CAP Registration Process – NFU secured greater flexibility in the way farmers were able to register for BPS, such as given passcodes over the phone, passcode expiry period retained at a workable time period and later on lobbying for the postponement of further online registration demands during the application period.
Entitlement Transfer Requests – NFU Lobbied for RPA to prioritise and tackle the backlog of transfer paperwork since January, so to ensure members know their entitlement status as soon as possible and thus avoid problems.
BPS Paper Guidance – NFU secured paper guidance for BPS 2015 – vital for our members to be able to confer with the guidance in paper form over recent months.
Lobbying for Plan B for BPS Application Process – We challenged the RPA to develop an application process and set of rules that farmers could work with a paper claim form. We lobbied success for data originally entered online in the main to be re-produced on the paper forms to avoid members having to double enter information.
BPS Deadline – the NFU lobbied for the BPS deadline to be reviewed, and also took into account the need for prompt 2015 BPS payments starting later this year. We also lobbied successfully for all BPS related deadlines to be reviewed at the same time, with the critical land at your disposal date remaining as 15 May to help those in tenancy agreements avoiding additional burden and cost to adjust these arrangements.
BPS Survey & Missing BPS Claim Forms – The NFU set up a Member Survey to gain timely user feedback. The key initial concerns raised were around forms not being received by members. Because of our work, the RPA conceded that a number of forms that should have been issued had not. NFU action allowed members to get hold of forms.
BPS Drop In Centres – We successfully lobbied for RPA to open drop in centres and helplines for extended hours in the run up to the BPS deadline of 15 June (weekends / evenings), so to give members as much opportunity to hand deliver forms to the RPA.
BPS Claim Receipts - We lobbied successfully for a robust receipting process for those hand delivering, posting forms as well as submitting online responses, when the RPA did not consider this a key issue to address.
Presence of Trees and Impact on BPS Land Eligibility – Over the last year NFU lobbied hard for in field trees in grassland and arable fields to avoid a field eligibility limit of 100 trees per hectare in order for the parcel to be eligible for BPS. The benefit was seen over recent months when claim forms have been completed as members did not need to worry about this issue, just whether the land could be grazed.
Grass Margins in Arable Fields - The NFU lobbied for grass margins of 5 years plus in age in arable fields to retain their arable status under BPS, so these areas can count towards greening EFA and Crop diversification. The outcome is that RPA will not consider such areas within an agri-environmental scheme to be permanent pasture and for up to 5 years after the end of such agreements, thus allowing most to be counted for EFA (providing the management rules are compatible if still in ELS/HLS with EFA) .
You may also want to read...
Common Land – The NFU over the last two years has lobbied for a change to the allocation of common land under CAP – those claiming on the common to be given access to a proportion of all the common. NFU supported a legal challenge that ultimately led to a change in approach which will in due course lead to an increase in payments for many who claimed under common land for SPS, BPS, UTP and HFA, the total uplift in payments is estimated to be worth c£20m.
Workable Hedge Trimming Derogation – We have worked extensively with Defra and the RPA over many months to get some flexibility within the new cross compliance hedge cutting rules. We have put online a user guide for members wanting to obtain a hedge cutting derogation.
Cutting Orchard Windbreaks - NFU secured an exemption under cross compliance regulations for the management of orchard windbreaks. This allowed these features to be cut during the March 1 and August 31 non-cutting period for hedges and trees and in line with the orchards themselves which were already exempt.
Greening Sanctions – NFU lobbied successfully for flexibility where EFA errors were found post claim submission for BPS 2015. This was on the back of CAP simplification proposals that were originally intended only to be introduced for 2016. What this means is that farmers are able to substitute one area of non-compliant EFA greening with an area that is compliant at the point of inspection.