Raising Awareness on the Upland Transitional Payment (UTP) 2011 and entry into Uplands ELS – every day counts
What is the UTP?
If you are not able to get into Uplands ELS because you are in an existing Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS) or Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) scheme, then as long as you have successfully claimed your 2010 HFA, the Uplands Transitional Payment (UTP) will be paid to you. You can claim this until your CSS or ESA agreements expire and you are able to enter Uplands ELS. The UTP will apply to all of your SDA land (limited to the 2010 HFA area), even if only part of the holding is covered by CSS/ESA agreements.
Ongoing Concerns - Awareness of UTP
There are a number of emerging concerns regarding the Uplands Transitional Payment or UTP. It is clear that there are issues with awareness, whether farmers are eligible for UTP or not and how UTP ties in with UELS and the various land tenure /access agreements that exist.
The key concerns at this moment are:
A) whether farmers that have ticked on their 2010 SP5 (SPS) Application form for UTP 2011 are eligible or not to claim?
B) what should farmers do if they have not crossed the "yes" box to apply on their SPS form when they later find out that they were actually eligible ?
C) what do farmers do if they have crossed the "yes" box to apply on their SPS form when they later find out that they were actually ineligible ?
A) Am I eligible?
In response to the confusion, on 14th May the RPA issued the FAQ to help clarify eligibility criteria. The document can be downloaded from this site by clicking the file opposite or directly from the RPA’s web link below:
http://www.rpa.gov.uk/rpa/index.nsf/0/797D7301B1541C748025772200538F15
Within the FAQ the RPA have clarified that a pre requisite for being able to claim UTP 2012 is to have successfully claimed HFA 2010 and continuing to farm a parcel of ESA CSS land which is in agreement from 1 Jan 2012. There are also other land eligibility rules. However there is no requirement to claim UTP 2011 in order to be eligible for UTP 2012.
The RPA with Natural England are in the process of highlighting to upland farmers via an awareness campaign for them to double check if they are eligible for UTP 2011 or not. They are approaching this is the form of a press release based on a check list, published 25th May. If a farmer can tick all the boxes they are eligible for UTP 2011. The check list is available from the web link below:
http://www.rpa.gov.uk/rpa/index.nsf/0/7D4C815E5729F88E8025772E00491312
B) What happens if I have not claimed UTP but I later find out I was eligible?
The RPA have clarified that anyone who has not applied for UTP at this stage for 2011 and wishes to do so now will be liable for a late application penalty. This means that a farmer now changing their 2010 SP5 form from “No” to “Yes” for claiming UTP after 17th will incur a late application penalty. In any event, the RPA will not accept a change to the UTP question post 11th June.
Upland farmers are some of the most vulnerable in the industry and if they have applied for UTP and are not eligible, there option can be UELS. The key therefore is for farmers to know if they are eligible for UTP or not following submission of their 2010 SPS applications where they have said "yes I want to apply for UTP 2011".
C) What happens if I have claimed UTP but I later find out I was ineligible?
The RPA have stated that they have not been actively advising farmers to claim UTP if they think they are not eligible. However they do think it is important that if farmers were unsure they should not miss the deadline to claim UTP 2011 - i.e. 17th May 2010. This is because if a farmer has claimed UTP they still have the option to withdraw the claim at a later date and go into UELS without penalty.
The NFU understand that some Natural England teams may have been advising farmers who were unsure about their eligibility to apply for UTP. Whilst on the face of it this has been helpful, they may not have fully understood the complexities of UTP and as such farmers may later find out that they were ineligible after all and as a result missed out on several months of being in Uplands ELS. The RPA have initially stated that they will not be able to filter out the ineligible claimants until late 2010, or even early 2011. This is because the UTP, like the HFA, rides on the back of SPS validation. The RPA have stated that the timescale of notification depends on land eligibility, animal retention, milk quota (if dairy), inspection results etc as well as the ESA or CSS requirement, so members should be aware that it is unlikely that an ineligible UTP claimant would be advised before the end of the calendar year. Therefore, the NFU have made it clear to the RPA that it is essential that they notify all those ineligible for UTP 2011 as early as possible so that they can consider and apply for UELS as soon as possible.
The problem remains that even after the RPA has notified an ineligible UTP claimant, there is an inevitable processing delay getting into UELS and then a further 6 months to wait for that first important payment. Therefore, assuming the farmer can complete their UELS application within a month, this could mean that they will not receive their first half of their payment until 9 months later (i.e. 1 month application pack turnaround between Natural England and the farmer + 2 months processing by Natural England + 6 months until first half payment). This highlights the problem that any additional delay in the RPA telling the farmer that they are not eligible for UTP 2011, the 9 month window becomes considerably more and farmers could struggle financially in 2011. In short, upland farmers who want to apply to UELS, have to plan ahead to minimise disruptions to their cashflow.
So how do I apply for UELS?
From Natural England information:
• If you are interested in applying for Uplands ELS then you need to ask for an application pack from your Natural England office. The application packs will not be sent out automatically unless you request one. A list of Natural England's regional offices can be found at:
http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/farming/funding/es/contacts.aspx
• If you have already received a letter about Uplands ELS from Natural England last autumn, then all you need to do is complete and return the form in the enclosed reply paid envelope. A Natural England adviser will then telephone you to discuss your application.
• You can also apply online. For further information on how to do this contact the ELS Online Team at els.online@naturalengland.oeg.uk, or go online to the Whole Farm Approach website: www.wholefarm.defra.gov.uk
• Applications needed to be returned to Natural England by 1st May for an Uplands ELS agreement to start on 1st July. Clearly this date has now passed, so the earlier you apply the sooner your application can be processed to minimise payment delays.
• For further information on Uplands ELS you can attend one of Natural England's Uplands events or see their publication Look after your uplands with Environmental Stewardship available from the Environmental Stewardship pages on Natural England's website