in CAP Futures funding over the next six years.
The money is mainly given to improve agricultural productivity and to ensure farmers have a reliable source of income.
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, About a fifth of Scotland farmers have not yet received any CAP Futures money from the Scottish government
Farming union NFU Scotland has called on the Scottish government to "get to grips" with its "calamitous" attempts to distribute the money, with about a fifth of farmers still not having received anything.
The Scottish government has said it is keeping a tight rein on activity, costs and risks, to secure the best value it can for the taxpayer.
The government faces fines of between £40m and £125m if farmers are not paid by the 30 June deadline.
The first order of business will be a statement on EU farm payments 'chaos'published at 13:38 British Summer Time 31 May 2016
Image source, bbcImage caption, Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing
The Scottish government has been urged not to sweep problems surrounding EU payments to farmers "under the carpet".
Ahead of the ministerial statement at around 2.05pm, Scottish Labour said the handling of the process had been "chaotic and shambolic".
Payments had been affected by major issues with a £178m IT system set up in Scotland to administer the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments.
New Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing has admitted that the CAP payments have not been made quickly enough and he will outline the government's plans to rectify the problem.
The new economy secretary will lead a debate focusing on Scotland's economy from around 2.30pmpublished at 13:33 British Summer Time 31 May 2016
After the Common Agricultural Payments statement, Economy Secretary Keith Brown will lead a debate focusing on Scotland's economy from around 2.30pm.
The debate is formally entitled 'Taking Scotland Forward - Scotland's Economy, Short Term Resilience and Long Term Opportunities'.
Image source, PAImage caption, Economy Secretary Keith Brown
The new economy secretary, a new dedicated cabinet role introduced by Nicola Sturgeon in her cabinet reshuffle, is expected to say Scotland can become a more productive country through “innovation, investment, internationalisation and tackling inequality”.
Mr Brown will not only continue to oversee infrastructure projects, but he will be securing investment and supporting people into work, similar to the UK government's business secretary.
The first minister had previously said creating two finance roles was not a reflection on how the one job had been carried out in the past, but rather a "reflection of the challenges and opportunities we face in the future".
Good afternoon and welcome to Holyrood Livepublished at 10:29 British Summer Time 30 May 2016
Image source, Thinkstock, Scottish Parliament, PAImage caption, CAP payments and the economy dominate the chabmer this afternoon
Good afternoon and welcome to Holyrood Live's coverage of the Scottish Parliament on 31 May 2016.
New Rural Affairs Secretary Fergus Ewing will give a statement on the delayed CAP payments and then MSPs will debate the economy.