Farmers protest against payments

Farmers from across Leicestershire and Rutland are to protest over delays to a government payment plan, which they claim is threatening their livelihoods.

The rally against the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) will take place at Melton Mowbray's cattle market on Tuesday.

Farmers have said there has been a delay in getting the money, which has left them out of pocket.

In a statement, Defra said the number one priority was to make full SPS payments as fast as legally possible.

It said the Rural Payments Agency has been implementing several changes in order to further increase the rate of SPS payments.

The scheme, introduced in January 2005, means farmers get one annual sum rather than a series of payments.

The system works out what subsidy each farm should get according to past receipts and its land area.