§ Mr. Andrew WelshTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many current hill livestock compensatory allowance applications he has received; how many have been processed; and when he expects the payments to be completed and paid.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythA total of 11,326 applications had been received by local offices of the Department by Wednesday 27 February. Payments totalling £25.139 million were issued on 4 March to 7,807 producers, under arrangements announced on 1 March. it is anticipated that the great majority of payments will be made in full by the end of April, although this will depend on the speed with which application forms, still outstanding, are completed and returned to the Department.