CONVERGENCE UPLIFT FOR SCOTLAND

That this House calls on the Government to review with immediate effect the disbursement of convergence uplift payments and not wait for a review in 2016-17 as currently proposed; recognises that in 2013, the EU gave the UK a convergence dividend of 230 million euros largely as a result of Scotland's low payments per hectare; notes that the Government has ignored the requirement in Article 23 of EU Regulation 1307/2013 to use objective and non-discriminatory criteria and chose to spread the dividend across all four parts of the UK, meaning Scotland got just 16.3 per cent of the funding; further notes that this funding was primarily meant for Scotland; and asks the Government in a spirit of fairness to instigate an immediate review and make sure Scotland gets its fair share.