The fund was established in the wake of severe flooding this winter, estimated to have cost more than £5 billion and disrupted thousands of peoples’ lives and businesses. Record rainfall was recorded in some areas and the consequent floods overwhelmed defences.
In an NFU survey, 144 farmers reported £1.7m of damage to their businesses.
NFU Deputy President Minette Batters said: “We have pressed the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) in recent weeks to ensure greater clarity for the hundreds of farmers yet to receive confirmation that their Farming Recovery Fund (FRF) application has been processed. It's important to remember why these applications were made - to recover from devastating flood damage this winter. These farmers have faced weeks of uncertainty over access to the flood recovery fund, piled on top of delays this winter to their BPS payments. This is totally unacceptable and must be resolved as a matter of urgency.
“The RPA has now written to those affected by the flooding events in the North of England to inform them that applications will be addressed by the end of May. This delay is potentially devastating for affected businesses. However we are pleased that RPA has brought in resource to process applications more rapidly. Approvals are vital to enable members to get on with their recovery work.
“The NFU will continue to work closely with the RPA to produce greater guidance on the evidence which is required to be gathered, before, during and after recovery works take place, to receive the full amount of funding requested.”