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The Scottish government’s Programme for Government, external outlined: 

• investment of over £3 billion in affordable housing supply over the next parliament
• deliver at least 50,000 homes with 35,000 of them for social rent
• Scottish government will work in partnership with local authorities to invest more than £572 million in affordable housing in this financial year

Housing Minister Kevin Stewart will now lead a debate entitled 'More Investment for More Housing'.

Tory MSP Edward Mountain, a partner in a farm partnership, asks about the costs of the payment delays, over and above the IT costs.

Mr Ewing says he values the "extraordinary efforts" of staff to get the payments out and if that led to overtime payments then that would be well worth paying.

Lib Dem MSP Mike Rumbles says the average farm will be £6,000 out of pocket due to the payment delays.

Mr Rumbles says: "This is a dreadful admission that the payments are not going to work."

The minister insists that most farmers who have not had a payment have received a loan.  

Mr Ewing says the contractors have responded to the requests and requirements to secure better value for money.

This in a response to SNP MSP Stewart Stevenson who asks if the contractors would share the pain. 

Mr Ewing says he has discussed in detail the problems facing organic farmers.

He says the Scottish government wants to continue providing support for organic farmers but that task is made impossible without any clarity from the UK government.

Green MSP Mark Ruskill says the word certainty is peppered throughout his statement.

Mr Ruskill raises the problems faced by organic farmers.

He asks about the Agrienvironment and Climate scheme.

Mr Ewing says he has discussed in detail the problems facing organic farmers.

He says the Scottish government wants to continue providing support for organic farmers but that task is made impossible without any clarity from the UK government.

SNP MSP Maree Todd says farmers face uncertainty due to the Tories taking Scotland out of the EU and asks about the future of CAP payments.

The minister says confirmation from the UK government has been sought on the payments.

Mr Ewing says so far the Treasury has not provided certainty about the future of the SREP payments.

The greatest uncertainty is this he says. 

Mr Ewing says since 9 September a total value of £326m had been paid out and there are around 500 farmers who have yet to receive the payment in full.

The minister says the total amount to be paid is not possible to calculate.  

Labour MSP Rhoda Grant says the minister has failed all the objectives he set in May.

Ms Grant asks for the CAP payments remaining and when 100% will be paid.

Mr Ewing says it is not for him to suggest or order the parliament to carry out an inquiry.

He says he has accepted there have been grave difficulties for farmers but says he has found the farming community wanted a realistic assessment and improvement.

The minister says earlier than every before £300m will be distributed before the end of the year and the Conservative's must surely be able to welcome this. 

Conservative MSP Peter Chapman says the minister has confirmed the IT system still does not work and that is why some £40m is still outstanding, which is a "slap in the face for farmers".

Mr Chapman says the loan is an admission of failure.

He asks if the minister recognises he has lost the confidence of farmers and calls for an inquiry. 

Mr Ewing says the new loan scheme could inject £300m into the rural economy before the end of the year.

He says the resolution of the CAP payments remains his number one priority. 

The rural economy minister says he is sorry, despite substantial progress, that has not been done yet.

Mr Ewing says farmers and their families need certainty and says the government is determined to create sustainable support in rural and island communities. 

The minister says the immediate needs of our farmers is secured.

He says he is confident the payments are on a better footing.

The minister goes on to announc every farmer and crofter eligible for a greening or young farmer payment will receive a loan up to the value of 80% of their entitlement.

He says this will bring certainty to farmers and crofters and associated businesses. 

Mr Ewing says the government is close to completing payments by 2015 but it is not quite there yet.

The rural economy minister says the key is to complete the vast majority of payments by mid-October.

He says he is looking to put next year's payments on an even keel.

The minister says the government has accepted Audit Scotland's recommendations, external in full.

He accepts there are lessons to be learned and he will do just that. 

Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing thanks all the staff who have given their efforts to get the payments to farmers.

Mr Ewing says "substantial progress has been made".

He says since 13 June, £310m has been paid out

The minister says he hopes all payments will be made by the beginning of next month and every farmer should have been able to get a loan.

He adds that over 99% of eligible claimants have had a CAP payment or a loan.

But he says he will not be satisfied until every farmer gets their payments. 

In June the deadline for paying European subsidies to farmers was extended from 30 June to 15 October.

Problems with a new Scottish government computer system have caused delays to many Scottish farmers due the money.

The Scottish government had been facing fines of between £40m and £125m if it did not meet the June deadline.

Image source, bbc

But the EU's commissioner for agriculture, Phil Hogan, announced the new date.

The move followed a meeting between the commissioner and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in Edinburgh last month.

Mr Hogan stressed that this was "an exceptional measure" which reflected the difficulties some member states and devolved regions had experienced with the first year of payments under the new CAP.

He emphasised that the move should not be used as an "excuse" to slow down the rate of payments.

In May Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing said the Scottish government was "sorry" about delays processing EU payments to farmers, but said "we are fixing it".

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.

Mr Ewing admitted the payments were not made quickly enough.

The government had been urged not to sweep problems surrounding EU payments to farmers "under the carpet".

Image source, bbc

Ahead of Mr Ewing's Holyrood statement, Scottish Labour said the handling of the process had been "chaotic and shambolic".

The money is meant to improve agricultural productivity and to ensure farmers have a reliable income.

At the beginning of May finance watchdog Audit Scotland highlighted "serious cost and operational issues" with the payment system.

Under CAP rules, about £4.6bn in European and Scottish government funding will be paid out between 2015 and 2020.

Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing will now update MSPs on the delayed CAP payments.