Argyll man, Highlands MSP Jamie McGrigor has called for the retention of the Bill Hire scheme and, as For Argyll recently reported, secured a debate on the matter at Holyrood at which he spoke.

Now Dave Thompson, Highlands and Islands MSP, speaking in this debate, has urged Environment Minister Michael Russell, to bring forward a new version of the scheme to replace the one about to be closed.

433 crofters currently take advantage of the Government funded scheme which provides bull hire services throughout Scotland.

Mr Thompson says that the continuation of the current scheme, under state aide de minimus arrangements, would mean that the charge for a single bull would have to be raised by nearly 150 per cent, from £500 to £1,250.

Accepting that this makes the current scheme non-viable, Mr Thompson says: ‘There is no doubt that the bull hire scheme has had a positive effect on the maintenance of cattle quality and numbers, provided environmental and agricultural benefits and, over the past 100 years, encouraged local economic activity.

‘The fact is that the scheme now is neither economically viable nor allowable under state aid rules. The important point is to implement its replacement as soon as possible.

‘The same members who incorrectly claim that the Scottish Government has totally underestimated the importance of the current bull hire scheme are the same members who began the review of the scheme under the previous Administration, and oversaw its rundown while in power.

‘The Scottish Government is producing a viable alternative that will meet crofters’ needs while being economically justifiable.

‘It is with the 433 crofters who utilise the scheme in mind that I urge the Minister to ensure the replacement scheme has the same health and quality standards and accessibility as the old scheme and that, most important of all, it is operational by the time that the current scheme closes’.

At the end of last week, on 15th January, Environment Minister Michael Russell announced his proposed replacement arrangements. They are:

• Stud farm bulls will be offered to ex-hire groups at a set cost. That will allow appropriate groups the opportunity to adjust to the ending of the hire scheme and to set up their own hire operations, should they wish to do so.
• The crofting counties Agricultural Grant Scheme can provide assistance with building over-wintering facilities and for the transportation costs that are involved in over-wintering on the mainland.
• Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP) money will be made available for alternatives, and there is the alternative of artificial insemination.
• Crofters will be provided with independent advice.
• Resources tied up in the current scheme will be liberated for the benefit of crofting.  The sale of stud farms will be applied to crofting and no money will be taken out of the crofting allocations.